The Canteen is a vegetarian budget eat in Stokes Croft, Bristol.
Editorially verified August 27, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: It closed in 2024 and reopened in autumn 2025; Friday and Saturday carry a £6 door charge after 21:30 for the music.
Address: 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3QY
Thali Montpelier is the original of Bristol's thali institution, serving award-noted curry plates and reusable steel tiffin takeaways on York Road.
Try: Full thali
Tip: A past Observer Food Monthly cheap-eats award winner; vegan and gluten-free versions come as standard.
Eatchu fries and steams handmade gyoza on Exchange Avenue at St Nicholas Market, Bristol's Great Taste-winning dumpling counter since its stall days.
Try: Gyoza box
Tip: The chicken and nori butter gyoza is the signature; the Clifton Triangle shop seats you down if the market is heaving.
Matina bakes naan to order and stuffs it with chargrilled lamb, chicken or halloumi, the queue that defines lunch at Bristol's St Nicholas Market.
Try: Chargrilled naan wrap
Tip: Watch for the naan coming off the dome oven; the mixed grill wrap is the order the queue is for.
Caribbean Wrap rolls jerk chicken and curry goat into lunch at St Nicholas Market, Bristol's quick daytime fix of the city's Caribbean kitchens.
Try: Jerk chicken wrap
Tip: Ask for extra scotch bonnet sauce only if you mean it; curried goat with rice beats the wrap on cold days.
Spice Up Your Life serves home-style curries from St Nicholas Market's Exchange Hall, the long-running budget curry counter of central Bristol.
Try: Curry plate with rice
Tip: The mixed curry plate with a little of everything is the order; portions defeat most first-timers.
Cafe Atlas slow-cooks tagines and pours fresh mint tea at St Nicholas Market, bringing Marrakech lunch plates and baklava to Bristol's Glass Arcade.
Try: Tagine with couscous
Tip: The tagine-and-couscous plate with baklava after is one of the market's best-value hot lunches.
