The best family-friendly restaurants in Bristol
Published 07 June 2024

Tucked behind Root on the first floor of Cargo (Bristol's shipping-container foodie mecca), this chipboard-clad micro-eatery has more than doubled its covers since converting its terrace to an outdoor dining area. Although you can no longer perch at the pass, all 14 of the indoor seats are close enough to see the sweat on chef Elliott Lidstone's brow as he turns out classic, refined modern food from his cupboard-sized kitchen. Front-of-house duties are cheerfully overseen by partner Tess and regulars are enthusiastic about the 'passion' and 'love' that goes into every aspect of this small, independent business. Unless you go for the excellent-value, seven-course 'unwritten' tasting menu (£55), there's a limited choice of seasonal dishes, all of which focus on what's best to eat right now. An early autumn visit might involve a starter of charred hispi cabbage, smoked trout and lemon butter, perhaps followed by hake with borlotti beans, yellow courgettes and sumac or immaculately cooked breast of duck with wild rice, autumn greens and brilliant little flavour bombs of punchy pickled turnip. Puddings usually include the 'legendary' vanilla panna cotta (a favourite with regulars), adorned on a recent visit with caramelised figs and Pedro Ximénez. The drinks list offers far more choice – where do they store the bottles? – with a focus on organic and sustainable wines and plenty by the glass. While there's no charge for the deliciously crusty home-baked bread and carafes of sparkling water, the bill does contain a £1 donation to a regularly changing local charity.

What began as a supper club operating out of the owners’ flat is now firmly established as one of Bristol's go-to eateries. ‘I’ve been making a regular pilgrimage for the last seven years,’ commented one reporter, ‘and it never disappoints.’ Others wax lyrical about the magical atmosphere, the unmatched effervescent energy of the place and the exemplary service – although the constantly changing menu of seasonal tapas forged from top-drawer Spanish ingredients is the undoubted star of the show.

Whether you’re holed up in the cramped bar (dim lights, pop music, cluttered counter seating) or in the open-air section at the front, the kitchen delivers surprisingly eclectic flavours with more than a hint of culinary finesse. Cleverly reworked versions of the classics form the backbone of the repertoire, from tortilla de patatas with allioli to a freewheeling take on Russian salad with tuna belly and tostadas, but it’s also worth delving into the selection of more substantial specialities from the plancha – perhaps salt-grilled wild prawns, chorizo cooked in cider or roast pumpkin with mojo rojo sprinkled with seeds. 

Beautifully presented regional cheeses make a good finale or you could splash out on the three-part dessert board served with two glasses of vino dulce. The drinks list features an impressive selection of Spanish sherries, beers, brandies and wines, as well as a lengthy gin menu; the choice of seasonal cocktails is also much appreciated. 

It's easy to see why this laid-back neighbourhood diner in the heart of Stokes Croft attracts such a loyal following. Blending classy, seasonal cooking from chef Matty Groves (formerly of Bath’s Menu Gordon Jones) with a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in unpretentious surroundings, a meal here is a reliably good night out. And it may take the whole night – service is never less than charming,  but it can be slow at times. A recent reconfiguration has seen the kitchen move downstairs, allowing space for a chef’s table private-dining experience. The ground-floor dining room now feels a little lighter and brighter, though not much has changed about the shabby-chic, dark blue and white decor, save for a lick of white paint.

Menu-wise, it’s worth ruining your appetite by dipping into the snack section, perhaps for a home-baked toasted crumpet topped with gooey Cheddar emulsion and a tangle of piquant onion. Follow on with, say, a starter of warm crab and crayfish butter with fresh herbs and house bread. Mains could be a classic French onglet with peppercorn sauce, frites and Strode valley salad or a beautifully executed plate of hand-rolled tagliatelle with girolles and toasted pine nuts bathed in a rich Parmesan and butter sauce that would make any nonna smile. Portions are generous, but do save space for the regularly changing homemade ice creams and sorbets. Fixed-price lunches are a steal.

