Bristol Neighbourhood Guide: Bedminster

Bristol Neighbourhood Guide: Bedminster

Posted on: 07 Jul 2023

We’re back with our guide to Bristol’s diverse and vibrant neighbourhoods – with some cherrypicked spots to showcase just how much is going on in each corner of the city. 

 

This week, we’re moving on to Bedminster. While we’ve had to move around the area’s borders a little in the process of writing these guides due to the sheer amount of brilliant South Bristol spots, there’s still plenty to be said about Bedminster with a particular focus on the bustling high street of East Street and the surrounding area!

 

Read on for our guide to all the nightlife, food, shopping, cultural and historical highlights of Bedminster…

 

Nightlife:

 

Tucked away on Willway Street in BS3, Fiddlers is a proper, stripped-back music venue that retains the feel of an old working man's club but hosts some of Bristol's most exciting and leftfield bookings year in, year out. Since opening in 1994, the likes of Robert Plant, Feeder, Buzzcocks, Manu Chou, Gillian Welch, Dinosaur Jr, Lee Scratch Perry and The Wailers have all taken to the stage with local acts such as the Worm Disco Crew making the space their own in more recent times.

From a Bedminster staple to one of its newest additions, On Point Brewery Tap. Located on Herbert Street, the brewery has become a real favourite of Bristol’s craft beer scene in recent times with their brews popping up at pubs all over Bristol and beyond over the past two years. They are also a staple of the ever-popular Bedminster Beer Trail!

Another favourite of craft beer fans, Alpha Bottle Shop & Tap is one of East Street's latest hangouts. Opening the shop during the pandemic to relieve Bristolians from their thirst, the shop is one of the best stops in the city to pick up the most exciting craft beers (and more) on offer both from the UK and further afield. With their very own tap onsite, it’s also the perfect opportunity to try before you buy.

Moving along East Street, the Rope Walk is a recently reopened, welcoming boozer with a classic feel. The venue features a wood-panelled interior as well as a back patio, eye-catching art on the walls, a wide selection of real ales, regular live entertainment in the upstairs function room and much more besides.

Speaking of traditional boozers, The Apple Tree is a tiny back street venue that feels as though it hasn’t changed in decades. A proper cider pub, scrumpy heads will marvel at the cheap prices and abundance of characterful locals. Bedminster is chocker full or old school pubs but The Apple Tree, located right by Windmill Hill City Farm, is a real South Bristol institution.

Signalling our first foray up West Street, The Three Lions is another Bedminster institution. Sport is integral to this sizeable pub, its name dates to the Euro 96 football tournament and the interior is adorned with Bristol City memorabilia - Ashton Gate can even be seen from the beer garden. Never far from the headlines, The Three Lions was the victim of a dramatic bomb hoax last year and, when Premier League champions Man City came to town in February, a cheeky mural appeared on the pub that can still be seen to this day!

Recently reopened after a brief closure, The London Inn is an impressive red brick building located on the corner of British Road and Cannon Street. The venue features an array of pub games, including a pool table, and hosts regular quizzes and discos. Like The Apple Tree, The London Inn is famed for its cheap prices but equally impressive is its ornate Victorian frontage that dominates its surroundings

Food:

 

Moving onto food, East Street is a veritable hotbed of popular cafes and restaurants and that’s where we begin our rundown. Viva La Mexicana is a restaurant that needs more attention. Serving traditional Mexican dishes combined with Tex-Mex flavours, customers can enjoy a great variety of traditional regional dishes, rich in flavour, aroma and colour – many of which are seldom found elsewhere in the UK.

 

Beginning a run of several popular East Street cafes is the Hippie Flower Café. The perfect spot to sit back and waste away the morning with coffee, breakfast and a good book, the Hippie Flower also serve pizzas made in a real stone oven with top-quality dough made daily.

