EatDrink24/7 recommendations: Restaurateurs

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 next installment of a series of daily features all this week, feast your eyes on all of the top spots as chosen by Bristol’s Restaurateurs:

Dan Bekhradnia, The Burger Joint 

Bravas
7 Cotham Hill, BS6 6LD 0117 329 6887
“There are so many awesome restaurants in Bristol, but Bravas is my absolute favourite. I’ve been eating here since it opened (the original burger joint on Cotham Hill was trading almost across the road from them when they opened). The food is incredible. The menu changes regularly (with a few staples staying on permanently) and I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad dish there. Their drinks selection is just as good and the service is always excellent. All the staff are very well informed and I have always been very impressed by the whole operation. They are always full and very much deserve to be.”

Joy Raj, Clifton Village
31 Regent Street, BS8 4HR 0117 973 8101
“My go-to place for a great curry. They’ve been open for as long as I can remember and for good reason. Their food is excellent with a great range of traditional dishes plus a few more interesting ones that you don’t see at your average curry house. It is well worth a visit.”

Kuch 
133 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2PL  0117 253 0300
“A relatively new restaurant serving authentic Persian food. I am half Persian and think it is one of the most underrated cuisines in the UK. I can’t get enough of this place.”

The Ox 
43 Corn Street, BS1 1HT   0117 922 1001
“The Ox on Corn Street is fantastic if meat is your thing (although my girlfriend doesn’t eat meat and she likes it too). Their steaks are brilliant; tender, juicy and well seasoned. It is definitely a great location for a special occasion.”

Souk Kitchen 
277 North Street, BS3 1JP  0117 966 6880
“A regular haunt of mine. The food is brilliant with lots of interesting flavours. It is a must visit if you haven’t been.”

Flora Slater, The Pickled Brisket

Craftisan
186 Wells Road, BS4 2AL  0117 971 3822
“A spacious craft cafe with a gift shop and good coffee and cakes. A brilliant place to take the kids who will have the opportunity to create while you relax.”

Emmeline
116 Cheltenham Road, BS6 5RW
“This is an oasis of calm on Cheltenham Road with plants, flowers and life enhancing juices and smoothies run by the lovely Shona Graham.”

Hillgrove
53 Hillgrove Street North, BS2 8LT   0117 924 9818
“A proper old school Bristol boozer with a spectacular view of the city. It’s evocative of a time when people didn’t know what ‘Gastropub’ meant with its old school decor, frilly lamps and local DJ’s turning up to spin a few tunes. It has a pop up kitchen so a good selection of Bristol’s street food chefs take on short residencies so you know that the food is good and the menu is always changing.”

Kate’s Kitchen, Arnos Vale
Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Road, BS43EW  0117 330 8189
“A unique cafe in the heart of Arnos Vale with wholesome lunches, drinks and cakes. This is a lovely place to end a walk through the cemetery with probably the most unusual museum downstairs that you will ever go to. Great if you’re into the macabre.”

Pickle at Underfall Yard
Underfall Boatyard, Cumberland Road, BS1 6XG   07870 460 009
“This is a great spot for lunch and drinks off the beaten track. We sit in the cafe while the kids play with the activities in the museum and learn about the history of the Floating Harbour and Bristol’s waterways. It has large glass doors with a view of the harbour.”

The Knowle
Leighton Road, BS4 2LL   0117 971 6351
“This is our local pub with great staff. It’s a friendly community pub.”

Shebeen
Whiteladies Gate, Clifton BS8 2PN
“A secret(ish) Irish whiskey Bar next to Clifton Down Station serving the best variety of Irish whiskeys in Bristol.”

Steam
Clifton Down Station, BS8 2PN   0117 317 9200
“A newly refurbished pub in Clifton with a welcoming atmosphere that’s shrugging off its questionable rep as the Roo Bar.”

St Werburgh’s City Farm Café
Watercress Road, BS2 9YJ   0117 942 8241
“Delicious breakfasts, soups and lunches in a relaxed cafe with a covered seating area to view the wooden play area.”

Southside 
172 Wells Road, BS4 2AL   0117 971 3850
“Great cocktails and prosecco in a relaxed, friendly bar with a nice selection of small plates and burgers.”

Urban Standard
35 Gloucester Road, BS7 8AD   0117 942 4341
“Always good for a decent Dark & Stormy.”

Wild Beer
6-8, Gaol Ferry Steps, BS1 6WE   0117 329 4997
“A great spot to watch the sunset with a beer next to the floating harbour. Best of all, you can taste the different beers before you decide.”

