Thornbury Restaurant Guide

“What a romantic place to spend the night and for dining!” – this “very comfortable” Relais & Chateaux property has “links to Henry VIII [who stayed here with Anne Boleyn in 1535] and such well-preserved interiors”, which all help contribute to the “memorable experience” of “splendour and warmth” that one might expect in such quarters. “Service is good and staff are friendly and helpful” too in this “very comfortable establishment”. Culinary achievements have been on the up here in recent times and one diner notes “dramatic improvement since a previous visit over 6 years ago… the venue used to be the highlight with links to The Tudors etc and such well-preserved interiors… now the food and service are really starting to catch up!”

This “very busy Italian neighbourhood bistro” in Westbury Park was set up by floorlayers Olly Gallery and Julian Faiello – and what a success their professional volte-face has proved, with a successive wave of talented local chefs passing through its doors over the past decade. The crowd-pleasing menu – spanning arancini, pasta dishes and sourdough pizzas – features some “very good” food which you can now enjoy on the heated, fairy-lit terrace: a Covid-era addition.

Set up in 2019 by Freddy Bird & wife Nessa (the latter in charge of FOH, and also the mastermind behind the restaurant’s crockery and ceramics), this Westbury Park icon continues to turn out “classic French bistro food with authentic Gallic ingredients” that “evokes happy memories” of dining across the Channel. Given Freddy’s starry TV stints alongside Roux Jr and co., and its own local reputation (it’s “hard to get a resa”), it did strike the odd cynic this year as “disappointing because of all the gushing praise” (not helped, by the fact it’s also “expensive”). Reports were, however, très bien in the main.

2022 Review: “Recently opened of all places in a retirement village” – a modern development of 64 apartments in Redland – “but open to the public”: this September 2020 newcomer is run by local caterers CleverChefs and occupies a light-filled space with open kitchen overlooking an arboretum garden. Open from breakfast and throughout the day, it wins strong early feedback for “assured cooking at reasonable prices”.

2024 Review: “Standards remain consistently high” at this Redland boozer – “part of the Pony and Trap Group” and offering “a step above pub food” (though not straying from the classics and laying on proper Sunday roasts). Top Tip – “there are two rooms upstairs you can have for exclusive use of groups”.

“Incredible cooking” – “honestly some of the best anywhere my mind is blown every time I eat there” – is proclaimed by many fans (which, in her April 2025 review, included Sunday Times critic Charlotte Ivers) of this “stripped-back, busy dining room” from chef Jan Ostle and his wife Mary Wilson, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The hyper-local menu showcases “loads of home-grown ingredients” from their own regeneratively farmed kitchen garden, and preparation is “imaginative and well thought out”. Ratings were dragged from 5/5 this year, by one or two diners nonplussed with what they saw as a heavy-handed approach to sustainable dining (“friendly service but disjointed by the obligatory extensive biography for each dish…”, “prioritisation of ethics over quality… terrible meal in parts, amazing in others… just tone down the creation of self-righteous plates and keep turning out the good ones!”).

2022 Review: A restaurant of two halves partly inspired by Kiwi chef Stephen Gilchrist's home country of New Zealand, and also featuring an adjoining Argentinian tapas bar with counter-style seating – both highly regarded for their unusual combinations and accent on foraging. Only the latter, Chandos Social @ Otira, was open as of October 2021 – and offering tapas menus to share per couple – so do check ahead before you visit.

“It’s not a fish restaurant, but we had the best sole of the year there. Plus that crab... we don’t even like shellfish, normally, but mmmm that crab…” – this neighbourhood bar-restaurant on the corner of Stokes Croft and Montpelier is modest in size (33 covers, including 4 at the window bar), but “absolutely brilliant” for its local fan club – “amazingly friendly, and packed even at lunch”. The menu is short but changes regularly.

Clifton-ites and Bristolians have been flocking to Mitch Tonks’s smart seafood specialist (plus on-site fishmonger) for two decades — and no wonder since it “never disappoints”. Catch from Brixham and Cornwall (including the namesake crustacean) is cooked to fine effect over the Josper grill, and their “jazz nights (the last Sunday of every month) are a hit” as well.

2023 Review: “Some of the most exciting food I have eaten in ages” has made this two-year-old Korean with a “short but tasty menu” a big hit in Bristol and beyond. Chef Duncan Roberts, who has worked for Joel Robuchon in Paris, and his wife Kyu Jeong Jeon moved to Stokes Croft from South Korea, and their fans include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Top Tip – tongdak – whole chicken stuffed with sticky rice and grilled over charcoal.

This “fun and quirky” Stokes Croft three-year-old from the team behind Clifton’s Nutmeg – chef Saravanan Nambirajan and restaurateur Raja Munuswamy – specialises in the Tamil cooking of southern India and Sri Lanka ‘with a modern twist’, washed down by rum and arrack-based cocktails. Top Menu Tip – the signature ‘share and tear’ dosa made with 48-hour fermented rice.

2023 Review: Well known down Brizzle way, this small (16 seats) tapas haunt has an outsized reputation for its authentic approach. Our feedback is limited, but it’s a favourite for one or two of our reporters who award it very high marks. It’s part of a local group, and its siblings include Cargo Cantina and Gambas.

“Unique” Clifton institution, where diners overlook swimmers in the restored 1850 pool below, while feasting on “consistently excellent dishes (often wood-fired), from a vibrant and frequently changing menu” – and the two activities can be combined in a ‘Swim and Eat’ package, with “great healthy options for those that want ’em” (there is also a spa and five newly opened bedrooms in a townhouse across the road). “This continues to be a favourite Bath/Bristol restaurant for a great meal almost 17 years after it opened – the atmosphere is quite literally exceptional”, while the Mediterranean-inspired food is “startlingly brilliant at these prices”. Top Menu Tip – “some fantastic inexpensive wines: try their Greek white!”.

This “reliable” venue from the “good-quality chain” serves “generous portions of traditional Italian food in a stylish ambience” – one of Bristol’s busiest restaurants for 30 years, it was Carlo Distefano’s first outside Birmingham as he set about creating what is now a global group, with an increasing presence in the Middle East.