EatDrink24/7 recommendations: Michelin-starred chefs

Have you picked up your copy of EatDrink24/7 yet? In Bristol’s first truly independent food and drink guide, now available for free across the city, 50 panelists share their recommendations.

In the first of a series of daily features all this week, feast your eyes on all of the top spots as chosen by Bristol’s three Michelin-starred chefs:

James Wilkins, Wilks

Divino Deli
1 Worrall Road, BS8 2UF
“A great Italian deli just off Whiteladies Road. They do a great Italian coffee, and I like to go there on my day off. You can buy all sorts of hams, pasta and cheeses, and they do great cured meats and little sweet treats and pastries. It is a typical Italian deli and the owners are really nice – you always get a warm welcome and great service.”

The Gold Bar
48 Corn Street, BS1 1HQ
“My wife, Christine, and I recently went to the new bar in the Bristol Harbour Hotel. It was a really nice bar and we had a good cocktail there which I had not heard of before, with orange flower water – it was unusual and tasted great. It was a place that offered good service in a nice, new setting. The drinks tasted really good, it was something different and really well made which is not always the case. In our industry, it does not need to be a flash place but needs to do a good job every day.”

Papadeli
84 Alma Road, BS8 2DJ
“They do some really nice, healthy choice stuff for a quick, easy lunch.”

The Pig Near Bath
Hunstrete House, BS39 4NS
“Christine and I got married here and we go back on a regular basis. It’s open seven days a week so we can go on our day off. We love to go on a sunny day and wander around the garden which is such a lovely, beautiful location. They have a 25-mile menu so all the food is from the local area and it is just really good, gastro pub-style food. They are not trying to be posh or anything, it’s just really good grub.”

Wilsons
24 Chandos Road, BS6 6PF
“Wilsons is just a perfect example of a proper English bistro. It’s simple and small – there is nothing flash about it, it’s just a really nice dining experience where you can sit and enjoy good food. The owner, Jan, has worked elsewhere and knows good food but the restaurant is relatively new, so you get a really great deal. He serves great quality food at great prices and you can get a three-course meal for £30. It’s also right near where I live so I might be biased, but it is easily my favourite restaurant in Bristol.”

Josh Eggleton, The Pony & Trap

The Banana Boat
117 Oxford Street, BS3 4RL
“This place is a Bristol institution; it’s sat in the same spot in Totterdown for the past 25 years. For those of you who aren’t aware, The Banana Boat is a greengrocer, but it’s so much more than that. They have fresh bread, herbs, spices, free range eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs and loads more. It’s fresh, it’s local and it’s cheap.”

Box-E
Cargo 1, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WP
“A neighbour of Chicken Shed, Box-E‘s head chef Elliot Lidstone’s cooking is up there with some of the best in the city. The restaurant seats 14 covers at any given time, so it gives it a really personal feel when you’re eating there. I have a feeling that Elliot is destined for great things.”

Bulrush
21 Cotham Road South, BS6 5TZ
“Bulrush is everything a local bistro should be. They always use amazing produce, amazing techniques and the food is very progressive. You can have a hearty pork jowl to start, followed by Suffolk Mutton or an amazing eight course tasting menu.”

Emmeline
116 Cheltenham Road, BS6 5RW
“Shona Graham is a great friend of mine and it’s a comfortable place to go to with sandwiches. You’re always greeted with a smile and lovely hospitality, I always know someone in there too.”

Paco Tapas
3a The General, Lower Guinea Street, BS1 6SY
“Peter and I have been friends for a long time; we grew up together and got into the industry at the same time. So it’s really great to see him having this kind of success. Casamia will blow your mind and Pi Shop is probably the best pizza I’ve had in the city, but Paco is pretty special. What I like most about Paco is that it’s Peter and his family’s heritage in food and drink. It’s nothing too over the top, the menu isn’t too crowded and what is on their is made of the best ingredients, cooked to perfection. The selection of traditional Andalusian sherries is incredible. I’m a big sherry fan so this is a major selling point for. Plus I have it on good authority from Paco, Peter’s dad, that a traditional tapas bar lives and dies by its sherry list.”

Wallfish
112 Princess Victoria Street, BS8 4DB
“This restaurant in Clifton Village is quite special. Firstly its location on Princess Victoria Street was the site of my food hero Keith Floyd’s first ever restaurant, there’s even a blue plaque outside to acknowledge the great man’s presence. Secondly, they know exactly what they’re doing in the kitchen and treat amazing seasonal ingredients with incredible skill.”

Woky Ko
Cargo 1, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WP
“Amazing baos, noodles and small plates all wrapped up in a shipping container on the harbourside. What’s not to love about that! I’ve got a lot of respect for what Larkin does, he’s a great entrepreneur and he’s got terrific understanding and skill when it comes to the food he puts out.”

Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, Casamia

Adelina Yard
Queen Quay, Welsh Back, BS1 4SL
“They’re absolutely smashing it. I love Jamie’s approach to simplicity but putting some touches on his dishes that really reflect his own personality. I think we’re going to see Adelina Yard raising the bar bit by bit.”

