For those of you who aren’t already fanning yourself on a beach in Bodrum or Bude, here’s your latest guide to what tasty goings-on you can look forward to this month.

Bristol isn’t just about the Balloon Fiesta in August (although I do bloody love watching the balloons), there’s also a heap of festivals, pop-ups and new places for you to visit.

Slip on your flipfops and pack a cagoule, this is where you should be munching over the next four weeks…

 

Top events

Already nearly sold out (unsurprisingly), Psychopomp are doing a dinner at Box-E on 31st August, which will consist of a 6 course tasting menu paired with Psychopomp gins, £75 per person. Book directly, and be quick! 

Speaking of gin – you can have your fill of gin combined with a tour of the city on the 6 O’Clock Gin Bus (Sat 19th), or maybe the Prosecco Bus is more your kind of thing? Both sound fabulously messy to me.

I’m particularly excited this month about Food & Drink Week at Watershed, which features a series of events to get you pondering and appreciating what you put in your gob (although I’m sure most of you do that already). Here are some highlights:

• 7th: FOUR: Immersive dining, four dishes, four stories. £35. 
• 10th: Sailor Jerry rum tasting & documentary screening, £10 
• 11th – Matatu Kitchen, four courses of Somali and Swahili food with top company, £35. 
• 12th – Tear Up the Menu – several dishes paired with or inspired by cider, £9. 

If you’re in the mood to wrap your chops around some tasty fare while propping up the bar at a local brewery, Moor Beer are hosting a series of pop-ups at their brewery throughout the month, starting with cheese toastie maestros For Mice & Men on 4th & 5th, ‘best kebabs in Bristol’ Murray May’s & Japanese street fooders Tsukemono from 11th-12th, and Honest Burgers on 18th & 19th.

 

 

Finally, if you want to nab a coffee & cake with a cultured view, the cafe at SS Great Britain is opening late every Fri & Sat throughout summer, so you can enjoy harbourside views, as well as buskers on Saturdays.

Festivals & booze-ups

It’s not just cultured dinners y’know, I’m also here to let you know where you can have a grand old day out this month:

• 4th & 5th – Cider & Sausage Festival, £6 advance/£8 on the door (this was good fun last year)
• 12th – Bath & Bristol Food Festival at Bath Racecourse, £6.
• 12th – Good Chemistry are celebrating their 2nd bday with live music, food and lots of beer at their brewery! Lost & Grounded are doing their latest Brewhouse Summer Session on the same day, so why not make a proper session of it?
• 19th & 20th – EspressoFest 2017 at The Passenger Shed, which include the UK Barista Championships Semi-Final and Final, £6.
• 20th – Big Bemmy Banquet – North St will be closed and 500 free meals given to community heroes, so nominate someone you think deserves one, or go along to join in the festivities!
• 26th – The East Bristol Brewery Trail is back!! Stroll between 5 of Bristol’s finest breweries, each of which will also have food, music and a chance to chat to the talented brewers themselves.
• 27th – Bambalan are hosting a bottomless BBQ for the bank holiday – yes, that’s BOTTOMLESS. BBQ.

Learn yourself

Impress your mates with some new skills and trivia!

 

• 11th – Tea Blending Workshop at Bluebird Tea Co, £40
• 11th & 12th – Taste Bristol Food Tour (every Friday & Saturday), £38
• 13th – A Kids’ Restaurant at Coexist, £20 per child or £35 for two from same family 
• 13th – Breweries, Brunel & Brigstow beer tour, £20 
• 17th – Volcanic Wines tasting with food at Floating Harbour Studios, £58 
• 18th – Cheese & Cider tasting at Bristol Cider Shop, £25 
• 23rd – Bourbon Workshop at Weber & Tring’s, £25 
• 26th – Little Italy cookery class at Little Kitchen, £45
• 30th – Rhone Valley & the Languedoc tasting at Avery’s, £30 
• 31st – Chivas Whisky Club at Hyde & Co, £21 

NEWBIES

Some new places to look forward to!

• Burger Theory – the burger masters have upgraded from pub pop-ups to a place of their own on Baldwin St, opening in the next few weeks.
• G Bros. Pizza – opening soon in what was Zero Zero (sadly missed) in Easton
• Stoked Sandwiches – a bright and tasty sarnie stop-off on Stokes Croft
• Pizza Workshop are opening a second branch on Whiteladies Rd – hurrah!

Also, Cargo is expanding – again!

• Lemonade – Imaginative and tasty burgers, fries and lemonades from the team who we’ve loved in their previous guises at Magic Roll and Rebel Roll.
• The Assembly Bakery – A small team of bakers with taste and ethics at its core. Expect pastries, cakes and some of the tastiest bread in Bristol.
• The Meat Box by The Story Butchers – Neighbourhood butcher dedicated to using whole animals as much as possible, raised responsibly and always free-range.
• Beer Necessities – An independent craft beer retailer stocking some of the best beers from the UK and further afield.

Sadly, we recently had to say goodbye to some proper favourites and stalwarts of the Bristol food scene, from Bagel Boy and Europa, to Bangkok Joe’s in Redcliffe and La Tomatina on Park St. It’s also sad to hear that Arch House Deli are closing soon. Bristol 24/7 recently ran a series of articles on the subject which instigated some interesting debate (including a response from yours truly).

