Westbury On Trym, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: Well known down Brizzle way, this small (16 seats) tapas haunt has an outsized reputation for its authentic approach. Our feedback is limited, but it’s a favourite for one or two of our reporters who award it very high marks. It’s part of a local group, and its siblings include Cargo Cantina and Gambas.

“As quirky as ever” – this “imaginative tapas” restaurant occupies the upper floor of a restored and operational mid-Victorian swimming baths in Clifton, so diners have “unique views of the swimmers below, making an interesting change from the standard restaurant experience” – “in summer, life here feels a little Mediterranean”. Top Tip – the £50 all-in swim, spa and eat packages.

“Imaginatively prepared seafood dishes – Spanish but each with a twist – make a trip to this dockside container in Bristol a real pleasure”; like its sister Bravas, the formula is tapas, and at this “lively”, “good value” spot there’s a particular focus on fish (the headline prawns but also a “truly delicious” seafood salpicon). The owners’ hospitality group Season and Taste added a Mexican venue Condesa, on Whiteladies Road, to their now four-strong portfolio in March 2024, having received six-figure funding from the South West Investment Fund.

Launched in 2016 by Chris Tabbitt (ex-of Bibendum and the Old Bridge hotel in Huntingdon) and Sarah Olivier, this “small and beautifully formed” modern European is a “very comfortable, dependable” sort of place indeed. From the “perfectly executed”, “very well-priced” food (e.g., steak-frites, washed down with “even better value” red wine), to the “very personable service”, it offers an “intimate dining experience” that’s “hard to beat”.

A “stunning neighbourhood restaurant in lively North Street”, and with a pleasingly “relaxed environment”, where fans say the “the food is Mediterranean-influenced and has shades of The River Café” (i.e., it’s relaxed, fresh and “very inventive”, but relayed in this case through small plates). The Bedminster corner site was opened in late 2022 by Sydney chef Mark Chapman (ex-of the local Gambas tapas bar).