Weekends are special for all sorts of reasons, and not just the fact that you’re out of the office for a blissful 48 hours.
The two greatest reasons must be the fact that you have the opportunity for a lie-in and also that you get to take as long as you want over your breakfast, without having to try and eat your toast whilst simultaneously putting on your coat and shoving your packed lunch in your bag.
Here are a few of my favourite places for a leisurely brunch – this doesn’t include the various great greasy spoons across Bristol as they don’t serve the same purpose of lazing around in my opinion (incidentally, if you are looking for a banging fry up, I’d recommend Totterdown Canteen, George’s in Bedminster, Old Market Cafe or Top Nosh in Kingswood).
You can skip to particular areas if that’s helpful!
- Central
- Bedminster & Totterdown
- East Bristol
- Gloucester Road & Stokes Croft
- Clifton & Redland
- Local chains
Central
Arnolfini
Best known for harbourside drinks, Arnolfini also serves up brunch daily from 9am until 11:45am. All the classics are represented, from full cooked breakfasts (with veggie, vegan and GF options available) to toasted sandwiches and topped eggs on toast. For something a bit different, try the strawberry & banana waffles, or the Ranchero Brunch, and enjoy them out on the waterside terrace on sunnier days.
Club Haus
One of the lesser-known foodspots in the city centre, this cafe also has a hidden waterside terrace that is lush in the summer months. As you’d expect for a cafe located underneath a gym, there are plenty of healthy and protein-filled options, from smoothies and granola bowls to topped pancakes, eggs/avocado on toast and breakfast baps. Their brunch menu is available every day from 8am until 3pm – perfect for you late risers!
Sandwi
This is one of my most reliable Bristol spots for a good fuel up, whether I’m dashing to a train at Temple Meads or stopping in for a cuppa and a good munch. Their brunch dishes are served all day, with a range of big cooked breakfasts, loaded toasts and pancake stacks availble. Their counter is always loaded up with a range of cakes and pastries too. It’s not the most stylish place on the list but the food is tasty and great value – I also love their filled pittas if you’re looking for something heftier.
Flour House
Open Daily on Park Row for breakfast and lunch, this tranquil cafe serves up a brunch menu taking inspiration from across the globe, including huevos rancheros, French toast, cornbread with poached eggs, or whipped feta on sourdough with chorizo, charred broccoli and salsa. There’s plenty of choice for vegans, vegetarians and gluten free folks too.
The Granary
One of the newer additions to the city, opening in autumn 2023, The Granary is housed in the spectacular Bristol byzantine-style building on Welsh Back and has been brought back to life by the team behind the Harbour House (just a stone’s throw away on The Grove) and Coal Kitchen in Cabot Circus. It’s a stylish and ambitious joint but doesn’t feel too posh for breakfast, although the dishes are a bit fancier than your average city centre spot. As well as lighter bites including pastries or five grain granola, there’s also omelette with dal; baked eggs or full cooked breakfasts. They’ve taken a lot of the menu into consideration for different diets too, with plenty of plantbased and gluten free options.
Bedminster & Totterdown
The Sundial Kitchen
Another very popular choice among locals, I’d suggest booking ahead if you want to guarantee a table in this teeny Totterdown cafe! Brunch is served all day Friday to Monday, although a few breakfast dishes are only available until midday, such as French toast, kimchi fried rice or sauerkraut and ricotta pancakes. However, for the whole day you can take your pick from a range of toasties, cooked breakfasts, Turkish eggs or pepper & potato hash with eggs, crispy kale and feta.
Yafo
One of my most visited brunch spots, mainly because I’m obsessed with their shakshuka, but pretty much everything I’ve had on their menu, whether it’s brunch, lunch or dinner, has been lush. Their all-day brunch menu has other faves including the Savoury Malawach (thin layers of puff pastry with grilled aubergine & feta, salad, tahini and hardboiled egg), Yom Tov (toasted pitta with fried egg, crushed avocado, spiced potato hash, grilled zaatar tomatoes and harissa beans), or Humshuka – an alternative version of their shakshuka served on top of hummus. They also do a bottomless brunch all day every day for £35 per person.
Frankie’s
New on the Bristol scene is this chicken and waffles joint on North Street, where you can enjoy a special brunch menu from 12 – 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu is 100% gluten free, and you can expect a range of dishes from the classic chicken and waffles through to pastrami hash and some sweeter options.
