What a great little cafe this is!…read more It's one of those places that I've walked passed a few times, always thought it looked great but never really thought of it as a place for lunch. Silly me. The food is great! Cafe Ronak has fantastic curb appeal. Situated on the most buzzing part of Gloucester Road, it's got some stiff competition - but it really stands out! It has a really cool wooden sign and outside seating area that make it really stand out. Inside has a really nice atmosphere and casual decor - with lots more wood. You'd be forgiven for missing it, but a few steps passed the counter and there's a realy nice garden/terrace area out the back. It's nicely covered for it if rains but seems to also be a nice little sun trap. I actually only went in for a latte and to work for a couple of hours, but saw the menu and had to have something. So I went for the Croque Madame. It was different to any other I've had, but it was great. Instead of being like a sandwich, it was 2 slices of sour dough bread resting partly on top of each other. The sauce that the ham had been coated with was really good and although the cheese wasn't the best, it did top it all off well. The latte was also superb. One of those that you just wanted to drink it in all in one go. I'm making myself want one just thinking about it. I'm really glad I finally went into Cafe Ronak and will definitely be going back again soon.

This is a great place for a bit of hippy-vibe quiet time and some tea you've never heard of. I'm a…read moresucker for a quirky touch so the teapot/cup combo that it came in really made it for me (see pics)! I need to buy one of those! I'm not a fan of coffee but the girl I was with said it was the nicest latte she's ever had! There's also some delicious looking cake (although I didn't try it, I was very tempted indeed). All the food looked delicious actually so I'll be going back to try some more of what they have to offer. The staff were very helpful and friendly and it was obvious they knew their stuff. They asked what level roast of coffee she wanted and recommended a lovely herbal tea to me. Anyone is welcome; there were people in there working on their laptops and Mums with their children. The garden at the back is the icing on the cake. It doesn't feel like you're on Gloucester Road at all. Overall, it's a no frills cafe that just got it right.

Now this is what I call Brunch!…read more One of my besties and fellow Elite, Alice C, has been banging on about Bakers & Co for a while. So with a day off me and my girl decided to go check it out. From the outside Bakers & Co looks lovely. It has white walls with a yellow parasol and big yellow branding. With a couple of tables and chairs outside it looks really nice! Inside it gets better. Your instantly greeted by a counter of beautiful cakes an pastries and five or six staff cooking food in the open kitchen. It's really surprising how far back the seating goes. They have done a great job with the little space the have. The decor inside is much the same as outside; nice white walls with yellow and wicker furnishings. On to the food: The menu is pretty small but everything looks and sounds great. It's not your normal breakfast/brunch menu. I wanted everything on it, but We both went for the seared steak with potatoes cheese bake and poached eggs. It was absolutely amazing! The potatoes was different to what I expected, but probably better. I had a lemon grass and goner tea while Soph had a fresh orange juice. Both were great, nothing out of the ordinary, just very good! Definitely a contender for the best breakfast in Bristol. Considering they recently opened, the lack of free tables shows that a lot of people like it as much as we did! Great job, guys!

Popped in for a cheeky coffee and cake on Saturday with my mum. Fatigued and ravenous with…read moreexcessive Christmas shopping, the smorgasbord of freshly baked delights was a joy to behold. We quickly grabbed the last table in the place (it was heaving, but that's to be expected on Saturday lunchtime). It's got a lovely warm lively atmosphere -and I must say super friendly staff. We both went for the beetroot and pumpkin seed cake and a well-deserved cup of coffee, like mother like daughter. The coffee was delightful, good fruity proper coffee. Just what we needed after our shopping ordeal. The beetroot cake was utterly divine, lightly spiced and filled with scrummy orange cream cheese, with little crunchy pumpkin seed surprises all the way through. In the words of my dear sweet mother it was "f****ng amazeballs"! Love it. Keep up the good work guys!

Always busy, and for good reason, Pronto Coffee serves delicious drinks in relaxing surroundings…read more Competition for cafes on Gloucester Road is fierce, but Pronto puts up a fight with a range of sweet treats and caffeine fuelled beverages to give you a mid-morning lift. The baristas are friendly and fast so you won't be kept long when you're in dire need of coffee. Unlike most high street chains, the choices of drinks are kept simple so as to not bombard you with choice and you'll be able to get a tasty drink for less than £2.

I often get Pronto Coffee mixed up with Coffee #1. They have the same general appearance as each…read moreother - dark stained wood fronts with a scattering of tables and chairs on the pavement. To make it worse, they are only a few doors away from each other, making it entirely feasible for people to end up in one when they're meant to be in the other. Needless to say this has happened to me on several occasions. I have been late for meeting friends more times than I like to remember, and have sometimes ended up phoning them to find out why they are late, only to find that they are sat drinking their coffee where they are meant to be, and I'm mistakenly munching on a copy-cat cake and clutching an imposter latte. Oh the embarrassment! There are, if you look properly, distinct differences between the two cafes. Pronto Coffee is indeed stained wood fronted but Coffee #1 is actually a deep charcoal grey, and has metal framed chairs painted white, with slatted wood tops. The shame of my folly is unbearable! I called into Pronto the other day for a Panini and was surprised to see the place looking really empty. I sat at one of the tables out front, and cast my eye down the road to see how Coffee #1 was doing, and it seemed pretty full. Perhaps this is because Pronto is beginning to look slightly unkempt? Or may be it's just the vibe? Coffee #1 has always had the edge on Pronto for me personally.

