What’s not to love about April – the flowers are back, we have a four-day weekend in the middle of the month, and it’s just about acceptable to sit in a beer garden again.
Lots of events are being added all the time for this month, so I’ll be updating this guide over the next few weeks – let me know what you’re planning to go to over on Instagram !
News
Well done to three Bristol bakeries for making it into The Good Food Guide’s list of Britain’s Best Bakeries – Farro, Hart’s Bakery and Lockdown Loaves (owned by Hannah Catley who also runs the Catley’s bakeries in Clifton and St Anne’s).
Also some new things to enjoy: The Granary are now doing a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-inspired feast every Sunday (£38 for adults, half price for children), where you can choose from a selection of salads and sides to serve yourself, and have wood-fired meat carved for you at the table. You can also order flatbreads fresh to order, and take your pick from a selection of desserts – make sure you arrive hungry!
Big Nath’s BBQ is doing a Texan style cookout the first Friday of every month, where you can preorder a big box of your BBQ favourites to take home, including sliced brisket, burnt ends, pulled pork and monthly specials (they’ve been doing this since last year but I only knew about the markets so guessing a few of you might be the same!). Pre-order here.
Festivals & special events
Now that the weather is getting better, there are tons more outdoorsy food and drink events, from the return of Thirsty Thursdays with Bristol Ferry, to Fish and Chips on The Matthew (or their special sea shanty ones!). Bristol Packet are also bringing back their Cream Tea Cruises! I’ve done each of these before and they’re such a lovely way to spend an evening while touring the harbour.
Sat 5th April sees The Great Bristol Wine Fest return to Paintworks – I had a great laugh at this last year and am looking forward to heading along again. Taste your way around hundreds of wines, and meet wine experts Oz Clarke and Susy Atkins. See you there!
A shared meal, live music played with kitchen utensils, embroidered tablecloths coming to life… experience something new and exciting at Taste at Trinity on Friday 11th April. Tickets £15 – £20 + BF (including the meal).
Bristol Vegan Fayre is back at Document on Sat 12th April, featuring 90 stalls of vegan products, street food, family entertainment and more. Tickets are £6+BF in advance (kids under 16 go free, no ticket required).
On the four-day (woo!) Easter weekend, the Old Castle Green on Old Market are having a Mad Hatters Tea Party on Sunday 20th, featuring drag, games and entertainment.
The Scrandit also celebrate their 4th birthday on Sunday 20th – it’s one of the top supper club and pop-up locations in town, so keep an eye to their plans! Their pop-ups this month are Rino Di Donato with his Italian small plates from 3rd – 6th April, followed by The Winkle Picker with a selection of seafood deliciousness from 17th – 20th and 24th – 27th.
Enjoy a ploughman’s dinner, live music from The Balers and lots of cider in the West Country Wobble at Zion Bristol on Friday 25th – tickets are £10 for just the music, or £20 to include the ploughman’s and a pint of cider. The same weekend, enjoy a day of live music, Mexican food and special cocktail for Tequila Fest / Mexican Night at Beeses on Sat 26th from 12pm!
A few goodies for the beer fans – firstly, Small Bar are doing a ‘Locals only’ day on Friday 25th, featuring 24 taps of purely Bristol brewed beer!
Secondly, East Bristol Brewery Trail is back for the early May bank holiday weekend from 3rd – 4th May! Good Chemistry are also bringing back their Think While You Drink events, which celebrate beer, brewing, pubs and general drinking culture – the first of the new series is at The Robin Hood on St Michaels Hill on Wed 30th and has a talk from Dr Christina Wade on her new book Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland.
Dinners
Treat yourself to a meal to remember, whether you fancy dinner in the dark or some pop-up theatre!
