New restaurant opens in one of Bristol’s most famous buildings

The mum and dad of Charlie James, head of food at the newly opened Granary, met at this much-loved Bristol building while working as a DJ and a doorman.

It will be just one of hundreds of stories from the Bristol Byzantine structure on Welsh Back that was built as a grain store in 1839, spent two decades from 1968 to 1989 as a music venue, and was even the location for one of the most famous scenes in British television comedy history when Del Boy fell through the bar in Only Fools & Horses.

On Monday morning, The Granary was opened for business by the team behind the nearby Harbour House as an all-day restaurant open from 8am to 10pm, focusing on seasonality and sustainability.

“This building just catches your eye as it’s just so beautiful, but we didn’t know what was going on with it,” The Granary owner Sumit Chadha told Bristol24/7.

It was most recently Loch Fyne and before that Belgo, with Sumit and his team hoping to soon open its basement as a bar again, with music paying homage to the former Granary Club.

The Granary is one of the finest examples of Bristol Byzantine architecture – photo: Martin Booth

“Working here and bringing this building back feels like it’s for Bristol,” said Charlie, who was one of the co-founders of the former Jamaica Street Stores just off Stokes Croft and before that head chef at River Cottage Canteen on Whiteladies Road.

Local suppliers showcased on the back of the menu include Big Nath’s BBQ, The Story Farm and Branch cider makers.

“I think this is going to be a unique venue on the Bristol food scene,” Charlie added. “There’s nowhere else similar to this. It’s a genuine all-day venue. We’ve developed everything around that.

“We want to provide a space where people feel comfortable and don’t feel rushed in and out, where they can sit, have a nice time and create memories.”

Some of the team behind The Granary in front of a mural painted by Ellen Donohue – photo: Martin Booth

“We have had so much love here already,” Sumit said. “Every day people have come in, telling me about their experiences downstairs.”

Charlie added that he and the team will be listening to customers over the next few weeks while The Granary is still within its soft opening period to see what they want.

The opening menu includes freshly baked pastries from £3, a bacon roll for £5.50, full English breakfast for £14, and steak and eggs for £16.50.

Cooking over fire is a central feature of the kitchen, headed up by former Christmas Steps pub head chef Cai Shearman, with the menu divided up into lamb, chicken, fish and vegetables; as well as sourdough flatbreads from £6 and small plates from £5.

Desserts include a Harvey Bristol Cream trifle (£8), with a drinks menu featuring a house coffee blend from Wogan, beer and cider on tap from Lost & Grounded and Branch, and ten choices of both red and white wine with most available by the glass.

The open kitchen at The Granary – photo: Martin Booth

“Meeting the suppliers has just been so lovely because they all have such a passion for what they do,” said Sumit.

“Our philosophy here is about ingredients. We need to put the best ingredients we can get from these local suppliers on the plate.”

He added: “We’ve really enjoyed developing that and bringing back this iconic building for the people of Bristol.”

Granary aprons hanging up at the new restaurant – photo: Martin Booth

Main photo: Martin Booth

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