Dining Out: Fine Restaurants in Bristol (England)
As far as restaurants go, Bristol has number of real gems that are not afraid to stand out from the crowd. New restaurants are opening all the time and Bristol’s £500 million Cabot Circus development, due to open in the autumn, will bring 20 more restaurants and cafes to the city centre at one fell swoop.
As well as household names such as Nando’s, Zizzi and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, the city has attracted Raymond Blanc’s Brassiere Blanc, the Italian restaurant Carluccio’s and fashionable noodle bar Tampopo, all of which will enhance the range of cuisine available in Bristol.
Thornbury Castle has been a home to kings and queens and the restaurant is renowned for its fine food, receiving many prestigious awards including 2 AA Rosette’s for its many traditional English favourites. It prides itself on using the finest and freshest seasonal ingredients, sourced from local markets and suppliers wherever possible, and also grows its own herbs and a quantity of vegetables such as courgette flowers and cherry tomatoes, so it is certainly worth a visit. Or, if you are visiting in the afternoon pop into the tea rooms for afternoon tea and homemade cakes.
If you are looking to enjoy fine dining in the heart of Bristol, Hotel du Vin’s Bistro is the place to go. With its ambient wood panelled dining room and its fine food, the restaurant has been compared to the great dining rooms of London or Paris.
Bordeaux Quay has only been on Bristol’s harbourside for 18 months but it has already managed to stir up a reputation for itself, mainly due to its superb food and admirable ethos of having minimal impact on the environment. It describes itself as “much more than a place to eat” and with a restaurant, brasserie, bar, cooking school, bakery and deli all under one roof; it surely lives up to this claim.
If you are looking for views over the harbour, Riverstation’s glass and steel exterior ensures that this former police station makes a strong visual statement with high quality food to match. The style of cooking is modern European with menus changing daily to incorporate freshly available ingredients and much of the meat and vegetables being sourced locally.
Back in the countryside, The Lounge at Cadbury House has fantastic views over the Bristol Channel and beyond into Wales and the AA Rosette awarded restaurant will provides a stylish but informal destination offering everything from tasty appetizers to imaginative main dishes.
Filed under: England, Openings, Restaurants | Tagged: awards, bistro, Bristol, England, Restaurant, UK