A Life Less Organised

20/08/2026

When a restaurant has been going for 40 years, you know they're doing something right... it's summer all year round at Casa Mexicana Bristol ☀️🇲🇽 [ad]

I knew that this family-run Mexican restaurant on Zetland Rd in Redland had been in Bristol at least as long as I have (18 years!!), but it turns out that Casa Mexicana's roots go back decades earlier, although the current owner has had the restaurant for 20 years. This used to be a regular haunt for me for their pitchers of sangria or cocktails, but since I moved south of the river I've not been in, so it was a treat to be invited in to sample their new small plates lunch menu.

It's business as usual in the evenings still, with a selection of Mexican classic dishes, but they're trying out something a bit lighter at lunchtimes. Pick and mix from the small plates menu which is split into meat, fish and veggie, or if you can't decide, go for a Chef's selection on the other side of the menu.

First things first, I lined up a Grapefruit Margarita (10/10) while I perused the menu. We went for:

- Antojitos (tortilla chips with dips) £5.50
- Gambas (garlic prawns) £9.50
- Saquito de cochinita (pastry filled with shredded pork) £8.50
- Pollo de la casa (chargrilled, marinated chicken thighs) £12.50
- Birria relleno (breaded & fried jalapeño chillies filled with cream cheese) £8.50
- Elote (chargrilled corn on the cob with sourceean, feta and tajin seasoning) £6.50

My faves were the chicken and the corn on the cob, both had a nice char and good layers of flavour, and not too much heat if you aren't keen on spice! Everything else was good, although I found the stuffed chillies a bit heavy on the breadcrumbs so I wouldn't have those again.

Desserts were great - crispy and not-to-sweet churros and chocolate, and a lime cheesecake that was more sour than it was sweet, which is exactly what I want if I'm promised lime!

It was a lovely return to a old stalwart, and if you haven't been I can recommend parking yourself on their front terrace with a pitcher of Margarita, a couple of small plates and watching the world go by.

05/08/2026

Appalling photos for a banging meal - get yourself over to Kush for their great value set menu: 4 courses for £35 in Clifton! [Ad-invited]

This new opening has appeared in what was formerly The Mint Room in Clifton Village and has jazzed up the restaurant with cosy booths, fun splashes of colour, a good background hiphop soundtrack and perfect mood lighting (although not so great for my current phone to take photos), there was also a nice gentle amount of air con when we visited.

You may recognise the name of chef/owner Aktar Islam from Masterchef - he also owns the two Michelin-starred Opheem in Birmingham, and the aim of Kush is to have a relaxed and fun restaurant where the food does the talking.

We had a great bottle of Gewurztraminer with our food, with highlights being the Liver Fry with Uttapam (honestly one of the best things I've eaten this year, albeit an acquired taste if you're not an offal fan), the Afghani Lamb Chops (a supplement in addition to the set menu price) and the Beef Nihari.

It's a good addition to this corner of Clifton, with accomplished cooking that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like how they've broken up the restaurant into different types of seating too. A good one for a date or meal out with mates.

01/08/2026

August is full of cider fun times, bank holiday shenanigans and a bunch of new places to try!

I’m back after a brief summer hiatus, to tell you about all the delicious things happening this month and distract you from week #485 of this heatwave. It’s a very cider-y month with Br…

26/07/2026

Finally visited Lonely Mouth on Gloucester Road, a Japanese 'listening cafe', always playing a relaxed jazzy soundtrack, with a menu of Japanese set dishes and sandwiches in the day, and then some tasty looking small plates in the evenings.

I visited for lunch and went for one of the teishoku selections, which come with rice, pickles, miso soup and an egg or silken tofu - I had mine with salmon but my friend had hers with the spicy plum crispy tofu which was so tasty that I'll probably get that next time, even though I really enjoyed the salmon. Everything was fresh, wholesome and delicious, really filling too!

05/07/2026

Day to night with one Bristol restaurant group!

We're lucky to have some great local hospitality groups in Bristol, whether it's the Spanish and Latin vibes of Season + Taste (Bravas, Gambas, Condesa & Cargo Cantina), or the Italian fun and warmth of the Bianchis group to name just two. But did you know that Harbour House, The Granary, Dareshack and The Gaffe are all under the same family of businesses?

I'm a frequent flyer at all of their restaurants but was invited on a fun mission to visit all of their venues in one day - challenge accepted!

