February digest: Bristol food and drink news
More new restaurants than you can shake a Michelin Star at
There have been the first few flutters of spring the last couple of weeks in Bristol, bringing some much needed sun and the possibility that warmer climes may be just around the corner. But with the weather warming many hospitality businesses are reminded that they are staring down the barrel of increased national insurance contributions and an increased minimum wage coming into effect at the start of April. Combined with reduced business rate relief (down from 75 per cent to 40) and a possible drop in tourism from Europe due to the introduction of a mandatory electronic travel authorisation, the hospitality horizon remains very frosty. I expect that we’ll be seeing a fair few more closures in the coming months.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, we have some very, very, very good news to be starting off with…
Bristol’s premiere farm-to-table restaurant Wilsons has been awarded a Michelin Star. After eight years of serving some of the best food in Bristol, Jan and the team at Wilsons were finally recognised with a Michelin Star at the awards ceremony in Glasgow on February 10, which they now hold alongside a Green Star for sustainability. Wilsons have since stated that they do not intend to put their prices up, making the £35 lunch menu and the £73 full set menu even more of a steal than before. Bristol is now back to holding two Michelin stars; the other being Bulrush. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Wilsons.
Mark Chapman and the team behind North Street restaurant COR are opening a second restaurant in Wapping Wharf. Luca’s is named after Mark and Karen’s son (aww), and will serve Italian sharing plates from their new spot on the harbourside. Luca’s menu will feature signature pasta dishes and generous dollops of the tiramisu that has become famed at COR. There will be a focus on artisan products, whole fish and Italian steak dish Bistecca alla Fiorentina. We’re expecting Luca’s to open in April.
As predicted in last month’s Digest, the owners of BANK in Totterdown are indeed opening a second restaurant, also in Wapping Wharf. Lapin will be a contemporary French restaurant serving à la carte alongside a three course prix fixe menu. According to their website, Lapin is due to open in April.
A collaborative post on Instagram last week by Omar Budeiri, Aktar Islam and Simon Carlo a.k.a MeatandOneVeg suggested that there may be a restaurant called Kush coming to Bristol soon. Aktar Islam is best known for being the chef behind Birmingham’s two Michelin Star restaurant Opheem. This would be hugely exciting if true, but at the moment a hinted-at location on an Instagram post is all we have to go off.
Tomo No Ramen has parted ways with Lucky Strike but the latter is still planning to serve Japanese food. In a comprehensive video on Instagram, Lucky Strike owner Tom announced that the Bedminster restaurant would return to its original name but continue to serve ramen and expand the menu to include other Japanese dishes. It seems to be a somewhat turbulent time for Lucky Strike with a fair few changes in the last few months, but perhaps this one will stick. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Tomo No Ramen at Lucky Strike.
Flour & Ash has closed, again. The pizza restaurant was taken over by the Hyde & Co group who opened Flour & Ash 2.0 on Whiteladies Road in September 2021, though many would argue it never quite achieved the same stratospheric heights as its first iteration on Cheltenham Road. The Hyde & Co group announced the restaurant’s closure in an email to customers at the end of January stating that ‘they wanted to focus on other ventures’ but that they’ll ‘be bringing our team from Flour & Ash along for the next chapter’ and customers will still be able to order the pizzas for delivery. A far cry from the days the restaurant was being reviewed by the likes of Jay Rayner.
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Issy Cox is joining Catley’s trio of bakeries as savoury development chef. The talented ex-Sonny stores chef opened her own business in the form of Cin Cin Catering last year (which you can try for yourself at The Scrandit this coming weekend). She’s now teaming up with Bristol baking extraordinaire Hannah Catley to introduce a range of savoury goods to the Catley’s repertoire. Highlights will include hearty salads, ‘filthy’ foccacia sandos and scotch eggs. Issy will be continuing Cin Cin Catering alongside her new role. Catley’s newest branch will open in St Anne’s in March.
Chandos Road wine bar and restaurant Snobby’s got reviewed by Tim Hayward in the Financial Times on February 13. The review was overwhelmingly positive; Tim loved pretty much everything other than the name. For those without a Financial Times subscription, here’s an excerpt:
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There are five more news items below, but they’re only available to paying Saucers.