- Thu 3rd – Lanson Wine Dinner at Hotel du Vin (£84.95)
- Mon 7th – A night of stuffed pasta at Pasta Ripiena (£55)
- Thu 10th – Blindfolded Dinner Experience at The Lost & Found (£44.95)
- Sun 13th & 27th – Thai street food and music pop-up at Bridge Farm
- Mon 14th – Basque tasting menu at Carmen St Wine
- Thu 17th – Dial M for Menu: immersive meal at Old Market Assembly (£55)
- Fri 18th – Sunflower Kitchen pop-up at Emmeline (£40)
- Fri 18th – Good Friday Fish Feast Night at Berkeley Castle (£55)
- Sat 19th – Easter afternoon tea at The Pony Chew Valley (£45 for two people)
- Fri 25th – Spring Wine Dinner at The Clifton Sausage (£50)
- Sun 27th – Sunday Lunch fundraiser at Bertha’s Pizza
Tours, tastings & workshops
Learn or try something new this month…
- Wapping Wharf Gourmet Food Tour (Sat 5th, £65)
- Bristol Cider Tasting Tour (Sat 5th, £34)
- Wapping Wharf Street Food Tour (Sat 5th, £30)
- Good Chemistry Tap Takeover Sunday Sessions at The Colosseum (Sun 6th)
- Wine tasting at The Baffled King (Tue 8th, £27.80)
- Hong Konger Cookery Class at The Mazi Project (Tue 8th, £45)
- Chocolate and Wine Matching at The Scrandit (Tue 8th, £45)
- Austrian wine tasting at Carmen St Wine (Wed 9th, £30)
- Wine tasting with the Zavec brothers at KASK (Wed 8th, £5)
- Italian wine and pizza night at Le Vignoble (Wed 9th, £32.50)
- Rum and sea shanties at Hort’s Townhouse (Thu 10th)
- Gin Lover’s Masterclass (Fri 11th, £30)
- Dim sum and bao cookery class at Cooking It (Fri 11th, £100)
- Sensory Chocolate Tasting Experience at Coppa Club (Fri 11th, £44)
- Pop Up Wine at One B Coffee House (Sat 12th, £30)
- Off The Beaten Track – A Spanish Wine Tasting at Native Vine (Sat 12th, £25)
- Cooking fish and seafood class at The Pony Chew Valley (Sat 12th, £95)
- Charcuterie, Cheese and Wine Evening at The Scrandit (Tue 15th, £45)
- Sonny Stores Pasta Workshop with Wine (Tue 15th, pay what you can)
- Easter Chocolate and Whisky with James Eadie at Spirited (Wed 16th, £30)
- KASK 101: New Zealand wine tasting at KASK (Wed 16th, £35)
- Ethiopian Cookery Class at Coexist Community Kitchen (Wed 16th, £45)
- Passione Vino at Cave (Thu 17th)
- Easter Biscuit Decorating Masterclass at Boujon Bakery (Thu 17th – Fri 18th, £35)
- Native Vine x The Aperitivo Co Tasting (Thu 17th, £25)
- Italian cooking class with Alexis John at The Pony Chew Valley (Thy 17th, £110)
- Latte Art 101: How to Pour Like a Pro (Sun 20th, £70)
- Cheese and Wine Matching Evening at The Scrandit (Tue 22nd, £45)
- Ramen cookery class at Cooking It (Tue 22nd, £90)
- Vegan Food & Wine Tasting at Le Vignoble (Wed 23rd, £30)
- English wine tasting at KASK (Wed 23rd, £5)
- Sourdough Masterclass at The MAZI Project (Thu 24th, pay what you can)
- Michelin star recipes and molecular science cookery class (Fri 25th, £150)
- Saturday Introduction to Wine with Lunch at The Kensington Arms (Sat 26th, £110)
- Pizza Night: Neapolitan vs Detroit at The Pony Chew Valley (Sat 26th, £95)
- Food & Drink Tour: Hotspots & Hidden Treasures (Sat 26th, £60)
- Sushi with Joe Fowler class at The Pony Chew Valley (Sun 27th, £95)
- Traditional afternoon tea masterclass at Cooking It (Sun 27th, £125)
- Aromatic wine tasting at Cave (Tue 29th, £35)
- Wine tasting at The Baffled King (Tue 29th, £25)
- Whisky Tasting with Woven (Wed 30th, £25)
- Think While You Drink at The Robin Hood (Wed 30th)
Early May Bank Holiday
Get organised for the first long weekend of the year!
On the Friday before the bank holiday weekend, Burra are doing a pairing event with Corks, on the Saturday you could do the East Bristol Brewery Trail, book a Bridgerton Afternoon Tea at Leigh Court, do some painting and wine tasting at Averys, or on the Sunday head to Limeburn Hill just outside Bristol for a vineyard tour and tasting. I’ll be adding more suggestions as they get announced so keep checking back!
New places to visit
Just opened are Ragu and Lapin in Wapping Wharf, Little Chai in Clifton and Marvel Desserts on Stokes Croft.
Bruhaha have also got a new taproom at Windmill Hill City Farm with indoor space as well this time!
Coming soon are FIKA, a new independent cafe on Broad Quay (in what was Aluna/Dao Chao) and a new Lounge in what was Bocabar in Paintworks (for over 20 years!). Bedminster folk are also in for a treat, with both Pinkmans and Southville Deli opening on East St soon.
Tapps Wine Bar on Whiteladies Road is almost finished, and further down the line, Back Garden Pizzeria have just announced they’ll be opening a restaurant!
If you found this or any of the other guides useful, you can shout me a coffee to say cheers if you like – it’s always appreciated!
That’s it for this month, let me know what you’re planning on booking over on Threads, see what I’m eating on Instagram or see the latest local food news by following A Life Less Organised on Facebook.
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A Life Less Organised 