Bristol Restaurant Guide

“Better food than expected” is to be discovered in this striking, light-filled (perhaps “noisy”) space – part of the recent £25m renovation of the UK’s oldest theatre, dating back to, er, see if you can guess. Open all day until an hour after the last evening performance, it aims to be a community hub, serving a menu devised by head chef Coco Barone (ex-Glassboat and Rosemarino). There are also pre-theatre deals, obvs.

It’s not fancy (wood banquettes and orange school chairs), but this small new Redcliffe Italian turns out “wonderful” fresh stuffed pasta – a USP in this country – that’s full of “interesting seasonal flavours”. The owners, behind Pasta Loco, are fast building a local empire, having opened a deli/café, La Sorella, two doors down from the premises in May 2019, followed by trattoria Bianchi in the old Bell’s Diner (RIP).

Bar Buvette (RIP) has been taken over by (chef) Cosmo and (ex-lawyer, nowadays front of house) Lily Sterck, who met at Bristol Uni and whose CVs include well-known London restaurants, St John and Luca. Local press reports say it’s agreeable, white painted looks and short menu of straightforward Mediterranean-influenced cooking (including pasta, charcuterie and ice cream made on the premises) make it one of the best local openings of last year.

“Never had a poor meal” – this smart but low-key branch of the slick national group founded by Sicilian-born Carlo Distefano delivers “lovely cooking, attentive and well-trained staff, and there’s always a good atmosphere” – “a tried and tested favourite for all special occasions”.

“A privileged location” on the harbour is part of the draw at this “modern but mature” operation in a striking looking former river police station (nowadays owned by Youngs). As of a big 2018 refit, “its Pontoon Bar, with its lovely view of the docks, has become a brunch/lunch favourite” owing to its “good choice of food” (and somewhat atoning for the loss of Bordeaux Quay, RIP). Upstairs, in the airy restaurant (with balcony), the performance is “pleasant but unexciting”.

Jamie Randall and Olivia Barry’s “slightly sparse and understated”, “bare-walled” venue near the docks and Old Town is in its fifth year now, but support shows no sign of slacking off. Its imaginative tasting menus deliver “very interesting blends of tastes and textures” and results are “excellent”.

Taking over the former site of Russell Norman’s Spuntino in Bristol’s Cargo shipping container development (also home to Box-E), a new tapas joint from husband and wife team Kieran and Imogen Waite, who also run the fantastic Bravas in Cotham Hill and Wapping Wharf’s Cargo Cantina. Good initial feedback, but too limited for a rating.

Masterchef finalist, Larkin Cen’s original venture is housed in a converted shipping container in Wapping Wharf, serving Asian street food featuring bao, xiao sharing plates, noodle and rice dishes (and a salted caramel ice cream bao dessert that’s gone down a storm locally). He also has a number of ‘Woky Ko’ spin offs, including a new ‘Jing Xu’ branch in Clifton, which – in September 2019 – replaced his ‘Kauto’ branch. The new business is based on Siu Lap Dong (BBQ meats).

“A harbourside container in the docks” makes for a suitably hipster location for Rob Howell and his partner Megan Oakley’s “unpretentious and fun” three-year-old. It serves a small plates menu that’s “heavily veg-based” and dishes are “interesting and delicious… without being ridiculous”.

“WOW!” – “every mouthful is wonderful and foodgasmic” at the Sanchez-Iglesias family’s “sensational” HQ: a “flawless experience” that has regularly won a place at the top of our list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants. It marries a “stunning, stone-walled venue” on the ground floor of the city-centre’s former General Hospital with “sublime” dishes from a twelve-course tasting menu, with the option of “perfectly matched wine flights”. Getting a reservation is no mean feat though: availability is released on the first Tuesday of each month at noon (UK time) for the period four months in advance! And even fans “dislike being required to pay (non-refundable) in advance at the time of booking”.

“No flock wallpaper here”, but a “classy” and “tastefully decorated” spot in Clifton. The food is also “like a work of art” and “tastes as good as it looks” – “spicy, interesting and not too hot”. (It also has a branch in Bath).

Near the docks, Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’s aim is to ‘transport you to Andalusia’ (well that’s what the website says) at his casual tapas haunt (named after his dad). As a concept, it’s “absolutely spot on” and “tapas of the highest quality, with every dish a delight”, alongside a decent list of wines and sherries. “Try to get a seat at the counter for top banter with the chefs and great views as they toss stuff into the open fire”.

‘Fire, meat, music’ is the mantra at this atmospheric converted warehouse in Redcliffe, dedicated to cooking over fire, complete with open kitchen and meat hanging in chiller cabinets. One of the hottest places in town right now, according to the locals – “the food is simple but very tasty, and the team really care”.

A “quirky”, even “crazy place for a meal” – a “Victorian lido where you sit and watch Bristolians swim lengths in the open air” while you eat behind glass in the former viewing gallery. This “unexpected venue has even more unexpected culinary standards”, serving “rather interesting food with distinctive Mediterranean elements” – a legacy of former Moro chef Freddy Bird, who ran the kitchen here for 10 years – “and service that is friendly rather than professional. The pool and the building are the real stars, though”.

“Proper jamon, a good selection of small plates, and an excellent Spanish wine list with a wide range of good sherries” – “a great drinks list with something for everyone” – help inspire positive reviews on this Hispanic yearling – “a great new addition to Bristol” and the first English branch of a small minichain originating near Cardiff.

Fans “love this place” – a softly-lit tapas joint, in Cotham Hill, which has made a name for its “small plates and Spanish sandwiches done right”; if there’s a caveat it’s that “too many covers squashed into a tiny space” can spell noise and a “rapid turnover”. Owners Kieran & Imogen Waite – also behind Bakers & Co (Gloucester Road) and Cargo Cantina/Gambas (Wapping Wharf) – launched new Mexican eatery, Masa + Mescal, in Stokes Croft, in March 2019.

The glitzy London chain’s West Country offshoot occupies a former bank in chichi Clifton Village, and – though food can be a bit up and down – reporters “still love the location”, and award it respectable marks in the main. Even so, perhaps because Bristol boasts such a thriving culinary culture, this particular branch seems to have made less of an impact on the local market than it has in most other locales countrywide.