Best restaurants in Bristol at a glance
- Lapin – Special occasion
- Kask – Casual dining
- Bokman – Cheap eats, casual dining
- Marmo – Casual dining
- Little French – Child-friendly, casual dining
- Wiper and True – Casual dining
- Bianchis – Special occasion
- Souk Kitchen – Cheap eats, casual dining, child-friendly
- Lido – Special occasion, casual dining
- Thali – Casual dining, cheap eats, child-friendly
- Flour & Ash – Casual dining, cheap eats, child-friendly
- Bulrush restaurant – Special occasion
- Wilson’s – Casual dining, special occasion
- Box-E – Casual dining
- Flow – Casual dining, cheap eats, child-friendly
- Bravas – Cheap eats, casual dining
- Spiny Lobster – Special occasion, casual dining
Lapin
Special occasion
Lapin (meaning rabbit) is the latest venture from founder Dan O’Regan and chef Jack Briggs-Horan, the youthful team behind Totterdown’s Bank, and it brings a French bistro feel to Wapping Wharf. In a compact space in Cargo 2, this intimate restaurant exudes warmth and conviviality, with a buzz even on weeknights. The menu of French classics reimagined features seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, some grown on the team’s allotment on the city outskirts. Standout dishes include a beautifully light cheese soufflé, rich confit duck and a decadent éclair, but keep an eye on the specials board, too. Predominantly French, the wine list offers old-school aperitifs like a kir royale and digestifs available by the glass. Dan’s passion for hospitality is palpable as seen in his excellent Notes on a Napkin Substack which gives an insightful and entertaining view at getting the best experience every time you eat out.
Kask
Casual dining
Sit at the concrete, peachy coloured, curvy bar and marvel at this long-standing, now revamped public bar in Bedminster, South Bristol. Behind the bar, mounted on the wall, are taps that dispense wine – and not just any wine. Kask serves remarkable wines, and the ones on tap switch frequently to give you the opportunity to drink a diverse and splendid selection, all by the glass. They’re all available to take home by the bottle, too, and sensibly priced. Cheese, charcuterie, good bread – you know the drill. It’s a trailblazer for Bristol.
Bokman
Cheap eats, casual dining
Tiny doesn’t cut it – Bokman is miniscule, but as you approach it, just off Stokes Croft, it’s plain to see that this Korean restaurant is very popular. Queues-out-the-door popular. Arrive early and grab a seat. It’s a short menu, and both the fried kimchi rice and beef brisket ramen arrive in blisteringly hot ceramic bowls and continue to cook at the table. Korean beer or plum sodas and soft-serve ice cream complete this extraordinary newcomer to the city’s restaurant scene. Lucky Bristol.
Marmo
Casual dining
Filling the boots of much-loved Bar Buvette is a tall order. Opening in the same space, Marmo have succeeded in this gorgeous building (high ceilings, large windows) giving Bristol a wine list that is exemplary in execution and a wine nerd’s delight. The short, modestly priced and largely Italian influenced menu drives you to order many of the little dishes, switching things around, always with wines to match. Mains from £14
Little French
Child-friendly, casual dining
Tucked away from the city centre, Little French in residential Westbury Park is exactly the sort of family-run restaurant Bristol needed. Chef and owner Freddy Bird is a fine cook. Clams cooked with butter and black pepper, served with good bread to mop up the juices, were an example of great ingredients cooked with thoughtfulness and flair. The rabbit braised with brandy and served with a Dijon and tarragon sauce, complete with chips and green beans, made my heart soar. Unpretentious cooking packed full of flavour. The prune and armagnac tart with custard is an oldie and most certainly a goldie. Mains from £27.
Wiper and True
Casual dining
Open throughout the weekend, I don’t think there is a quirkier, more inviting spot than this brewery’s unique tap room. Wrap up warm and brave the elements in the outdoor seating space or sit at the trestle tables among the brewing tanks. A welcoming and original destination that’s very Bristol.
Bianchis
Special occasion
This place is cool. Again, it’s another Bristol restaurant opening in a space that comes with an enormous restaurant legacy – big boots and all that. Cousins Dominic Borel and Ben and Joe Harvey stick closely to their roots, and the menu here is all-out Italian. The head chef is ex-River Café, and it shows. The menu is classic trattoria with pasta made on the premises and fantastic aperitif and antipasti. The wine list swerves any sense of pretension and sparks plenty of interest. An elegant, romantic space located in the hip Montpelier area of Bristol. Primi courses start from £20 and secondi courses from £19.
