bristol Archives - Time for a coffee

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.

January 22, 2026

Another Awesome Fritto Misto

The street food scene around where I work in Bristol, is delightful. There are twice weekly markets at Temple Quay and Finzel Reach as well as all the stalls at St Nicks. The organisers of weekly markets always try and have a mix of stalls and types of cuisine.

On a recent visit I had eaten some delicious Fritto Misto from King Fin.

However I like to choose different things. Well I say I like to choose different things.

So, when I was recently in Bristol, I went out at lunchtime to the Finzel Reach street food market. I had read who was there and I was really tempted by the brisket at The Little Smoker. They were a new guest addition to the line up. I even looked at their menu, but in the end I actually went with the Fritto Misto from King Fin.

The wonderful box of food I got from King Fin was slightly different to my previous Fritto Misto. It still had the calamari, the prawns, the fish and courgettes, however this time there were some chunks of battered white fish as well.

As before it was awesome, this was all cooked to order, so was hot, fresh, crisp and full of flavour. Every bite was a delight, well nearly I did find eating the prawns a little messy, but they were tasty. I was really pleased that I had gone again with this box of awesome food.

December 26, 2025December 24, 2025

A slice of Sri Lanka

Nadu brings a slice of Sri Lanka to the epicentre of Bristol’s cultural quarter, Stokes Croft.

Myself and colleagues from work headed to Nadu for a festive meal, well I say festive, as it was that time of year, the menu very much from Sri Lanka.

There was lots of lovely stuff on the menu and I found it quite challenging to choose something. I decided would have a small plate as a starter and then something else as a main.

Across the small plates one dish did stick out to me, which was the Tawa Fish, though there were some others there I would have been happy with. I was quite intrigued by the Mojo Cutlets as well as the Miris Bhaji.

The Tawa Fish was simply a seasonal fish grilled in bell pepper & ginger sauce.

This was not the best looking dish I have seen, and they had tried with the peppers and other garnishes. However, the food was delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the sauce, spicy but not overpowering. I really enjoyed eating this portion of fish.

For my main course, again lots of choice. I liked the idea of the roasted beef bone marrow in the Aeta Midulu, across the different karis, I was tempted by the Era Kulumba, a mild shrimp curry, or the Thora Malu, a fish curry. The Ceylonese Lamb Kari also sounded delicious. In the end though after much thinking I went with the Black Pork Kari, which was slow cooked pork belly with smoked coconut & cinnamon. Alongside I had some coconut rice.

Though not black, this was a very dark looking curry. I was expecting that though. This was also delicious, the pork were very tender, and the sauce was delicious. Not sure I could taste the smoked coconut, but I am sure it was in there somewhere. I really liked this pot and it was really tasty. There was a good level of spice, so you could say spicy, but wasn’t hot and fiery. All rather good and I did finish off this dish.

We also shared a Tear & Share Dosa, 48 hour fermented crispy rice pancake served with chutneys and sambar. Literally tear bits off, dip them in the chutneys and enjoy.

The service was excellent, well informed and friendly waiting staff offering advice and recommendations.

I can’t wait until I can go again.

December 20, 2025December 18, 2025

Awesome Fritto Misto

Bristol has a decent street food scene, around where I work in Bristol, as well as all the stalls at St Nicks, there are twice weekly markets at Temple Quay and Finzel Reach. The organisers of those markets always try and have a mix of stalls and types of cuisine. There aren’t that many traders selling fish, one that stands out is King Fin. If I am at a market and they are trading, it is usually one I go for. So, when I went to the Finzel Reach street food market, I headed towards King Fin to try their new(ish) Fritto Misto dish. The Fritto Misto replaces the tempura monkfish on the menu. I remember when they had Fritto Misto on the menu before, and tried it back in 2022. I wasn’t that enamoured with what I had then, I wrote:

Overall, if I am honest, though I enjoyed the dish, I was a little disappointed. The calamari was great, but the rest of the fish was a little soggy, despite having just being deep fried. There were two prawns in the dish, one peeled prawn and one whole prawn. The courgette was floppy and was quite greasy.

When I heard that King Fin were bringing back the Fritto Misto onto their menu, I was eager to try it again, despite my reservations from my previous experience.

I must go to King Fin quite a bit as I got recognised as a regular, which was nice. I placed my order and waited. As with all their menu items, the food was cooked to order. After a short while I was handed my box of food and I think it looked amazing. I took it back to my office to eat.

It was awesome. This was a delicious box of food. The freshly cooked squid rings, prawns and (small) fish were really tasty and it was a generous portion. The deep fried sage and courgette was a nice addition. I thought this was an amazing dish and I was well impressed. It certainly was much better than my previous experience. The batter was nice and crispy. As per usual the fries were great.

Looking forward to having this again soon.