Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Whitchurch
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Whitchurch restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 72 restaurants in Whitchurch and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Whitchurch restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Whitchurch Restaurants
1. Harbour House
British, Traditional restaurant in Bristol
The Grove, Harbourside - BS1
“Really a little gem in Bristol”: the former Severnshed has morphed, post-pandemic, into an “amazing place that has bags of character and history”, being set in a boatshed designed by Clifton Suspension Bridge engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (and also hosting a well-known eatery with a River Café chef in the ‘90s, and an exhibition by Banksy in 2000). Too limited feedback for a rating, but reports say Ross Gibbens now turns out “really competent food using SW ingredients priced sensibly” (and with a particular nod to St Mawes seafood); minor quibble: “the interior is a bit of a barn so wait for good weather and get a table on the terrace”. Need more convincing? Jay Rayner called it “a delightful place to be” in a 2022 review.
2. BANK
International restaurant in Bristol
107 Wells Road - BS4
Limited but positive feedback, including from a London-based reporter, on this revamped former branch of Lloyds in Totterdown, which opened in 2021 and relaunched in spring 2023 with a menu based around open-fire cooking.
3. The Olive Tree, Queensberry Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Bath
Russell St - BA1
“An incredible, unpretentious dining experience” with “varied and sumptuous tastes and service that’s attentive but not fussy” is hailed in all reports on Chris Cleghorn’s long-established venue. “The nine-course tasting menu is imaginative, beautifully presented and very tasty with some unusual flavours” (it’s £160 per person, with a six-course option available for £130, and other cheaper menus available at lunchtime and earlier in the week). It’s located in the cellar of a ‘proudly independent’ boutique hotel and is currently the city’s only establishment to hold a Michelin star.
4. Green Park Brasserie
Burgers, etc restaurant in Bath
Green Park Station - BA1
“A good, no-nonsense place to eat, with outside heaters” – this local landmark is housed in an old 1870s station on the fringe of the city centre (next to the old Ironbridge railway line) and is celebrating over 30 years in business. Billing itself as a steakhouse and jazz bar – and they also do a good line in pizza – it doesn’t aim for foodie fireworks, but is well-rated across the board.
5. Clifton Sausage
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
7 Portland St - BS8
“Working well as a straightforward venue with good fare” – the clue is in the name at Simon & Joy Quarrie’s stalwart fixture, which is now over twenty years old.
6. The Scallop Shell
Fish & seafood restaurant in Bath
22 Monmouth Place - BA1
This “exceptional” and rather posh chippy is reputedly MPW’s favourite restaurant in the region, and all of the many reporters who commented on it this year praised its “truly excellent” food (“whether you opt for fish ’n’ chips or grilled skate wing, it’ll impress!”). In recent years, they’ve added a roof terrace – plus a sibling, The Oyster Shell, near the Theatre Royal, which offers fishy treats and fritters to go.
7. Flute
restaurant in Bath
9 Edgar Buildings, George Street - BA1
Flute is a distinctive all-day seafood destination in the heart of Bath offering Cornish seafood, an extensive selection of wines and cocktails with a kick. Flute consistently sources the freshest fish from Devon and Cornwall and...
8. Robun
Japanese restaurant in Bath
4 Princes Building, George Street - BA1
Too limited feedback for a rating, but that which we received is promising on this central Japanese two-year-old, which – as well as offering sushi – specialises in Yakiniku, which is cooking over charcoal (it’s named for the Japanese food writer who introduced western-style BBQ into Japan in the 1870s).
9. Puro By Tommy Thorn
British, Modern restaurant in Clevedon
Rear of 32 - 34 Hill Road - BS21
PURO Restaurant & Bar is a modern venue for relaxed, yet sophisticated, eating and drinking.All our food is fresh, with a focus on well sourced ingredients, providing simple but quality, seasonal food. In addition to the food menu is a carefully selected wine list (...
10. The Granary & The Granary Club
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol city centre
32 Welsh Back - BS1
The Granary is a buzzy, neighbourhood all-day eatery near Queen Square in central Bristol, with a great vibe and striking interiors and has been featured in The Telegraph, The Times & Condé Traveler.Think unique, period windows flooding the space with light, ...
11. The Queen's Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Chew Magna
Silver Street - BS40
2022 Review: Opened in June 2021, this tastefully revamped old pub is the work of the Eggleton family – the team behind The Pony & Trap (now known as The Pony Chew Magna). The offering, realised by chef Jordan Meagher, “centres around proper ‘pub classics’”.
