This post is sponsored by Socialight. This post also contains affiliate links and if you make a purchase using one of these links, I'll receive a modest commission fee.
Looking for the best restaurants and bars for casual dining and cocktails in Bristol? When it comes to eating and drinking out, Bristol’s collection of indie restaurants and bars rivals that of many other UK cities, with several award-winning venues to boot. The multicultural character of this cosmopolitan city has played a big role in shaping its food and drink scene. Bristol boasts more Michelin stars than any other city outside London, although if it’s no-frills laidback dining you’re craving, you’re just as well catered for.
I spent a Saturday exploring some of the latest venues to emerge on Bristol’s casual dining and cocktail bar scene for Socialight along with fellow blogger, Explore With Ed. Here are my pick of the bunch:
Quay Street Diner
The birth child of meat-mad duo, Jon Finch and Ben Merrington of popular Bristol barbecue and music festival, Grillstock, it’s no surprise that open fire cooking is at the heart of Quay Street Diner’s offering.
Based on the former site of bike workshop and community cafe, Roll for the Soul, it’s impossible to miss Quay Street Diner; just look for the vivid wall mural stretching right across the restaurant front and up onto the tower block above.
Painted by New York-based graffiti artists Tats Crew at the See No Evil street art festival in 2011, this is said to be one of Bristol’s most popular pieces of graffiti artwork, as you’ll be able to tell by the constant stream of tourists loitering across the road with their iPhones.
As we scour the menu, I indulge in a brunch time Bloody Mary (£6.95) while Jamie sips on a freshly brewed cup of tea (£2.10). Quay Street Diner may not be the most obvious place to go for cocktails in Bristol, but my Bloody Mary was pretty good, albeit a little too lemony.
Boasting hearty American diner-style brunches and lunches to sizzling steaks, burgers, tacos and Louisiana-style Po Boys, the menu is brimming with calorie-laden American comfort food.
The Popcorn Shrimp Po’ Boy (£8.75) consists of jumbo shrimps encased in a deep golden brown bubbly batter, the crispy texture contrasting irresistibly with the juicy shrimps.
The shrimps lay cushioned inside a soft brioche sub roll covered in a layer of crunchy iceberg lettuce. The lashings of chipotle mayo zig-zagging along the sub add much-needed moisture and introduce creamy, smoky flavours to the po’boy.
Although plentiful on its own, I order my po’boy with a portion of sweet potato fries (£3.25) and when they arrive at the table, boy am I glad I did! I suspect they’ve been triple-cooked as they have a seriously crispy coating; they may just be the crunchiest sweet potato fries I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.
Meanwhile, opposite me at the table, Jamie tucks into fluffy American-style pancakes topped with creamy natural yoghurt, sliced strawberries, plump blueberries and micro basil, encircled by a pool of maple syrup like a castle surrounded by a moat. It’s a good job I’m enjoying my po’ boy, as these pancakes give me a serious case of food envy.
This bright, cheery diner is the ideal venue for cheap eats in Bristol, right through from morning until evening.
On Sundays from 1pm, Quay Street Diner also serves a mouth-watering range of roast dinners with a choice of sirloin of Devon beef, slow-roasted local pork belly, corn-fed chicken supreme and homemade nut roast.
Quay Street Diner | 2 Quay Street, Bristol. BS1 2HF |0117 403 1152 | www.quaystreetdiner.co.uk
Casual dining & cocktails in #Bristol with @TheRareWelshBit at @thecoconuttreeuk @quaystreetdiner @flipsidebristol #bristolfoodThe Coconut Tree
The first ever Sri Lankan restaurant to launch in Bristol, The Coconut Tree has branches on both Gloucester Road and at the Clifton Triangle. However, it actually began in Cheltenham and there is another restaurant in Oxford.
Run by five Sri Lankan friends, the ethos of the menu focuses on affordable Sri Lankan street food, served tapas-style with sharing in mind. The general advice is to order 3-4 dishes per person and try a bit of everything.
This is the ideal place for casual dining; there’s no airs and graces here. Think coconut shells for candle holders and kitchen roll for messy hands.
The cocktail menu is small yet adequate, including a handful of Sri Lankan-inspired creations. I’m delighted with my choice of the Drunken Sri Lankan (£8). An exotic combination of coconut arrack, ginger beer, lime, turmeric and Cointreau served in a ceramic Ceylon Arrack elephant mug, this certainly sets the standards high for cocktails in Bristol to follow.
Meanwhile, Jamie knocks back a traditional Sri Lankan ginger beer.
We share no less than 10 different dishes between us, although we don’t quite manage to polish all the food off.
Each dish ranges in price from as little as £2.50 for the likes of parippu (dhal) and parota roti (Sri Lankan flatbread), up to around £7-9 for bigger plates like Jaffna goat curry and spicy battered cuttlefish.
Alternatively, pay £20 per head and let the chef serve you his choice of dishes, along with a legendary egg hopper.
