2025 was another great year for enjoying wonderful food from Bristol’s amazing independent restaurant scene, and I was able to try out plenty of new places from my list. As is tradition, here are my 10 food highlights from 2025 of the best new (for me) places I tried in Bristol and around!

• Wangs, Montpelier – a lush neighbourhood spot offering a great range of Chinese sharing plates, I particularly enjoyed the crispy soy chicken, the turnip cake and the pork belly. Everything was really fresh and full of flavour. They also serve Counter Culture kombucha which has been my favourite drink discovery of the year (more on that later!).
• The Pony Chew Valley – truly something special. Set in the beautiful Somerset countryside, with one of the best dining views I’ve experienced, every dish was carefully designed with immaculate attention to detail. The team work with produce grown fresh onsite, and there’s a baker’s table within the restaurant where you go and select your bread and butter at the start of the meal.

Wangs

The Pony

The Pony

• Dongnae, Redland – authentic Korean cooking at its finest. You can choose between a tasting menu or a la carte, which the servers kindly go through in detail. The bulgogi beef was a standout item, which you load onto a lettuce leaf along with various banchan and ssam – delicious!
• Cotto, Old City – a delightful Italian restaurant, it makes a great pre-theatre spot if you’re seeing a show at the Bristol Hippodrome or the Old Vic afterwards. Part of The Bianchis Group, who consistently deliver top quality food across all their restaurants along with friendly service.
• Pasta Ripiena, Old City – next door to Cotto, specialising in filled fresh pasta. Also part of The Bianchis Group, and so finally I can say that I’ve tried them all!

Dongnae

• Bagelicious, Old Market – Bristol’s bagel game is strong! A large menu including a variety of breakfast bagels. The bagels are plain (no seeds) but can be toasted.
• Prime by Pasture, Redcliffe – the Pasture team do not disappoint. Offering a carefully curated selection of burgers, for each beef burger you can choose either a double smash patty or a single thick patty. We also sampled a range of the starters which were excellent, particularly the seasoning on the chicken tenders! Their breakfast menu also has many delicious dishes including an indulgent French Toast.

Prime by Pasture

Prime by Pasture

• Box-E, Wapping Wharf – their unwritten 7 course tasting menu was a worthy birthday treat, with exceptional food in a relaxed setting. I particularly liked the scallops with charred corn, the mackerel with grilled hispi cabbage, and the duck with lentils. We also tried a delicious firm goats cheese from Somerset served with homemade crackers.
• Bank, Totterdown – Visiting for the Sunday roast, between four of us we sampled the lamb shoulder, pork belly and beef short rib, and each was cooked beautifully and served with delicious sides. The beef and the broccoli gratin in particular had a lovely smokey flavour from being cooked over fire, which is Bank’s speciality. I’m keen to return to sample their regular menu.

Box-E

Bank

• Cake Tin, St Michael’s Hill – an exciting new arrival in December, this women-owned cookie business has taken the leap into opening physical premises after regular appearances at Whiteladies Market and events. They specialise in chunky New York style cookies in a wide range of delectable flavours, and are easily the best cookies I’ve come across in Bristol. The shop serves hot drinks too, and you can order variety boxes online to be delivered nationwide.

Cake Tin

Cake Tin

Lastly, a few notable mentions: No4 Clifton for a lovely classic afternoon tea in a pretty setting, Caper & Cure in Stokes Croft for a delicious Sunday roast, and the Bristol-based kombucha company Counter Culture who stock in establishments across the city. As a non-drinker it’s often difficult to find something to drink that’s not full of sugar and has a lovely taste, so I was delighted to discover Counter Culture this year! They have a great range of flavours available in their distinctive jazzy packaging.

I’d love to hear if you’ve got any recommendations for me for 2026?

Alexa

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this post, why not take a look at my Bristol food highlights from the last few years: 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Header photo: The Pony, Chew Valley