St Werburghs Farm Café, adjacent to the inner-city St Werburghs Farm is a much loved meeting place…read morefor locals and visitors alike. Serving quality organic food and great coffee, it is often difficult to find a table in this surprisingly large café. (From the outside it looks like a small hobbit-built dwelling, but inside, the deceptively diminutive exterior, gives way to a spacious interior, with plenty of hobbit sized tables and seating.) It's possible to take food and drink outside to on of the picnic benches situated in the mini-adventure playground to the front of the building. There's quite a buzz to the place, especially in the mornings, with clusters of friends all indulging in animated discussions, although it's not uncommon to see people taking root for breakfast armed with the days copy of the Guardian. There's a very definite creative flavour to much of the chatter that goes on here, even the staff are all artists, musicians and writers. It's definitely one of Bristol's best child friendly bohemian spaces.

As an American that just landed from a dreadful early morning RyanAir flight...the Farm was an…read moreamazing surprise. My relative took me here for coffee and a breakfast sandwich; my first meal in England ! It was absolutely fantastic. Ambiance: 5 stars - very funky, unique - looks like its out of a fairy tale Service: 5 stars - very friendly staff Food: 5 stars - great coffee and the biggest bacon/egg sandwich I've ever seen...big and tasty ! Highly recommended NOTE: it may be hard to find for visitors to Bristol, but be patient and ask around. Better yet, google map it before you go, because you will not be disappointed.

This cafe is endearingly unpretentious, and one of the cheapest places to eat on Gloucester Road…read more The menu is by no means varied, but boasts a few old fashioned British favourites, such as Cottage Pie, Sausage Casserole and Steak Pie ( all with the obligatory four veg), priced at £4.50. I bought a medium sized fried breakfast here for £4.30 the other day, which came with a cup of tea, and was actually pretty huge (and damn tasty too.) The Oak Tree Cafe is usually pretty full and is popular with pensioners, obviously mighty pleased with themselves for finding a place that serves tea for 50p a cup. (Me, old before my time? Nah!)

Not too long ago I came up with what I thought was an ingenious and original idea to serve good…read moredecent food at ludicrously cheap prices. The idea being to make food for people not money, and the money will come. Since said brain wave however, many have followed suit. The Oak Tree Cafe is one such place. Some may call it bleak or sparse, and admittedly no money has been wasted on the interior. However for me the charm is its honesty. They serve nice, traditional British meals. We all know a box of tea costs a couple of quid in the supermarket, so why sell it for anything less than a few silver coins? The chocolate cake is also pretty scrummy, and the £1.50 price tag suits; friendly honest people selling friendly honest food. The mains, the dessert and the tea are all pretty good budget. The smiles, they come for free.

Cafe Lazz reminds me of when i lived in Prague. It's got that Eastern European thing going on…read more.. even down to the table football out the back. They have a good sized garden that is completely decked, and somewhat inevitably, there's a large LCD screen, usually churning out images of the latest football match. Not a place to hang out during the world cup unless you love the beautiful game! The owner is really lovely, and keen for this place to work. He keeps his pricing better than competitive, and there's a great selection of beers and food to choose from. I'm a regular visitor. With Lavazza coffee and free wifi, I will continue to go there as often as I can. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

If you like small, sophisticated little cafes which exude rich coffee smells and are big on soft…read morelamp lighting, Cafe Lazz is the place for you. Boasting an extensive lunch menu, from paninis to omelettes to soups and sandwiches, all reasonably priced, you are spoilt for choice here. And if you fancy an exotic alternative to a fry up, try the cafe's Turkish breakfast -a delightful platter of goodness. Furthermore, if you happen to have your lap top in tow, you can make use of the cafe's free wifi whilst you're waiting. Convenient, eh?

Another one in the lounge local/soon-to-be national chains, Tinto Lounge is at the far end of…read moreGloucester Road in Horfield. It's as good as all the others, which makes me a fan. All on one level, it's glass fronted, looking out on to the not so picturesque road. This is its only drawback though, as the atmosphere, big Lounge style wooden tables and smooth hip music combine to create another success story under the owner's belt. The food is well priced, and the tapas menu, which changes slightly with each location, has a good selection. It's not the largest of premises though, so it can get pretty crowded, especially on the weekends and at lunch time in the week days. Well worth a try though, and gives a bit of life to this end of town.

