The Volunteer Tavern is a cocktail bar restaurant in Old Market, Bristol.
Editorially verified August 27, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: A 17th-century pub and walled garden buried behind Old Market's dual carriageway noise.
Tip: The garden is a genuine secret sun trap; it sits two minutes from Exchange for pre-gig pints.
Address: 9 New Street, Bristol BS2 9DX
Clouds folds handmade dim sum in a St Werburghs corner room in Bristol, pairing dumplings and homestyle Cantonese plates with a serious wine list.
Why locals love it: A dim sum and wine pairing room on a St Werburghs corner most of Bristol has never walked.
Tip: Open since November 2024 and already a hard weekend book; parties over six need to email ahead.
Mrs Potts melts real flaked chocolate into Bristol's best hot chocolate on Park Street, from a classic 58% cup to brownies, sundaes and monthly specials.
Why locals love it: A chocolate house halfway up Park Street that queues of shoppers stride straight past.
Tip: The seasonal specials menu changes monthly; a city with Fry's chocolate history deserves the dark 72% at least once.
The Cheese Connection curates South West and British artisan cheese from a Cargo 2 container, Bristol's harbourside cheesemonger with tasting events.
Why locals love it: A one-container cheesemonger tucked among Cargo's louder kitchens, curating South West wheels.
Tip: Order a platter to eat on the wharf; the counter leans hard into Somerset and West Country wheels.
Bristol Sweet Mart has anchored St Marks Road since 1978, a family-run Easton institution stocking over 9,000 products, spices and a curry deli.
Why locals love it: A world-food emporium on an Easton side street that out-stocks every supermarket in the city.
Tip: Come hungry: the deli counter's daily curries and Indian sweets turn a grocery run into lunch.
Radical Roasters runs a Diedrich 5kg roaster on St Mark's Road in Easton, Bristol, screen-printing its bags by hand and chasing experimental lots.
Why locals love it: A hand-screenprinted micro roastery hiding among St Mark's Road's grocers and grills.
Tip: It sits on the same Easton street as Bristol Sweet Mart, so pair a bag of beans with a spice-shop run.
Sources from: Fruity and experimental small lots
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
Little Martha brews in a Totterdown railway arch on Oxford Street, a Bristol microbrewery taproom sharing its lane with the FCP roastery bar.
Why locals love it: A Totterdown railway-arch taproom brewing metres from the tracks, unknown beyond the hill.
Tip: The arch sits next to Full Court Press's roastery bar, making Oxford Street a two-stop caffeine-then-cask lane.
