As we stumble through the season of Christmas parties and Bratwurst-laden markets, there’s still plenty of other tastiness to keep you busy.
I’m also having January off from the blog so have added some extra treats in for you to start off 2023 (ffs) in the best possible way.
Oh and if you’re still looking for last minute presents, take a look at my Bristol Foodie Gift Guide – it’s got tons of local stuff on there!
News
You’ve got two more chances to enjoy Buskers’ Banquet events this year – gigs performed at Bristol restaurants and bars with food and entertainment included in the price of your ticket. Choose from two delicious courses at Kitchen by KASK with music from Shannon Flynn and The Hangover Club on Thursday 8th (£45pp), or food from Winkle Picker at The Scrandit with music from Fritillaries and Oscar Ross on Sunday 11th (£45pp).
The Winter MAZImas Food & Drink Trail has launched, with all businesses on the trail donating money or prizes to The Mazi Project to help fund their work, delivery recipe kits and providing cooking workshops to people in need, such as victims of domestic abuse, asylum seekers, care leavers and youth recovering from homelessness. You can see the full list of those taking part in the map below.
On the theme of good causes, Belly Laughs has now announced their first few gigs in both Bath and Bristol for January 2023! This comedy festival raises money for local charities with every ticket sold, and the gigs take place in restaurants, bars and cafes across the cities.
Belly Laughs Bath has an incredible line-up of venues for its first run, including Moles, Bath Brew House, Bandook, Bath Cider House, Sugarcane Studio and Kingsmead Bottle Shop. Belly Laughs Bristol already has several sellouts, so you’ll have to be quick as more events are announced, but current ones still on sale (at time of writing) are Pieminister, Bambalan and Harbour Hotel. Keep an eye to their Twitter or Instagram feeds for the latest ticket updates!
A new pop-up Christmas bar has opened in Clifton Village. Piste is going for the winte ski lodge vibes – think cosy corners, warming drinks and steins of beer. There’s also an aprés-ski style bar on Millennium Square as part of the Vintage Winter Wonderland (until 3 Jan) and the German style bars at Bristol Christmas Market.
The 12 Drinks of Bedminster drinks trail is going on throughout December, with lots of local bars and pubs getting in on the action! 17 businesses are taking part in the trail, and you can collect stamps at each one (cards are available at each venue) – prizes are up for grabs, so see how many stamps you can collect! Challenge accepted…
Finally, food app All About the Cooks has launched in Bath, allowing you to order freshly cooked food from local home cooks, whether you want pizza, a buffet spread, cakes or Mexican cookery kits. There’s also a range of festive goodies you can order for Bristol or Bath, including gingerbread houses, cupcake wreaths, mince pies and Christmas cookies. They also have national specialities such as Roscon de Reyes, stollen and Pan de Pascua.
Dinners and nights out
Give yourself something to look forward to (or these could make for a nice work/friends festive night out, or even an early xmas present!)
- Gin and Jazz at Xmas at Zion (Fri 9th), £8
- Wild Winter Feast at Coexist Community Kitchen (Fri 9th), £40
- Tapas & Wine evening at Aldwick Estate vineyard (Fri 9th), £35
- Romeo + Juliet Christmas party at Propyard (Fri 16th), £10
- Blindfolded Dining in the Dark at The Lost & Found (Tue 27th & Wed 28th), £41.95
Workshops, tastings and classes
Learn something new before the end of the year!
- Cider vs Cheese: The Vegan Edition at The Cider Box, £22
- Christmas sushi making workshop at The Community Farm (Sun 11th), £68
- Whisky Fight Club: Scotland vs The World at The Clockwork Rose (Mon 12th), £22
- Festive gift making workshop at Coexist (Tue 13th), £46.95
- Italian food & wine tasting at Magari (Tue 13th), £38
- Mexican street food class at Cooking It (Tue 13th), £65
- AA Badenhorst wine tasting at Cave (Wed 14th), £40
- Syrian cookery class at Coexist, £35
- Christmas spirits tasting at Spirited (Wed 14th), £30
- Christmas bread masterclass at Little Kitchen (Sat 17th), £60
- Christmas macaron class at Little Kitchen (Sun 18th), £50
- Vegetarian Somali cookery class at Cooking It (Mon 19th), £35
- Italian food & wine tasting at Magari (Mon 19th & Tue 20th), £38
- Last Minute Christmas Wines at KASK (Wed 21st), £35
- Nigerian cookery class at Coexist (Wed 21st), £35
- Traditional Spanish cookery class at Cooking It (Sat 24th),
And for a sneak peek at January…
- Southern Thai with fish class at Coexist (Thu 12th), £46.95
- Truffles & Pralines masterclass at Zara’s Chocolates (Sat 14th), £50
- Mini bread masterclass at Little Kitchen (Sun 15th), £65
- Our Fav Wines from 2022 at KASK (Wed 18th), £35
- Spirited x Zara’s Chocolates Collaboration Class (Thu 19th), £50
- Averys Winter Warmer Cellar Tasting (Wed 25th), £30
- Thai street food class at Little Kitchen (Thu 26th), £65
New Year’s Eve
This is far from an exhaustive list, but some of my own top picks for NYE are below:
- New Year’s Eve dinner at Four Wise Monkeys – from £60 for a table of 2
- NYE at The Cider Box, £5
- Casino-themed NYE at Racks, £90 (includes free bar and food)
- Sidney & Eden NYE, £35 (includes any 6 beers or 3 cocktails)
- It’s Disco, B*!&H at Bambalan, £45 for dinner and drinks, £20 for drinks and dancing only
- Viva Las Thekla, £10
- New Year’s Eve at The Loco Klub with The Invisible Circus, £29
You can see even more ideas on Visit Bristol, Headfirst and Design My Night.
New places to visit
Recently opened in the city include the gorgeously cosy Kings Head on Victoria Street, Italian restaurant Casa from team behind Casamia.
Also new to the city are cook-your-own-skewers joint Meat Off on Park Street, Clifton Cocktail Club on Whiteladies Road, and Momo Bar in St Nick’s (you might have tried their delicious dumplings and noodles at the Harbourside or Temple Quay markets).
Also make sure to pay a visit to cafe The Metropolitan on Whiteladies Road, and new cafe Maru Coffee on Bedminster Parade.
And coming soon to the city is a new Italian cafe from GRANO on Old Market, a new branch of The Cow & Sow on Whiteladies Road, a 2nd branch of East Bristol Bakery in Wapping Wharf, and Pasture are planning to open a burger joint in Redcliffe next year.
That’s it for this month, have a good rest of 2022 and I’ll see you in Feb! Don’t forget that you can keep up to date with more food news by following A Life Less Organised on Facebook, say hi to me on Twitter, or see what I’m eating on Instagram.
If you like this, you’ll also like..
A Life Less Organised 