Renowned Glassboat restaurant up for sale

CELEBRATED Bristol restaurant Glassboat is for sale after 36 years.

The floating restaurant moored in Welsh Back was turned into the Fish seafood restaurant and takeaway during the pandemic but has remained closed for several months.

Glassboat was built in 1986 by Arne Ringner, who also owns the Lido restaurant, pool and spa in Clifton, and the Three Brothers burger restaurant on Welsh Back in Bristol.

Mr Ringner’s original plan was to create a floating botanical garden on the former barge, having moved to the UK from his native Sweden.

After Bristol’s planners turned down that idea, Mr Ringner and his business partner, Magnus Macdonald, were forced to open a floating cafe instead and it soon became one of Bristol’s most popular restaurant.

The Glassboat was the city’s premier fine dining restaurant from the late 1980s through to the 2000s.

The boat is moored in Welsh Back in a busy section of the Bristol Harbour adjacent to

Bristol Bridge in Bristol city centre. The Glassboat is 120ft long and 20ft wide, and originally built as a ‘dumb barge’.

The boat has three gangways which lead to the main floor restaurant and bar area. At one end there is a serving counter which had been used in recent months as a takeaway fish and chips operation.

According to the brochure from property agents Burston Cook, the boat provides accommodation over two levels with up to 170 covers as well as an additional 32 covers on the quayside.

In 2008, the boat underwent a full refurbishment including over-plating the external shell plating to above the present waterline, enabling the boat to float on a new shell plating box. The boat was re-plumbed and re-wired as part of the refurbishment works in 2008. It is ready to trade as a restaurant or may suit alternative uses subject to the relevant consents. The sale price is believed to be around £750,000 which includes the vessel, all assets of the company including the fixtures and fittings and mooring licence, normally £11,200.

Mr Ringner said: “What great times we had onboard the Glassboat since building it in 1985. We have fed everybody, from hungry Bristolians to royalty.

“It’s now time to put the dancing shoes on the shelf and spend time teaching grandchildren to ride a bike. Thank you to all guests, friends and loyal staff for all the good times we’ve had.”