Bar Buvette
31 Baldwin Street, BS1 1RG
“I love the fact you can just go in there for a simple drink and graze on charcuterie, and have plated dishes as well. There is a simplicity about popping in after work or seven o’clock in the evening, so long as it’s not busy as sometimes you can’t get a space in there. I love the whole vibe here on the food side and the drinks side.”

Better Food
St Werburgh’s, Whiteladies Road & Wapping Wharf
“This place is really great. I just love their selection. It’s not the cheapest place, but they are ethical with all their sourcing, they are big purveyors of local food. We sometimes go in there to get product knowledge for Casamia. You see the odd thing that you’ve never heard of before. You always learn something when you walk in. Sometimes I also just pop into their café for a sausage roll or a salad.”

The Bird in Hand
17 Weston Road, Long Ashton, BS41 9LA
“I love going here for Sunday roasts and a good drink. I think it gets overlooked. A lot of people forget that it’s there. But it’s a wicked pub and so beautiful in there.”

Bulrush
21 Cotham Road South, BS6 5TZ
“I’m just a massive fan of George and Katherine and what they’re doing. George has got something special. As time goes on, I think you’re going to see something really amazing from George. His food is a bit out of the box. He takes inspiration from Japan, loves the Nordic route, but I think really that his food is all about local produce and our surroundings, but then he puts his twist on it by using something which is maybe Nordic- or Japanese-inspired. It’s a game-changer from a gastronomy point of view at a destination restaurant because it is simple, everything is stripped back. I love that place.”

Captain’s Cabin
Portishead Quay Marina
“Right on the harbourside there’s this little unit where they serve tea and bacon rolls. For some weird reason, when you go in there and have a bacon sarnie or a sausage sarnie with a cup of tea, it just tastes bloody amazing. It’s a nice hidden spot. I wouldn’t recommend their coffee though. Just a cup of tea.”

Emmeline
116 Cheltenham Road, BS6 5RW
“Lovely, really simple, great coffee. It’s the perfect little pit-stop if I’m over that side of Bristol. I get my coffee from the hatch outside when walking by.”

The Ethicurean
Barley Wood Walled Garden, Long Lane, Wrington, BS40 5SA
“The setting, the landscape, the gardens, it’s just a beautiful place to go to. And the food is really great.”

Hart’s Bakery
Arch 35, Lower Approach Road, Temple Meads, BS1 6QS
“The epitome of an amazing café. You can pop in there to have a naughty cake, buy some bread for home, have a tea or coffee. It’s got everything you need from morning until lunch. Everything about it is awesome. I’m a massive fan.”

Little Victories
Gaol Ferry Steps, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WE
“Brilliant for coffee. I go in there to enjoy a damn right good coffee. Their coffee is one of the best in Bristol. I want to go in there for their cocktails soon.”

Pasta Loco
37A Cotham Hill, BS6 6JY
“Who would have thought that a place serving pasta could do something so unbelievable? Dom is a bit of a genius with service; there is not anybody like him in the world. And the food. I had this pasta the other day, pappardelle with mussels and roasted sea bass, and a crab bisque with samphire, and I was blown away by it. If I could eat that every single day for the rest of my life, I would die a happy man. The best pasta dish I have ever eaten.”

The Pony & Trap
Knowle Hill, Chew Magna, BS40 8TQ
“You can go there on a weekday or go there on a Sunday and have a roast dinner, or have a tasting menu. A lot of people might not necessarily relate to a tasting menu at a pub, but Josh’s food at a tasting menu level is ridiculously good. I love just sitting in this restaurant, just chilling out. It’s such a peaceful and tranquil setting as well.”

Sticks & Broth
52 Baldwin Street, BS1 1QB
“This is a great place to have ramen or noodles. I love just popping in. They do a really brilliant job.”

Wild Beer
Gaol Ferry Steps, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WE
“Every Tuesday we go to Wild Beer. It’s nice because you’ve got things that are accessible which you can drink quite easily, but then you can drink something really different as well. Last night I had a lobster, cockles and salt beer. It was really weird but I ate it with prawn cocktail crisps and thought it was amazing. To me, that’s a nice relaxed place to go and it’s on our doorstep as well.”

Wilks
1B Chandos Road, BS6 6PG
“What James is doing here, that refinement of how to cook food classically, but then he does it with such a light, modern touch. It’s that true Michel Bras touch to the food, which was a big part of James’ career. And with Christine front of house, it’s the perfect fine dining experience in Bristol. I’m biased about Casamia of course, but I’d also love to go to Wilks as well on a regular basis. I love everything about Wilks. And you can see that over the years, James has been pushing it and pushing it forward.”

Wilsons
24 Chandos Road, BS6 6PF
“Really pushing the food, great ambience and even more simple than Bulrush. Just the basics, wooden tables and whitewashed walls. I love that character and simplicity. It’s so clean and it’s all about the food and the execution of the food.”

Woky Ko
Cargo, Wapping Wharf, BS1 6WP
“This is wicked. Their baos are insanely good. I love this place.”

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