Autumn is here, some of you are excited about pumpkin spice, or pumpkin beer, or wooly jumpers, or heavy stouts making a reappearance (for me, three out of four – I don’t get the pumpkin spice thing at all).
October looks set to be a bumper month for new openings and some interesting events both online and in bars & restaurants, so support where you can!
News and updates
A few boozy updates to kick autumn off – cocktail conoissuers will be happy to learn that Hyde & Co and Milk Thistle are both doing a special offer on cocktail flights – you can get three cocktails for £25 from 4-6pm Thu-Sat, or three cocktails for £30 from 6pm. The struggle will be in deciding what to have!
On the theme of cocktails, Bristol Spirit in Easton/Whitehall are doing a Halloween cocktail kit for you to collect or get delivered, which includes six cocktails for £30, or on Sat 31st October they will be hosting Curry and Cabin in the Woods at the bar – a film and food night where you can book a table of four for £100. The ticket includes curry (veggie or meat), sides, pudding, popcorn and boozy samples alongside the film screening.
Avery’s Celebration of Wine event is going online this year! For four consecutive nights the Avery’s team will be hosting live virtual masterclasses with some of their favourite suppliers. Each evening, they will be hosting two 45-minute masterclasses with a focus on two wines. You can purchase the producer ‘add-on’ case so that you can taste-along during the session. The line-up includes History of Averys with Mimi Avery on Wed 11th, Domaine des Malandes Chablis on Thur 12th, Casa Silva Wines from Chile and Von Buhl from Germany on Fri 13th, and Bodegas Castano from Spain and Wines of Bordeaux on Sat 14th. Find out more here.
The Ethicurean is now taking full advance payment for all meals booked in the restaurant, due to limited new opening hours. The menu has been changed up to a multi-course experience or Sunday lunch option – and the photos look great!
There’s now an organic milk vending machine in Hotwells! You’ll find it just by The Pump House, and the milk comes from a farm just 15 miles from Bristol.
Finally, Breaking Bread has been extended into October, with tables available for menus from Pasta Loco or The Pony & Trap, plus comedy nights, jazz nights and kitchen pop-ups on Sundays. Book a table for the restaurants or bar area via the website.
Offers
The official Eat Out to Help Out may have finished, but plenty of restaurants are carrying on special offers for October…
- Bandook: Enjoy 50% off your bill Monday – Thursday (max discount of £7.50pp) OR order & collect your meal and get £7.50 off your order (min spend of £30 per collection order)
- The Pipe & Lovers, Breaking Bread: All mains are £5 on Thursday and Friday between 5-7pm.
- Quay Street Diner: 50% off selected food Mon-wed when dining in, or 20% off all click and collect food & drink when using code DINER20.
- North St Standard: 50% off selected dishes Tue & Wed.
- Harbour & Browns: 50% off food and non-alcoholic drinks Tue & Wed until 30th November. Maximum discount £10pp.
- Number Fifty: 25% off all food from Mon-Wed.
- The Gallimaufry: 30% off all food from Mon-Thur. Booking essential.
- Bertha’s Pizza: Get any pizza for £6.30 before 6:30pm (lunch Fri-Sun and dinner Wed-Sun), eat in only.
- Pipal Leaf: 20% off your whole bill, every day in October.
- The Ox: 25% off all food, Mon-Thu. Booking essential.
- Om Burger: 50% off all burgers in October when you sign up to their email list on their website.
- The Mint Room: Get 50% off your food bill when you book a table and qute ‘MROCT’. Up to a maximum of £10pp, valid until 29th Oct.
- Brace & Browns: 50% off food and non-alcoholic drinks Tue & Wed until 30th November. Maximum discount £10pp.
- Sergio’s: Get 50% off food and non-alcoholic drinks from Mon-Wed until 28th October, up to a maximum of £10 per guest.
- Bambalan: 25% off all food Sun-Thu. Booking essential.
- Purezza: 50% off your bill (including booze) before 3pm on weekdays, valid up to £10pp.