Highlights include the Cheesy Colombo: fried paneer in a sweet and sour-style sticky sauce; Fat Sister: pumpkin curry cooked in coconut milk and turmeric; and the Mutton Curried Kotthu. a Sri Lankan hybrid luxury street food dish of finely chopped roti cooked with egg, vegetables and/or meat.
Although we don’t have room left for dessert, we’ll be sure to leave some space next time for the likes of the treacle hopper with coconut ice cream (£5), and the Sri Lankan Lion beer-battered bananas dipped in treacle (£3).
Every single table in The Coconut Tree on Gloucester Road is reserved on the evening of our visit. After dining at the restaurant for myself, I’d say this is an accurate indication of the quality of the food you can expect to eat here. Judging by my Drunken Sri Lankan, it’s also an excellent go-to for cocktails in Bristol.
The Coconut Tree 237 -239 Cheltenham Road, Bristol. BS6 5QP |0117 924 0284 | www.thecoconut-tree.com
Faraway Cocktail Club
Tucked away on Small Street, Faraway Cocktail Club brings a taste of the tropics to Bristol with its rum, tequila and mezcal-focused cocktail menu.
Despite being a relatively new addition to Bristol’s cocktail bar scene, Faraway Cocktail Club’s roots actually go back a few years. The venue is run by the same owners as that of Flipside Cocktail Club, established in 2014 on Whiteladies Road.
Prior to lockdown, this bar ran a range of exciting cocktail making classes. While I believe these are currently on hold due to the pandemic, you could always get a few friends together and host a virtual cocktail making class from home, if this is something you’re keen to do.
With golden pineapple embossed- and palm tree-patterned wallpaper, neon lighting and a sleek navy and gold bar, Faraway Cocktail Club ticks all the boxes of a trendy cocktail club, without the stuffy attitude that often comes with it. Staff are friendly and more than happy to share their recommendations with you.
It seems only right to order the Bristol Sling (£8). A coral pink concoction of Bristol Dry Gin, Benedictine, cherry brandy, Grand Marnier, pineapple, lime, grenadine and Angostura, the Bristolian take on the classic Singapore Sling is satisfyingly sweet and dangerously drinkable. An ideal cocktail for summer sipping!
Debating on what else to order, I ask the bartender to serve me the most ‘Instagrammable’ cocktail on the menu. I’m presented with the Breaking-Bad inspired ‘Heisenberg’ (£8) – a bright blue liquid served in a lab beaker, topped with a pipette and a baggie filled with royal blue crystals.
Despite resembling some kind of narcotic elixir, it’s actually a rather innocent mix of Stoli raspberry vodka, blue Curacao, soda water, a dash of citric acid and soda water. The crystals are formed using the Curacao and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. That said, no doubt I’d be more than a little squiffy after one or two of these!
It’s safe to say that Faraway Cocktail Club is mixing up some of the best cocktails in Bristol and with every cocktail on the menu priced under £10 (excluding sharing cocktails and punch bowls), it seems like a great choice for students and young professionals alike.
Faraway Cocktail Club | 15 Small Street | Bristol | BS1 1DE | 0117 930 0463 | www.fccbristol.com
Do you have any favourite places for casual dining and cocktails in Bristol, or any favourite things to do in Bristol? Share your thoughts below – and don’t forget to pin this post for future reference!
This post is sponsored by Socialight. This post also contains affiliate links and if you make a purchase using one of these links, I'll receive a modest commission fee.
Bristol sounds absolutely awesome. I remember hearing about how it’s foodie scene was way better than London. Think it might have been on The Food Programme.
Oh, that’s interesting. It’s definitely miles ahead of Cardiff but I think it’s still a little behind London myself.
Some great looking places in Bristol. I particularly like the look of the Sri Lankan, Coconut Tree restaurant.
I loved that place and it was absolutely jam-packed during our visit.
What I great way to visit Bristol from my chair California. I love the variety of food and drinks you presented. Also, love the building murals, we have those too in Sacramento, CA and are such a beautiful addition to our city.
Aww, glad you thought so Jere. I totally need to get myself to California soon; I bet the food and drink scene is insanely good out there.
What an incredible tour of delights. What a great range of places to visit.
Thank you, glad you think so. Perhaps it will inspire you on some ideas of where to dine and drink if you ever visit Bristol in the future.
I have never been to Bristol (aside from driving through in rush hour once!). It is known as a foodie city – I think I need to visit!!
I think you’d love Bristol. We should plan a trip together sometime 🙂
I love po’boys – and that sri lankan restaurant looks great – I love hoppers too! actually I love food. I have a feeling Bristol is the top Vegan destination in the UK…did you try any vegan food there?
It was my first Po’ Boy, but something tells me it won’t be my last! I know what you mean there, a lot of the dishes we ate in The Coconut Tree were vegan, like the Colombo Cheese, the daal and the Fat Sister curry.
I have never been to Bristol – but it looks like a pretty cool place! Those triple-cooked sweet potato fries and the po-boy! Do they offer take away to London, I wonder? 😀
Louise x
Bristol is a great city; such a varied food and drink scene, lots to see and do and generally just an upbeat, friendly atmosphere.