Don’t let the freezing weather fool you, we’re a mere hair’s breadth from spring and sunnier days I assure you!
There’s plenty to look forward to over the coming weeks, from a ton of new openings to some festivals to make the most of the brighter evenings.
News
If you’re a fan of boozy festivals, you’ve got not one or two but THREE bigguns to look forward to in April, so it’s time to nab your tickets now! First up is Bristol Cider & Cheese Festival (now taking place at Propayrd) on Sat 1st April. Tickets are £20 and include a couple of ciders, tasting sessions, cheesemaking workshops, live music and more.
Good news for Begian beer lovers, Strawberry Thief are starting up their beer tasting and pairing events again, beginning with a Westmalle event on 5th April – enjoy 3 courses paired with Westmalle beers (and their cheese!) for £50 per person. Email or call the bar to book.
The Llandoger Trow is going all out on Easter weekend (6th – 9th April) for its beer festival, with 25 cask beers, 25 keg beers & 15 ciders. Entry is free, but good luck trying to decide what to have!
Beer festival Hopyard returns to Propyard on Fri 14th & Sat 15th April for two days of craft beer and live entertainment. Tickets are £40-45 and include all your beer for the day, with beverages being poured from ARBOR Ales, Left Handed Giant, Wiper & True, Fierce & Noble, Lost & Grounded, Branch Cider, Yonder, Electric Bear and more.
Totterdown restaurant BANK has launched a new menu of fire-cooked sharing plates, with current seasonal dishes including smoked cauliflower with tomato + peanut sauce and green harissa, and chicken thigh yakitori with White Lake hot sauce and pickled celery slaw. They’re also now doing Sunday roasts.
East Bristolians rejoice – Foodstuff are now delivering to Fishponds! They have some brilliant local businesses on their platform (most recently I’ve ordered lush Mexican dishes from Taco Station and pizza from Don Tony’s) and have some ethics I’m keen to support, including paying their drivers more than other delivery apps, only using bikes and also only showcasing independent businesses. They’re now doing brunch service Thu-Sun and will soon be doing office deliveries too. Bonus: you can get £10 off orders of £20 or more with the code SHON10 (expires 30th April 2023).
Not one but TWO new food tours have launched in Bristol! First up are the Street Food Tour (Fridays, £20) or Declicious Desserts Tour (Sundays, £40) from Bristol Food Tour, plus GOOD: Stories in Food will be hosting regular ‘Wine and Cheese in the Cheddar Valley’ day trips, as well as a more central ‘Bristol Hotspots and Hidden Treasures’ tour.
EAT: Bedminster is coming back to East Street on Saturday 15th April, with over 60 food and drink stalls showcasing local food and drink.
Is your dog pretty enough to go on a beer can? Lost and Grounded Brewers are hosting their Dog Day Afternoon event on Sat 11th March with contests, games, food and of course beer!
Lastly, if you’re a lover of all things bacon, get ready to be very excited, because from 17th – 19th March Pigsty in Wapping Wharf will be hosting the UK’s first Bacon Bar, with a range of bacon-loaded brunch dishes including black treacle bacon milkshake, maple smoked back bacon cheesecake, and a streaky bacon cone with vanilla ice cream, honeycomb, and maple syrup.
Celebrations
Celebrate Interational Womens Day on Wednesday 8th March by sipping on a pint of Good Chemistry’s IWD collab beer at their pubs The Good Measure or The King’s Head, or going along to the beer launch at The Good Measure on Sat 11th. KASK are also running a series of Women in Wine tastings which are sold out, but you can still nab tickets to their April events.
To celebrate their 10th birthday, Wiper and True will release six special collaborations brews on 13th March. They’ve already announced that birthday beer No. 1 will be a 7.0% Cherry Cola Float Sour in collaboration with Vault City, so keep your eyes peeled to their social media for the latest announcements. They’re also hosting a special guided tasting of the beers with Michael Wiper on Thur 16th March, as well as a big birthday bash at their taproom on Fri 17th.