The drinks list offers cocktails, local ciders and ales, but wine is a strength here, so you can rely on decent-value house selections or take the opportunity to try out something new. The owners also run Carmen Street Wine (a bottle shop and wine bar) just round the corner. 

A cosy bolthole with a great atmosphere in the centre of Bristol, this wine bar and kitchen feels more informal than sister restaurant Pasta Ripiena on the same street, while offering impeccably sourced, beautifully cooked Italian food of the same quality. Originally La Sorella (a deli and aperitivo bar), then Bar Ripiena, plans to reimagine the space as a lasagne bar were knocked off course by the pandemic. Cotto emerged in early 2022. The old wine bar, with its countertop seating and high tables for two running along one side of the narrow room, now flows into next door where larger groups can eat in a slightly less atmospheric dining room. While you can still pop in for just a glass from their wide-ranging, carefully chosen selection of Italian and other European wines, it's easy to be tempted by the short, daily changing menu of keenly priced culinary delights. Small plates of, say, panzanella with buffalo mozzarella are large enough for two, while a large serving of rigatoni cacio e pepe or chicken cacciatore with pappardelle is a satisfying and sophisticated meal for one. Order another glass of wine to complement a scoop of gelato or a savoury finale such as homemade 'carta da musica' flatbread with mustard fruits and an oozing slab of Taleggio. The welcome is as warm as a ray of Italian sunshine.

Handy for a classy train snack to go, this excellent bakery next to Bristol Temple Meads station is also a hugely popular destination in its own right. Inside, it’s simply decorated with moveable counters on castors and a gleaming coffee machine in front of the open-plan workspace. There are also a few tables inside and a couple of outdoor benches for those who want to linger over their doorstep sourdough toasties or cinnamon buns. Open from early doors till 3pm, its daily menu of baked goodies is supplemented by lunch specials such as chicken and tomato broth with asparagus and peas. Coffee is from the local Extract roastery. é

Visitors consistently praise the ‘welcome and engaging’ service at this laid-back pasta emporium that has come a long way since its days as a pop-up. Watch owner Chris Davis beatifically shaping a seemingly endless ribbon of pasta in the restaurant’s shopfront window workspace. Inside, the lived-in decor of rough wood floors, bare tables and salvaged chairs, plus high shelves housing trailing plants and bottles of wine, creates a relaxing vibe.

The short menu naturally showcases Davis’s freshly made pasta, though starters could be anything from monkfish carpaccio with orange and shallot to a wonderfully moreish white bean, fennel and sausage ragù with chive butter. Mains are expertly crafted, precisely cooked and lavishly dressed delights, say a generous plate of half-moon casoncelli stuffed with roast celeriac and Parmesan and bathed in honey, butter and chopped pickled walnuts or tagliolini with prawn-head sauce, chilli, basil and butterflied prawn. After such a high, desserts (including traditional favourites such as tiramisu and affogato) can be a bit of an anti-climax.

To drink, a modest list of almost entirely Italian and French wines offers a decent selection by the glass. Visit Tuesday to Friday lunchtime to take advantage of the great-value set menu (three courses for £26 at the time of writing).

Replacing much-loved greasy spoon Lockside (immortalised in Only Fools and Horses as Sid's Café), this upmarket yet down-to-earth fish and chip joint (with add-ons) deserves to inspire just as much affection. Wooden-clad, with large porthole windows at the front, it looks like an ark that has somehow drifted out of the Cumberland basin and got wedged underneath a flyover. Inside, the attention to detail – from the pretty stoneware salt cellars to the tropical fish wallpaper in the ladies' loo – creates a delightful backdrop.