Yurt Lush
Temple Meads, Clock Tower Yard, BS1 6QH   07582 048090
“We had the roast and it was one of the best we’ve ever eaten – generous portions, plenty of well cooked vegetables and they were great with the kids.”

Jake Black, Chomp

Kongs
13-15 King Street, BS1 4EF  0117 925 7877
“If I’m meeting people for beers, I’m likely to suggest Kongs. Relaxed atmosphere, plenty of room and Sierra Nevada always on tap.”

Pinkmans
85 Park Street, BS1 5PJ   0117 403 2040
“Laid back Sunday morning brunch vibes. Love how they use the wood fired oven with such versatility. I’m a massive fan of a miniature brioche BLT, followed by a full size one from the oven!”

Small Bar 
31 King Street, BS1 4DZ   07709 449708
“Always an amazing selection of beers and really knowledgeable staff. Somehow, at the end of any night out in Bristol, all roads seem to lead to Small Bar…”

Small Street Espresso
23 Small Street, BS1 1DW   
“These guys are number one for coffee, no doubt about it. Always friendly and a great selection of cakes and pastries from some of the best bakeries in the city.”

Source
1-3 Exchange Ave, St Nicholas Market, BS1 1JW   0117 927 2998
“I love this place – the staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the food is super tasty and unpretentious. Best sausage sandwich in Bristol and fantastic coffee. I go here quite a lot for both breakfast and lunch, but also to buy meat and fish from the great produce market at the other end. A great example of a food business run by people who really know and care about what they’re doing.”

Watershed
1 Canon’s Road, BS1 5TX   0117 927 5100
“Great all-rounder. I go here for breakfast, but it’s a great place to meet people for a catch up, or to do a bit of work. Also they do a damn tasty burger which is a big deal in my world.”

Kieran Waite, Bravas and Bakers & Co 

Birch 
47 Raleigh Road, BS3 1QS  0117 902 8326
“Beccy and Sam are passionate, dedicated and experts in what they do. They source great wines and ingredients for their dishes if they aren’t grow themselves and the service is perfect.”

Dynasty
16A Saint Thomas Street, BS1 6JJ   0117 925 0888
“Dynasty actually have four menus if you know where to find them. The laminated taste of home menu has some good northern and eastern cuisine. There is only one copy and they won’t give it to you, so just dig it out yourself!”

Mark’s Bread
291 North Street, BS3 1JU   0117 953 7997
“At the bottom of our road we are very luck and privileged to have a brewery and a bakery, what a dream! Mark’s Bread is a regular breakfast for myself and Imo, probably twice a week for some toast. Either with butter and dukkah, or their homemade jams and curds. We also take bread away from the bakery to leave as a treat for guests when we Airbnb our house.”

Rare Butchers
250 North Street, BS3 1JD   0117 966 3593
“Rare butcher, Chris and his team source ethically and locally where possible, for example their Ashton Court Estate venison and are such a friendly bunch.”

The Avon Packet
185 Coronation Road, BS3 1RF   0117 987 2431
“The Packet has a great hidden beer garden. I believe Steve is the longest serving landlord in Bristol and the grumpiest! But he’s actually a great guy and runs a tight ship!”

Souk Kitchen
277 North Street, BS3 1JP   0117 966 6880
“The pungent aromas is like a kick in the face when you walk in and the flavours are just as powerful.”

Romy Gill, Romy’s Kitchen 

Bar Buvette
31 Baldwin Street, BS1 1RG
“I just love that the wine selection is from small wine producers. There is also fab French bistro dishes and homemade charcuterie. I love the feel of the place and always imagine myself to be in Paris when I visit.”

Lido
Oakfield Place, BS8 2BJ   0117 933 9530
“I have never had a bad meal here and I visit all the time. I admire Freddie and would love to learn more from him. I always keep on hinting that I would like to come and work with him once a week! The whole concept is great.”

Pi Shop
The General, 3 Lower Guinea Street, BS1 6FU   0117 925 6872
“Wonderful pizzas to peruse roasting on the wood fire. If you cannot afford to go to Casamia but want to experience the Sanchez family’s food, this and Paco Tapas are the right places. But saying that you need to have the experience of Casamia the most ambitious place in Bristol a must go!”

Sweet Mart
71-82, 84 St Mark’s Road, BS5 6JH   0117 951 2257
“You can find anything and everything in this place. Parking is a nightmare but it’s worth the tip if you are looking to fill your cupboards with spices.”

