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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Amsterdam

Last weekend, Lewis and I took a three hour train ride to the beautiful city of Amsterdam. We stayed in a great Airbnb apartment just south of the famous Prinsengracht canal, which was the perfect location. We were able to walk everywhere, which is the main thing we love to do on holiday, to explore. Here's a bit about our weekend and some tips.

We spent most of Friday strolling around, soaking up the city and getting our bearings. It was the only sunny day we had and even though it was cold, Amsterdam is just magical in the sun. Always a lover for rummaging and bargains, I insisted that we checked out the flea market at Waterlooplein where there are piles and piles of clothes for just 1€ sometimes!

We had a late lunch at a cute place opposite the flower market called Toastable, which does amazing three tier toasties! My roasted vegetables and goats cheese one was yummy.

From there we wandered through the lovely Vondelpark, through southern Amsterdam and back to the apartment, but not without stopping to cuddle the most adorable cat on a street close to ours. I was delighted. FYI cats lovers, Amsterdam is full of them *emoji thumbs up*.

Saturday morning consisted of me dragging Lewis around the shopping area, known as the 9 streets district. These are in fact 3 streets crossing 3 canals in between Prinsengracht and Singel, thus creating 9 streets. The vintage shopping in Amsterdam is fantastic, albeit slightly more expensive than Paris but the choice is great. Look out for my detailed post on Amsterdam vintage shops coming soon! 

After a quick bite to eat we headed to the Anne Frank House, which was just incredible. We did have to queue in the freezing cold for about an hour but it was so worth it. The museum takes you on a tour of the very house where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War Two, with reconstruction photos and genuine artefacts. Having always wanted to read her diary, I finally bought it at the gift shop and I'm really enjoying it so far.

For dinner we went to The Pancake Bakery, which I remember going to last time I went to Amsterdam and loving it. The choice of pancakes is amazing and we both went for something on the 'international' section of the menu. I had the 'French', which was goats cheese, honey and pine nuts and Lewis' looked so much like a pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto. The pancakes were delicious and thick - that sounds really weird, but you know, substantial. 

On Sunday we strolled down to De Pijp, an up and coming area in Amsterdam where there are no canals to be seen. Not many shops were open so after doing a lap in Sarphatipark we headed for brunch.

We stumbled across a great place called Coffee and Coconuts, which is obviously the place to be on a Sunday with its buzzing but relaxed atmosphere and cool rock star photos on the walls. Don't be put off by the queue going up the stairs, we didn't have to wait long as there is three floors and it was worth it. I had scrambled egg on sourdough bread topped with avocado, feta cheese and black olives, a strange but winning combination. For dessert we shared a chocolate ganache on a crunchy cornflake base, which was heavenly. 

We had such a great time in Amsterdam with its beautiful canals, amazing food and chilled atmosphere. I definitely want to go back again when it's slightly warmer though! 

Izzie x

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