19 new food and drink openings to look forward to in Bristol in 2023

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about Bristol’s food and drink scene in the months ahead but there are also plenty of reasons to be excited as well.

These are just a few of the new openings to look forward to in 2023:

1. Pizzucci

Pizzucci is being opened by the team behind Bosco

Bristol clearly has not yet reached peak pizza. Pizzucci on Gloucester Road “takes inspiration from the best pizza restaurants of New York, but this time we are taking the feel of the Big Apple a little further”. The dough will have a shorter ferment, with 18-inch pizzas available either whole or by the slice. Bosco’s famous arancini will have a glow-up with Pizzucci having three different varieties.

2. Muse

Muse already have a restaurant in Cheltenham

One of the most acclaimed restaurants in Cheltenham is opening for the first time in Bristol. Muse promises diners “a unique and inspirational French fusion dining experience” within the former Prince Street Social. Their website says that “traditional European and Asian ingredients are combined with modern cooking techniques, and beautifully presented with love and passion”.

3. Ruby Hue

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They might not have opened yet, but Ruby Hue are already building a name for themselves on TikTok, with one recent video getting more than ten million views. Ru Scanlon and Tom Hughes describe themselves as “bean to bar” chocolate makers, turning single origin cacao beans into ethical chocolate. See how chocolate is made in their chocolate factory and cafe opening soon on Hawkins Lane in Finzels Reach.

4. BoxHall

BoxHall is from the team behind BoxPark in London

One of the biggest openings of the year ahead will undoubtedly be BoxHall on Welsh Back from the people behind BoxPark in London. Due to open in the summer, it promises to be a “new, premium food, beer and music concept” with a lineup of seven independent food traders alongside an events programme.

5. Origin

Friska opened their first cafe on Victoria Street but their business model targeting office workers was hit hard by the pandemic

Cornwall’s Origin are already well-known in Bristol with their coffee served in cafes including Ka:Fei and Society, as well as a pop-up within the Finisterre shop when it opened on Park Street. They now look set to finally have somewhere of their own in the city, with the original Friska on Victoria Street due to be transformed into Bristol’s first Origin cafe.

6. The former Glassboat

The Glassboat was once one of Bristol’s most acclaimed restaurants

A ‘sold’ sign is currently on display on the roof of the floating restaurant and bar that was once one of the most prestigious in Bristol. The boat was most recently the short-lived restaurant and takeaway Fish but before that it had been the Glassboat for more than three decades. It is unknown who is taking on the former barge that can seat 170 people.

7. Horus

Horus is coming soon to Cannon Street

Horus is a Lebanese restaurant due to open soon on Cannon Street in Bedminster. Its website promises to “stay true to the authentic flavours of Lebanese cuisine, combining traditional dishes with a modern twist”.

8. Chance & Counters

Chance & Counters is moving to Finzels Reach in 2023

Not a new opening but a new location as after a few false starts, board game cafe Chance & Counters look set to open a second Bristol site alongside their original home at the foot of the Christmas Steps. Their new site in Finzels Reach will be more spacious than their current surroundings, which still somehow has more than 850 games to choose from as well as serving a seasonal food menu.

9. La Bottega

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87 Henleaze Road is due to become La Bottega, a deli and cafe promising to be “bringing the magic of Italy to Bristol”.

10. Guru J’s

Bombay-style Guruj’s is coming soon to Cheltenham Road

The sign already in place for a few months above what will become Guru J’s calls it a “streetery” and shisha lounge. Already with locations in Staple Hill and Cheltenham, Guru J’s promises “Bombay-style, hand crafted gourmet burgers, wraps, naanwiches, loaded fries, poppadom nachos, sides, deliciously thick creamy milkshakes and much more!”

11. A former public toilet in Bedminster

East Street public convenience opened in 1988

Hugo’s greengrocers had their eye on this unusual site on East Street for a while but it is unknown what the ex-public convenience is being turned into. If it does open as a hospitality business, it will join other businesses opening in former toilets including the Cloakroom on Woodland Road, Retreat on the Downs and Cafe on the Square in Sea Mills.

12. The Fish Shop

The Fish Shop on Gloucester Road has plans to expand, with a small seating area for up to six people to enjoy dishes such as sushi and oysters.

13. Prisoner-run cafe

A new cafe and shop will act as a bridge between prison, employment and rehabilitation to reduce reoffending. Charity The Key Unlock Potential want to open the cafe on Gloucester Road close to Bristol Prison, providing work for people released on temporary licence or who have recently left prison for six months or more.

14. The Bagel Place

The Bagel Place is opening in what used to be Cath Kidson and more recently, Illustrate

Bristol24/7 named the Little Bagel Co. on the Clifton Triangle as our best new cafe of 2022. Now a new bagel shop is being opened only a few hundred metres away. The Bagel Place on Park Street promises bagels baked from scratch daily.

15. Toasted

Toasted promises to be “your next local coffee stop”

Toasted is opening in a small unit on Queen’s Road which has seen a number of businesses come and go in recent years. It promises to be “your next local coffee shop”.

16. Pastan

Pastan is opening in another former Friska

Pastan is a vegan pasta restaurant – promising a “vibrant approach to fresh plant-based pasta” – that was previously seen as a pop-up in the Nectar House on Gloucester Road during the summer of 2021. Its new permanent home is in another former Friska: this one in Royal Oak House on the corner of Prince Street and Queen Square.

17. One of Bristol’s smallest cafes

One of the smallest cafes in Bristol is reopening

An interview with a customer outside the former Breakfast Box tucked away on Nelson Parade off Bedminster Parade became a viral video in 2016 after 18 gang members who used the cafe to serve up bacon and eggs alongside kilos of cocaine were jailed. Its new incarnation will feature a menu including falafel wraps, salad boxes and tabbouleh.

18. Jean’s Thai Mini Mart

Jean’s Thai Mini Mart is from Jean’s Bistro

Jean’s Bistro is one of the most popular restaurants on Gloucester Road. Her popular sauces will now be on the shelves of Jean’s Thai Mini Mart, opening next door to the Drapers Arms.

19. Black Sheep

Black Sheep is opening in the former Crazy Fox

Black Sheep already has more than a dozen cafes across the UK. Coffees are served alongside smoothies, shakes and Norwegian waffles. It will be opening in the historic Arcade off Broadmead.

All photos: Martin Booth

Read next:

• 23 things to look forward to in Bristol in 2023
• Veganuary 2023: 14 of Bristol’s best vegan spots to try this year
• Bristol’s best new food & drink openings of 2022
• Bristol24/7 to launch a new quarterly magazine

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