Press releases are both a joy and a curse in this job. My inbox is full of them — some brilliantly written and truly useful, some completely unrelated and bizarre — genuine examples include ‘Bristol named snoring hotspot’, ‘Bath ranks in top four UK mouldiest cities’ and even ‘When do widows in your area start dating again?’
Despite the bombardment, a press release a couple of weeks ago about a hovercraft-themed speakeasy still managed to grab my attention. We may be a snoring hotspot, but we’ve also got some damn creative ideas, and this is one of them. Enjoy reading this month’s news digest, including the opening of said bar in St Jude’s. To read about all of this month’s new openings, upgrade your subscription for just £4.50 a month. You’ll also get access to The Bristol Sauce app.
The news
Littleshop & Pantry, sister cafe to Littlefrench and 1 York Place, is changing hands. Owners Freddy and Nessa Bird have published a letter on Instagram which reads: ‘After six wonderful years, we’ve made the decision to step away from Littleshop & Pantry and hope to pass this fantastic space onto someone new.’ The final day of trading was 23 October. The letter also mentions that one of the reasons for closing LS&P is that ‘there’s another project very close to our hearts that’s coming very soon.’ Consider my ears duly pricked!
Koocha Mezze Bar has temporarily closed for refurbishment but the team are also teasing something new. Announcing the refurbishment on Instagram, the vegan mezze bar mentioned ‘But there’s more to it than that…Something new is coming soon.’ More as we have it!
Interlude Coffee, recently opened on Colston Street, are now serving Hart’s Bakery pastries — which means that you can now get an exemplary croissant with your exemplary coffee. What a combo.
Smokebox, vendors of superb smoked meats and creators of Bristol’s second most chaotic Instagram page, are either expanding their Totterdown site or diversifying into laundry. The team posted a photo of Soap Suds — a laundry business next to their restaurant — with the caption ‘what could possibly be the secret???’ It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Smokebox.
Press
Head chef of Caper & Cure and Carmen Street Wine, Matty Grove, will be appearing on the new season of Masterchef: The Professionals. I’m not going to wish Matty luck for two reasons: one — he’s a superb chef and most likely doesn’t need it and two — the filming happened months ago and the outcome is very much already determined. Tune in to BBC One on 3 November at 8pm to see him in action.
Closures
Fat Rice's shipping container outpost at Wapping Wharf, Rice Box, closed its hatch on 11 October. In a statement on Instagram, the team shared that ‘Despite our best efforts, sales have not been strong enough to sustain the business in the current economic climate, and we have made the difficult decision to close.’ The good news is that the roaming Fat Rice stall will continue to operate.
Following the opening of their bricks-and-mortar site on St George’s Road, the Red Tiger team announced two days ago that they are closing their St Nick’s market stall. It was becoming too challenging to run both sites, especially given that they couldn’t actually cook anything fresh at St Nick’s anyway. The St George’s Road site, however, is as fresh as it gets. Review coming imminently!
There’s been a bit of a cock up on Whiteladies Road. Coq Restaurant, which only opened in January, has shut and, according to multiple posts on Facebook, also not paid their staff, despite their Chippenham branch remaining open. It’s a bit of a dick move if you ask me. Read The Bristol Sauce review of Coq.
New openings
Super Nature on Stokes Croft is now open in the site that previously housed The Social, and GiGi’s Pizza are in residence in the kitchen, serving a menu exclusive to the new site. Super Nature is primarily a ‘place for music’, but I’m sure no one will mind it being a place for a damn good slice of pizza too.
How do you fund a hovercraft hobby for your kids? Well, you open a bar of course. The Four Aces Hovercraft Club is a new speakeasy-style cocktail bar in St Judes, run by four friends whose kids build and race hovercrafts. Yep, actual hovercrafts. I’ve heard the cocktails are so good you’ll feel like you’re flying.
Upgrade your subscription to read about a further seven new openings, including a new addition to Chandos Road, a new Chinese restaurant and more…