Budget Bristol: 4 places to get coffee under £2

Budget Bristol: 4 places to get coffee under £2

Posted on: 09 Sep 2022

Caffeine is the backbone of modern society – I know, that might sound like a bit of a unhealthy dependence, but I don’t make the rules. Coffee is one of the most popular choices for a caffeine hit out there, and for good reason – it’s strong, it’s delicious, and it’s widely available.

 

Bristol is no exception to that last point, and has some wonderful, hardworking cafes, roasteries, and coffee houses providing delicious craft coffee.

 

Unfortunately, with the cost of living skyrocketing, and hospitality venues having to raise prices to make ends meet, it’s practically cheaper to buy a private island and grow your own beans.

 

Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of the best places to get your morning coffee – without breaking the bank.

 

As a metric, we’ve gone by the Americano (the workhorse of coffee). All businesses in the article provide an Americano for under £2 as of time of writing.

 

Joe’s Bakery, Gloucester Road - £1.55

 

 

Starting off strong with the second cheapest coffee on our list (and even then, it’s only a difference of 5p), Joe’s Bakery is a Gloucester Road institution. Their affordable £1.55 Americano is definitely worth the money and then some – strong, tasty, and brewed right every time.

 

As an added bonus, Joe’s Bakery (as the name suggests) offers more than just coffee. They’re a wide-ranging bakery, with an excellent selection of bread, from farmhouse cobs to cheesy foccacias and everything in between – as well as a huge range of breakfast pastries (with inventive veggie and vegan options included, like their Tomato & Basil ‘Sausage’ Roll, or their Bombay Potato Pasty) and some mouth-watering sweet treats.

 

Joe’s even offers take-home pizza dough, burgers and pies to go with your morning (or evening, if you like to get risky with your caffeine intake) coffee. Add all that to friendly, helpful staff and you’ve got yourself an all-round winner to become your new favourite place for a cheap coffee.

 

Boulangerie, Park Street - £1.80

 

A student favourite, Boulangerie (that means ‘Bakery’ in French, for all you Francophiles) is a mainstay of the Park Street area. With its cheery red shopfront, it’s always inviting to pop in for a baguette and pretend you’re sitting on the streets of Paris – only much more affordable!

 

With their own baked goods, and a next-door fried chicken shop, there’s plenty to eat with the money left over from your £1.80 coffee – and why not use that caffeine-fuelled energy to pop in to the museum nearby, for free?

 

Astro Vinyl, Park Row - £1.80

If you’d prefer culture – rather than carbs – with your coffee, then Boulangerie’s nearby cheap-coffee competitor, Astro Vinyl, is the place for you.

 

A hidden-gem record shop tucked away amongst bubble tea shops, Astro Vinyl deals in second-hand records & books, with some truly tasty picks among them.

 

Of course, the tastiest part is that sweet, affordable caffeine. In this case, the coffee is a real cut above, and worth much more than it’s £1.80 price tag – perfect for focusing while you’re trying to pick out the deepest cut vinyl you can to show off to your friends.

 

Michael’s Fork in the Road, Redcliffe Way Roundabout – £1.50

Michael’s isn’t just the best named food truck in Britain – it also has the honour of being the cheapest coffee on our list.

 

Michael’s is an all-day breakfast truck. If you’re hurrying down the road toward Temple Meads, it’s the perfect place to grab a quick bite to eat with one of his Breakfast Boxes, or a simple bap, and wash it down with hot, strong, cheap coffee.

 

It’s not just the Americano this time, either – Michael’s Fork in the Road offer ALL their coffees for £1.50, making this the perfect place for coffee lovers of any stripe.

 

 

Did we miss your favourite pocket-change coffee stop? Is there something else you’d like us to look into affordable options for? Email us at info@365bristol.com to get in touch.


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Patrick Bate

Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.