Well we can breathe a sigh of relief, as the major festivals have been and gone, the sweatiest days are behind us, and we’ve only got 10 weeks until the Christmas market rocks up (!)

There’s still no shortage of munchy things to do this month though, so sharpen your pencils and hunch over your diary – here’s what September has in store…

Dinner events

First up, the team at Foozie have more weird and wonderful events for us this month, whether you’re more in the mood for a Drum & Bass afternoon tea, sushi on a double decker bus, or a 5 course prosecco or prawn feast.

There’s also the feel-good 91 Ways Flavours of Eritrea meal on Wednesday 7th Sept – for £25 you’ll get 3 courses of Eritrean mezze and hear the story behind the chef who has prepared it all. All money raised will also go towards funding the 91 Ways Peace Cafe – do your bit for a good cause!

In the mood for a more sophisticated evening? Hotel du Vin are doing a Game Harvest Dinner on Friday 23rd Sept, which will feature 3 courses matched with wine, as well as a drink and canapés on arrival.

And if you want to celebrate all things local and Brizzle-tastic, book your place at the West Country Dinner at The Bank Tavern on 19th or 26th for 5 courses of local fare prepared by their fantastic chefs.

Pop-ups and festivals

You’ll also be pleased to hear that first rate soul food will be available at The Pipe & Slippers from 7th Sept, as Smoke & Glaze take over the kitchen there for a while.

In addition, The Plumed Serpent will be based at The Old Bookshop, and Feastie Boys at The Hillgrove throughout September (with The Pickled Brisket taking over from 27th) – what a selection!

The Chocolate Bear Kitchen is busy this month, with a tapas night at Pinkmans on Monday 19th, followed by a special dinner event at The Clifton Wine Bar on 29th September. All dishes are gluten free and 3/4 are vegan – how’s that for inclusive?

If you want to spice up your September, there’s an Indian festival at The Island near Broadmead on Sat 24th Sept. The Mela will feature dancers, workshops, art and of course food!

If you want to do your bit for charity this month, you can also host your own dinner events – whether it’s making a curry for friends for #CurryForChange (you’ll even get sent some of the ingredients if you register an event!), or a Dinner Down Memory Lane to raise money for Marie Curie. I’m going to try and do both in the coming weeks!

Workshops & classes

There are plenty of ways to skill yourself up this month, here are a few of my picks:

• Bristol Whiskey Club at Hyde & Co. on Thur 15th; this month has a focus on Teeling Irish Whiskey and includes a flight of whiskeys & nibbles for £20.
• Learn how to prepare, cook and serve shellfish at Source’s workshop on Wed 28th.
• Wow your mates (I’d be impressed)  by learning how to make top notch scotch eggs at Little Kitchen on Thursday 22nd.
• Sample the wine of America, Argentina & Chile at Avery’s Americas Cellar Tasting on Wednesday 14th for £30.
• There’s another of Weber & Tring’s very popular ‘Make Your Own Gin’ workshops on 21st Sept, get in there quick!

There’s also a fun children’s event on Sunday 18th to launch The Ingreedies book. The event will form part of Make Sunday Special and feature a live cooking demo of dishes from the book, as well as a chance to collect ingredients.

Boozetastic

Keep it classy at the end of the month by heading along to La Belle Epoque at Milk Thistle, where you’ll be able to pretend you’re back in time in 1900s Paris with cocktails & cabaret – start shopping for something snazzy now!

No sooner has Bristol Beer Week ended than we have several more beer festivals on their way – the mighty Factoberfest returns to Tobacco Factory from 9-11th Sept, with a hefty selection of beers, food stalls and music all weekend.

There’s also an Autumn beer festival at The Volunteer near Cabot Circus from 16-19th which coincides with their 5th birthday (as if you needed an extra reason to go), with sister pub The Hope & Anchor on Jacobs Wells Road hosting their beer festival from 30th September.

We can also be the first to reveal that Rumageddon is returning at the end of October – the next installment of this popular event will focus on Caribbean rums and be hosted at Pata Negra, with nibbles and DJs to complete the carnival vibe!

Newbies

Well we’ve seen a fair few places fling their doors open recently, including Venetian tapas bar Polpo, chilled coffee shop Little Victories in Wapping Wharf, Clifton Halal steak joint The Chopping Court, lush wine & charcuterie osteria Zitto & Bevi on Stokes Croft, coffee shop & deli 25a Old Market, beer hall & rotisserie (!) Steam Bristol, and the latest pizza outpost of Pepe Nero at The Full Moon on Stokes Croft.

But we’ve still got looots to look forward to in the coming weeks, namely with the next stage of openings in the shipping containers at Wapping Wharf as well as a new branch of The Bristol Cider Shop nearby! Here are the businesses you can look forward to visiting:

• Chicken Shed – fried chicken from Josh Eggleton & the team behind Eat Drink Bristol
• WokyKo – a modern Asian restaurant from top chef Larkin Cen
• Pigsty – a porktastic all-day restaurant focusing on local produce

Last up, we have Ramen Shack arriving in town soon – so keep an eye to their Twitter feed for more info!

Still looking for some inspiration for the month? How about these round-ups…

• 7 Awesome Places to Drink Gin in Bristol
• Bristol’s Best Pizza Joints
• The Vegetarian Guide to Bath & Bristol
• Where to get your Sugar Fix in Bristol
• Bristol’s Most Ethical Restaurants

Dates for the diary:

• Wed 7th – 91 Ways Eritrean supper club
• Wed 7th – Smoke & Glaze kitchen takeover starts at The Pipe & Slippers
• Wed 7th – Bourbon & Rye tasting at Weber & Tring’s
• Fri 9th-Sun 11th – Factoberfest at Tobacco Factory
• Sat 10th – Drum & Bass afternoon tea at Cox & Baloney
• Sat 10th – A Tavola Italian pop-up at The Forge
• Sun 11th – The Bristol Food Tour
• Sun 11th – Afternoon tea at Heartfelt Vintage
• Wed 14th – Charcuterie course ast Source
• Wed 14th – Burger Wednesday at Birch
• Wed 14th – Americas Cellar Tasting at Avery’s
• Thu 15th – Gin & Tonic tasting at Bodeaux Quay
• Thu 15th – Bristol Whiskey Club at Hyde & Co
• Fri 16th-Sat 17th – 6 O’clock Gin distillery tour
• Fri 16th – Charcuterie, cheese & wine evening at Clifton Wine School
• Fri 16th-Mon 19th – Autumn Beer Festival at The Volunteer Tavern
• Sat 17th – Rainbow Project launch at Small Bar
• Sat 17th – Bristol Brewery Tour
• Sat 17th – Bristol Sushi Bus
• Sat 17th – Introduction to Wine at Bordeaux Quay
• Sun 18th – Ingreedies launch at Source
• Sun 18th – Sunday roast at Bishopston Supper Club
• Mon 19th – Tapas from The Chocolate Bear Kitchen at Pinkmans
• Mon 19th – West Country Dinner at The Bank Tavern
• Wed 21st – Make Your Own Gin class at Weber & Tring’s
• Thu 22nd – Scotch egg masterclass at Little Kitchen
• Fri 23rd – Game harvest dinner at Hotel du Vin
• Sat 24th – Port, cheese & chocolate tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Sat 24th – The Island Mela
• Sat 24th – 5 course feast at Bishopston Supper Club
• Sat 24th – Fantastic Flatbreads class at Little Kitchen
• Sat 24th – The Bristol ‘Vegan’ Food Tour
• Sun 25th – Bulrush pop-up restaurant at Avery’s
• Mon 26th – West Country Dinner at The Bank Tavern
• Tue 27th – Cheese & wine matching at Clifton Wine School
• Tue 27th – The Pickled Brisket open at The Hillgrove
• Wed 28th – Shellfish preparation course at Source
• Wed 28th – Champagne & Sparkling tasting at Avery’s
• Thu 29th – Chocolate Bear Kitchen supper club at Clifton Wine Bar
• Fri 30th – Bristol Eats night market on King St
• Fri 30th – Prosecco & Prawns at Avery’s Wine Cellars
• Fri 30th – La Belle Epoque at Milk Thistle