Often overshadowed by East Street’s other, louder cafes; The Toast Room is a tiny offering ran by a husband-and-wife team who gleaned inspiration from European café culture. With a stunning and unusual breakfast menu that caters for both vegetarians and vegans as well as meat enthusiasts using local suppliers as much as possible, this is a real gem of an eatery.

Another East Street café doing things its own way is Lucky Strike. This newly opened spot applies a modern twist to the classic British greasy spoon, serving classics along with healthier options for brunch and bistro favourites for dinner. Favourites include the ‘square sausage, black pudding and tattie scone sandwich’; the ‘cold roast chicken, tarragon & mustard sauce, flat beans & carrots and the ‘rhubarb & raspberry mess’.

Now boasting three sites around the city, the award-winning Bristol Loaf opened their Bedminster venue back in 2020. The dynamic space incorporates not only the organic sourdough but also Hugo’s Greengrocer, Two-Belly Cheesemonger and organic and natural wine shop The Bristol Vine. Alongside the exciting range of bread, pastries and cakes and more, the site is also home to a café that offers Scandi-inspired brunch, plant-based dishes and much more besides.

The final East Street venue on our food rundown is a real favourite, a proper caff: the beloved George’s. Known throughout Bristol for its legendary ‘Bumper Breakfast’ (two sausages, two bacon, two eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, hash browns, chips and toast) and affordable prices, this Bedminster staple is one of the best spots in Bristol when it comes to cooked breakfasts.

While not quite as shop-heavy as its neighbouring East Street, West Street has its fair share of culinary favourites, not least Argus Fish Bar. Lauded by many as one of Bristol’s top fish and chip shops; this is an old-fashioned community shop with friendly staff and always a lengthy queue of regulars waiting for their chippy teas.

Closing our list of Bedminster’s fooderies is West Street’s Zena’s Café. A small, cosy and colourfully painted corner venue, this is a vibrant café that opened at the tail end of 2021. Offering a crazy blend of Italian, English and Mediterranean cuisine, at lunch times Zena’s operates as a deli with traditional arancini, paninis and pastries on offer, then come the evening customers can enjoy homemade Napoletan-style pizza as well as pasta dishes. 

Lifestyle and Culture:

 

As well as being a hub of good food, Bedminster is also a top destination for independent shops. East Street Emporium is a collection of small independent creative shops selling an eclectic mix of products all under one roof. The retail home of more than 70 independents, customers can find anything from jewellery to homeware, retro interiors to vegan makeup. To top it off, all the products are eco-friendly!

Another East Street favourite is Revival Market. Established in 2017, this is one of South Bristol’s best secondhand shops. With multiple traders at work, you’ll find vintage clothing, designer streetwear, antiques, bric-a-brac and home décor, there’s plenty of gems to be found!

History:

 

Bedminster was once best known for its involvement in the tobacco industry with a factory - Wills Tobacco Factory – built on East Street in the late 1800s, becoming the major employer in South Bristol in the process. Remains of the site (which closed in 1972) have now been converted to flats as well as providing the façade of Bedminster Parade – home to several businesses. Bedminster is also key to the world’s hot air balloon industry with Cameron’s Balloons based on St Johns Street.

 

Fans of the recent hit BBC drama The Gold will also be intrigued to know that John “Goldfinger” Palmer ran his bullion dealership in Bedminster before he became notorious for his involvement in the notorious Brinks Mat gold robbery. To find out more head to the Show of Strength Theatre Company’s website.

 

 

One more fun fact for you: Bedminster, New Jersey is named after Bedminster, Bristol with the USA township as many as 3,389 miles away from George’s Café!

 

So, there it is, 365Bristol’s guide to Bedminster. Please note that we have had to be loose in terms of neighbourhood borders to fit everything that’s amazing about Bristol into these guides. It’s also impossible to sum up everything that’s great about our city in such a short article, but please get in contact with us here and let us know your favourite neighbourhood highlights.

 

Images: Patrick Bate

Read more:

 

Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.