Following the beery mayhem of Bristol Beer Week, October sees us get all fancy and sophisticated, with the return of the rather snazzy Bristol Cocktail Week.

This month also sees more excellent pop-ups across Bristol’s bars, lots of great tasting events and some exciting Halloween parties, hurrah!

Pull up your warm socks and make yourself a cuppa – here’s what’s in store in October…

Bristol cocktail week

What a week we’ve got to look forward to! This year’s events are more diverse than ever, including a movie drink-along (!), a cocktail safari (!!) and a masked ball (!!!).

Here are my picks for the week:

• 19th – Cocktail: Movie drinkalong at 20th Century Flicks
• 20th – Crazy Pedros pizza pop-up at Red Light
• 21st – Bristol Bar Wars at Pata Negra
• 22nd – Against the Grain beer cocktails at Small Bar
• 23rd – Cocktails Through the Ages at Milk Thistle
• 23rd – The Thinking Drinkers at The White Bear
• 24th – The Bristol Masked Cocktail Ball at St Georges

For a full round-up of events, visit the Bristol Cocktail Week website. You can buy event tickets individually from Foozie, or pick up a wristband for £10 and get £10 off all ticketed events! Wristbands are available from Foozie, Weber & Tring, Amoeba or Red Light.

If you want to do some extra research, you can also check out my tips for Bristol’s Classiest Cocktail Bars.

Pop-ups galore!

First up, Burger Theory will be based at The Old Bookshop in Bedminster for the whole of October, hurrah!

I’m a seriously big fan of their burgers, so follow my lead and head along to try one of their excellent concoctions, whether it’s The Don (a beef, bacon, pepperoni and oregano patty served in a pizza bun), the Asian style shredded lamb, or the Teriyaki Tofu. Yum!

Japanese maestros Kansai Kitchen will be based at The Hope & Anchor from 5th-10th, serving up goodies such as Okonomiyaki (a huge vegetable pancake), lotus root crisps and Japanese style fried chicken.You can also get your Indian snack fix at The Hillgrove in Kingsdown from 13th-24th, with the return of Gopal’s Curry Shack.

We’ve also got a newbie arriving in town – Durty Gurties Dining Room will be based on Stokes Croft from 28-31st and will be serving seasonally and locally-sourced delights (they’ve even listed the mileage of each menu item!) such as potato bread made with Wiper & True beer, wild rabbit with pickled vegetables, and damson creme brulee, oof! Find out more on their website.

Other treats this month

There’s even more to look forward to this month – top of my list is the return of Burger Night at No. 12 Easton on Fri 30th, woop! The burgers here are infamously good (indeed, they even made my list of Bristol’s Best Burgers), so keep an eye to their Twitter for more info nearer the time.

You can have your fill of vegan treats from The Spotless Leopard on October 17th at their Secret Supper Midnight Feast – you’ll get a selection of tea party treats, with the first of three courses being served at 11pm.

https://twitter.com/TheSpotlessLeop/status/607169072757907457

Or if you’re feeling more inclined towards boozy events – pop along to The Volunteer Tavern for their epic Beerfest from 8th-12th; they’ll have 30+ beers on offer plus the usual mix of excellent food, music and frivolities.

You could also expand your wine knowledge at Grounded Fishponds on the 8th at their wine tasting event. Or, if you’re feeling flush, get a ticket to the 5 course gin & food pairing event at The Pump House on Wednesday 7th. La di da.

If you’re still stuck for inspiration, here are a few more handy lists:

• Bristol’s Best Roast Dinners
• The Top Brunches in Bristol
• Bristol’s Best Pub Crawls
• Where to Treat Yourself in Bristol
• Bristol Best Pizza Joints

Dates for the Diary

• Thu 1st – An Introduction to Bourbon at Goldbrick House
• Sat 3rd – Veg Out at River Cottage Canteen
• Sat 3rd – Port, Cheese & Chocolate tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Mon 5th-Sat 10th – Kansai Kitchen at The Hope & Anchor
• Wed 7th – Gin Tasting feast at The Pump House
• Thu 8th – Wine tasting at Grounded Fishponds
• Fri 9th – Cider tasting at The Cider Shop
• Thu 8th-Mon 12th – Beerfest at The Volunteer Tavern
• Tue 13th-Sat 24th – Gopal’s Curry Shack at The Hillgrove
• Wed 14th – Scotch Egg Masterclass at Little Kitchen
• Thu 15th – Cheese & Wine tasting at Arch House Deli
• Thu 15th – Grill Academy at Hobbs House Bakery
• Thu 15th – Gin & Tonic Tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Fri 16th – El Cabaret at Pata Negra
• Sat 17th – Midnight Feast from The Spotless Leopard
• Sat 17th – Great British Cake Off at Little Kitchen
• Mon 19th – Cocktail movie drinkalong at 20th Century Flicks
• Tue 20th – Crazy Pedro’s pizza & cocktail pop-up at Red Light
• Wed 21st – Charcuterie course at Source
• Wed 21st – Cheese & Wine tasting at Goldbrick House
• Wed 21st – Bristol Bar Wars!
• Wed 21st – Cheese & Wine tasting at Arch House Deli
• Thu 22nd – Against the Grain beer cocktails at Small Bar
• Thu 22nd – Lunch with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage Canteen
• Thu 22nd – Cocktail movie drinkalong at 20th Century Flicks
• Fri 23rd – Cider tasting at The Cider Shop
• Fri 23rd – Cocktails Through the Ages at Milk Thistle
• Fri 23rd – The Thinking Drinkers at The White Bear
• Fri 23rd – Cocktail movie drinkalong at 20th Century Flicks
• Sat 24th – Spanish wine tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Sat 24th – The Bristol Cocktail Week Masked Ball
• Tue 27th-Wed 4th – Kansai Kitchen at The Hillgrove
• Wed 28th – Best of Street Food class at Little Kitchen
• Wed 28th-Sat 31st – Dirty Gurties Dining Room
• Fri 30th – Cider tasting at The Cider Shop
• Fri 30th – Rocky Horror Halloween party at The Hope & Anchor
• Fri 30th – New menu launch party at Thali Cafe Southville
• Fri 30th – Burger Night at No.12 Easton
• Sat 31st – Food & Wine Matching Workshop at Bordeaux Quay