The Malago
The popular brunch menu at this North Street restaurant is available until 3pm Wednesday to Saturday, and until 11:30am on Sundays. No wonder it’s always packed when I try to get in – portions are generous and the quality is first rate, with options including their full breakfasts, potato cakes with poached eggs, spiced tempeh scramble or American-style pancakes.
LOCAL
You could be forgiven for thinking of this as just a late night bar, what with all the metal, low lighting and industrial minimalism going on, however the food is also a big draw, with brunch available at weekends. The cooked breakfasts are massive, with other brunch options including buttermilk pancakes, breakfast buns, a hash brown stack, or my choice for a hangover: the Dirty Beans Skillet (eggs with BBQ beef brisket, bloody mary tomatoes, mixed beans, BBQ sauce and toast).
East Bristol
Who knew that what we really needed was a Mexican brunch joint? Based on Old Market, Tocayo is run by the same team as the brilliant Chido Wey (based next door). Choose from tasty plates including Huevos Rancheros, the ‘Full Mexican’ or Chilaquiles. There are also hefty ‘torta’ sandwiches, and a range of speciality Mexican hot drinks and sides. One of my new favourites!
The Garden of Easton
Probably the prettiest place in town to eat, this cafe is absolutely chocca with plants and quirky decor, and it makes me smile every time I go in. Brunch and breakfast options are available until 4pm from Tuesday to Sunday, and I’d recommend booking, or getting there early or later at weekends as this place tends to fill up! Another worldwide menu this one, with options including Belgian waffles, Japanese pancake, arepas, tostadas, Turkish eggs or grilled morcilla and chorizo with fried eggs and peppers. Or keep it classic with a hefty full English breakfast.
Este Kitchen
Treat yourself to a Latin American style brunch in Easton. They’re open daily from 8:30am and do a full breakfast with chorizo, avocado and Colombian frijoles instead of baked beans, as well as huevos rancheros, arepas, and more filling brunch dishes such as pulled pork or banana blossom rice bowls, or their ‘Bandeja Paisa’ sharing platter with eggs, rice, roasted tomato, charred sweetcorn, frijoles, patacones and pulled pork or banana blossom.
The Orchard Coffee Co.
A short but sweet brunch menu from this cosy cafe in St George, housed in a former church. The on-site bakery provides fresh bread as well as pastries, cakes and doughnuts if you fancy something sweet. Overnight oats and a choice of flatbreads are available, but the most popular option is their ‘freckled eggs’ with cavelo nero kimchi, crispy onions, sliced radish, gochujang hollandaise and either chorizo or oyster mushrooms.
The Forge & Fern
Bringing some banging brunch to Staple Hill, you can choose from a more comprehensive breakfast menu daily from 8 – 11:30am, or a reduced brunch menu from 12 – 4pm. The breakfast menu has the usual suspects: Full English, breakfast baps, Eggs Benedict/Florentine/Avocado/Royale and a selection of pastries or sweet crumpets. The brunch menu gives you the choices of poached eggs with your choice of accompaniment, ciabatta sandwiches, or gammon with egg and chips.
Gloucester Road & Stokes Croft
The Bristolian
A stalwart on the Bristol breakfast scene, and with very good reason! The Bristolian cooked breakfasts are enough to fill you up for most of the day, otherwise if you’re after something lighter you can have poached eggs on toast, or tostadas with your choice of either crispy halloumi, free range smoked bacon or aubergine fritters.
The Nectar House
The minute I saw The Nectar House posting about extra pots of hash browns and Espresso Martinis with your brunch, I knew they were my kind of people. I’ve now had a couple of stonking breakfasts there, and rate their cooked breakfast but need to give a special mention to their classic stack – a cheese and onion sourdough toastie topped with smashed avocado, crispy kale, poached eggs, hollandaise and toasted seeds. SO GOOD. I had it before going to a wine fair, and let me tell you, that chonky breakfast did some heavy lifting that day.
Clifton & Redland
Starlings
This cafe on Queens Road in Clifton already has a cult-like following despite only opening in summer 2022. The brunch menu is available daily (until 3:30 on weekdays, or 4pm on weeekends), with options including three-bean shakshuka, truffled eggs or granola. Bottomless brunch is also available from 2 – 3pm daily for £35pp, inlcuding 90 minutes of Prosecco, Bucks Fizz, Aperol spritz or Bloody Mary along with one of the brunch options for £35pp.
