Whitehall Restaurant Guide

“The riverside terrace is appealing in better weather” at this brilliantly located venue on Bristol’s waterfront – converted from one of the South West’s last remaining 19th-century transit sheds (designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel) the interior is “well-spaced”. It offers a large, all-day menu featuring something for everyone: dishes that went down well this year include grilled mackerel on focaccia, roasted cod on risotto and a decent warm Bakewell tart.

Backed by a national group also operating till recently in London’s St James’s, this rather ambitious Japanese near the Assembly Rooms is said to be “a cut above others locally” by its advocates. There was steady all-round praise (albeit from a small fan club) for its mix of sushi and sashimi, plus many robata-grilled dishes including wagyu steaks and black cod. Puddings include Black Truffle Chocolate Torte, so it’s not necessarily one for the purists.

PURO Restaurant & Bar is a modern venue for relaxed, yet sophisticated, eating and drinking.All our food is fresh, with a focus on well sourced ingredients, providing simple but quality, seasonal food. In addition to the food menu is a carefully selected wine list (...

“Wow! You will never leave hungry or disappointed” say fans of this “friendly, attractive, efficient and buzzy” venue in the city-centre: the most popular venue this year in our annual diners’ poll. Side by side with their chippie takeaway, an adjoining bistro serves “traditional fish ’n’ chips plus several freshly-cooked alternatives from crab linguine to spicy prawns” – “a limited menu, but well-cooked with really fresh produce and good service”. “If in Bath, this should be high on your list”.

“Tucked between a flyover and the docks” – and “with great views of the Avon Gorge and Suspension Bridge” – a “Bristol legend” which was formerly greasy spoon Lockside, and on a funny note “was the café in TV’s ‘Only Fools and Horses’”. Current owners Daniel and Joie Rosser (his father Garry runs the much-loved Scallop Shell in Bath) relaunched the venue in May 2023 as a chippie, winning bronze in the National Fish & Chip awards shortly afterwards. On the menu, “expertly cooked fish ’n’ chips” with “amazing batter”, therefore, but also “fancier” fare.

The Granary is a buzzy, neighbourhood all-day eatery near Queen Square in central Bristol, with a great vibe and striking interiors and has been featured in The Telegraph, The Times & Condé Traveler.Think unique, period windows flooding the space with light, ...

Flute is a distinctive all-day seafood destination in the heart of Bath offering Cornish seafood, an extensive selection of wines and cocktails with a kick. Flute consistently sources the freshest fish from Devon and Cornwall and...

“Why isn’t there a quality sausage restaurant like this in every town?” – Simon & Joy’s descriptively named feature has thrived for over twenty years on “quintessential English grub done really well”.

By the standards of fine dining, the style is “relaxed” at this well-known basement dining room – an elegantly updated, greige space that’s part of a hotel in a picturesque Bath terrace which for many years has achieved renown as Bath’s most accoladed foodie destination. All reports this year are uniformly upbeat, especially regarding the cuisine overseen by chef Chris Cleghorn, who’s been in-post for over 12 years now, and provides “a fantastic meal with very attentive service and dishes that are so well conceived and explained”. Top Menu Tip – “superb starter of chalk stream trout with carrot and orange; venison great and a standout here was the accompanying black pudding”.

Occupying the former booking hall of a converted Victorian railway station – and with a large seating area outside – this large local landmark is of the same vintage as Harden’s Ltd (it was founded in 1992) and wins popularity with its flexible, all-week, all-day offering. It’s not hugely foodie, generating too few reviews for a rating this year – but tipped by regulars as a useful standby in the city: “We come here often for a casual pizza with friends as you don’t have to book – just grab an outside table under cover of the old station roof with heaters. Pizzas are from the wood oven and jolly good too. Nice atmosphere with live jazz if you’re inside on many nights”.