The Best Brunch in Bristol

Welcome to the Bristol brunch project! As I have mentioned previously, Bristol has so many great places to eat out with such a variety of cuisines and vibes to choose from. So, with this is mind and a lot of spare time on my hands, I roped in my sister Jess - AKA Queen Of Brunch - to take a tour of familiar and new cafes in Bristol in the quest to discover Bristol's best brunches. I have organised this post in chronological order rather than order of preference - it's long and contains lots of food porn so grab a cuppa (and maybe a snack) and let's see which brunch comes out on top.

PRIMROSE CAFE

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First stop on the brunch tour just had to be Primrose Cafe. Located in the beautiful Clifton Village, in the charming Clifton Arcade, I have been brunching at Primrose Cafe for as long as I can remember. What I love about Primrose Cafe - before we even start on the food - is its style and character. This cosy, family-run cafe has not succumbed to the recent popularity of minimalist, hipster cafes but it has remained its charming-self, with stars on the ceiling and a small, cluttered counter. Primrose Cafe offers the usual brunch characters such as full/veggie breakfast and eggs benedict/florentine/royal but what I am here for is something quite different. 

Both Jess and I chose their bubble and squeak brunch served with two poached eggs and a grilled tomato (plus a side of smoked salmon for me and mushrooms for Jess). I love this dish because it is such a different approach to brunch - plus it's gluten free, which can be tricky to find in a brunch. The eggs were perfectly firm but runny and the smoked salmon was gorgeous. The only slight criticism that we both could make is that the bubble and squeak could do with a bit more seasoning. Otherwise, Jess and I both left Primrose Cafe very happy brunchers. 

PRIMROSE CAFE | 1 The Clifton Arcade, Boyce's Avenue, Clifton Village, Bristol, BS8 4AA

BAKERS & CO

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Next up was Bakers & Co, which is Jess' all time favourite brunch place - I'm telling you, the girl is obsessed. Situated on Gloucester Road, in the heart of where I "live" (and grew up) in Bristol, Bakers & Co has become our go-to brunch place so I had already been quite a few times before starting this brunch tour. What I like about Bakers & Co is its bustling, down-to-earth vibe, although sometimes the service can be a bit slow and definitely be prepared to queue on a weekend! 

Now let's talk food. I have always ordered the same thing at Bakers & Co and it's a classic - smashed avocado on sourdough toast with two extra poached eggs. Jess orders the same thing but with mushrooms as well and even though she has sampled other brunches on their varied and changing menu, she always comes back to this. I know that avocado has become such a predictable brunch staple but Bakers & Co's is the best I have ever had. It is smashed just to the right consistency, freshened with just the right amount of lime juice and has the perfect kick thanks to the chopped chilli - that's right, I am analysing avocado here. Our mum joined us on this particular brunch trip and she ordered something completely different. I tried her citrus quinoa salad with smoked trout and poached eggs and it was just delicious! Normally I would not even consider ordering a salad for brunch but this dish has certainly made me reconsider this stance! Bakers & Co won 'Best Breakfast' in the Bristol Good Food Awards in 2015 so keep reading to see if in our eyes they've still got it!

BAKERS & CO | 193 Gloucester Road, St Andrews, Bristol, BS7 8BG

THE NORTH STREET STANDARD

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Having been to the sister restaurant, The Urban Standard (as it is more in our neck of the woods) a few times before, we decided to venture south of the river to The North Street Standard and I am so glad we did. The Bedminster branch is much bigger and brighter with a large outdoor seating area from which you can watch the world go by.

I had The Standard on my brunch list from the beginning because they do a mean veggie breakfast and that is exactly what we both ordered (apologies that we keep ordering the same brunches but we know what we like!). The veggie breakfast consists of a fried egg (which we changed to poached), a small bubble and squeak, two slices of grilled halloumi, baked beans, spinach, mushrooms and grilled tomato. Oh and one slice of toast, which Jess thought was a bit stingy but that's our only complaint. I love this different take on the veggie breakfast with not a fake meat sausage in sight, just lots of lovely little bits that go together so well. Also, I think halloumi is an inspired addition to a veggie breakfast and it is one of the main reasons I order this. I had this brunch before heading to London on a long bus journey and it kept me going rather well indeed!

THE NORTH STREET STANDARD | 11-13 North Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 1EN

Other location: THE URBAN STANDARD | 35 Gloucester Road, St Andrews, Bristol, BS7 8AD

SOUK KITCHEN

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After a slightly disappointing mid-week brunch stop at GRUPO LOUNGE (great for eggs on a hangover but nothing special), we kicked off a sunny Sunday with our first ever visit to Souk Kitchen. Located just off Whiteladies Road in Clifton (with another location south of the river in Southville), Souk Kitchen does a Mediterranean take on brunch and god is it good. 