Tinto Lounge is one of several 'Lounges' in Bristol, the first of which, simply called Lounge, was…read moreopened on North Street in Bedminster over a decade ago. This Lounge was probably one of the first businesses in this area to offer something better than a greasy spoon caff, pound shop or a pawnbrokers, and has probably played a large part in the eventual gentrification of the entire street. I'm not entirely sure if Tinto was the next outlet to be opened, but logic would dictate that it was. Situated on a run down section of Gloucester Road amid sprawling student accommodation and close to the council housing estates of Southmead it is in many ways a north side equivalent to the original south side location. The business has been developed over the years into a small chain, but the fact that it's homegrown and regional makes it a bit different to the Starbucks of this world. All of the Lounges are decorated in a similar way. There's plenty of exposed antique pine that offers a rustic kind of feel. Although the overall guidelines are clearly there, uniformity has definitely been avoided, even in the individual outlets. No two tables are the same, and the seating is made up of mix and match chairs. Local auctions must fair pretty well every time a new Lounge is opened! Prices are reasonable, and the standard of food is always good. If anything, you pay a little over the odds for things, but you can, as the name suggests, stay as long as you want without feeling any pressure to move on. There's always reading material, including plenty of books, so there's almost an invitation from the owners to take root!

On the corner of Henleaze Road, before getting to the residential part between the high street and…read moreWaitrose, the Avenue Cafe has been here a few years and does a good trade. It's got a New York film noir theme, and is decorated with deep reds and comfy coffee shop furniture. Their fruit smoothies are well known, they have the standard range of coffees, and a selection of juices - I tried the freshly squeezed orange when I came in, which is something that can always be a let down (never get quite enough), but it was a sizeable portion and worth the couple of pounds. Their prices are competitive £4.40 for a traditional breakfast, £3.90 for a panini, so you could easily expect more from a high class area like this. Cakes and croissants are also a good option, which are well kept and tasty. It's general Henleaze locals who come in, so a mix of mums and kids, elderly people and, specially in school holidays, school children. It's a quaint little place, and hard to find an objection to.

This is where the all day breakfast comes in once more! You can be sure that mid afternoon on a…read morefriday and saturday you will see some students crawl in after 12pm has struck and a little smile come bursting through when they here breakfast is still available. Their frail exterior, which looks like it will crash and fail at any minute, immediatley begins to be restored to some semblance of normallity as they begin to tuck into a juicy cumberland sausage and fried tomatoe, washed down with some freshly squeezed orange juice. As they advertise on the outside all items are home made (and available for takeaway if you so wish) which means this is not just a popular hot spot for the residents of henleaze but also people passing through, and anybody who wants an excuse to have alittle snack, or can't be bothered to cook some lunch at home. The diner is spacious, and the service is prompt, set just off the pavement you don't feel like your right by the road. I'm not saying it's the greatest food I have ever tasted, but it is significantly better than what you would expect.

Took quite a while for food to arrive (nearly an hour). When it did arrive, chips were cold, muffin…read morewas dry and rock hard and overall it was really disappointing. The staff were lovely and friendly and the atmosphere was lovely. Maybe we got them on a bad day but I wouldn't really want to try again.

This was my first visit to a Boston Tea Party and I can't say I'll be rushing back…read more It was pretty unremarkable I'd say, nothing particularly good or bad just ok. We met some friends for a late brunch, all nursing sore heads there was an interesting array of orders going in. I had the chorizo hash with poached eggs, the eggs were cooked to perfection so no complaints there, the hash was a great texture and portion size but it was well over seasoned and this really put me off. My husband had a veggie with burger with added pulled pork (sounds strange) the burger was good although a bit too much bread and the fries were a bit soggy. I do really like the decor, it's got an industrial vibe with added urban chic going on, there's some rather inviting looking a chairs in the window. We also had a red berry iced tea, which was ok, it quenched the hangover thirst so job done! All in all a pretty average experience, there's plenty of exciting independent cafés around the area that i'd recommend trying before settling on BTP!

Huge bonus points for the following: * WiFi. Yay... I can…read moreuze laptop. * It's also A CAFE! Fresh coffee and cakes. Not vending machine but a genuine espresso bar out the back. With funky purple cushion seating. * Manned. No launderette mysteries. If something goes wrong the guy's right there. * Eco friendly detergents. Stuff that doesn't sweep persistent pollutants down the drain and out to sea. * Little jars: if you forget your laundry powder you can buy a little refillable jar right there. And if you like it you can buy it full size. * Radio. Classic rock of some kind. "Walk this way" now playing... * Laundry fiction. (??!) A series of books with the word 'launderette' or 'laundromat' in the title. * Cinnamon rolls. They rock. Why doesn't every coffeeshop have them? They're so 'fika'. It's right next to Cafe Lazz where I usually go for coffee but I might go here instead now, laundry or no laundry. Cool. Only downside: if you come in winter, wear your coat!

The clean been isn't exactly my nearest place but it's totally worth driving 10 mins for…read more They people who run the Bean are the loveliest! Always really helpful for people that don't have a clue (like me!) and always have time for a natter. They have internet facilities as well so you can surf the web whilst you wait for your wash for a small cost...and i have breaking news........they give you free jelly beans!! Won me over in a heartbeat. I like the play on words as well, clean bean, free jelly beans... it's always really clean there and it's just a cute, cosie more modern version of a launderette.