The short menu is dictated by what's come off the boats in Brixham and Newlyn that morning. Don't skip the starters – chef-owner Daniel Rosser's time in the kitchens of London's Sabor and the Seahorse in Dartmouth shines through in dishes such as a rich and spicy Cornish fish soup loaded with hefty chucks of cod, mussels and a large croûton topped with pungent aïoli. Main courses include deep-fried chip shop staples, say cod loin or haddock fillet in a delightfully light batter, plus hand-cut chips (from sacks of potatoes you can see piled near the kitchen), homemade mushy peas and tartare sauce served on a scallop shell.

However, it's the grilled dishes that really impress: a fat whole Cornish sole, adorned with a vibrant green garlic and herb butter, is beautifully fresh and light. Puddings are schoolroom favourites of the sticky toffee pudding variety, although the dark chocolate mousse with clotted-cream ice cream is a decidedly adult affair. The short but thoughtfully assembled wine list is predominantly white, with more than half offered by the glass.

Intimate and informal, with small, closely packed, square wooden tables ranged along either side of the dining room, this cool, modern Italian offers a short, daily changing menu of fresh stuffed pasta dressed in moreish sauces. The chefs in the open kitchen conjure magic from simple ingredients, say the ox cheek ragù that's used to fill casoncelli parcels (served on a bed of celeriac purée, garnished with bresaola and Parmesan). Antipasti includes fantastic sourdough focaccia and a salad of Italian tomatoes, ricotta, balsamic vinegar and deeply flavoured grass-green virgin olive oil. Dessert might be a perfectly wobbly panna cotta of pistachio and more of that wonderful olive oil; otherwise, opt for a generous slab of Italian cheese with homemade flatbread and mustard fruits. Though not quite as popular as big brother Pasta Loco, booking is advisable, especially if you want to take advantage of the extraordinarily good-value fixed-price lunch. The dozen or so reds and whites on the carefully chosen wine list showcase Italian vintages, although France, the New World and even Essex get a brief look in. 

Housed in the Tardis-like basement of a Whiteladies Road townhouse, this is the latest and largest venture from the Bianchis Group, replacing the much-loved Pasta Loco round the corner. Aficionados of Loco and its sister Pasta Ripiena will recognise the brown paper lampshades, white walls adorned with monochrome photos, slatted wood ceilings and numerous shelves groaning with wines, tinned tomatoes and other Italian delights. Ask the ‘attentive and knowledgeable’ waiting staff for a table in the back if you want to watch the chefs at work in the large open kitchen.

The promise of a list of global ingredients to point up the light, fresh and immaculately sourced modern cooking is lightly honoured – say, with a drop of cider in a dish of bucatini with braised cuttlefish, cream and agretti. Otherwise, it’s Italian all the way, from a snack of oyster mushroom fritti to a beautiful blush-hued radicchio insalata with mustard fruits, hazelnuts, apple and stracciatella. The short selection of desserts might include a perfectly wobbly limoncello panna cotta paired with rustic, crumbly rosemary and pistachio shortbread.

A predominantly Italian wine list is helpfully divided into light, medium and heavy, with a handful by the glass or 500ml carafe, plus ‘Nonna’s list’ of budget-blowing bottles. Cocktails are on special offer on Monday nights, and there are excellent-value fixed-price lunches from Tuesday to Friday.

Opened on Bristol’s waterfront Cargo development in 2017, this 'restaurant in a shipping container' may be starting to show its age (in good weather, the terrace is the place to be), but Root still delivers fresh creativity on the plate. Part of Josh Eggleton’s Pony Restaurant Group, it offers an ever-changing seasonal menu of vegetable-led small plates – although there are always a couple of fish and meat choices, say butterflied red mullet with Isle of Wight tomatoes and saffron aïoli. 

A recent meal kicked off with a simple plate of crudités, elevated by the presence of sparklingly fresh raw vegetables, punchy pickles and a delicious cashew and seaweed dip. Light and fluffy gnudi-style ewe’s curd dumplings are a Root signature dish and rightly so; the accompanying braised greens had great flavour, accentuated by tart and fragrant preserved lemon. By contrast, Wye Valley asparagus with peas, broad beans, radish and cider shallots was spring personified in one fresh and invigorating assemblage. A beautifully made honey and brown butter tart brought the meal to a satisfactorily sweet conclusion. The wine list offers 25 choices, with eight available by the carafe. The emphasis is on natural viticulture, but with enough organic and biodynamic options to please the wider wine-drinking audience. 

