15 Awesome Places to Find Sweet Treats and Dessert in Bristol
Posted on: 08 Jul 2020Life is sweet, especially here in Bristol. We're spoilt for choice when it comes to dessert.
From vegan Afternoon Tea on North Street to contemporary cake in Clifton village, Bristol is aplenty with places to indulge your sugar cravings.
Not sure where to start? In no particular order, here's 15 sweet spots to find confection perfection in Bristol.
Mrs Potts Chocolate House
Since opening in 2017, Mrs Potts Chocolate House has taken the Bristol dessert scene by storm with their freshly baked goodies.
In fact, it's done so well that the owners opened up a Bath store in late 2019.
From a huge hot chocolate menu to thick slabs of decadent 'dream cake', you'll find a huge range of sweet treats at the Park Street emporium.
There are plentiful options for vegans, too! We're talking vegan cupcakes and chocolate chip cookie sandwiches filled with dark chocolate ganache.
ANNA Cake Couture
Cake has never looked so good: discover ANNA Cake Couture in the heart of Clifton Village.
The stylish cake shop and café takes a refined approach to all-things sweet, with delicate macrons and 'Cubicakes:' bijou cubes of cake.
You can curate a cake flight of any size, with several flavours to choose from.
AhhToots
Like Anna Couture, AhhToots is a city leader when it comes to bespoke cakes.
Floral, fruity and rustic; sweet treats from AhhToots boast a distinctive character.
Fluffy cakes come decorated with berries and bloom, smothered in cream: they called it art-focused cakery, and we'd have to agree.
AhhToots now has two locations in Bristol: their original stall in the historic St Nicks Market, and a new one at the Christmas Steps, which opened in July 2020.
Swoon
Just a few doors down from Mrs Potts you'll find Swoon: a sleek and sophisticated gelateria. (FYI: like ice-cream, gelato is a frozen sweet treat, but it's softer, less fatty and more flavourful.)
Swoon's gelato menu boasts fine-tuned base menu of favourite flavours and sorbetti, plus eclectic guest flavours, handpicked according to seasonality.
Made with milk from Somerset, Swoon gelato is lovingly churned on-site. Swoon got the Great Taste stamp of approval in 2017, when they were awarded Producer of the Year.
Shake Express
Let your imagination run wild at Shake Express and create your perfect milkshake, hot or cold.
The premise is pretty simple: create your perfect shake with Shake Express' extensive menu of sweet ingredients.
Choose your size, decide what ingredients you'd like (they've got a vast selection of chocolate, biscuits and sweets to choose from), and add some toppings.
Shake Express is a family run business, and they've got two Bristol stores: one in Keynsham, and one on North Street.
Bonus location: enjoying some retail therapy in central Bristol? Visit Shakeaway inside The Arcade. Shakeaway is another customizable milkshake bar.
Taste of Napoli
While we're on the topic of central Bristol, it'd be a crime not to mention Taste of Napoli, an authentic Italian cafe also located inside The Arcade.
Alongside an enviable selection of savoury bites, Taste of Napoli is the place to go for sweet Italian treats.
Pastries, traditional desserts and gelato in the summer: if you can't get to the Amalfi Coast, Taste of Napoli brings you the next best thing in Broadmead.
Not sure what to go for? Cannoli – every time.
.jpg "Taste of Napoli")
Zara's Chocolate
Handmade chocolates in the heart of BS3: Zara's Chocolates has scooped countless Bristol Good Food awards for their decadent confectionary.
The shop/café is the brainchild of Zara, a life-long chocoholic and École Chocolat-qualified Chocolatier.
From truffles and bars to hot chocolate and vegan-friendly treats, everything in-store is made by hand on a small-scale production basis.
What to expect? Innovative flavours, high-quality chocolate and serious attention to detail.
Sweven
Ok, fine: Sweven is a coffee shop, so they're not strictly sweet treats. But they're worth a mention here nonetheless.
Located near to Dean Lane skate park, Sweven is the place to discover speciality coffee in Bristol.
As well as complex and dynamic coffee, Sweven is home to a delicious range of homemade cakes, and pastries courtesy of Bath's Bertinet Bakery.
Sweven's co-owner, Aga lovingly bake all of the cakes served. Visit her Instagram page, @aga_bakes, and feast your eyes.
At The Well
If you think a launderette is the last place you'd want to hang out, then think again. Laundry and pancakes, anyone?
Situated in the heart of Stokes Croft, At The Well is a café and launderette, serving up some of the city's best brunch dishes.
If you've got a sweet tooth, try out the Well's famed American pancakes – they're some of the best you'll find in Bristol.
.jpg "At The Well, Bristol")
Vx Bristol
Bedminster's vegan junk food café, Vx, is on a mission to show us that "a cruelty-free vegan lifestyle doesn't have to be boring." And they're succeeding.
At Vx, indulge in plant-based cookie sandwiches, sticky doughnuts and loaded free shakes (that's a vegan milkshake).
Preview Vx's range of desserts at @kindcakesmeanbakes_bristol on Instagram – they're Vx's sweet treat stockist.
Pionka's Chocolate
Artisan chocolate, lovingly-prepared cake and coffee on Bristol's bustling Cheltenham Road: let us introduce Pionka's Chocolate.
Using only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, Pionka's create flavoursome chocolate with a rustic texture.
It's a relatively new addition to Bristol's dessert offering, having opened on Cheltenham Road in 2019.
Brozen Bar
The frozen cocktail specialists: need we say more?
If you're looking for a boozy sweet treat, then visit Brozen Bar, which you'll find tucked away in St Nicholas Street.
It's a cutting-edge, vibrant liquid nitrogen cocktail bar, serving an array of frozen cocktails, ice cream flavours and fruity sorbets.
On a trip to Brozen, watch as the Bar's mixologists turn liquid and fresh ingredients into silky ice cream, emerging from a fluffy cloud.
Oliver's
It's no secret that Wapping Wharf is one of the best places in town to find great food: it's a hotspot.
On Wapping Wharf, find homemade gelato at Bertha's Pizza, artisanal pastries at the Old Market Bakery, and tempting coffee-/cake combos at Mokoko, but have you heard of Oliver's?
Oliver's is an artisan gelateria and chocolatier based in CARGO 2. Armed with all your favourite flavours, you'll also find some tempting dairy-free options at Oliver's.
Earthcake
Who'd have thought 'vegan' and 'Afternoon Tea' would make such a pair?
Earthcake is a vegan cake shop and cafe located on North Street, BS3. All Earthcake treats are homemade, and 100% diary and egg-free.
Whilst you can order a vegan cake for any occasion from Earthcake, you can also pre-book to enjoy Afternoon Tea in the shop. It comes with unlimited tea, coffee and hot chocolate, of course.
The Crepe & Coffee Cabin
Is it actually the world's smallest coffee cabin? Who knows.
One thing we know for sure is The Crepe & Coffee Cabin is a harbourside haven for those with a sweet tooth.
Find The Crepe & Coffee Cabin on the Prince Street Bridge, overlooking the water. Grab a coffee and a crêpe (a Nutella and banana one, perhaps?), and enjoy one of the best views in town.
.jpg "View from Crepe & Coffee Cabin")
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