My day started with a coffee and pastry at Dareshack - I've said it a few times but for me their cinnamon buns are right up there among the best in Bristol - soft, flaky and not too sweet or stodgy. Mine was still warm from being freshly baked onsite that morning too. The coffee is also on point - a good start to the day!

After work I intended to stop into Harbour House for pre-dinner drink but they had a private event on all evening, which scuppered my plans to do all of the venues, but undeterred I made my way to The Granary Club for an aperitif in this stylish underground cocktail bar. The menu here is split into classics, then a page each dedicated to different eras of the venues history as a gig venue, nightclub and filming location for Only Fools and Horses.

For dinner we made our way upstairs to Granary Bristol where the menu is focused around dishes cooked over fire, with influence from across the globe. To start we shared the grilled aubergine side- a puffy boat-shaped Turkish-style flatbread with big chunks of smoky aubergine, salad and a slightly overgenerous drizzle of pomegranate molasses. The fried chicken with quince hot sauce was banging - super crispy and a nice mix of sweet heat with the chicken.

For mains we had lamb shawarma and the market fish with massaman sauce, both fantastic, especially the lamb which was made even tastier with the char from the grill.

We then went to The Gaffe Comedy Club for their Thursday night comedy show, where tickets are only a fiver! The lineup was great and it was a good audience too, I'll definitely be back for more shows.

18/06/2026

You can't beat a bit of Bravas Bristol 👌

05/06/2026

No.1 Harbourside has a new menu of tapas-style dishes, and it's just right for a pre-show dinner or post-work drinks with friends.

A few of us shared some dishes before going to see James Acaster at the Hippodrome last week - my favourites were the mackerel pate (arrived just after I took the pic!) and the squid. Love me a plate of pickles too!

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02/06/2026

Start planning what to eat and drink this month!

Here we are in the first proper flushes of summer, and it’s a festival-tastic month ahead! Let me know over on Instagram what you think you’ll go along to, I love being nosey!

19/05/2026

Crave: what can I say, it lives up to the name! [ad]

Crave recently opened in a long derelict spot at the top of Whiteladies Road, facing on to the Downs. You may recognise their basement cocktail bar as the legendary former Haus Bar, and I think this bar does carry on the tradition of potent and well crafted concoctions.

As our introduction to the venue (after passing their front terrace, which I think will be a great spot on warmer days), the cocktail bar is a place you can stop in for a press or post dinner tipple, with plenty of seats at the bar, or tucked into cosy corners. The menu has enough classic to keep you happy, but the house specials were calling to me, so I kicked off my evening with a Pandan Negroni - which had some nice chocolatey notes to balance the bitterness.

On to dinner. They don't mess about with the food menu at Crave, and everything on it is designed to tempt you in, from small plates such as short rib with red wine jus, grilled cabbage with mustard mayo, or fish stew with saffron and crab. It didn't surprise me at all when I spotted that Sebastian Merry was heading up the kitchen, as he's long been one for flavour bombs at locations across the city.

We went for:
- Fried chicken with tarragon and hot honey
- Beef tartare
- White fish ceviche with orange
- Pork croquettes
- Gnocchi with cavolo nero and cheese
- Grilled octopus with red pepper and courgette

Followed by the Chocolate Cremieux to finish (eagle-eyed among you will recognise the Finesse dessert from Seb's former kitchen, ABOE on Whiteladies Road).

My favourites were the fried chicken (honestly some of the best I've had in the city), the tartare and, to my surprise, the gnocchi, which had the perfect texture of a light crunch on the outside and a cloudlike interior, with a rich cavolo nero puree that reminded me of some of the best saag dishes I've had in Indian restaurants.

As with any small plates joint, it's easy to rack up a big bill, but I would also say tjat many plates are generous enough that you could have 2 each happily and keep the bill closer to £25 per head (before booze though!)

Special mention to the team at Crave too, all absolutely lus

10/04/2026

A big welcome to the new Brother Thai, which is now open on Stokes Croft! [Ad - invitation]

I've had their food a few times from markets and loved it - those rotis are so good! The menu at their new restaurant isn't too big or spenny, with loaded rotis (£11), rice bowls (£14), and small plates like wontons or spicy waterfall salad (£7.5 - £9.5).

A lush addition to the street, chilled and delicious - I like that you can sit up at the bar to grab a quick bite too!