What The Christmas Steps does

The Christmas Steps is a historic, single-location public house (pub) situated at 2 Christmas Steps, BS1 5BS in central Bristol, United Kingdom. The building dates from circa 1600, making it one of the oldest continuously operating pubs in the city. The business is operated by a small team of approximately 7 employees and runs a dine-in food and beverage service from midday through late evening, with extended trading hours on Fridays and Saturdays (to 1am).

The pub's offering centres on a hearty lunch and dinner menu built around fresh local ingredients and described as innovation-led, with separate Lunch, Dinner, Sunday, Bar Snacks, and Graduation menus published as downloadable PDFs on the website. The drinks programme features a rotating selection of craft beers and ales sourced from local breweries, alongside an extensive top-shelf spirits range and a wine list. On-premise atmosphere is augmented by a free Crack Magazine jukebox, providing a curated music soundtrack for patrons.

Commercially, The Christmas Steps operates as a direct-to-consumer, walk-in retail establishment with no disclosed pricing, no app, and no delivery channels. Food reservations are captured through an online booking form, while drink-only service for parties under eight people is handled on a walk-in basis. Revenue is generated entirely from on-premise food and beverage sales; there are no disclosed corporate accounts, licensing arrangements, or secondary revenue streams. Marketing activity appears limited to the website and organic word-of-mouth.

Name

The Christmas Steps

Legal name

The Christmas Steps

Website

https://thechristmassteps.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Christmas Steps is a historic single-location pub in central Bristol (c. 1600), operated by ~7 staff, serving lunch and dinner from locally-sourced ingredients alongside a rotating local craft beer programme to walk-in diners and drinkers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pub and Restaurant Hospitality Services

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Pubs & Gastropubs (CRANACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA), Craft Beer Bars & Taprooms (THAFAEAG)

Keywords

• Pub dining services
• Craft beer selection
• Ale and wine bar
• Casual dining venue
• Historic pub restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue generated from serving lunch and dinner meals, bar snacks, craft beers, ales, wines, and top-shelf spirits to walk-in customers. Operating hours span from midday to late evening across most days, with extended hours on weekends.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Christmas Steps is a historic Bristol pub (dating from circa 1600) that serves hearty lunch and dinner menus built around fresh local ingredients alongside a rotating selection of craft beers and ales from local breweries. It also offers an extensive top-shelf spirits and wine list, bar snacks, and a free Crack Magazine jukebox, operating as a single on-premises hospitality venue in central Bristol.

Product overview

The Christmas Steps is a single-outlet historic pub offering food and beverage services. The primary offering is the food menu service, which provides hearty lunch and dinner menus with emphasis on innovation and quality using fresh local ingredients. Additional offerings include craft beer and ale rotation from local breweries, an extensive top-shelf selection, wine list, and a free Crack Magazine jukebox for music.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Menu Service
• Craft Beer and Ale Rotation
• Wines and Top-Shelf Spirits
• Crack Magazine Jukebox Music Service

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and minor.

• Local BreweriessupportingOthersThe pub's craft beer and ale rotation showcases creations from local breweries. This is a supply relationship where local breweries provide rotating selections of craft beers and ales to the pub.
• Crack MagazineminorOthersFree Crack Magazine jukebox provides an up-to-date curated music soundtrack for drinkers and diners. This is a content/entertainment partnership providing free music entertainment to patrons.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Greene King: Major UK brewer and pub retailer with significant regional managed and tenanted estates, including heritage and food-led sites. Sets competitive and operational benchmark for UK food-led pubs.
• Fuller, Smith & Turner: Historic London-origin brewer and pub operator with food-led managed houses. Comparable on heritage brewer-plus-pub model and on the premium pub food positioning.
• JD Wetherspoon: Largest UK pub operator with extensive Bristol footprint and broad food and drink offering. Sets competitive pricing and opening-hour baseline that independents like The Christmas Steps must differentiate around.
• Mitchells & Butlers: UK operator of pub, bar, and restaurant brands (e.g., All Bar One, Harvester). Relevant comparable for food-led UK pub retail economics and multi-format portfolio strategy.
• Young's Pubs: London-focused pub and brewery operator with food-led, premium-format pubs. Comparable on heritage brewing-plus-pub positioning and gastropub-style execution.

Regional players

• The Apple: Bristol-focused cider and perry house on Welsh Back with rotating local taps. Comparable on the craft/rotation angle, narrower on food, but directly competitive for Bristol evening trade.
• Small Bar: Independent Bristol bar with strong craft beer and cocktail positioning. Comparable supplier philosophy (local/independent producers) and Bristol customer base.

Direct peers

• The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer: Long-standing Bristol harbourside pub serving traditional ales and hearty pub food. Comparable historic, food-and-craft-beer-led Bristol venue with similar target customer.
• The Llandoger Trow: Historic Bristol city-centre pub dating to the 17th century with food-led offering and full bar. Closely comparable heritage gastropub in the same Bristol micro-market as The Christmas Steps.

Emerging players

• Brewhouse & Kitchen: UK small-chain combining on-site brewing with food-led pub operations. Comparable on the rotation-craft-beer-plus-quality-food model the Christmas Steps is built around.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-christmas-steps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Christmas Steps