12. Paco Tapas
Spanish restaurant in Bristol
Lower Guinea St - BS1
“Yes, it comes at a cost, but it’s worth it…” – The Sanchez Group’s harbourside HQ (next to relaunched Casa) is a highlight of the city, combining “impeccable” Hispanic dishes and tapas with a thoughtful list of Spanish wines and sherries and “has an air of self-confidence (just the right side of arrogance) that sets it apart in Bristol”. The “really helpful front of house team” also wins consistent praise. That it’s “not cheap” features in practically all reports, but the value stacks up, although it is “a bit noisy”.
13. Box-E
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
Unit 10, Cargo 1, Wapping Wharf - BS1
“Small restaurant – great food”; that’s still the deal at Elliott Lidstone’s 14-seaters in two shipping containers at Bristol harbour’s Cargo development. There’s an à la carte menu of affordable modern bistro cooking, or you can go the whole hog and opt for their seven-course unwritten tasting menu, which costs £55 per person (with optional wine flight at £40 a head).
14. Root
Vegetarian restaurant in Bristol
Wapping Wharf - BS1
“A container with a terrace” on the docks which, despite not being strictly veggie, “elevates even the humblest of veg to mouth-watering delights”. In December 2022, chef Rob Howell and partner Megan Oakley (ex-of the Pony & Trap) launched a sister restaurant, Root Wells, in Wells, Somerset, following the same ‘more veg, less meat’ ethos.
15. Gambas
Spanish restaurant in Bristol
Unit 15 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf - BS1
This “lively place on Wapping Wharf does what it does very well” – namely tasty tapas (as per its sister Bravas), with a focus on seafood, especially the headline prawns. There’s no denying the “cool location” – an “intimate shipping container on the harbour with a nice terrace” – though for one hipster-averse reporter “less focus on the ‘cool’ and more on the food would be welcome”.
16. Souk Kitchen
Middle Eastern restaurant in Bristol
277 North St - BS3
2021 Review: “Vibrant stuff!” – the Lovells’ “buzzy” Middle Eastern venue (there’s also a sibling in Clifton) turns out an impeccable array of shakshuka, mezze and hummus and is particularly of note for its “very enjoyable brunch”; a location opposite the Tobacco Factory makes it ideal for pre-theatre dining.
17. Pasture
Steaks & grills restaurant in Bristol
2 Portwall Lane - BS1
2022 Review: This “wonderful steakhouse (which also does an exceptional Sunday lunch)” was opened by former Jamie Oliver chef-director Sam Elliott three years ago in a spruced-up Victorian warehouse, opposite St Mary Redcliffe church, and serves impressive cuts of West Country beef displayed in chiller cabinets, alongside vegetables and fruit from is own farm. It’s already made a big impact on the local dining scene, and has spawned a spinoff in Cardiff.
18. Sonny Stores
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
47 Raleigh Road - BS3
This “delightful genuine neighbourhood restaurant” on a quiet street corner in Southville is “almost perfect – unpretentious, effortless and with sublime food and drinks”. Launched after lockdown, it serves a “delicious Italian-inspired menu” from chef-owner Pegs Quinn, who spent four years at the famous River Café, while his wife Mary Glynn ensures a “friendly and welcoming service, so it’s like being a guest in someone’s home”. “The room is nothing to speak of but that doesn’t matter as it’s about the conviviality and the awesome cooking”.
19. The Pony
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
291 North Street - BS3
2022 Review: The team from the former Pony & Trap in Chew Magna – nowadays The Pony Chew Valley – opened for the first time in Bristol with this new venture in May 2021 (rather late in the day to inspire survey feedback). The menu features dishes cooked over open fire from chef Hugo Harvey. But the ‘bistro’ appellation seems a bit of a misnomer, as the only evening option (there is a cut-down lunch alternative) is a 4-course menu and you need to pay up-front if you book in advance (which is the presumption).
20. riverstation
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
The Grove - BS1
2022 Review: In the unusual and attractive setting of a former river-police station, “this long-established dockside restaurant still continues to offer value and quality, despite the change in ownership a few years ago (to Youngs)”, although nowadays in a much less foodie vein than in its heyday over 20 years ago. As of a 2018 refit, diners can opt for the Pontoon Bar, a popular brunch/lunch haunt, while upstairs “pre-theatre meals are also popular”.
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