Primrose Cafe
One of the breakfast OGs in Bristol, and as much as they may not be the most trendy place in this list, they’ve stuck around for a reason and are still busy every time I walk past. Breakfast is served until noon on weekdays, and brunch is until 3pm on weeekends. I’d recommend going for their Full Monty breakfast (veggie & vegan versions available) or one of the sturdy breakfast bagels. There are plenty of seats indoors, but this place really comes into its own on warmer days when you can sit outside on Boyce’s Avenue and enjoy the hubbub of Clifton Village moving around you.
Foliage Cafe
A light and airy cafe on Regent Street in Clifton, with some very Instagram-friendly dishes which also manage to taste as good as they look. There’s plenty to choose from, with lots of vegan options too, but highlights include smoothie bowls, smashed avocado on toast and fluffy pancake stacks.
Odd Shop
Owned by locals Oddkin Coffee Roasters, this coffee shop on Whiteladies Road is another place I see popping up on my Instagram feed all the time, especially for their very photogenic hotcakes and loaded crumpets.
Budapest Cafe
Another Hungarian cafe on the list, this time on Alma Vale Road in Clifton. Their breakfast menu is available all day, with options including the Budapest Breakfast (scrambled eggs with pork sausages, Hungarian mustard, toast and Hungarian lecho – a type of tomato and veg stew) or the Hungarian Rustic Breakfast (scrambled eggs cooked with cheese, Hungarian paprika sausage, streaky bacon, potato, Hungarian lecho and toast).
Local chains
These cafes have a few locations around the city, but still offer top quality and plenty of choice.
Burra
These popular, Aussie-inspired cafes are based in Redland, Southville and Clifton. You can tell the place is owned by sporty people (Bristol Bears players no less), because there’s plenty of protein! Brunch options include feta & eggs on toast, salmon scramble, pulled pork on toast or French toast.
FED
Cafe counters don’t get much sexier than those at FED! Their cafes in Cotham, Gloucester Road, Westbury-on-Trym and Fishponds do a range of bakes, cakes, salads, savoury tarts and toasties. For breakfast you can choose from hefty filled rolls, smoothie bowls, poached eggs on toast and topped flatbreads.
The Crafty Egg
You’ve probably seen the weekend queues for their Stokes Croft cafe, but they also have branches in Fishponds and St George! The menu is full of brunch favourites, from breakfast bagels and cooked breakfasts through to pancakes, baked egg skillets and smashed avocado on toast. Definitely worthy of the hype, although I hate queuing so tend to go midweek, or when they first open on the weekend.
The Bristol Loaf
This popular local bakery now has outlets in Bristol Beacon, Redfield and Bedminster, where they also do a busy trade in brunch and lunch (note that hours and menus vary between the branches, so check the website for the latest info). Tuck into one of their tasty cakes or pastries with a cuppa, or fill up on a toastie, granola or shakshuka.
Pinkmans
As well as their cafe in Bristol Cathedral, they also have locations on Whiteladies Road and in Westbury-on-Trym. Stop by for freshly-baked bread, pastries, sourdoughnuts, cake and seasonal brunch dishes.
Spicer + Cole
Bringing an air of industrial chic to Bristol’s high streets, you can find their cafes on Welsh Back near Queen Sqaure, Clifton Village, Finzels Reach (closed weekends) and in the RWA on Queens Road. Hours and menus vary, but you can rely on great coffee from local roasters Extract Coffee, alongside a lush selection of cake, pastries and hefty sandwiches, plus a range of brunch dishes at weekends.
Boston Tea Party
It seems like every week there’s a new BTP opening somewhere across the UK, but this successful chain started life on Park Street in 1995! Visit their original branch as well as other cafes on Whiteladies Road, Gloucester Road and in Cheswick Village for a varied brunch menu which includes cooked breakfasts, filled muffins, pancakes, and veggie or salt beef hash. Lots of vegan and veggie options too!
Enjoy your weekends, and let me know your recommendations! Other posts you may enjoy…
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A Life Less Organised 
This wwas lovely to read