Everything on the menu sounded so good that it was hard to choose but eventually I went for the courgette, sweetcorn and feta fritters with a poached egg, roasted tomato and Moroccan chilli jam. It was a total taste explosion in the mouth and exactly the kind of quirky brunch I had been looking for. After nearly ordering the Shakshouka, Jess chose the garlic mushrooms on toasted with wilted spinach, a fried duck egg, pumpkin seed dukkah and lemon butter. Even though my brunch was absolutely divine, I have to admit that Jess' may have been even better. As a big mushroom fan, Jess was in heaven and when I asked her for a more detailed description, she just replied "it was so so so good." Well there you go - you will just have to go and try it yourself. So if you are fed up of smashed avocado or traditional full English breakfasts, get yourself down to Souk Kitchen - I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

SOUK KITCHEN | 59 Apsley Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2SW

Other location: SOUK KITCHEN | 277 North Street, Southville, Bristol, BS3 1JP

BEST BRUNCH?

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I hereby declare Bakers & Co the best place for brunch in Bristol thanks to its changing menu, perfectly smashed avocado and ideal location. Bakers & Co will always be a go-to brunch place for us both and how could I ever think that Jess would choose anyone else as the winner?! Souk Kitchen definitely comes in at a close second with its alternative take on brunch that introduces out of this world flavours and unusual ingredients to the Bristol brunch scene.

I hope that you have enjoyed this brunch tour of Bristol and thank you to Jess for being my trusty co-bruncher and for being patient while I photographed all these brunches when really she just wanted to eat! There are certainly a few more brunch spots that I would like to try in Bristol but in the meantime, try the above and let me know which is your favourite.

Izzie x
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I Love Bristol | Flour And Ash Restaurant Review

Flour And Ash, a pizza and ice cream restaurant ideally situated where Bristol's famous Gloucester Road meets Cheltenham Road, is a firm family favourite of ours so I just knew that this had to be the next stop on my culinary tour of Bristol. In fact, we like it so much that since I took the first batch of photos for this blog restaurant review, I have been again! I tried a different (and much better pizza) the second time this month so I am going to talk about both experiences in this one post.

Just by looking at the menu, you can tell that this is no ordinary pizza restaurant. Flour And Ash certainly experiment with their pizza toppings and as their menu changes regularly, there will never be a lack new flavour combinations. On my first trip to Flour And Ash this month, I went for the Marinated Aubergine, with mozzarella, basil and ricotta, which admittedly is not the most adventurous choice but I just love ricotta on pizza. 

The pizza as a whole, was delicious. Flour And Ash pizzas unusually have a sourdough base, which makes the dough super spongey and light and the whole pizza experience just quite different. Due to my personal taste of not liking vinegar, I was a bit disappointed with my choice of Marinated Aubergine. I know, I should have asked the waiter what the aubergine was marinated in so that is my fault and not a reflection on the pizza itself. If you love vinegar and aubergine then this pizza is for you! Luckily the ricotta was lovely and creamy so that made up for it.

Round two at Flour And Ash was the highly rated taste experience that I had been yearning for, made all the more lovely by the company of two of my favourite girls. This time I got what my sister had ordered on our previous visit - Severn Project Kale, with buffalo mozzarella, garlic semi-dried tomatoes, ewe's curd and extra tomato sauce (because a pizza really is not right without it). I was extremely impressed with this pizza. The chewy and bitter kale was the perfect contrast to the creamy ewe's curd and sweet tomatoes and I would definitely order this again!

Finally, you simply cannot go to Flour And Ash without sampling one of their divine homemade ice creams. Once again, the selection does change and the flavours vary from classics such as chocolate or rum and raisin to bizarre combinations such as lavender and honey or basil! After my disappointing Marinated Aubergine pizza, I played it safe and ordered chocolate. Flour And Ash chocolate ice cream is certainly no ordinary chocolate ice cream - it is indescribably on par with the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had (the other one being at The Lido Restaurant in Bristol). As a big golden syrup fan, I just had to try their ice cream in this flavour that my mum had ordered. While feeling refreshing, you could also taste the thickness and smoothness of the golden syrup come through the ice cream - it was just excellent!

I would certainly recommend Flour And Ash if you fancy a good old fashioned pizza and ice cream binge. There is something for everyone - a simple margarita pizza and chocolate ice for you play-it-safes (Lewis I'm looking at you) or some unusual taste combinations for those of you that like to be taken out of your comfort zones. 

