I’ve heard a heatwave on the way, so now’s the time to start planning your pub garden and outdoor munching adventures – and there are plenty of ideas below, from gin cruises to neighbourhood food tours, brewery hopping, al fresco bottomless brunches and vineyard visits. Enjoy!
News
Bristol has another accolade – it’s now a Gold Sustainable Food City, which recognises all of the great work done by organisations, suppliers and food & drink venues across the city. We’re only the 2nd city in the UK to achieve this status, find out more here.
If you’re looking for a last minute local weekend away, there are still some tickets left for Valley Fest at the end of the month, and their food line-up looks amazing! They’ve got a programme of feasts (including a family BBQ, Chew Valley Sunday lunch, a Mexican feast with paired cocktails, and a collaboration meal between The Pony & Trap x Root), chef demos, talks and street food, plus the music, family activities, comedy, workshops and more. Find out more here.
There are also still some last minute tickets available for Bristol Craft Beer Festival (30 July – 1 August) in Lloyds Ampitheatre on the harbourside. The event will feature over 40 breweries and some great local street food from Asado, Jikoni, Two Belly, Popti & Beast and The Little Taquero. Get your tickets now.
Want to explore more areas of Bristol AND eat your way around some new places? Wriggle have just launched their Foodcation food & drink tours across the city, featuring routes around the harbourside, Clifton, Easton and St Werburghs, as well as one along the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, and another one themed around picnics & wild swimming!
Speaking of tours, Bristol Hoppers is back! Explore Bristol’s finest breweries with one of their self-guided audio tours (with or without beer included in the price), or their brilliant guided tours resume from Thu 29th July.
More beer news – Indie Beer Shop Day is on Saturday 17th July! Beer shops all over the country are doing special events and collaborations, including Corks of North St, Bottles & Books, Bristol Spirit, Coffee + Beer, and local brewery Good Chemistry are doing a collaboration beer with Coofee + Beer. Independent Spirit of Bath and Kingsmead Street Bottle are also getting involved from the Bath side of things!
25a Old Market have a new brunch menu featuring goodies from Pinkmans. Choose from a meat, vegetarian or vegan option, with some tasty additions including muhammara, avocado and manchego.
You can also enjoy a few beers in the grandest venue in town – Bristol Cathedral! This is actually an August event but will sell out so I thought I’d give you an early heads up – as part of the Museum of the Moon events at Bristol Cathedral, they’re doing two Beer & Cheese evenings with Small Bar and The Bristol Cheesemonger on 17th & 24th August. Tickets are £25pp for four courses of beer and cheese matching.
Finally, Bristol Food Connections & Bristol Food Producers have launched a great project for us to learn more about our fantastic local farmers and producers, including Barleywood Walled Kitchen, Edible Futures and Street Goat. Listen to their stories here.
Date for the diary
Here are some events you won’t want to miss…
- Fri 2nd – Sun 4th – Jekka’s Herbfest, £10
- Sat 3rd – 91 Ways Moroccan supper club at Breaking Bad, £35
- Sun 4th – Vineyard tour and winetasting at Limeburn Hill, £17.50
- Sun 4th – Blues & Brews at Lost & Grounded brewery, £5
- Sun 4th – Drink The Bar Dry Sunday at KASK, free entry with flights of 3 wines available for £16
- Thu 8th – Pride cocktail masterclass at Harvey Nichols, £30
- Fri 9th – Fish and chips trip on The Matthew, £28
- Sat 10th – Champagne & sparkling wine masterclass, £35
- Sun 11th – Cocktails & Cakes with The Dirty Bird x ANNA Cake Couture, £12.90
- Sun 11th – Wine tasting with Otros Vinos and Wines Under the Bonnet at KASK
- Wed 14th – Champagne, sparkling wine and fish & chips with Clifton Wine School, £40
- Sat 17th – Artisan cheese & wine pairing, £25
- Sat 17th – Gourmet Hike & Dine Picnic, £45
- Sun 18th – One-day workshop on biodynamic winegrowing at Limeburn Hill, £70
- Mon 19th – Vegan cookery class at Cooking It, £65
- Thu 22nd – Rum Cruise with Bristol Ferry, £20
- Thu 22nd – An Evening of Blonde Beer & Food Pairing at The Strawberry Thief, £40
- Fri 23rd – Bosh Italian supper club at The Elephant House, £20
- Fri 23rd – Thai street food class at Little Kitchen, £55
- Fri 23rd – Fish and chips trip on The Matthew, £28
- Fri 23rd – Avery’s July virtual wine tasting, £60 (inc. 4 bottles of wine)
- Sat 24th – Socially distant bread making course, £80
- Sat 24th – Fresh seafood & beer at Lost 7 Grounded brewery
- Sat 24th – Patisserie masterclass at Little Kitchen, £60
- Sat 24th – Burger brunch with bottomless prosecco, beer or cider, £32.50
- Sun 25th – Cocktails & Cakes with The Dirty Bird x ANNA Cake Couture, £12.90
- Sun 25th – Hip Hop Brunch at Four Wise Monkeys, £30
- Sun 25th – Vineyard tour and winetasting at Limeburn Hill, £17.50
- Tue 27th – Simple meals cookery class at Cooking It, £65
- Wed 28th – Introduction to wine with Clifton Wine School, £25
- Thu 29th – Gin Cruise with Bristol Ferry, £20
- Thu 29th – No.3 Gin Club at The Milk Thistle, £25
- Fri 30th-Sat 31st – Bristol Craft Beer Festival, £49.50
- Fri 30th-Sat 31st – The Gin and Rum Festival at St George’s Bristol, £15
- Sat 31st – Feast at the Farm: The Diva Fields Tour, £90
- Sat 31st – Socially distant bread making course, £80
Some other exciting ongoing events include weekly bottomless brunch events at Koocha, Pieminister, Quay Street Diner and more. Plus weekly brewery tours at Bristol Beer Factory and Left Handed Giant.
New places
Some new arrivals to add to your list…
- The Dough Kitchen on Gloucester Road
- The Aperitivo Co. are opening their first bar on Colston Street this month
- Lost Horizon HQ is a new bar & arts centre in St Jude’s from the team behind Glastobury’s Shangri-La
- After a long wait, The Llandoger Trow has reopened, as have The Bell just off Stokes Croft and The Globe on East Street in Bedminster
- The Bristol Éclair has just opened on Whiteladies Road
- Hummusapiens will soon have a permanent residency at The Old Bookshop in Bedminster, which is now under new management
- Flour and Ash will be opening their new restaurant soon on Whiteladies Road, in what was formerly The Ox Clifton
- Brown & Bye is a new bar in the harbour inlet, next to Spoke & Stringer
And coming soon to the city are Propyard on Feeder Road, Kibou coming to Clifton opening in October, and then a new food hall on Welsh Back next summer – Box Hall.
That’s it for this month, you can follow A Life Less Organised on Facebook for more food news, see what I’m eating on Instagram, or say hi and tell me what you’re booking from this guide over on Twitter – it’s always lovely to hear that people find these guides useful!
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