South West hospitality will come together in Bristol later this month as the Bristol Bar Show returns to Shredenhams in Broadmead on Monday 21 September.
More than 130 brands are already confirmed, bringing together major international names alongside independent producers, emerging brands and plenty of local and South West businesses.
Running from 1pm until 6pm, the event is free to attend for people working across hospitality and the licensed trade.
For venue owners, operators, buyers, bartenders and hospitality teams, the show offers a chance to step away from the day-to-day running of the business, meet suppliers face-to-face, discover new products and catch up with people from across the industry.
This year, however, the Bristol Bar Show is about much more than drinks.
BARBI is expanding the business-support side of the event, with a growing range of service partners attending to help hospitality businesses save time, reduce costs and improve the way they operate.
Support will cover areas including payments, energy, business rates, technology, procurement and other operational services.
The idea is simple: rather than venue operators having to research dozens of suppliers and services individually, the Bar Show gives them the opportunity to have useful conversations with a range of specialists in one afternoon.
A new chapter for BARBI
The event will also give visitors a first look at the next stage of BARBI itself.
Originally built around Bristol’s hospitality community, BARBI is now developing into a broader marketplace and business-support platform designed to make it easier for venues to find trusted suppliers, identify savings and access relevant support.
The updated way of working puts more emphasis on understanding what each venue actually needs.
Operators will be able to use BARBI as a starting point, whether they are looking to cut costs, review a supplier, solve an operational problem or simply find better options for the business.
BARBI can then help connect them with suitable partners and specialists across the marketplace.
The aim is to make business support simpler and more useful for hospitality operators, while continuing to build a trusted network of businesses that understand the sector.
The Bristol Bar Show will be one of the first opportunities to see more of that updated approach in action.
Bringing the wider hospitality community together
Bristol City Council departments will also be on hand during the afternoon, giving businesses the chance to speak directly with representatives.
Night Watch, the successor to the city’s PubWatch meetings, will also take place at the venue at 4pm.
That means the event is becoming less of a traditional drinks trade show and more of a meeting point for the wider South West hospitality community.
Whether visitors are looking for a new drinks supplier, exploring ways to reduce business costs, finding new technology or simply catching up with people from across the trade, there should be plenty to see and plenty of useful conversations to have.
Event details
Bristol Bar Show 2026
Monday 21 September 2026
1pm–6pm
Shredenhams
Broadmead
Bristol
BS1 3JL
Entry is free for the hospitality trade.
Register to attend: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-bar-show-2026-tickets-1992991229417
