11 min readBristol has a strong tradition of green-minded and purpose-led restaurants, with many of the city's top chefs championing local suppliers and minimising waste.
Bristol has been a Gold Sustainable Food City since 2021, and we're lucky to have some great quality produce on our doorstep, from farms, markets and allotments to vineyards, breweries and cider orchards.
Here are our top picks for getting a flavour of the West Country with nose-to-tail menus, hyper-local ingredients and tasty tours.
Wilsons
Your first stop if you're looking to try the best of what Bristol has to offer with sustainable dining is Wilsons in Redland. The restaurant has both a Michelin Star and a Michelin Green Star, which are testament to the team's creativity and green ethos.
Wilsons has its own two-acre market garden which supplies the vegetables, herbs and edible flowers used across its dishes. The team are passionate about regenerative and restorative growing, with a commitment to biodiversity and soil health. They also shoot and butcher game for the menu, and dry age meat and fish themselves. The three-course lunch menu is great value at £35, or their full six-course dinner menu is £73, making it one of the best value Michelin-starred restaurants in the country.
Imag - Dish at Wilsons. Credit Ben Dixon
The Canteen
Head to the counter-culture district of Stokes Croft for a bite to eat at this sustainably-minded vegetarian restaurant, where the menu is predominately plant-based, seasonal and locally sourced, promoting a low-carbon diet. The team are on a mission to reduce their carbon footprint, and were one of the very first restaurants in the UK to put carbon emission information on their menu. They even use electric-powered delivery vehicles!
As well as vegetables from local market gardens, they also have a wine list that is exclusively European and celebrates UK producers - several of their wines from Portugal are transported by sailboat and electric car. They also launched Spirit of Bristol in 2022 with a move to serving only Bristol-produced spirits using carbon-negative stills.
The Canteen, along with sister restaurants No.1 Harbourside and The Old Market Assembly, has been a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association since 2012, following best practices across three pillars: People, Planet & Profit. The restaurants also have a Gold Bristol Eating Better Award.
Image - The Canteen
Poco
One of the original trailblazers of Bristol's green dining scene, Poco follows the Slow Food values; good, clean and fair. They focus on minimal food waste and are laser-focused on the traceability of the produce and ingredients they use, buying direct from farms and producers wherever possible.
Not only is their food delicious, but you can enjoy it knowing that the fresh produce is 100% seasonal and the vast majority is sourced within 50 miles of the restaurant. Over 50% of the produce they use is organic and certified by the Soil Association, and they only serve fish that is given the highest sustainability rating by the Marine Conservation Society.
Pair your meal with one of the organic, natural and small production wines from their list, or try one of their popular cocktails made with homemade liqueurs and infusions using foraged and herbal ingredients. They've also developed their own gin with local micro-distillery Psychopomp, using leftover leaves and peel from the lemons they use in the restaurant, along with sea buckthorn and burdock root.
Image - Poco
The Granary
This modern restaurant in the city centre works closely with farms and suppliers within a 40 mile radius. Their seasonal all-day menu changes throughout the year and follows a nose-to-tail approach, with the team doing all their own butchery on site. The high quality meat and vegetables are given some adde flavour from the wood-fired oven, which also turns out some delicious topped flatbreads.
The team have a zero waste policy and leftover whey, vegetable and fruit peels are used in their downstairs cocktail bar The Granary Club for cocktail syrups and drink infusions.
Image - The Granary
Root
Putting vegetables at the forefront of the menu, Root in Wapping Wharf has been one of the city's top dining spots since it opened in 2017. Owned by pioneering chef Josh Eggleton and Luke Hasell from The Story Farms, the restaurant celebrates local producers with a 'more veg, less meat' ethos.
Expect a range of influences from across the world in the beautiful small plates here, from Chew Valley Burrata with fennel and lemon to smoked beetroot with radicchio and walnut butter. Any meat and fish on the menu is locally and sustainably sourced, and you'll find a big local influence on the drinks menu too, with beers from Bristol Beer Factory and Wiper and True, and cider from Pilton and Wilding Cider.
Image - Root
COR
One of Bristol's most acclaimed restaurants, COR is family-run affair with a farm to table approach. Their sustainability ethos isn't just about seasonality and responsible sourcing, they are also passionate about caring for their team and contributing to the local community, through working with local charities such as Square Food Foundation, the Mazi Project, Caring in Bristol and more.
Pop in to try their three-course Menu du Jour from 12 - 3:30pm Tuesday to Friday for just £30, or order a la carte to enjoy dishes such as seasonal savoury caneles, Spanish-style croquetas and their trademark dish of cannellini beans with lemon beurre blanc and smoked caviar.
Image - COR
Pasture
This stylish steakhouse is trying to do things a bit differently, with fire-based cooking techniques and impressive sustainability credentials. The team have their own farm and vineyard just 3.2 miles from the restaurant, where they practise 'no dig', permaculture and organic methods, which promotes biodiversity and also gives them a wonderful range of veg, fruit, herbs and flowers to use in the restaurant. They even keep their own bees, the honey of which is used in many creations by Pasture chefs.
Other environmental practies they follow include sourcing their beef from only grass fed, native and regenerative farms; using 100% green energy and recycling used cooking oil for biodiesel.
Image - Pasture's Buttercliffe Farm near Bristol. Credit Faydit Photography
Eat a Pitta
If you're looking for some fresh, healthy and tasty good on the go, Eat a Pitta serve up a range of vegetarian pittas and salad boxes from their five locations across Bristol, all of which have a Bristol Eating Better Gold Award. Most of their packaging is biodegradable, recyclable or compostable and 100% of the energy they use in their shops is from renewable sources.
The team are working towards a zero waste policy and have team up with food waste app Too Good To Go to avoid surplus food from ending up in the bin.
Image - Eat a Pitta
Pieminister
One of Bristol's best-known exports, Pieminister still has several restaurants in the city, including their first location on Stokes Croft. As they've expanded as a company they've held firm on their sustainability values and are a certified B Corp, committed to responsible sourcing for both animal and ecological welfare, as well as reducing carbon emissions and reducing waste.
In addition to expanding their range of vegetarian and plant-based products, they're also reducing the amount of beef on the menu and moving to 100% slow growing breeds of chicken. They also champion the use of deforestation-free ingredients across the industry. For their retail and takeaway products, Pieminister are aiming for 100% of their packaging to be reusable, widely recyclable, or easy to home compost, and have also set a target to reduce food waste across the business by 50%.
Image - Pieminister
Ashwell & Co.
Not only does this beaufitul Clifton shop only stock vintage clothing, promoting slow fashion, but their afternoon tea menu is also wholly vegetarian to reduce their carbon footprint. They source their ingredients from local businessses to reduce transport emissions and also support the local economy. They've been recognised for their commitment to sustainability by various publications including The Sunday Times Style Magazine and Elle UK.
Image - Ashwell & Co.
St Nicholas Market
A number of the food traders in the market have a Bristol Eating Better Gold award for their commitment to sustainability and offering healthier options, including La Lola, Momo Bar, Portuguese Taste and Loki Poke.
Image - St Nicholas Market
Windmill Hill City Farm
This little working farmyard also has an award-winning café and shop, which sources many of its ingredients from the farm itself. As well as being a fun place to visit (and grab a bite to eat!), the farm also aims to connect and educate local people, and has a varied programme of events and activities for the community. The small 4.5 acre site also manages to squeeze in the Orchard Sauna, the Garden Theatre and a taproom for local micro brewery Bruhaha.
Image - Windmill Hill City Farm
The Lido Restaurant
The menu at this Clifton restaurants is strongly influenced by the seasons and the freshest produce available, with the team relying on strong relationships with local suppliers, farmers and fishermen from the West and South Coast. Expect dishes infused with some Mediterranean sunshine while showcasing the best that the region has to offer.
Image - The Lido Restaurant
Noah's
Bristol's top-rated fish restaurant has a menu which changes daily and seasonally and lets the quality of the latest catch do the talking. All of their seafood comes from UK waters, with the only exceptions being wild Atlantic prawns and cod; and all their seafood is MSC approved.
Image - Noah's
The Forge & Fern
Head to East Bristol to visit this welcoming neighbourhood restaurant, which is a big champions of local makers, growers and producers. As well as featuring local ingredients, the menu also makes sure to include herbs from their garden and honey from their on-site bees!
Image - The Forge & Fern
Here are just a few of the other Bristol cafes and restaurants which have a strong sustainability focus:
- Bristol Park Cafes - All of the cafes in Bristol's large parks have either achieved or are working towards the gold standard Bristol Eating Better Award. This is awarded to businesses which sell healthy food options, use local produce and promote sustainability.
- Better Food - Award-winning independent retailer and café across Bristol stocking local, organic and ethically sourced products. They are passionate about building a fairer food community and supporting local communities.
- Thali - Enjoy a feel-good curry feast at this East Bristol institution, where the meat and eggs are all locally sourced and free range, any fish on the menu is MSC certified, and the fruit and veg is also locally sourced where possible. Thali are best known for their Tiffin scheme, which reduces packaging and waste.
- The Clifton - This Clifton gastropub has received several awards, including a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a place in the Top 100 Gastropubs list by Estrella. Their menus all change twice a day with the seasons and to use the best of that day's local produce, which is mainly sourced from local suppliers and their own smallholding.
- Café Kino - Bristol's longstanding vegan cafe is a not-for-profit co-operative, working with a range of local suppliers such as Hodmedods, The Proper Bread Bakery and Essential.
- Restore - A local chain of B Corp Certified cafes, offering responsibly sourced coffee and grab-and-go lunches. They work with Too Goo To Go to minimise food waste, and local bike courier Zedify to reduce emissions on deliveries.
- The Key Cafe - This not-for-profit café on Gloucester Road offers paid placements to recently released ex-offenders and prisoners released on Temporary Licence. From baked goods to furniture, most of the cafe’s supplies are made within HMP Bristol.
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