Ideas sought for a long weekend in Bristol next weekend. We've been once before on a day trip, and visited SSGB, and had lunch and a mooch in Gloucester Road area which we liked a lot, that's far more our vibe than luxury shops.
Looking for stuff to do, interesting areas to visit; not so bothered about 'destination dining' - partly because we won't book anywhere, as we're hoping to pick up last minute Twickets for a show that's on and partly because t'wife can't eat after 6pm (bowel disease / digestive issues) so far more interested in good little food places, food courts and markets, etc. where we can graze at odd times. But keen for any recommendations for good breakfast / brunch for Sat and Sun.
We're staying central nr Cabot Circus and don't mind walking, but any public transport options also valid.
St Nicks Market is good for a wander + food options. I always pay a visit to Stamfords as well for some map porn. If the ferry is running from Temple Meads that's a fun way in + some Banksy spotting. Left Handed Giant does good beer and interesting food.
Christmas steps and Colston street have some cool design shops + and the bike workshop is an Alladins cave of bits and nice older frames.
Clifton is a bit posh but it is bloody lovely so worth a wander. Get a drink on the terrace and admire the bridge.
If you’re near Cabot’s. Coffee at Wogan’s. Wall across Castle park to the hardbourside. Across to the kitschy places near the SS Great Britain (which is worth a visit) than back across the bridge near mud-dock, across Millenium Square, up into Clifton and Clifton Village near the suspension bridge. Across the bridge and up the road into Ashton Court for a great view back across the city. Back via the village for food and drinks. Return to Cabot’s for a show / escape room.
M-Shed is an interesting museum, Wapping Wharf is good for beer and food and a few interesting shops - The croissants from Mokoko are just awesome.
You can take the choo-choo to Bath for a few hours ,people seem to like it there as it’s Bridgerton quaint.
Consider North St Bedminster for urban arts and indie cafes (Upfest, Tobacco Factory). Avoid Saturday football match! Buses M1 and M2 go either side of the street from the back of Cabot Circus. Or you could walk via Whapping Wharf and Hotwells. Wapping Wharf has foodie container restaurants and the harbour railway is running this weekend. Hotwells has a good viewpoint on the river https://maps.app.goo.gl/mXdNNztEpwCpQZz29
+1 to Cabot Tower if you are up Park St / University / BMAG area.
+1 to seeing the suspension bridge from Clifton, go to the Observatory and walk over. Clifton is a nice suburb, probably better quality/value food on Clifton Down Road, but the Coronation Tap is infamous for its ciders.
I don't know brunch places around Cabot Circus sorry, but there are lots of brewery taprooms in a short walk and nice pubs / places to eat like the Volunteer Tap and Old Market Assembly. Most pubs in Bristol will do Sunday lunch/roasts. Boston Tea Party do very reliable breakfasts all day. Hope you find a good indie cafe, there must be one!
Cheers all, v good so far
Will poss do afternoon in Bath on the way down on Friday but have also been loads of times so not that desperate.
Football - City away, The Gas local derby vs Cheltenham but that's a way out of town I think.
What shows are at Cabot's? Wife really is holding out for Twickets for Greatest Showman, but other options need consideration.
There’s a Wetherspoons in the docks if it all goes Pete-tong 🙂
I suppose there’s still the ‘Llandoger Trow’ if you want to feel like a pirate.
It’s worth starting by the old Lloyds arena, and walking all around the docks. You can walk across the top of the lock gates that allow vessels into the floating harbour then all down the other side past the various boat yards. There’s a great pub called the Dolphin, you can sit outside with fish and chips and a decent pint and watch whatever is going on on the water.
Damn, I wish I hadn’t posted the photo of the fish’n’chips, I’m feeling very, very hungry now!
Also - pay extra for not raining option.
Haha - I'd already booked for early March for the wife's birthday, but because my daughter was away that weekend, and in addition wife was concerned about weather we moved it.
It would have been a cracking unseasonably warm and dry weekend, so if it pisses down all next weekend I'll be less than chuffed.
Sorry, don't know the place well enough to know if this is near where you'll be, but we've popped into Bristol on the way back from places, stumbled across Gambas Tapas for food then the Old Duke for beer and music one time, have visited both a couple of times now and enjoyed both. 🙂
If you are a footie fan then popping into Top Binz just off Gloucester road might be worth a visit. My daughter helps run their back office.
https://www.topbinzfootballshirts.co.uk/
There's loads of good food places on Gloucester road, including Lona for some great Turkish food
Left Handed Giant
Can recommend this brewery if your wife is able to consume GF beers, had a few cans from them recently and they've been great. As for the city I haven't been for several years, but look up in the city centre as the street art is usually pretty interesting.
M shed is a good visit. If you visit Clifton suspension bridge try to get on one of the underground tours of the foundations.
