The changing face of the Bristol food scene

Hello to anybody out there who has for some bizarre reason decided to read my first ever blog. Why am I surprised? Well I don’t have any skills or qualifications that would automatically make me a world-class “blogger” so I guess what I am saying is that I am just a normal guy who loves both Bristol and food so why not write about it??

When I first moved to this amazing city 15 years ago the food scene pretty much consisted of “Bottelinos” and Beefeater. At that time had no aspirations to travel into the centre for the reasons why Bristol was a different place now to it was 15 years ago.

Fast forward to current time and WOW how things have changed. What really helped me on my journey of becoming a “foodie” was moving to Clifton. There seems to be a food outlet opening daily in and around Bristol offering food from all corners of the globe mixed  with plenty of local experts.

So now that we have established that Bristol is one of the top destinations in the UK for anyone who has either a passion for food or just likes to enjoy food and simply enhance their tastebuds.We seem to have everything from 5 star restaurants to street food and coffee shops to artisan gelato parlours.

So what makes a great food outlet? I hear you ask. Well i have attempted to try to list what i look for when both deciding where to spend my hard-earned cash ( honest I do work as well as eat food ) and what is both new and buzzing at the time married together with past experiences.

Independent ( well sort of )

I remember seeing a sign locally which read ” if you choose to spend your money here it will contribute to swim lessons for our kids and you won’t be lining the pockets of a CEO ” so we try as much as possible to stay local or independent however this is where I become controversial for the first time ( it won’t be the last trust me ) If a company still has that independent feel and the staff make you feel like you are the most important person in the world we will venture into one of these! Although there are not many that come to mind easily

Are people talking about it?

There are a few great websites which really help me when it comes to keeping my “food  knowledge” at the required level to satisfy my needs. I personally visit http://www.bristol247.com and visit the “food and drink” section. This very up to date and has both great news and outstanding and honest reviews on places we would never have visited. A second website is http://www.foozie.co.uk. simple but exciting with some very unusual experiences happening locally. If these don’t work for you sit back get your smartphone out and look through Instagram

What mood are we in?

Choosing where to eat often depends on what mood that you are in. If its brunch you are after there are so many options from expected places such as “Pickman’s” to out of the box thinking like “Pieminster” I know what you are thinking! Pie for breakfast but try it and you can thank me later.Lunch is where the challenge sits for me, St Nicholas Market is a great option but I warn you newbies….once there its then hard to choose a favourite, I would love to tell you mine but I can’t decide. However if you want a more ” sit down experience and have some wine” the options are endless anything from Bordeaux Quay to Mud Dock. Then if its dinner you are after you would struggle to do better than The Ox and Whiteladies Road or even Bosco Pizzeria next door. I have to stop this section here as I could go on and you have probably nodded off already

Do we feel loved when we are there

My pet hate is poor or unacceptable service and even if I get great food my whole experience can be tarnished with not only poor service but a failure to make me feel that I made the right choice in entering your premises. Please give us an example ok if you insist. Don’t you hate it when you walk into somewhere and they ask ” have you booked”? Well if I have booked I always start my opening statement something like ” we have booked a table” so why don’t they need to ask arghhhhhh. Then when they tell you they are full they have a smug smirk on their face as much to say ” you are not special and I now  have so much power over you ” The Cowshed on Whiteladies Road must send staff to a ” be smug and condescending course” as this seems to happen every time we attempt to eat here. What I want is a hello, a smile, a thank you and maybe even some conversation or and don’t forget goodbye and trust me we will return, I know that is so hard to achieve

Well that’s about it for my first ever blog and going forward who know what else I will write about feel free to follow me on instagram “bristolfoodluvver”

 

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