With founding chef Rob Howell having relocated to the sister Root in Wells, we couldn’t completely dismiss the nagging feeling that the Bristol original is now something of a poor relation. In addition to the interior’s wear and tear, service was somewhat inattentive and there was a general lack of excitement about the experience. Nevertheless, there is still plenty to love about Root, and it remains a Bristol stalwart.

You wouldn’t guess it from the name, but Sonny Stores is a charming neighbourhood Italian, set in a former corner shop amid the terraces and bay windows of Southville. Out front, a blackboard advertises takeaway pizzas, but inside you’ll find no trace of Leaning Tower or Ponte Vecchio chintz: the interiors are bright and contemporary, with Fellini-esque terrazzo flooring, a smattering of potted plants and a sunflower painted over the door – indeed, it ‘feels like you’re in someone’s living room.’

The name ‘Sonny’ is borrowed from the son of owners Mary Glynn and chef Pegs Quinn (ex-River Café) – it's clear the restaurant they run together is also a labour of love. Antipasti are thoughtfully assembled – check out the excellent fat Nocellara olives and the much-loved (though admittedly not Italian) Cantabrian anchovies (chunky specimens doused in salt and oil). Starters might take inspiration from across the peninsula – there are northern Italian notes in a dish of crispy beef tongue with salsa rossa, though deep-fried whole quail with hot honey and crème fraîche on the side is more of a departure.

Pasta dishes might include looping pappardelle with rich chicken-liver ragù, parsley and Parmesan – though our standout dish was a main course of poached cod in a rich broth of clams ‘acqua pazza’, resting on bruschetta that absorbed the flavours. Some might round off with pear ice cream, brown sugar and walnut; others go for a generous slab of tiramisu. Also look out for the good-value weekday set lunches.

Locals wandering down Chandos Road have become accustomed to Wilsons' stained glass sign adorned with stylised cauliflowers, leeks, onions and peppers – their colours glowing vividly whenever the Redland sun shines. The sign is, in fact, rather old: a family heirloom inherited by current owner Mary Wilson, rescued from a restaurant of the same name that operated in west London some decades ago. Nonetheless, it serves as a fitting mission statement for the modern establishment it now advertises, with the emphasis on bright flavours, bright ideas – and, above all, fresh produce.

Wilsons has grown steadily in stature since 2016 – thanks in part to its smallholding, which sits under the flight path to Bristol Airport, and now supplies all vegetables and herbs for the restaurant. Meanwhile, the small, whitewashed dining room is sparsely adorned, apart from a blackboard listing the chalked-up tasting menu and a pair of antlers mounted over the kitchen – where head chef Jan Ostle's own creativity takes flight. 

Our visit opened with a tiny, tangy portion of rich red mullet and clementine soup, swiftly succeeded by bread from Wilsons' bakery next door, accompanied by moreish buttermilk pheasant and light-as-air taramasalata. There was the faintest foretaste of spring in a dish of sea bass with parsley, labneh and wild garlic ‘capers’, and midwinter comfort in the standout serving of lightly cooked monkfish, grilled celeriac, onion and fig leaf. Punchy, gamey flavours predominated, not least in a ‘very red’ combo of perfectly cooked mallard, beetroot and rhubarb, all half-hidden beneath a January King cabbage leaf.

A few pilgrims come for Wilsons’ sublime signature dessert of tarte tatin with bay-leaf ice cream, but many more are attracted by the prospect of a neighbourhood restaurant that delivers against so many metrics: affable staff, green credentials and a thoughtfully assembled wine list – plus a kitchen that knows precisely when to surprise and when to satisfy its customers with value as well as quality.