Zsa Zsa Bazaar is a great place to eat, all you can eat buffet with food from around the world. https://www.zazabazaar.com/location
M-Shed is great as others have said - WeTheCurious is a fun place to hang out, but a bit spendy.
There's a newly installed bench at bottom of Park Street situated facing a particularly blank wall, from which you cannot view the remains of the recently painted floor art. You have a wealth of seemingly abandoned street work projects to enjoy navigating. But yeah, the weather is looking pretty good, ideal for stepping into the road while staring at your phone.
Zsa Zsa Bazaar is a great place to eat, all you can eat buffet with food from around the world.
All of it bad! I'd head to Wapping Wharf instead, plenty of great places there. Try Seven Lucky Gods for Japanese & Korean.
Back from a great weekend away. Lopng read, but in case anyone's vaguely interested, after all the good advice.
Bristol is just my kind of city, full what my daughter calls 'dirty energy' - if it was a person it smokes, swears and has tattoos but is great fun. And indeed, likes a drink by the number of pavement pizzas I saw on my early morning walks (wife does lie-ins, I'm up and out by 7am just walking around, and as I love water the river or dockside strolls were perfect). I could definitely live there and see out my years disgracefully when i come to retire.
Friday we did stop in Bath and had very simple pasta lunch but great value - £10 for pasta and a drink at https://magaripasta.co.uk/ - bacon in the carbonara was just crisp enough that it was like pork scratching flavoured! FWIW there's another branch in Wapping Whart, as we found later.
Struggled with choosing Fri night and as mentioned before wife has to eat early so ended up in Flat Iron; nothing bad but it is a chain and I really wanted something indie, but it is very good. Then a walk around by St Nicks and back through Castle park to the hotel.
Sat am, I got up early and did a walk down through similar area, and onto the harbourside and milennium square, grabbed a coffee from an indie place and had a sit and watched the city coming to life, and then walked back in time for 'er indoors getting up. Went to https://www.farro.co.uk/ for pastel de nata and caneles and a coffee, nabbed a stool just before half a dozen of the Red Roses arrived. Did wonder if they would need the seat but doesn't seem their legs were that affected as they humped Wales at Ashton Gate later. From there we walked through the Bear pit and went street art spotting up Stokes Croft, dodged the remnants of last nights' still smouldering bonfire on Turbo Island. In and out of some shops up Gloucester Road, and had another coffee, and then got a bus all the way back to the Harbourside. Then into Wapping wharf for a mooch and a late lunch; just as well as it was rammed with rugby fans. In the end we had a pizza at https://berthas.co.uk/ - fabulous sourdough crust, although I didn't in hindsight make the best choice with the umami bomb, first couple of slices were great but by the end i was a bit umami'ed out.
That saw us needing a long walk it off stroll so we went out past SSGB and the marina and crossed the water just by Nova Scotia and the Pump House and then took a bus from Hotwells up to Clifton Village for a mooch there. 'Cleaner energy' than Bristol itself but still great, another coffee and then two handmade ice lollies from a little mexican shop 'Otomi' opposite the arcade which we sat and ate while people watching in Victoria Sq. Then a trip to the bridge and a walk over and back, where i annoyed the wife by trying to explain the engineering to someone with no interest whatsoever (her)
Bus back to Bristol centre past the art gallery and College Green and the cathedral, and a walk back to hotel because both our legs were properly protesting by now. No evening meal, so I had a Tesco sandwich. Class.
This morning, up early again and a walk over the water from Castle Park to the LH Giant and that area, a walk though past Thekla and Mud Dock and back via Queen Sq and King Street (looks like a big night out there from the chunder remnants that men were out hosing down!) Saw the Llandoger Trow so ticked that off, and then back to collect wife and check out. We then drove up to Bedmo/Bemmi and went and grabbed coffee and pistachio and hazlenut canoli (for me) and a grilled cheese sandwich for her from a little street market attached to the tobacco factory. Then a drive along the gorge to go under the bridge and up again to Clifton because those lollies were so good she had to have another before we left.
And then in the car and back out and home.
Top weekend, thanks for all your tips which even if we didn't use, we saw most of and looked great.
I used to love a Sunday morning ride around the docks riding down from Kinsgwood and back.
BTW Castle Park after dark would be an ‘interesting’ experience 🙂
Early morning gave me enough of that flavour tbh 😲
Gotta say, that looks like a pretty epic exploration of everything Bristol has to offer! Dammit, you ought to write a guidebook! I ought to bookmark it for future reference, although, tbh, I’m really not sure my knees are up to all the walking! 👏🏻👌🏻🎩
Zsa Zsa Bazaar is a great place to eat, all you can eat buffet with food from around the world. https://www.zazabazaar.com/location
Are you kidding? It's terrible food and a pretty dire general experience, only reason I'd even consider going there is if with a big group of people and needed somewhere we could go without a booking, preferably already with several drinks inside me to distract from being in there.
