bristol Archives - Time for a coffee

April 11, 2026

Delicious bento box

I was working in Bristol on Friday and headed off to get some lunch. I had this delicious bento box with beef donburi and tan tan udon noodles from the amazing She Sells Streetfood at the amazing Finzels Reach Market.

The beef donburi is tender, full of flavour. The crispy onions add texture and the pickles and cucumbers salad add the necessary sharpness to cut through that rich tasty beef. The combination of ingredients in the tan tan udon noodles are wonderful. The minced pork, pak choi, and soft noodles are served in a creamy broth. There is always something in every spoonful. Don’t forget the chilli if offered, it adds warmth to the the whole experience.

So tasty, so nice, so delicious.

On a previous visit I had swapped the noodles for the katsu fries, but this time I went back to the noodles.

April 6, 2026

Another new Bento Box

It was a Friday in Bristol, wanting lunch I headed off to Finzel Reach street food market.

I went to She Sells Streetfood and went with a bento box and went with the same choice I had last time I was there. This was the Beef Donburi and the Katsu Fries.

The beef donburi was delicious as always. It’s a fantastic dish with flavourful tender beef in a teriyaki sauce, not overpowering served on rice with pickles, cucumber salad and spring onion garnish.

The Katsu fries are dressed with katsu sauce and furikake seasoning. On top are two crispy pieces of fried chicken.

This time the chips were hotter than previously, though the chicken was better last time, I think last time it was chicken thigh whereas this time it was chicken breast. I personally prefer chicken thigh for this kind of dish.

As I have written many times, this is one of my favourite street food vendors and the food that Lisa serves is always very tasty.

March 22, 2026March 22, 2026

A new Bento Box

It was a Friday in Bristol, wanting lunch I headed off to Finzel Reach street food market.

I went to She Sells Streetfood and had something different this time. I went with the Beef Donburi, but instead of the Udon Noodles, I went with the Katsu Fries instead.

The beef donburi was delicious as always.

I enjoy the tender slow cooked beef rib which is full of flavour. I did enjoy the fries, but they weren’t hot, just warm. It was a really cold day, and I think they weren’t that warm when they were served, but I did enjoy the seasoning, the crispy chicken, and the katsu sauce.

I think I prefer the Udon Noodles, but it was nice to have a change.

March 6, 2026March 6, 2026

Tau Yew Bak (again)

I was working in Bristol and popped down to the Finzel Reach street food market.

My usual challenge though when visiting is that I usually default to stalls I’ve been to before, and don’t necessarily try something new. So on this visit, though I was tempted by the Fritto Misto from King Fin, I knew I had only had it not that long ago.

So, there was quite a bit of choice, I decided I would go for Fat Rice, which sells Malaysian comfort food, and try their Tau Yew Bak, which is pork belly slow-cooked in soy sauce and spices. Served with basmati rice, fried onions and pickled salad.

Looking at the dish, I realised, this wasn’t new I had eaten this before, just under three years ago. So, it wasn’t new, back then I wrote:

This was a good sized meal and there was a decent portion of the main part of the dish, the pork belly. The pork itself was nice and tender and full of flavour. I liked the chilli sauce that was served with the pork. The salad added zing to the dish and the rice was nice. Overall a delicious bowl of food.

I can say it was just as good this time, the pork was succulent and tender, I liked the chilli sauce, and the rice and salads completed the dish.

One tasty bowl of food.

March 2, 2026March 2, 2026

The place with no name

Popped out at lunchtime for a walk. I went down the Welsh Back before heading to St Nick’s to grab some lunch. I had seen the list for Finzel Reach and there wasn’t anything I wanted, well I would have had the bento box from She Sells Streetfood, but I have had that a lot recently. So, I looked over what was available in St Nick’s. I was tempted by Portuguese Taste, as I haven’t eaten there in a while. I was also hoping that Low & Slow would have some decent brisket. They didn’t. What was I going to do?

Opposite the infamous Matina stall in St Nick’s market is a relatively new stall in the main sells lamb shawarma in various ways. The signage says Kurdish Bread, but I know that was there for a while before the lamb shawarma came along.

Looking for some lunch I decided I would try them out, I went with the lamb shawarma box, which comes with the grilled lamb shawarma and a range of salads.

There was a lot of nice salad in the box. The lamb was tender and tasty as well.

February 24, 2026February 26, 2026

Pasta from La Panza

I have been to La Panza a couple of times now. It is close to my office in Bristol and is an Italian restaurant. They have a £10 lunch deal which consists of pasta, focaccia, and a drink.

I hadn’t planned to go to La Panza, after enjoying the beef brisket from the Little Smoker recently I thought I would head to St Nick’s and get some beef brisket from Low & Slow. As it was a Monday there wasn’t any street food markets at Finzel Reach or Temple Quay, the only real choice for street food is St Nick’s. However upon arrival I found that though Low & Slow had their pulled pork and chicken, they had no beef brisket. I did think about getting some pasta from Grano Pasta Bar. Then I thought to myself, well for the same kind of money I can go to La Panza and have some pasta, but sit down, get served, have a glass of wine, and a slice of focaccia.