Souk Kitchen
Cheap eats, casual dining, child-friendly
Souk Kitchen serves a constantly changing seasonal menu inspired by the flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Their mezze selection includes dishes such as broccoli and walnut muhammara, Moroccan onion and sultana confit, starting at £9.50. There’s also a tempting weekday lunch deal: za’atar flatbread with your choice of dip, plus any two mezze dishes, all for just £20.
Lido
Special occasions, casual dining
A winner for its stunning location alone (overlooking a Victorian lido), but also for the amazing food with hints of the Moorish and the Mediterranean. Main courses start from £22.
Thali
Casual dining, cheap eats, child-friendly
Bristol’s popular Thali café in Easton serves up fresh Indian ‘roadside’ dishes using local suppliers and sustainably sourced ingredients. Particularly good for veggies and vegans (there’s a pumpkin olan at £13.50), as well as kids (you can even order ‘baby’ thalis for under-twos).
Bulrush restaurant
Special occasions
Michelin-starred Bulrush just seems to get better and better. Chef George Livesey’s classical training with the Roux brothers shows in his elegant eight-course tasting menu (there’s also a veggie version, both £90), but you can also eat more simply with the value three-course weekday lunch. Modern British at its best.
Wilson’s
Casual dining, special occasions
Newly opened but already in the Good Food Guide, Redland’s new little neighbourhood gem, Wilson’s, is all you want from a local bistro: Jan Ostle’s short, clever menu bears witness to the time he spent at the Clove Club. The deceptively simple food is based around a weekly changing menu, using ingredients they have grown, gathered or hunted themselves. At lunch, they offer a menu da jour with a glass of natural wine for £39 as well as a full six-course menu for £78.
Box-E
Casual dining
Part of the burgeoning Wapping Wharf restaurant scene, Box E is a cute pint-sized (18-seat) restaurant housed in a container with a brilliant short wine list. Who knows how they find room for the bottles. There are just four seats at the bar for a chef’s table experience (£59 for seven courses). You’ll find good veggie options, too, such as roasted asparagus with hazelnut butter, burrata with Isle of Wight tomatoes or spelt risotto with purple sprouting broccoli.
Bravas
Cheap eats, casual dining
This popular little tapas bar, run by Kieran and Imogen Waite, is just down the road from Pasta Loco. They do the classics such as tortilla (£5.60) and patatas bravas (£4.80) really well, but also have less common tapas such as presa à la plancha (£13.80). Good sherries, Spanish wines and liquors are available, too. Always packed.
Spiny Lobster
Special occasions, casual dining
Until recently owned by celebrity chef Mitch Tonks, proprietor of the award-winning Seahorse in Dartmouth, Spiny Lobster was bought by his staff and still offers the same menu of simply prepared super-fresh fish, mostly caught off the Devon coast. Many are cooked over an open fire. Glam, grown-up and quieter than many local restaurants, Spiny Lobster is a good place for a romantic dinner. Main courses start at £22.
5 foodie hotspots in Bristol
St Nicholas Market
A warren of stalls in the city centre. Buy falafel from Eat a Pitta and cheese from The Bristol Cheesemonger.
Hart’s Bakery
Hart’s Bakery opened the doors to this disused railway arch in the city’s main train station in Temple Meads nearly seven years ago. Bristol hasn’t looked back since. Daily sourdough bread is one thing, but sausage rolls, pasties and a dailychanging lunch offering – such as miso & ginger beef with daikon radish, peanuts & spring onion all scooped into a sesame bun, baked on the premises – is another thing altogether. Train journeys to and from Bristol are unthinkable without a quick detour to this station bakery.
Bristol Sweetmart
Want to cook worldwide cuisines? You’ll find every spice you could possibly need in this Aladdin’s cave of a shop in Easton.
Divino Deli
Friendly family-run Italian deli at the top of Blackboy Hill in Clifton. Fantastic focaccia sandwiches.
Swoon Gelato
This well-named Italian gelateria, opposite College Green, churns out swoon-worthy ices and sorbetti. Try the guest flavours for spectacular seasonal flavours.
Bristol’s best bar
HMSS
Tucked away in an unlikely location beside Clifton Down shopping centre, HMSS is one of Bristol’s coolest bars which opens, tardis-like into a cosy drinking den. Cocktails range from the relatively conventional (espresso martinis and negronis, all around £9/£9.50) to the inventive (Lock Ness Mobster with Patron Silver tequila, peach wine, lemon juice, spritz absinthe and laughing gas) and positively zany (Greenhouse Project: sugar snap Hendricks, British dry white wine, asparagus and celery bitters). No food is served here.
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