That’s it for this month, here are some other guides you might find handy:

1. Bristol’s Best Pizza
2. Nine food businesses that need to open in Bristol
3. Bristol’s 12 best brunches
4. Bristol’s Best Date Locations
5. Bristol’s Bottomless Brunches

DATES FOR THE DIARY:
(or check out the calendar)

• Thu 3rd – Gin and Tonic tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Fri 4th – Sat 5th – Sausage and Cider Festival at The Passenger Shed
• Fri 4th – Sat 5th – For Mice & Men pop-up at Moor Beer Tap
• Fri 4th – Start of Summer Food Festival, Cabot Circus
• Sat 5th – Distillers Table at Psychopomp
• Sat 5th – Spirit of Redfest dinner at Bristol Spirit
• Sat 5th – Bristol Brewery Tour
• Sat 5th – Gloucester Rd Summer Street Party
• Sat 5th – The Shakespeare Summer Fete
• Sun 6th – Bristol Pudding Society
• Mon 7th – FOUR: immersive dining experience
• Mon 7th – Sat 12th – Food & Drink Week at Watershed
• Wed 9th – St Anne’s BIG Picnic
• Wed 9th – Agricole rum tasting at Weber and Tring’s
• Thu 10th – Sailor Jerry rum tasting and screening
• Thu 10th – Carol’s Crab Kitchen Cajun Asian Crab Boil
• Thu 10th – Gin and cheese pairing at Cox & Baloney
• Thu 10th – Cheese & wine tasting at Arch House Deli
• Fri 11th – Sat 12th – Murray May’s and Tsukemono pop-up at Moor Beer Tap
• Fri 11th – Italian-themed Dinner at Ston Easton
• Fri 11th – Taste Bristol Food Tour
• Fri 11th – Introduction to Cider at Bristol Cider Shop
• Fri 11th – Matatu Kitchen at Watershed
• Fri 11th – Happiy Ever After…noon tea at Harbour Hotel
• Fri 11th – Tea blending class at Bluebird Tea Co.
• Sat 12th – Sun 13th – Bath & Bristol Food Festival
• Sat 12th – Perfect Pastry class at Little Kitchen
• Sat 12th – Taste Bristol Food Tour
• Sat 12th – Carib-Asian Recipes & Rhymes at Watershed
• Sat 12th – South of the River food tour with Bristol Food Tour
• Sat 12th – Barts Cider Fest
• Sat 12th – Tear Up The Menu at Watershed
• Sat 12th – Summer Brewhouse Session at Lost & Grounded Brewery
• Sat 12th – Bristol Brewery Tour
• Sat 12th – Good Chemistry 2nd birthday party at their brewery
• Sat 12th – Woodland cookery class
• Sat 12th – Gin & Tonic tasting at Bordeaux Quay
• Sun 13th – Breweries, Brunel & Brigstow beer tour
• Sun 13th – Coexist presents: A Kids’ Restaurant
• Thu 17th – Get Your Rocks Off: Volcanic Wines tasting
• Thu 17th – Havana Nights summer party at The Square Club
• Fri 18th – Taste the Heat cookery class at Little Kitchen
• Fri 18th – The Great Bristol Food Tour
• Fri 18th – Cheese & Cider tasting at Bristol Cider Shop
• Fri 18th – Taste Bristol Food Tour
• Fri 18th – Sat 19th – Honest Burgers pop-up at Moor Beer
• Sat 19th – Bristol Brewery Tour
• Sat 19th – Gran Pier Gin Festival, Weston-Super-Mare
• Sat 19th – The Harbourside Market meets The Local’s Cookbook
• Sat 19th – Sun 20th – EspressoFest 2017
• Sat 19th – Wriggle presents: A Crash Course in Wine Tasting
• Sat 19th – Taste Bristol Food Tour
• Sun 20th – Picnic at the Park at Ston Easton
• Sun 20th – Big Bemmie Banquet
• Mon 21st – Fri 25th – Cookery summer school for kids
• Tue 22nd – Tom Brown guest chef at The Pony & Trap
• Wed 23rd – Dirty Dancing with ’50s cocktails at Bristol Spirit
• Wed 23rd – Summer supper club at Roll for the Soul
• Wed 23rd – Bourbon workshop at Weber & Tring’s
• Thu 24th – Steak Market at Broken Dock
• Fri 25th – Introduction to cider at Bristol Cider Shop
• Fri 25th – The Great Bristol Food Tour
• Fri 25th – Tea blending workshop at Bluebird Tea Co.
• Sat 26th – East Bristol Brewery trail
• Sat 26th – Little Italy cookery class at Little Kitchen
• Sat 26th – Taste Bristol Food Tour
• Sat 26th – Summer garden party at The Ashton
• Sun 27th – Prosecco & percussion festival
• Wed 30th – Rhone Valley and the Languedoc tasting at Avery’s
• Wed 30th – Scotch egg masterclass at Little Kitchen
• Thu 31st – Chivas Whisky Club at Hyde & Co
• Thu 31st – Psychopomp dinner at Box-E
• Thu 31st – Beefeater Gin Club at Milk Thistle