So, that’s when I found myself heading back to La Panza for lunch.

In the £10 lunch deal you get the pasta of the day, a slice of focaccia and a drink. There isn’t a choice when it comes to the pasta, but there is a wider menu if you want something different. Or, another choice is the sandwich, a pastry, and a drink for the same £10.

On the day I was there, the pasta of the day was bucatini with a puttanesca sauce. It wasn’t long before my plate of pasta arrived at the table, garnished with freshly grated parmesan.

If you are looking for a huge bowl of pasta, then this isn’t the place for that. This was a perfectly sized portion of pasta for lunch. The pasta was cooked well and the sauce was delicious. I don’t know if the sauce was homemade, but it did not taste as though it was out of a jar, it was fresh and tasty.

This was a lovely plate of pasta, which I enjoyed a lot.

February 22, 2026

Little Smoker Beef Brisket

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I was in Bristol recently and I walked to Finzel Reach for some lunch. I was tempted by the Little Smoker who were there again, but when I saw them preparing their food, I was (initially) a little disappointed. So, I went to King Fin and ordered the Fritto Misto.

Now as I waited for my Fritto Misto two people walked past with their Little Smoker meals and they looked really good. So, much so, I will try them out next time they are at a street food market I am at. I realised what I saw, they hadn’t finished putting the dishes together.

So when I was in Bristol last week, I saw that Little Smoker was going to be at the Temple Quay street food market, I made the decision that this time I would got and try their food out.

You create your own dish choosing smoked beef brisket, smoked pulled pork, or they have a vegan option of crispy seitan. Feeling hungry or not sure what to choose they also have beef and pork combo. You can then choose a side of a bun, spiced fries or mac fritters.

You can top of your choice with more mac fritters, cheesy mac fritters, spiced fries or cheesy fries. You also have a choice of sauces to go with your smoked meat.

I went for the beef brisket and some mac fritters.

They did however get my order wrong, serving me fries, I did complain and they then created a bowl of food for me. I was a slightly disappointed to see they left the sliced brisket out, getting cold, but we got there in the end.

In my bowl I had two mac fritters, which was balls of mac and cheese, covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried, there was also shredded lettuce, red cabbage slaw, slices of cucumber, and of course the beef brisket, of which two thick slices were placed on top. I went for the chimichurri sauce to go with my brisket. I think if I had gone with fries I might have gone for bbq.

The beef was tender, not melt in your mouth tender, but certainly not as soft as some beef brisket I have had in the past. Though it had a good flavour, I felt it needed more smokiness. I really liked the mac fritters more so than I thought I would. I wasn’t in the mood for fries, so this was a good choice for me. The salad accompaniments were fresh, but lacked seasoning or dressing. I expected the slaw to really enhance the beef, but it was quite flat.

This was a nice bowl of food, the highlight for me was the mac fritters. I am not sure I would go again, might go and get some mac fritters as a side to something else. Having said that I did enjoy having something different.

February 12, 2026

More Fritto Misto

I went to the Temple Quay Street Food market where there was a lot of choice. However, I defaulted to one of my favourite boxes, the Fritto Misto from King Fin.

This was just as good as the previous boxes of Fritto Misto I have had from King Fin. Delicious fresh seafood cooked to order, with tasty fries on the side.

February 10, 2026February 10, 2026

Of course, I will have the Bento Box

Heading out for lunch on a rather wet Tuesday, myself and my colleagues headed off to the Temple Quay street food market. There are fewer stalls on a Tuesday, but one of my favourites was there, She Sells Streetfood.

I went for my favourite bento box containing the Beef Donburi and the Tan Tan Udon. This was the same combination I had a few times now. As this was a bento box, as well as the Beef Donburi, the Tan Tan Udon came in a smaller cardboard bowl than if you ordered the full size version.

The Tan Tan Udon was udon noodles in a creamy sesame broth with spicy ground pork, Asian greens, spring onions, and crispy chilli.

This was a delight, the creamy smooth broth was brought to life with the pork, the greens, and the chilli added heat. One day I think I will go for the full size version, one day.

The Beef Donburi was slow cooked beef in an oriental sauce on top of sticky rice.

The beef was melt in your mouth tender and was delicious.

I do like this bento box, and I am not surprised that when it comes to choosing lunch, I will more often than not, head for this tasty, delicious bento box.

February 6, 2026

Fritto Misto once more

I was in Bristol and I walked to Finzel Reach for some lunch. I was tempted by the Little Smoker who were there again, but when I saw them preparing their food, I was (initially) a little disappointed. So, I went to King Fin and ordered the Fritto Misto.

My Fritto Misto was freshly cooked to order, but it wasn’t long before it was ready. There wasn’t much of a queue, so little delay.

The box was brimming with freshly cooked deep fried crispy seafood, with calamari, fresh anchovies (whitebait), whole prawns, chunks of battered haddock, courgette slices, and sage. Alongside I had a side of rosemary fries and sauce.

Like previous boxes, this was delicious. The freshness of the box was amazing. I still found the prawns a little messy and fiddly to eat, but it was all really tasty.