Bristol eats out more independently than anywhere in England outside London. Three days here run from a Georgian market hall trading since 1743 to farmhouse cider on Christmas Steps and thirty container kitchens on the harbour's south bank.
Trading since 1743 beneath the Glass Arcade's Georgian roof, with 60-plus stalls. Queue at Eat A Pitta for halloumi falafel wraps, Matina for Sri Lankan curry, or Portuguese Taste for custard tarts. Mon-Sat 09:30-17:00.
Bristol's pie company started in this Stokes Croft kitchen in 2003. The Moo (steak and ale) and Heidi (goat's cheese and sweet potato) come with mash, minted peas and gravy for about £13, with vegan versions on the same menu.
Reckoned to be Britain's longest unbroken run of independent shops, this stretch through Bishopston is a grazing route: Joe's Bakery for lardy cake and Bath buns, Zara's Chocolates, delis, fishmongers and greengrocers.
A bar-restaurant midway down Gloucester Road pouring West Country ales and its own house beers, with small plates from an open kitchen. Live jazz, funk or soul most nights from around 20:00, no cover charge on weeknights.
On a Clifton Village side street beside the Arcade since 1979, striped awning over pavement tables. Brunch runs to smoked haddock kedgeree and a Full Bristolian with local hogs pudding and Somerset bacon.
The heart of the Cotham Hill dining strip in one small room, where cousins Ben and Dom roll pasta by hand each morning. Dishes such as nduja tortelli and cacio e pepe croquettes change weekly on a short blackboard menu.
Halfway up the medieval Christmas Steps, this shop stocks 150-plus ciders and perries from Somerset, Herefordshire and orchards within 50 miles of Bristol. Tutored tastings walk you through six farmhouse kegs.
Jan Ostle's Redland dining room cooks almost entirely from its own market garden outside the city, so the handwritten menu changes daily. Bread, butter, charcuterie and vinegars are all made in-house; set dinner is around £55.
Two rows of stacked shipping containers on the harbour's south bank house around 30 independents. Mokoko for cardamom buns, The Bristol Loaf for sourdough, Gopal's Curry Shack for Goan fish curry, Box-E and Root for small plates.
South of the river, North Street runs from Mark's Bread — sourdough baked overnight in a converted garage — past Souk Kitchen's Levantine mezze, micropubs, delis and the Tobacco Factory's Sunday producers' market.
A concrete-and-glass brewery bar where beer ferments in tanks behind the counter. Twenty taps of hazy IPA, lager and barrel-aged sour, plus a wood-fired kitchen upstairs. Everything is available in thirds for tasting flights.
On cobbled King Street beside the 1664 Llandoger Trow, this two-room craft bar pours 25 keg and cask lines in thirds, halves and two-thirds only — no pints — with a burger kitchen working the upstairs room.