If you would like to got to Flour And Ash, call ahead because it gets booked up quickly, even during the week!

FLOUR & ASH | 203B Cheltenham Road, Bristol, BS6 5QX

Izzie x
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I Love Bristol | Bulrush Restaurant Review

Bristol is a city full of really really good places to eat and I am so excited to share with you some old favourites and new discoveries while I am back in my hometown for an extended stay. We are starting this culinary tour at BULRUSH, a relatively new restaurant located in Kingsdown, which serves deliciously exotic and experimental food.

We kicked off with some Kir Royals - always - followed by some complimentary white onion soup with stout vinegar reduction, chargrilled onion dusting served with some beautifully soft bread. Free food is always such a bonus and a real sign that a restaurant wants to treat their customers and show them a good time. I would not normally order onion soup from a menu but I would certainly order this again and pay for it! It was super silky and flavoursome whilst not being too "oniony".

When it came to ordering food, it was seriously hard to choose a starter as so many of them sounded right up my street. After much deliberation, I went for the scallop rose ceviche with watercress puree, black sesame and rock samphire. Sounds fancy doesn't it? Well it certainly was. For my first mouthful I was not so sure that I liked it because I could taste some vinegar which, as I do more and more of these food posts you'll get to know that I hate, but after a couple more tries, I was completely sold. The dish was fresh with lots of different textures and flavours and just look how beautifully it is presented! Anything with flower petals gets a thumbs up from me!

My main course was another taste explosive in the form of pan fried hake with sweetcorn, cavolo nero, mussels and pickled girolles (don't worry, I was assured that they were not too "vinegary"). The hake was beautifully cooked and being not too strong, was the perfect fish to sit on a bed of such contrasting flavours and textures. The sweetcorn and grains were crunchy, the mussels were soft, the girolles were rubbery (if that is the best way to describe mushrooms!) and the hake just melted in the mouth. 

Right so we all got the same dessert - chocolate delice with parsnip sponge, parsnip mousse, honeycomb pieces topped with yogurt sorbet. Hang on, did I say parsnip? Twice? That's right and although you could taste the parsnip, thanks to the vegetable's natural sweetness it was the perfect partner to a gooey chocolate dessert. The yogurt sorbet brought the tangy and less sweet element while the honeycomb pieces were a welcome crunch to this otherwise soft dessert.

We finished off the meal with coffees, mint tea for me and some complimentary homemade peanut fudge and blackcurrant fruit pastilles - another lovely touch!

I would highly recommend Bulrush restaurant for any special occasion, birthday or celebration you have coming up - any excuse eh? I would say that it is slightly pricey but it is always nice to treat yourself once in a while and the food is so worth it!

BULRUSH RESTAURANT | 21 Cotham Road, Bristol, BS6 5TZ

Izzie x
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YouTube Fortnightly Vlog - Weekend in Bristol and Last Two Weeks in Barcelona

It is Sunday evening and that means that my time in Barcelona is almost over. I leave tomorrow night - back to Bristol for a few weeks! I have vlogged my last two weeks in Barcelona (plus a weekend that I was in Bristol for a wedding) and these are just some of the amazing memories that I have made here. I hope you enjoy this vlog that contains some serious food porn, outfits and sunny Barcelona!
Izzie x
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YouTube: Bristol Vlog

Hello and Happy Sunday!

Today's vlog has been a long time coming. Back in February I went back to my hometown of Bristol for about a week and I documented what I did! However, fashion weeks and other travelling seemed to take precedence but now it's Bristol's turn and I am super excited to spread the Bristol love with you all.

This was actually the first vlog I shot when I first got my Olympus Pen camera and it was also my first go at travel/life vlogging! I hope you enjoy it and that it inspires you to visit the beautiful city of Bristol!

Izzie x

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I Love Bristol | A Guide to Vintage & Secondhand Shopping

Hello from the beautiful city of Bristol! This post - a guide to vintage and secondhand shopping in Bristol - is long overdue. I have always been a thrifter, a bargain hunter and a vintage admirer so without further ado, here are the best of the best by a proud Bristolian born and bred. It is a long 'un - I've been very thorough - so grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy!

