Best new food & drink in Bristol of 2021

In the year that we have had, all food and drink businesses deserve awards for just still being here.

But Bristol24/7 budgets don’t stretch that far unfortunately, so we can only honour some of the newest arrivals to our city.

Anyone opening a new business in the middle of a pandemic deserves a pat on the back, in particularly these.

Best new takeaway: DonDon
98 Queen’s Road, Clifton

Side dishes at DonDon include teriyaki pepper, green beans and Tsukemono pickles – photo: DonDon

DonDon translates from Japanese to English roughly as “faster” – an apt name for a new takeaway whose popularity continues to grow. Former ballet dancer Makoto Nakamura started serving bento in St Nick’s Market and this year opened his first bricks and mortar premises.

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Read more: Japanese takeaway DonDon more ‘en pointe’ than you think

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Best new cafe: Burra
7 Lower Redland Road, Redland

Burra has already got a lot of regulars since opening in February – photo: Martin Booth

Opened by Bristol Bears players Jake Heenan and Luke Morahan, and Bears head of operations, Tom Tainton, Antipodean-tinged Burra has swiftly become a firm favourite with its focus of promoting an ethical lifestyle through organic produce, fantastic coffee and a locally sourced menu. Look out for a second cafe coming to Gloucester Road in 2022.

Best new coffee: New Cut
Museum Street, Wapping Wharf

New Cut’s coffee is roasted by Colonna – photo: Martin Booth

The house coffee at New Cut is made up of beans from Brazil, Colombia and Timor-Leste, with the blend’s three components also brewed separately as single-origin espressos and filter, as well as being for sale to brew at home. Unsure about what to choose? Let co-owners Jack Hudspith and Kate Evans talk you through the options.

Best new doughnuts: Small Goods
2 Glass Wharf, Temple Quay

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXTGI2asU4Q/

From the same team behind Small Street Espresso and Little Victories, there was little doubt that this new opening across the cheesegrater bridge from Temple Meads was going to be a good ‘un. And so it has proved, with Small Goods the purveyors of the finest doughnuts this side of Springfield (and mighty fine coffee and sandwiches as well).

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Find out more about Bristol’s new doughnut quarter in episode 22 of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:

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Best new restaurant: Pony Bistro
291 North Street, Bedminster

Harvest Farm rainbow trout, trout belly & guanciale sausage, asparagus and shellfish sauce – photo: Martin Booth

Pony Bistro is the latest chapter in the story of the Pony & Trap, promising “all the charm, passion and deliciousness” from the original in the Chew Valley. Chefs cook over open fire and focus on South West seafood, vegetables and herbs from the Pony’s own garden and local growers, and quality reared meat to create a seasonally changing menu.

Best new bar: Stock Exchange Cocktail Club
34 St Nicholas Street

An Old Fashioned at Stock Exchange Cocktail – photo: Martin Booth

This speakeasy-style bar can be found in the basement of Old India restaurant, in the former boardroom of Bristol’s stock exchange. Just stroll in confidently as if you know exactly where you are going. Keep walking down the stairs, and arrive in Stock Exchange Cocktail Club, Bristol’s best new subterranean drinking den.

Best new pub: The Whitmore Tap
115 Whiteladies Road, Clifton

Looking out of the Whitmore Tap towards Whiteladies Road – photo: Martin Booth

The former Penny Farthing is now the Whitmore Tap, named in honour of Butcombe founder Simon Whitmore. The full range of Butcombe beer is of course on offer here, as well as very good food cooked from a Robata charcoal grill and open kitchen.

Best new pop-up: Matsudai x Tomo No Ramen
55 West Street, Old Market

Tomo No Ramen is hopefully soon turning from a pop-up into a permanent restaurant – photo: Ellie Pipe

Cult Cardiff pop-up Matsudai teamed up with Bristol’s Tomo No Ramen to open a pop-up ramen shop which looks set to become permanent in 2022. Tomo No Ramen’s signature tomo-ya dirty shoyu ramen is a golden chicken bone soup, with dirty shoyu tare, aromatic chicken oil and marinaded back fat, house tokyo-style noodles, smoked coppa chashu, diced shallots, ajitama, spinach and nori.

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Read more: Tomo No Ramen: ‘Popular pop-up proves well worth the wait’ – restaurant review

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Best new shop: Little Shop & Pantry
66 Northumbria Drive, Henleaze

Little Shop & Pantry expanded into its neighbouring premises in 2021 – photo: Martin Booth

Little Shop & Pantry is from the same team as Little French in nearby Westbury Park, which could have also been in the running for best pop-up if their collaboration at Bristol Old Vic had it not been aborted after less than a week. But King Street’s loss is Northumbria Drive’s gain and Little Shop & Pantry has proved so popular that it has already doubled in size after taking over the former shop next door.

Best new producer: The Aperitivo Co
47 Colston Street

The Aperitivo Co’s orange flavoured liqueur uses cinchona bark for bitterness, alongside a variety of citrus to add balanced complexity – photo: The Aperitivo Co

The Aperitivo Co make a range of vermouths, botanical liqueurs and bottled cocktails – which include martini, blanco negroni and Manhatten. Buy bottles from their Colston Street headquarters or find them for sale in shops across Bristol, and on an increasing number of back bars.

Best new initiative: Bristol Local Food Fund

Bristol Local Food Fund raised over £56,000 this year which will they be using tackle food insecurity by funding and supporting community food projects that are helping people most in need in our city. The funds will be allocated by people with lived experience of food insecurity, to ensure money will go where it is most needed.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: New brewery and bar opens in railway arch

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: