Tart - Gloucester Road

Gloucester Road - one of the most cultural roads in Bristol, packed full of fab charity shops, independent fruit and veg shops, fancy restaurants and most importantly (in my opinion) lots of cafés filled with delicious cake! If you ever have an afternoon free (and it will take an afternoon!) then have a wander up Gloucester Road, pop in to some charity shops and find your favourite new top, and definitely pop into my next café: Tart.

You may think you have tried chocolate tart, you may even think you have had the best chocolate tart there is to have! But you haven't, that is, not until you visit Tart! 

Set out as a traditional British tea shop with pretty furniture in a vintage theme, you feel like you've been transported back to the last century for a Spot Of Tea Darling, so if you are a vintage lover like myself, you will love it! With friendly staff who serve the tables (no going up to the counter in Tart!) and a huge array of yummy cakes, Tart is a great treat for when people come to stay, or you feel like a fancy afternoon out with friends.

Although a little on the pricey side (on a student budget, anyway) it is worth visiting if you are ever in the area, and it is basically law that you have to try the tart. I know I have mentioned this a few times now but seriously, it's incredible. Their hot chocolate is really good too!

Food: 11/10!
Atmosphere 10/10

Check out their website here :) http://lovelytart.com/

Friska at Rise - Queens Road

*PICTURE YET TO COME*

Rise was originally a vintage music shop, with records, DVDs, books and trendy vintage jumpers. Suddenly at some point the downstairs of this shop developed into an exciting new café! The café part of the shop is run by another Bristol company called Friska, who serve up yummy food from every nation and culture you can imagine. In their hot food section they offer up meals such as Louisiana Chicken and Chorizo Gumbo and Sweet Potato Sambar. For an alternative taste to the usual sandwich and slice of cake offered at other restaurants, the food at Friska is delicious, and you also get the opportunity to listen to the cool new music on offer in the shop upstairs.

Eating at Friska is not a usual café experience. You begin by ordering your food at the counter (often leading to queues out the door on sunny days!) and then go and find a seat at the huge long tables, which you will share with a few other people. At some point you will hear someone shout your name (I jumped, a lot) announcing that your food is cooked. As a tip I would say sit close to the place where they hand out the food so you don't have to do the picking-up-your-food-walk-of-shame completely red in the face as the entire restaurant now know your name! Also make sure you pick up an abundance of napkins, especially if you are having a wrap, as I made a complete mess of the very generously filled tortilla!

Definitely worth a visit for a bit of something different!

For food: 7/10
For atmosphere; 7/10

Check out the Friska website here: http://www.friskafood.com/lunch.php
Check out the Rise website here: http://www.rise-music.co.uk/

Boston Tea Party - Whiteladies Road

*PICTURE YET TO COME*

If you are looking for something to eat or drink, regardless of time of day, you will always find somewhere to go on Whiteladies. The road stretches all the way from Clifton Triangle up to the Downs, with the best cafés and restaurants located around the Clifton Down train station.

Boston Tea Party on Whiteladies Road is yet another great café for any occasion, and as it is bigger than the Clifton Village and Park Street branches, you can generally find a seat! The café is set out over two floors with the usual range of random furniture, but with lots of space and big tables, making it a great place for a meet up with a group of friends or a family outing. Being so close to the Sainsburys where I do my weekly shop, I'd say that it is pretty conveniently located for those emergency hot chocolate/cake needs! (Although my bank account may not agree...)

As with all the Boston Tea Parties, I tested out their signature dish - Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. In this café they were delicious as per usual, coming with the small pot of maple syrup (the best!) so my pancakes were lovingly swimming in sugary sauce... The only tiny thing I would have to say against this Boston Tea Party is that their pancakes were a little too small, although maybe that just shows that I need to eat less!

For atmosphere: 10/10
For food: 9/10

Check out their website here :) http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/cafe/bristol-whiteladies

Boston Tea Party - Cheltenham Road

Cheltenham Road runs through an area of Bristol called Stokes Croft. It is well known as a haven for all things alternative, and you will find everything from a cute boutique to a vintage 90's clothing shop to a café-come-laundrette.
The Boston Tea Party on Cheltenham Road reflects the style of the area perfectly. Situated on the ground floor of an old warehouse-esque building, the walls are bare brick with remnants of the old paint, and are covered with quirky pictures. The furniture is a mix of old garden furniture and huge comfy chairs which make this vast café cosy. In the summer months the whole front of the café is opened up to bring the outside in, and the benches and chairs outside are just as full as the inside.
As with all BTP I have tried the pancakes here and believe they might be the best. Although I only got a small portion of maple syrup with them, a friendly waiter came over with a whole pot when I asked for more! I'd also recommend the sweet potato chips, absolutely delicious and served with a scrummy burger.
Perfect for a spot of lunch and to soak up the Stokes Croft atmosphere. If you don't watch out you might end up leaving more 'Brindi' than when you arrived!
For atmosphere: 9/10
For food: 10/10

Check out their website here :) http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/cafe/bristol-cheltenham-road

Photo from: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=boston+tea+party+cheltenham+road&hl=en&client=chrome-mobile&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=v2kFUbHWCYel0AXOzIHQDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=320&bih=460#i=4

Boston Tea Party - Clifton Village

So my Boston Tea Party crawl continues - this time to Clifton Village!

Photo courtesy of http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/cafe/bristol-clifton

For those of you who live in Bristol you will know what a charming place Clifton Village is, especially on a sunny day. For those of you who aren't aware of it's character I shall give you a quick low down:
Positioned against the edge of the Avon Gorge Clifton Village is a world of it's own apart from Bristol, and has become some-what of a tourist attraction in itself. To the north of the Village are the large Clifton/Durdham Downs, a great place to take a stroll before or after a large slice of yummy cake from BTP!  On the west of the village stretching over the Avon Gorge is the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which gives you a superb view over the whole of Bristol and leads you into the countryside of the surrounding area. On the top of the hill looking down over the Village is the observatory, home to the camera obscura and a hidden tunnel heading through the cliff and out onto a cave on the side. All this plus the array of little independent shops from everything to wedding dresses to a chocolaterie make the village a perfect place to visit when you have a little free time on your hands.

And where better a place to stop off for a spot of lunch or a steaming mug of white hot chocolate? Boston Tea Party of course!

Although you can't quite tell from the lovely picture above, the café is situated on the corner of two roads, Clifton Down Road and Princess Victoria Street. This allows you to have a panoramic view of the two bustling roads from the seats upstairs, a perfect place for afternoon people watching! As I have now tried the  Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Syrup (the best dish of all time!) in all the Boston Tea Partys in Bristol, I am able to place this one 3rd place in the ranking, as I didn't receive a lot of maple syrup with them. I can, however, confirm that their cake is delicious and it's well worth a visit just to taste it! The only downside I can possibly think of for this Boston Tea Party is that the interior isn't quite up to the standard of the others, and the outside isn't particularly appealing either. Having said that, it still manages to contain the fab relaxed atmosphere of the other cafés.

For amtosphere: 7/10
For food: 9/10

Check out their website here :) http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/cafe/bristol-clifton

Boston Tea Party - Park Street

In Bristol we are lucky enough to have 4 Boston Tea Party cafés dotted around, one in Clifton Village, one in Clifton on Park Street, one on Whiteladies Road and one on Cheltenham Road. All of them have a different atmosphere, layout and decoration. 

My first task of this blog is to choose the best Boston Tea Party in Bristol - starting with trying out the one on Park Street. 

With their mismatched furniture salvaged from apparently everything from a living room to a church, the café has very quaint feel, and one I love. This Boston Tea Party is for everyone, you'll find business men on laptops, students studying, grannies catching up all inside the chilled seating area. If you just fancy a break from a day at uni or work, grab a spot by the big windows upstairs and you are in a great position to people watch the whole of Park Street!

In the summer months the terraced tea garden at the back of the café is perfect for a spot of afternoon tea (or post-exam pancakes!).

For atmosphere: 9/10
For food: 9/10

Check out their website here :) http://www.bostonteaparty.co.uk/cafe/bristol-park-street