May is a great month, because we get two bank holiday weekends to start and end the month, and seeing as it’s the final month of my 30s, I intend to spend a lot of them celebrating.

Read on to see some picks for the long weekends, plus festivals, tours, tastings, special dinners and a few new openings. Tell me what you decide to go to on Instagram!

News

It’s a big month for beer fans, with East Bristol Brewery Trail and Bedminster Beer Trail bookending the month, giving you a chance to try some of the best beverages this city has to offer.

The first ever Bristol Cider Week has just been announced, which will take place from 27th July to 3rd August, with an opening party aboard SS Great Britain and other events taking place throughout the week at Trinity, Wiper and True’s taproom, and on King Street. Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements!

Ooowee Diner are collaborating with some of Bristol’s top restaurants to create some special burgers for one day only – they’ve already created a burger with Bianchis, and the next ones are Paco Tapas (1st June), Nadu (29th June), Wangs (31st August) and Wilsons (28th September).

Burger Theory are bringing back their popular Bottomless Burger Club! The first one is Saturday 14th June, and you can enjoy bottomless drinks and unlimited sliders for a full two hours – I’ve done it before and it’s really good fun.

There’s still time to nab your tickets for some of the big food & drink events this summer, including Bristol Craft Beer Festival on the harbourside from 13-14 June, and Feast On in Clifton from 24-27 July.

Bank holiday weekends

Here are a few picks for the early May bank holiday weekend:

• Thu 2nd – Sun 4th – Ramen Nakama x George Black at The Scrandit
• Sat 3rd – Paint and Wine at Averys, £55
• Sat 3rd – Sun 4th – East Bristol Brewery Trail
• Sun 4th – Bottomless brunch at Bomba Tapas
• Sun 4th – Limeburn Hill Vineyard Tour & Tasting, £20
• Sun 4th – Bank holiday pop-up at 3ft6
• Mon 5th – So Much Everything Moroccan BBQ at The Mount Without

And for bank holiday weekend no. 2, here are some other top events:

• Fri 23rd – Sun 25th – Bedminster Beer Trail
• Fri 23rd – Dial M For Menu at The Old Market Assembly
• Sat 24th – North Street Food Tour or Hotspots & Hidden Treasures tour
• Sun 25th – Bomba Tapas x The Bristol Rum Company
• Mon 26th – The Pony Garden Party & Market

Festivals and big events

There are a few festivities dotted throughout the month, including Chow Down Friday in Paintworks on Fri 9th, Gin & Rum Festival (£18 +bf) at City Hall on Sat 10th, eat:Bedminster on Sat 17th, The Spring South Glos Food & Drink Festival on Sat 17th & Sun 18th, Avon Valley Railway Wine Festival on Fri 30th, SteamFest (£15) in Clifton on Sat 31st and even a Medieval Fayre at Trinity in Old Market on 31st.

Not strictly a food & drink event, but Pint of Science also returns from 19-21 May with a series of interesting science talks hosted in local pubs & breweries.

There are also a bunch of special markets and fairs throughout the month, including Windmill Hill Market on Sat 3rd, Arnos Vale May Fair on 31st.

Dinners

Treat yourself to an extra special meal out…

• Red Tiger x Half East Records presents ‘MAKAN’ at The Scrandit (Wed 7th, £35)
• Fish & Chips Trip on The Matthew (Wed 7th, £36 +bf)
• Murder Mystery Dinner at Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel (Fri 9th, £55)
• Burra North Street x Corks Spring Tasting Evening (Fri 9th, £80+bf)
• Six-course menu from Seldon Curry at Caper & Cure (Mon 12th, £65)
• Sri Lankan Dining at Beeses (Thu 15th)

