Welcome to cosy season, time for festive markets, dark beers, mulled beverages and STODGE. Read on for lots of tasty ways to enjoy the month ahead, and let me know what you’re planning on doing over on Instagram.

News

Migrateful are opening a new cookery school at Windmill Hill City Farm, which not only gives you a chance to learn recipes from across the world, but lessons are also taught by migrants and refugees, so it’s a great project to support. View the classes here.

It’s time, Bristol Christmas Market opens on Friday 7th November, with the usual selection of stalls and bars, plus new for 2025 are some hot air balloon baskets you can hire for groups!

Coexist Community Kitchen are fundraising to keep their projects going in 2026, and between now and 4th Dec, everything you domate will be doubled in match funding! The rewards for different pledge amounts are brilliant, with many of the local restaurant ones already sold out, but you can still get cookery clss vouchers, private cookery classes and more. Donate Here.

Wizzy from Sky Kong Kong is doing a Kimchi Festival from her new location ‘Tigermum’ at 25 Merton Road in Bishopston on Sunday 30th (12-4pm) – learn how to make kimchi from scratch for just £15 per person – email skykongkongbristol@gmail.com to book. There will also be street food available on Sat 8th from 12-5pm, and Wizzy has also managed to get two Korean BBQ masters to cook a feast at Mayflower on Monday 15th December (email the address above to book).

Festivals & celebrations

Avery Celebration of Wine is back on Sat 15th November at their wine cellars undernath Park Street, with tickets priced at £37.50 – you can opt for a lunchtime session or early evening session.

The following weekend, you can sample over 70 wines from 16 award-winning, independent English producers at the IEWA English Wine Fair at Averys Wine Cellars on Sat 22nd November, with tickets priced at £32.50. There’s an afternoon session and an early evening session.

Dining events

Book yourself in for a memorable meal this month…

• Steak tartare & pinot noir evening at Cave (Tue 4th, £45)
• 7-course Wine Society Dinner with Jesus Madrazo at Bar 44 Clifton (Wed 12th, £120)
• Dinner of the Dons at Milk Thistle (Thu 13th, £80)
• An Evening with the Queen of Cups at The Second Floor Restaurant, Harvey Nichols Bristol ( Thu 13th, £50)
• The Great Western Menu at Harbour Hotel Bristol (Fri 14th, £109)
• Autumn Supper Club & French Wine Pairing at Old Market Assembly (Thu 20th, £49)
• Farm-to-Fire Feast: Belmont x Lido (Thu 20th, £55)
• 90s Nostalgia dinner at Caper and Cure (Thu 27th, £60)

Tours, tastings & classes

Try something new to impress your pals!

• Wed 5th – Sherry Week Whisky Tasting at Spirited, £30
• Wed 5th – What’s The Moon Got To Do With It? wine tasting at KASK, £35
• Thu 6th – Foursquare Rum Tasting at Industry Bar & Kitchen, £100
• Thu 6th – Christmas Cocktail masterclass with Psychopomp, £35
• Thu 6th – Fireside Reds wine tasting at Harvey Nichols, £50
• Thu 6th – Whisky Lover’s Masterclass at Circumstance, £30
• Thu 6th – An Introduction to Wine Tasting at The Robin Hood, £27.50
• Fri 7th – Explore Sherry with Bodegas Lustau at Carouse, £35
• Fri 7th – Bordeaux Cellar Tasting at Averys, £40
• Fri 7th – Gin Lover’s Masterclass at Psychopomp, £30
• Sat 8th – Trinidadian Cookery Class at Migrateful, £45
• Sat 8th – North Street Food Tour, £70
• Sat 8th – Spain & Portugal wine tasting at Winterbourne Medieval Barn, £26.95
• Sat 8th – Bristol Old City Food & Drink Tour, £63.50
• Sun 9th – Sourdough Masterclass at Cooking It, £100

• Mon 10th – Whisky Tasting with Benromach at Spirited, £25
• Tue 11th – Michelin star recipes and Molecular Science at Cooking It, £150
• Wed 12th – Cheese & wine tasting at Le Vignoble, £30
• Thu 13th – Sri Lankan Cookery Class at Migrateful, £45
• Fri 14th – Gin Lover’s Masterclass at Psychopomp, £30
• Sun 16th – Latte Art 101, £70
• Sun 16th – Perfect Pastry at Cooking It, £100
• Wed 19th – Burgundy + Beaujolais wine and cheese tasting at KASK, £35
• Wed 19th – Whisky Tasting with Tobermory and Ledaig at Spirited, £25
• Wed 19th – Chocolate & wine matching at The Scrandit, £45
• Wed 19th – Cheese & Wine tasting at Averys, £37.50
• Wed 19th – Blind wine tasting at Harvey Nichols, £35
• Thu 20th – Afghan Cookery Class at Migrateful, £45
• Thu 20th – Beaujolais Nouveau Day at Cave
• Sat 22nd – The Great Big Festive Spirits Tasting at Spirited (Session 1, Session 2), £15
• Sat 22nd – Make Your Own Fermented Hot Sauce, £25

• Tue 25th – Sudanese Cookery Class at Migrateful, £45
• Tue 25th – Ramen Masterclass at Cooking It, £80
• Wed 26th – Grand Christmas Wine Tasting at Le Vignoble, £15
• Wed 26th – A Speyside Story with Tormore and Elixir Distillers at Spirited, £25
• Wed 26th – Charcuterie, cheese & wine evening at The Scrandit, £40
• Thu 27th – The Ultimate Rum Experience at Industry Bar & Kitchen, £30
• Thu 27th – Christmas Wine Tasting at The Clifton Sausage (£55)
• Fri 28th – Turkish Cookery Class at Migrateful, £45
• Sat 29th – Wapping Wharf Gourmet Food Tour, £70
• Sat 29th – Bauble decorating at Zara’s Chocolates, £55
• Sat 8th – North Street Food Tour, £70
• Sat 29th – Santa Moulding class at Zara’s Chocolates, £55

New places

There have been a bunch of new openings recently, including a fourth location for Jo’s Tea on Cheltenham Road, a second location for Steam on Stokes Croft, and a second location of The Park Bakery on North Street.

Other recent openings are Peppa Seed in Old Market and Arc sober bar on Broad Street in the city centre – and Tucker Tonight opens today on Park Row!

Coming soon are Sambol Sri Lankan restaurant in Bedminster (from the team behind Ceylon and Beyond), Coq gourmet burger restaurant, and Flat Iron steakhouse in the city centre.

That’s it for this month, you can 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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