Bristol’s best new food & drink of 2018

Here are our picks of the best new restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes, shops that opened in Bristol this year:

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS

Suncraft has been opened by the team behind the Gallimaufry

1. Suncraft
39 Gloucester Road, BS7 8AD
As more of us move towards more meat-free diets, Suncraft – opened in September by the team behind the Gallimaufry – has arrived at exactly the right time. This is plant-based food with a futuristic hydroponic touch, enjoying all that is good about vegetables.

2. Pasta Ripiena
33 St Stephen’s Street, BS1 1JX
From the cousins behind Pasta Loco, this is food full of fun. It specialises in ravioli and is probably the restaurant that has been most difficult to find a table at this year.

3. Pasture
2 Portwall Lane, Redcliffe, BS1 6NB
One for the carnivores; chef-patron Sam Elliott’s gamble on this huge site has paid off, with a celebration of fire-based cooking and local ingredients.

4. Bar 44
18-20 Regent Street, Clifton Village, BS8 4HG
Food and drink that originated in Spain, was perfected in Wales and now finds itself in Bristol.

5. La Guinguette
243 Cheltenham Road, BS6 5QP
It may not quite be a restaurant; it may not quite be a bar; but La Guingette has now become the closest place in Bristol to France.

BEST NEW PUBS

The Good Measure has opened on the food and drink mecca of Chandos Road

1. The Good Measure
2B Chandos Road, Redland, BS6 6PE
Kelly, Bob, Sam and team at Good Chemistry left it late, only opening their first pub in mid-December, but it has exceeded expectations. It’s a celebration of the hard work of Good Chemistry and a way to showcase their beers away from their St Philip’s brewery; as well as introducing some of their favourite beers from other breweries far and wide.

2. The Elmer’s Arms
53 Old Market Street, Old Market, BS2 0ER
Great local beer, a vintage jukebox and a landlord (the eponymous Elmer) that lives and breathes the bar he’s built. A lot of effort has gone into making this place a retro 1960’s-style delight, but it all feels completely genuine. Come for the beer; stay for the vinyl.

3. Leveret
51 North Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 1EN
This new ‘cask house’ formerly known as the Hare has the same great beer. “It’s just a little bit more swanky,” the landlord told Bristol24/7 on a recent visit.

BEST NEW BARS

Downtown Taqueria is the latest opening by the team behind Red Light cocktail bar

1. Downtown Taqueria
47 Colston Street, BS1 5AX
Open for lunch from midday every day, Downtown Taqueria (opened by the same team behind Red Light and Weber & Tring’s) really comes into its own when the sun has set, with cocktails knocked back and tacos filled to the brim flying out of the small kitchen.

2. Friendly Records Bar
57 North Street, Bedminster, BS3 1HJ
Opened in November by Tom Friend of Friendly Records just a few doors down, this new bar has swiftly become a pilgrimage for music lovers.

3. Loose Cannon
8 Millennium Promenade, Harbourside, BS1 5SZ
Owner Akos Rabi has been working towards the creation of his dream bar for the last two years. The cocktail menu has 12 signature drinks, with many more to come in a bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

4. The Florist
69 Park Street, BS1 5PB
Still all across your Instagram feed since opening in February in the former Goldbrick House, this new bar is the place to see and be seen.

5. Kinkajou
52 Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton, BS8 2XP
Hausbar, Bristol’s original speakeasy, has got a new lease of life as Kinkajou. Descend the steps close to the top of Blackboy Hill, ring the doorbell and let your evening commence.

BEST NEW CAFES

Inside one of Convoy Espresso’s converted Airstream caravans

1. Convoy Espresso
Paintworks, Bath Road, BS4 3EH
Housed in two converted Airstream caravans, Convoy Espresso has satisfied a serious thirst for good coffee in this corner of Bristol. With toasties now on the menu, coffee from Triple Co Roast and pastries from Assembly Bakery.

2. Fed 303
303 Gloucester Road, BS7 8PE
A cross between Albatross on North Street, the original home of Salt on St George’s Road in Hotwells and a cafe ready to be discovered in the Condesa neighbourhood of Mexico City.

3. Rod & Ruby’s
2 College Square, Harbourside, BS1 5DB
A taste of Italian hospitality has come to the Harbourside. Ignore the temptations of nearby Tesco or Costa and be tempted in to this charming new independent cafe.

4. Kiosk
Welsh Back, BS1 4AN
In a city with a seemingly endless appetite for inventive, plant-based cuisine, this cheerful little kiosk makes a welcome addition.

5. Bowl of  Plenty
Colston Hall foyer, Colston Street, BS1 5AR
From the same team as the Folk House Cafe and Spike Island Cafe, enjoy nutritious soups, chillies, stews, salads and all kinds of bowl foods, plus toasties and cakes.

BEST NEW SHOPS

Bring your own containers to Zero Green, one of three zero-waste shops that opened in Bristol this year

1. Zero Green
12 North Street, Bedminster, BS3 1HT
At the forefront of Bristol’s zero-waste revolution, and now joined by Preserve on Gloucester Road and Smaller Footprints on Regent Street in Clifton Village who also opened this year. It’s not the future; it’s something we can all do today.

2. Two Belly
116 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, BS8 2RP
Two shops in one from Lara Issa and Dominic Pulsford, specialising in cheeses from the West Country and across the UK, and a global selection of beers.

3. Hugo’s
73 North Street, Bedminster, BS3 1ES
This new greengrocer and deli from Hugo Sapsed aims to source nearly all its produce from just 15 miles away from Bristol city centre.

4. The Juice Box
Cargo 1, Gaol Ferry Steps, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WD.
The first permanent retail space for The Juice Collective, “providing delicious, nutritious and vitamin dense juice which can slot into your everyday”.

5. Brendan’s Brewtique
104-106 Queen’s Road, Clifton, BS8 1NF
The culmination of owner Brendan Woodhouse’s never-ending search for great beer, stocking hundreds of beers from across the UK, Europe and beyond; and also with five different draught beers available at any one time..

Read more: Bristol’s best food and drink of 2018