My Bristol Food - Meg Pope
Posted on: 11 Dec 2017In our My Bristol Food series, we talk with some of our favourite Bristolians to get their take on what makes the city's food scene so fabulous, and to get their top tips on where to go. This week we spoke with Meg Pope.
Who are you?
Meg Pope, born and bred Bristolian who’s borderline obsessed with this city. By day I run Duchess Media, an events and marketing agency, working with some of the city’s best independent businesses, by night I DJ as part of DJ duo Duchess with my business partner Frankie.
Where are your most-visited food places in Bristol?
I spend far too much time at Wapping Wharf, and can quite often be found perched outside Corks or at Wild Beer (working, honest!) Bambalan is great for a quick lunch or afterwork drinks and if I’m South of the river I’ll more often than not be found at The Old Bookshop - their veggie breakfast with breakfast gravy is a game changer!
Where in Bristol has the...
Best Burger - Really tough one but it’d have to be a tie between Asado, Squeezed and Oowee. Anyone who says Bristol has too many burgers clearly needs to start eating more!
Best Sunday Roast
I love The Rose of Denmark on Hotwells Road for a proper cosy pub roast or The Lansdown in Clifton, otherwise The Bird in Hand in Long Ashton is our local, and serves an absolute killer roast.
Best Pub/bar
Best Pub would have to go to The Gallimaufry. The team are a total dream and they’ve created such a lovely community in the pub, plus the food is excellent and the sausage rolls are arguably the best in town. Bar wise it’d have to be The Milk Thistle - they make the best Aviation in town and happily oblige when I ask for a cocktail which ‘tastes like Nans’.
Best Pizza
Pizzarova. Whether you want a speedy take away from the crate at Wapping Wharf or you want to sit in at the Gloucester Rd shop they serve excellent sourdough pizzas with as many toppings as you like for around a tenner - they also do great seasonal monthly specials and have some great local beers and ciders to choose from. Plus they always have a banging play list on in there!
Best for special occasions
Box-E! It’s a teeny tiny spot in Cargo run by husband and wife team Tess & Elliot who are the nicest pair you could ever wish to meet. Elliot’s food is just outstanding, and SUCH good value and Tess is such a lovely host - you feel like you’re having dinner in one of your friends’ living rooms (granted, with some of the best food in town!)
Best Brunch
I love Souk Kitchen for their Middle Eastern style brunch and I’m also a big fan of White’s Botanicals who have recently opened on St Nicholas Street. It’s a great space to work and the team are really lovely and welcoming and they do some great vegan and veggie brunches - their turmeric eggs and smoothies are ace!
Best indie producer/shop/market
Best producer has to go to lovely Rosie from the Bristol Cheesemonger - there’s nowhere else to go in town for great cheese!
Best shop has to be Corks of Cargo - they’re so knowledgeable and helpful and have such a great selection of wine! You can also drop in and enjoy a glass (or a bottle!) in the shop and the guys there are just the best.
And market...it has to be St Nick’s. I work in the centre of town and I can’t get over how lucky we are to have such a diverse range of amazing food on our doorstep. Plus the indoor market is a wealth of hidden gems for gifts, trinkets and services - I regularly pop into the cobblers and the jewellers to get things fixed and it’s great to have such great small businesses still thriving in town.
Best Dinner Destination
I’d say best restaurant but it’s tough to choose just one in Bristol but if I had to choose one place to eat on the regular it’d be Pasta Loco. Just everything about this place is bang on and I feel like I wax lyrical about them all the time but man, they’re just so good!
When they first opened I was a bit cynical about a restaurant which just served pasta but one visit and one mouthful of *that* carbonara and I was converted. The service is Bristol all over - super laid back and really friendly and Dom needs some kind of award for his hospitality. You need to book well in advance as it’s so popular but trust me - it’s so worth the wait!
Best Lunch Spot
We’re totally spoilt for choice for lunch spots in Bristol but my favourite lunch time treat has to be Eatchu! Their gyoza are just delicious and I’m a little bit obsessed with their miso soup. Keep an eye out for their pop up ramen dates too as they make hands down the best ramen I’ve ever had!
Another favourite spot is Tuk Tuck - their bibimbap is banging!
If you were the Mayor of Bristol for a day what would you do?
I’d have no idea where to start but if someone could sort out the public transport that would be amazing as I’m sure First Bus get fed up of me tweeting them on a daily basis! Oh, and bring back Ashton Court Festival!
You’ve got 24 hours in Bristol to show some visitors around. What are you going to do?
Brunch on North Street, either at Souk Kitchen or Tincan Coffee, then mooch over the river to Wapping Wharf for a few drinks and maybe some lunch - depending on what everyone’s feeling either Squeezed, WokyKo or Pigsty. Then maybe a wander up Park St to mosey round the shops and have a nose around the Museum (I love all the taxidermy in there!) and if we haven’t done enough walking up to Cabot Tower to look at the views, pre-dinner drinks at Hyde & Co or Psychopomp and then dinner at Pasta Loco followed by a nightcap at HMSS!
Where else can we find you?
Twitter: @meg_pope, @duchess_media and @duchessdjs
Instagram: @megpope260
Article by:
Sarah is a writer and blogger, as well as running workshops and teaching. Her passions are food and travel, and you can follow her on Instagram at YesStarling and find her website at www.yesstarling.com .