GLOUCESTER ROAD

REPSYCHO - 85 Gloucester Road

Repsycho is certainly to thank for my early love of vintage as I grew up near Gloucester Road, a unique road filled with independent shops, restaurants and pubs. In my teens, I would come here regularly to search out cute dresses and patterned jumpers and while my style has moved on since then, Repsycho is still my go to store for retro clothing in Bristol. On the ground floor, you'll find everything (for men and women) from beaten up leather jackets, cute blouses and faux fur to 90s sports jackets and Levi's jeans. On this visit, I was particularly impressed by their fringed and embroidered women's suede jackets from as little as £30. Up a winding staircase is everything you could wish for to create the perfect retro home like mirrors, armchairs and just general knick knacks, all at reasonable prices. Finally, downstairs they sell vinyls. So if you want lots of variety in one small space - check out Repsycho!

CLIC SARGENT SHOP ON THE GLOUCESTER ROAD - 97 Gloucester Road

Half charity shop, half vintage shop, Clic Sargent's Shop On The Gloucester Road offers the best vintage and secondhand goodies, carefully selected from public donations. From the inside, this place is so well merchandised that could definitely pass for a proper vintage store…until you see the low low prices. Oh wow this place is thrifter's heaven! Most items do not cost over £10, even coats, and they have a great selection from colourful blouses and jumpers to retro jewellery and leather bags. They also sell their own range of up cycled clothing under the brand name 'Fix Up Look Sharp'. So go find your best bargain and help a charity at the same time. 

There are many other excellent charity shops on the Gloucester Road - on the same strip as REPSYCHO and CLIC - including Marie Currie, St Peter's Hospice and British Heart Foundation. The one that I particularly like is Cancer Research UK because the choice is excellent and they have their own 'Vintage with Love' section, which is pretty darn good!

PARK STREET & TOWN

RISE - 70 Queens Road

Once just an independent music store, Rise has gone through many changes since its opening but their current formula seems to have stuck. Downstairs is a noodle bar but upstairs is the home to music, books and their Rise Revival vintage clothing brand. The selection ranges from secondhand denim jackets, Levi's shorts and patterned jumpers to vintage style new shirts, printed dresses and reworked wax Barbour-style coats for just £45. 

UNCLE SAM'S AMERICAN VINTAGE STORE - 54A Park Street

I always think of Uncle Sam's as the dark horse in Bristol's vintage clothing game because I am never sure if it will be open when I go there. But if you are lucky to catch them open (I have no idea what the deal is with their opening hours), then you will be in for a right treat. This shop is raw, rugged and filled with authentic American vintage at decent prices. Find your perfect western style shoes from £35, cute silk shirts for £9 and a large selection of dungarees for £30. 

 SOBEYS - 24 Park Street
Formerly consisting a small corner in multi-brand store BS8 just up the road, Sobeys expanded and moved into MOTEL ROCKS' former flagship when they sadly closed. The clothing is a nice mix of new vintage style pieces, reworked items and genuine vintage but of course I was particularly interested in their choice of old Dr Martens. The shop itself is extremely aesthetically pleasing - just look at those cute changing room doors (below)!

 URBAN FOX - 58 Corn Street
Owned by the same retro genius as Gloucester Road's Repsycho, Urban Fox feels more upmarket thanks to its impeccable visual merchandising and super central location. There are not many shops on Corn Street (mainly restaurants and bars) so Urban Fox is really owning this strip. There is the perfect selection of everything that is bang on trend from gorgeous sheepskin coats, sparkly sequins and a suede skirt collection to die for! Their bag and boots collection ain't half bad either with lots of cowboy boots, chunky DMs and pointy lace ups. The clothes are pretty reasonably priced despite its central location - you'll pay £20 for a shirt, £30 for cute retro dress and £50 for a super warm and sturdy sheepskin coat.

CLIFTON

 FOCUS ON THE PAST - 25 Waterloo Street, Clifton Village
Focus On The Past is a bit different from the other shops in list because, although it boasts a decent section of vintage clothing, handbags and jewellery, its main trade is in homeware and bric-a-brac. I absolutely love coming here for a rummage whenever I am in Clifton Village - the shop is just such a mess, especially in comparison to its super sleek surroundings, which makes it extra charming. They sell everything from anything from Bristol related books, furniture and kitchenware to gorgeous rugs and retro lamps. This is an absolute must visit if you are looking to deck out your home with reasonably priced secondhand gems.

Elsewhere in Clifton, you will find some charities shops worth visiting on Whiteladies Road, Cotham Hill and Regent Street back in Clifton Village. 

So there you have it! I hope you have enjoyed this very in-depth guide to vintage and secondhand shopping in Bristol. I must admit that when I started thinking up this blog post, I did not fully appreciate how amazing Bristol is for your bargain hunters and vintage lovers out there!

Let me know if you have been to any of these shops and which are your favourite!

Izzie x

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