Tapas bar and The Rose & Crown to open in Bradford's Sunbridgewells

Harry Hall - the son of Graham Hall, the developer behind the Sunbridgewells complex - revealed the venue’s exciting plans for 2024.

The tapas bar will serve up locally made and international wines and spirits, as well as tasty small dishes. This is due to open the first weekend in March with more details to follow.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to reopen The Rose & Crown, which is part of the underground complex and is thought to date back to the 1870s.

Spread across three levels with its own courtyard, the traditional pub is expected to open by the start of March. 

Harry said the venue looks “stunning” with the architecture and design of the complex worthy of being “the best in the country”.

All the potential is here - review

Dale and Holly, a couple on a mission to drink in every pub and bar across the UK, visited Not Guilty in the Sunbridge Wells complex (Image: The Great British Pub Crawl)

It comes after the venue was visited by reviewers behind The Great British Pub Crawl.

Dale and Holly, a couple on a mission to drink in every pub and bar across the UK, have more than 23,000 followers online.

The duo visited 16 pubs and venues in and around the city centre - including Sunbridgewells.

But the venue fell short of their expectations on the day. 

The Nottingham-based couple, who have visited more than 2,500 venues across the nation, said the venue had “a mountain of potential”. 

The review, published on Facebook, reads: “We then headed for 'Sunbridgewells' which is an underground market style place that has a mountain of potential but is literally not a patch on some of the market vibe places we've found in the last few months, mainly because most of it seems closed even at 8.30[pm] on a Saturday."

The pair described Wallers Brewery as "pretty cool with another underground rail tunnel feel to it".

The couple also tried out 'Not Guilty', housed within the same building but with a standalone entrance.

They said the late-night venue had “a nightclub vibe” and was a "top place". There was praise for owner Jay, who also runs 'Guilty Pleasure' and 'Guilty'.

However, they said the tunnels were "pretty quiet" and felt Sunbridgewells could be "seriously brilliant" with a variety of street food sellers and a couple of bars.

“All the potential is here but the overall delivery and execution is severely lacking from a truly impressive underground gem," they said. 

Harry welcomed the review, saying people like Dale and Holly “showcase our many great bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants”.

He spoke about plans to reinvigorate the site while urging people to “shake off this stigma” around Sunbridgewells.

Harry said: “First of all I’d like to say thanks to Dale and Holly for visiting Sunbridgewells on Saturday night.

"We had planned on giving them a tour of our premises, including some of our temporary closed units, unfortunately the guys didn’t arrive until later in the evening so this was not possible.

“We do however need more people like Dale and  Holly to get out and about in our city to showcase our many great bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants.

“Whilst some of the comments have been very damning from the couple as well as some locals we’d like to point out the great work that Karen and Becky are doing with Wallers Brewery as well as the great work Jay has been doing with Not Guilty and Guilty within our complex. The two tenants have been a breath of fresh air to us.

“Unfortunately for the couple, Bradford’s number one pizzeria: La Caverna Pizzeria had just closed for the night at 9pm.

“The venue as a whole is looking stunning and the architecture and design of the complex is the best in the country. We agree with the public that Sunbridgewells needs more signage around the city centre and on the highways so people are able to find us when coming into the city.

“If any vendor is looking to take one of our shacks on arrival to contribute towards our city centre nightlife we would love for them to get in touch.

“We would, however, like to shake off this stigma around Sunbridgewells in which it’s too expensive or the rents are too high. Our drinks prices are actually some of the most competitive in Bradford and our rents are in line with the rest of the city centre.

"We have invited both Dale and Holly back later in the year once we are at full capacity.”