• Isole dinner at Bianchis (Mon 19th, £65pp)
• BANK x Pazzo special menu (Wed 21st)
• Three-course Supper Club at Tobacco Factory (Thu 22nd, £45+bf)
• Dial M For Menu at The Old Market Assembly (Fri 23rd, pay what you can)
• Greenhouse plantbased pop-up at The Manor Hall, Coalpit Heath (Sat 24th, £40)
• Wiper and True x The Pukka Peacock: Indian Inspired Cuisine & Beer Pairing (Wed 28th, £65)
• Ubuntu Food Seafood Feast at The Mount Without (Thu 29th, £55)

Tours, tastings and workshops

Learn or try something new this month…

• Sat 3rd – Cheese & Wine Masterclass at The Kensington Arms, £40
• Sat 3rd – Bristol Cider Tasting Tour, £34
• Sat 3rd – The Port Masterclass at The Kensington Arms, £45
• Wed 7th – Britz Wine Tasting at Harbour House, £25
• Wed 7th – Tequila and Tacos at Spirited, £35
• Wed 7th – ‘Think Pink’ wine tasting at Le Vignoble, £20
• Wed 7th – Wine & cheese tasting at KASK, £35
• Thu 8th – Laurent-Perrier Champagnes tasting at Harvey Nichols, £70
• Fri 9th – Gin Lover’s Masterclass at Psychopomp, £30
• Fri 9th – Italian Food & Film Night at The Southville Centre, £15
• Fri 9th – Cocktail masterclass at 6 O’clock Gin Glassboat
• Fri 9th – Off the beaten track cellar tasting at Averys, £35
• Sat 10th – Hotspots & Hidden Treasures food tour, £60
• Sat 10th – Blues and Wine at Averys, £45
• Sun 11th – Maki making class with Kasae Fraser at CoExist, £55

• Tue 13th – Persian cookery class at Cooking It, £80
• Wed 14th – Rum Tasting with Planteray, £25
• Wed 14th – Summer wine tasting at Carmen Street Wine, £30
• Wed 14th – Egyptian Cookery Class at Coexist Community Kitchen, £45
• Thu 15th – Under The Sea Biscuit Decorating at Boujon Bakery, £35
• Sat 17th – Speciality Coffee Brewing Masterclass at Odd Kin, £60
• Sat 17th – Virgin Wines Wine Tasting at Ashton Gate Stadium, £30
• Tue 20th – Flavours of Japan class at Cooking It, £85
• Wed 21st – The 45th Parallel wine tasting with Corks, £35
• Wed 21st – Sake and Sushi with Akashi-Tai, £35
• Wed 21st – Fermentation Class at The Orchard Coffee, £20
• Wed 21st – Wine & cheese tasting at KASK, £35
• Wed 21st – ‘Luddite’ Meet the Winemaker at Le Vignoble, £20

• Fri 23rd – Perfect steak masterclass at Cooking It, £95
• Fri 23rd – Cocktail masterclass at 6 O’clock Gin Glassboat
• Fri 23rd – Musical Wine Tasting By Candlelight at Red Lodge, £40
• Sat 24th – North Street Food Tour, £65
• Sat 24th – Hotspots & Hidden Treasures food tour, £60
• Tue 27th – Kurdish Cookery Class at The Mazi Project, £45
• Tue 27th – Turkish and Greek Mezze class at Cooking It, £80
• Tue 27th – Forgotten France wine tasting at Cave, £35
• Wed 28th – Hong Konger Cookery Class at Coexist Comuunity Kitchen, £45
• Fri 30th – Whisky Tasting with White Peak Distillery, £25
• Fri 30th – Avon Valley Railway Wine Festival, £24

New places to visit

Award-winning burger maestros Squeezed have opened a new site at the Wiper & True Taproom near Old Market

Coming soon: Greek restaurant Sousta will be taking on the former Casa site in Bathurst Basin, Pizza is Lovely is opening on Stokes Croft, and Grano Kitchen are opening a pasta bar in St Nicholas Market.

Steak restaurant chain Flat Iron will be opening in the former Four Wise Monkeys spot this summer.

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.

If you found this or any of the other guides useful, you can set up a subscription or shout me a coffee to say cheers if you like.

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