Tessa Lidstone, Box-E

Bertha’s Pizza
Bertha’s Pizza, The Old Gaol Stables, Cumberland Road, BS1 6UX   0117 929 0003
“When you’ve been named by the Guardian as one of the top ten pizza places in the UK, you know you must be doing something right. We’d like to say we knew Bertha’s before they became famous but the reality is that they hit the ground running from the start and have never looked back. Incredible bases, great flavour combinations (hot honey and pepperoni = YES!) and some of the best neighbours you could wish for… although somehow we STILL haven’t managed to get our chops round the toasted marshmallow gelato.”

Hanoi Coffee Co. 
29 Saint Stephen’s Street, BS1   0117 929 9735
“It isn’t often that you have a sandwich and coffee that are so memorable that you’re still thinking about them days later. Enter the Hanoi Coffee Company’s Vietnamese drip coffees WITH CONDENSED MILK (so wrong/so right) and their ridiculously flavoursome banh mi sandwiches in fresh ciabattas dusted in semolina and you’ve got a lunch that dreams are made of. Instagram tells me that an iced version of the coffee is now around for the sunnier days so I may have to up my visits to our cheese supplier so I’ve got an excuse to pop in.”

Hart’s
Arch 35, Lower Approach Road, Temple Meads, BS1 6QS   0117 992 4488
“Hart’s gets endorsed with the kind of frequency that we’d like to eat their chocolate ginger friands so you’ve probably already visited this magical railway arch but we can honestly say we’ve never tasted a better (or bigger!) pain au chocolat. And it’s not just the kindness owner Laura showed us when we were moving back to Bristol that keeps us going back for more – the cinnamon buns! Well! I didn’t know what people were banging on about until I tried one and now I feel as if I need a cinnamon bun subscription. Fortunately our Wapping Wharf pals, Little Victories, are well stocked in the Hart’s department so we can easily fuel our rather unhealthy pastry addiction.”

Moor Beer tap room
Days Road, BS2 0QS   0117 941 4460
“Where better to drink beer than in the tap room of this fantastic brewery? In the interests of research we had to go and taste every single beer here before we opened Box-E. They are all bloody brilliant, not least the lovely Claudia which is so clean and fresh-tasting that it has the power to convert even wheat beer haters.”

Pasta Loco
37A Cotham Hill, BS6 6JY   0117 973 3000
“Let’s start with the vat of negroni four times the size of your head (impossible to make a dent in and we’ve had a good try) and then throw in some beautiful fresh pasta, so good butter and black pepper is all it needs. Do we need to say more? Beautiful negronis + beautiful pasta = la vita e bella.”

Pscychopomp
145 St Michael’s Hill, BS2 8DB   07511 934675
“There’s something a bit magical about Psychopomp. The shop front resembles an old apothecary and inside there’s a whole lot of alchemy going on. Every gin these guys produce is an absolute winner; their latest blend, Pinga, included. The perfect place to have a G&T against a back drop of copper sills doing their thing and a whole wall of gin bottles.”

The Station Kitchen
Silver Street, The Station, BS1 2AG   0117 929 2975
“An old police station probably isn’t the first place you’d think to rock up to for lunch but this is definitely worth a visit. Run by the YMCA and staffed by volunteers looking to get experience and qualifications in the catering trade, there’s always a counter full of savoury and sweet goodies. Go for the salads of the day and put the change from your fiver towards one of their Extract coffees.”

Windmill Hill City Farm
Philip Street, Bristol BS3 4EA   0117 963 3252
“If you’re a parent of small children and live anywhere vaguely in the vicinity of Windmill Hill City Farm then you’ll already know that the cafe there offers a decent caffeine fix, plus tasty stews and soups using home grown veg. Hire the barn though and you get to play around with the pizza oven. They light it; you provide the dough and toppings and go wild using the pizza paddles. Bertha’s this is not but it’s great fun (especially with a barn-ful of four-year-olds). The hire charge goes towards supporting the fantastic farm; and if pizza making gets too much you can always go and visit the piglets.”

Shilpi Choudhury, Chai Shai 

Everyday Thai
11 New Station Road, BS16 3RP   0117 965 7007
“Run by a lady and all the chefs are ladies. She is so passionate and makes everything by hand. When we last went as a family there was one dish that really blew my mind.”

Mark’s Bread
291 North Street, BS3 1JU   0117 953 7997
“Mark is an inspiration to me. Before I opened Chai Shai, I used to walk here and I could not wait to open my own place. It represented everything, especially a change of career into food and drink. I love the fact that Mark is now a regular customer at Chai Shai.”

Swoon
31 College Green, BS1 5TB   0117 929 0093
“We love Swoon. It’s our absolute favourite as a family. It’s what ice cream should taste like, with lingering great flavours. I love the pistachio flavour the most; it’s absolutely brilliant. I would love to collaborate on some ideas with them.”

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