Dates for the diary
Some dinners and special events you won’t want to miss…
- Sat 3rd – Oktoberfest at Lakota Gardens, £20 – £30
- Sat 3rd – Tomo no Ramen pop-up at West St Kitchen
- Wed 7th – Online talk: Cider’s Golden Age, £5
- Fri 9th – Dinner and jazz night at Dough Bristol
- Thu 15th – Gin and Jazz at Milk Thistle, £25
- Sat 17th – Lost Boys & Lasagane at Bristol Spirit, £100 for a table of four
- Sun 18th – Rum ‘n’ Brunch at Lakota Gardens, £70-100 for a table of six
- Sat 24th – Forage and Feast near Bristol, £75 (including three course lunch)
- Sat 24th – Goulash & Ghostbusters at Bristol Spirit, £100 for a table of four
- Fri 30th & Sat 31st – Supper club at West St Kitchen
Workshops, classes & tours
Fancy learning something new? You’ve got plenty of options…
- Sat 3rd – Dawkins brewery tour, £15
- Sat 3rd – Distiller’s Table: Dinner at Psychopomp Microdistillery, £70
- Wed 7th – Thai street food cookery class at Little Kitchen, £45
- Wed 7th – 6 O’clock Gin tasting at Aztec Hotel & Spa, £5
- Thu 8th – Cider vs dairy free cheese at The Cider Box, £20
- Fri 9th – Rum making experience at The Bristol & Bath Rum Distillery, £80
- Fri 9th – One hour chocolate workshop at The Chocolate Tart, £35
- Sat 10th – The Cheese Crawl, £25 (every Saturday)
- Wed 14th – Charcuterie, Cheese and Wine Evening, £35
- Sat 17th – Chocolate workshop for adults & children at The Chocolate Tart, £35
- Thu 22nd – Explore USA and South Africa wine tasting, £30
- Sat 24th – Introduction to sushi class at Little Kitchen, £55
- Wed 28th – Avery’s virtual wine tasting, £60 (inc. four bottles of wine)
New openings
I’m just as surprised as the rest of you by the rate at which new places are opening in the city given the current climate, but all the more reason to give them a warm welcome!
Already open include Brimstone cafe on Wells Road in Totterdown (their breakfasts look SO good), Italian deli and cafe Sonny Stores on Raleigh Road in Southville, Number Fifty bar & lounge on Whiteladies Road (featuring the brilliant Grano Kitchen doing the food!) and a new branch of FED on Cotham Hill.
Cabot Circus is getting that bit more glamorous with the opening of Klosterhaus at the start of October, a snazzy bar and restaurant focusing on German dishes – I am so excited about this one!
Four Wise Monkeys is a new retro Asian fusion bar and restaurant in what used to be Pata Negra (RIP, I loved that place), the concept sounds so fun, and like its sister venue Seven Lucky Gods, I’m sure it will be a big hit!
Longtime fans will be glad to hear that Bakers & Co has reopened as a sourdough bakery and coffee shop.
The Red Church has also just opened on Church Road in St George. It’s a new casual bar and restaurant from the team behind Christmas Steps, The Spotted Cow and Crack Magazine, and well worth a visit!
Coming soon…
Mrs Potts Chocolate House is moving to a bigger premises just a few doors up on Park Street in late November.
Jafra Kitchen will be bringing Palestinian flavours to Old Market soon, and Dareshack is opening early October on Wine Street in Broadmead, featuring a bakery, coffee shop and creative space.
The team behind Burger Theory are launching a new plantbased burger restaurant called Om Burger on Stokes Croft, and Every Good Thing will be opening a fermented foods shop in Wapping Wharf.
That’s it for this month, you can see more food updates by following Life Less Organised on Facebook, or chat to me on Twitter, or see what I’m eating on Instagram. Tell me if you check out any of the stuff I’ve mentioned in the guide, or feel free to ask me for recommendations, I love helping out!
Other stuff you might like…
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