May Digest: Bristol food and drink news
Wiper and True take to the harbourside
It’s certainly been a busy month for The Bristol Sauce. Following our investigation ‘The True Cost of Influencing’ we’ve had an influx of new subscribers. If that’s you — welcome! At the end of every month we publish a digest of all the food and drink news from Bristol in the last four weeks. We keep some of our news back for paying Saucers who support our work, so if you want to read about all the latest new openings, then please consider upgrading your subscription. Thank you! Meg.
The news
Bristol brewery Wiper and True have taken over the Arnolfini’s cafe and bar. Posting on Instagram, the brewery announced on 14 May that they have taken over the space and will be partnering with FED to serve food and drinks throughout the day. The inside is currently being refurbished, but the outside is open for business for anyone who wishes to enjoy a sunny harbourside pint while the weather is nice!
The Gallimaufry are opening an events space above the pub which will host workshops, parties, football screenings (just in time for the World Cup) and supper clubs. The renovations are currently ongoing but it sounds like they hope to be opening the space soon.
The team behind Greytone Coffee in St Paul’s have opened a roastery which is now supplying their cafe. The roastery is based in Montpelier, less than half a mile away from Greytone, and the beans roasted there are available for purchase in the cafe.
The couple behind Tapps on Whiteladies Road and The Shakespeare in Redland have started growing their own produce to supply the wine bar and pub. Greenwoods Garden is in Cardiff and will feature polytunnels, fruit trees, salad beds and herbs.
Chandos Road wine bar Barroux has opened its courtyard garden just in time for the warm weather. It can seat 18 people and gets the sun until 6.30pm — perfect for early evening drinking. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Barroux.
Restaurateur Dan O’Regan teased on his Instagram a few days ago that BANK in Totterdown will be bringing back breakfast on Saturdays. The venue originally opened as an all-day venue, but stopped doing breakfast after a few months. Now they’re bringing breakfast back as part of a wider refurb later this summer.
After spotting a sign for Thikanaa on Bedminster Parade last week I got all excited that the Southmead-based Indian restaurant might be opening a second site, but no. They’ve apparently been in temporary residence in Ganesha while some problems with the Southmead site were resolved, but they are returning to the original site imminently. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Thikanaa.
Sam’s Master Grill has moved a few doors down from its original site and had a serious facelift. The new spot is just before the arches and the decor is (sadly) a world away from the kitsch waterfalls and plastic plant garlands of the old site, but the staff are still wearing the signature Britney mics so all is not lost.
Closures
It seems Bedminster’s Knife and Fork Cafe is no more. The Sri Lankan spot on Bedminster Road is reported as temporarily closed on Google Maps and the staff posted on Facebook in February saying they were temporarily closing due to maintenance issues. A sign in the window shows that the site is available to let suggesting the closure is permanent. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Knife and Fork Cafe.
New openings
Aktar Islam’s Kush in Clifton Village is now taking bookings! The restaurant is still in its soft launch phase but the menu reads very well: bone marrow with paratha, Goan pork xacuti, chicken liver fry and corn ribs stand out among many superb sounding dishes.
Bath butchers/sandwich shop Green Street could soon be opening a second site in Bristol. The Walcot Group run Green Street as well as other South West favourites such as Solina, Walcot House and Little Walcot in Frome. The list of venues on their website now includes Green Street Bristol ‘coming soon’. We suspect this will not be the Walcot Group’s only venture into Bristol in the coming months…
There’s a new tapas bar on the brink of opening in
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