Free From Festival comes to the Pennywell Project on Sat 18th, showcasing gluten, dairy and refined sugar-free food products. Left Handed Giant are hosting Vegan Fest 2023 at their taproom in St Phillips on Sat 11th March, with vegan food, music and lots of beer.
There are a range of celebrations for St Patrick’s Day this year, including the main Irish Culturefest celebrations across the city centre this month, culminating in a parade and street party on Sunday 19th on St Nicholas Street. Or head to Spirited on North St on Fri 17th for live music, cocktails and Irish whiskey & cheese pairings.
If you’re looking for Mother’s Day events or ideas, there are a bunch of Bristol-based ones here, or check out some Bath ones here.
Dinners
Treat yourself to a memorable meal…
- Kindle pop-up at The Scrandit (throughout March)
- aMAZIng Pop Up: A Sudanese Feast, Wed 8th (£38)
- 8 Course Vegan Tasting Menu by Liam Penn at Foliage, Sat 11th and Sat 25th (£80pp)
- Grub Club Supper Club in Easton, Sat 11th (£39)
- Bravas x Bodegas Bentomiz, Wed 15th – 5 course tasting menu with paired wines (£75pp)
- A Spring Artistic Soirée at Harvey Nichols Bristol Second Floor Restaurant & Bar, Thu 23rd (£50)
- Spring Lamb Dinner at Flourish Kitchen, Fri 24th (£50)
- Wine & Cheese Night with Live Fire Cooking at The Mount Without, Fri 31st (£70)
Classes + tastings
Try something new this month…
- Tue 14th – Syrian cookery class in St Werburghs, £35
- Wed 15th – Come Wine With Dean at Le Vignoble, £15
- Thu 16th – Vegan Cheese & Beer Tasting with Herbivore, £32
- Sat 18th – Bristol cider tasting tour, £34
- Sun 19th – Kombucha making workshop at The Community Farm, £28
- Mon 20th – Somali cookery class in Redland, £35
- Tue 21st – Loire Valley wine tasting at Cave, £35
- Wed 22nd – Introduction to sushi at Little Kitchen, £65
- Wed 22nd – Call My Bluff wine tasting at Le Vignoble, £15
- Wed 22nd – East London Liquor Co. Vault Takeover at The Milk Thistle
- Thu 23rd – Spicy food and beer tasting at LHG Taproom
- Thu 23rd – Cider vs Cheese at The Cider Box, £22
- Fri 24th – Gin lover’s masterclass at Psychopomp, £30
- Tue 28th – Nigerian cookery class in St Werburghs, £35
- Wed 29th – An Evening with Mimi Avery, Celebrating 230 Years of Averys, £30
- Thu 30th – Gin Cruise with Bristol Ferry, £20
- Thu 30th – Sri Lankan street food cookery class at Little Kitchen, £65
- Thu 30th – Wines of Rioja tasting at Averys, £20
- Thu 30th – North Brewing tap takeover and meet the brewer at The Good Measure
New places
It’s a proper bumper month for stuff opening, see how many you can visit over the next few weeks…
- Koottaan, a new Keralan restaurant, is opening soon on St Nicholas Street
- Caribbean Croft on Stokes Croft are opening a second location next door
- Lucky Strike is the latest cafe to open on East Street in Bedminster
- Ruby Hue chocolate cafe is now open in Finzels Reach
- Lamaya will be bringing Lebanese food to Finzels Reach soon
- Grano have now opened their latest restaurant on Old Market
- Chance & Counters are opening a second boardgames cafe in the city on Gloucester Road
- Pizzucci is finally opening on Gloucester Road, and they’re giving away free pizza on 11th March!
- El Colmado are moving their brilliant Spanish deli to new premises next to new Popti & Beast butchers further up Gloucester Road
- Can Can Pizza have opened up on East Street Mews in Bedminster
- Crosstown have brought their popular doughnuts to Clifton Triangle
That’s it for this month, let me know what you’re planning on booking over on Twitter, see what I’m eating on Instagram, or keep up to date with more local food news by following A Life Less Organised on Facebook. Ta!
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