temple quay market Archives - Time for a coffee

July 14, 2026

Bento Box

It was a beautiful hot day in Bristol, I headed out at lunchtime to the Temple Quay street food market. As it was a Thursday there was lots of choice, I had thought about Los Hermanos, but there was quite a queue. It was all rather busy. In the end I did head to She Sells Streetfood for my usual bento box of beef donburi and katsu fries.

This is one of my favourite street food stalls and probably have it more often than not when I am in Bristol. I have thought that maybe I should try some different stalls, but I think one of the reasons I default to She Sells Streetfood is that not only is the food excellent, but it’s one of the best value stalls there, with the bento box costing just £10.

July 8, 2026July 9, 2026

Chicken Shawarma Loaded Fries

It was a warm Thursday in Bristol, so I headed off to the Temple Quay street food market. There was lots of choice, it is the bigger of two Temple Quay markets that are on each week.

I had seen on the Instagram that Soul Fries were going to be at the market and from the photo on the Insta I was intrigued and tempted.

I did have a look around the market to see what else was there, but in the end I went to Soul Fries. I went with the Chicken Shawarma Loaded Fries. These were fries loaded with chicken shawarma, salsa, and pickles.

This looked really good. I tucked in. This was not my favourite street food dish. It wasn’t terrible, best way to describe it was; it was just okay. I felt the chicken lacked depth of flavour and needed more seasoning. The fries were quite soft, I think they needed to be crispier. I don’t think it would be a dish I would order again.

June 27, 2026June 27, 2026

Valencia Paella

It was hot, but the Temple Quay market was running. It was a Tuesday so there are fewer traders. Making the decision to go for something different I headed to the Riceminster stall for some paella. It was a lovely hot day, the weather felt quite Spanish like, so it was certainly appropriate to opt for the paella.There were three options available, vegetarian, seafood, and Valencia with chicken.

I have always enjoyed the paella from Riceminster, though I don’t have it very often. I should remind myself of what I wrote the last time I had paella from Riceminster. Back then I wrote:

This paella came with chicken and green beans. It was really tasty and I enjoyed it, I do think though next time I will go for the vegan or the vegetarian paella (which is a little cheaper) as I am not sure if the chicken added anything to the dish. It was nice, but I think I would have enjoyed the paella without it.

I forgot about this, and on my most recent visit I ordered the Valencia paella again.

It was nice and tasty, but again I think I wouldn’t have missed the chicken. Maybe that I have had it twice and thought the same, the next time I have paella from Riceminster I will go for the vegetarian option.

June 21, 2026

The Pizza Rocket

It was a Thursday, I was working in Bristol, the Temple Quay street food market was on, they had a bundle of traders booked. I knew where I was going for my lunch.

Now, the question was, would I go for She Sells Streetfood, which to be honest I have been doing a lot lately, or would I go for something else, and would I go for something new.

There were a lot of choices, some old favourites were there, some I hadn’t had in a while, but there were some new faces as well.

One stall was intriguing, which was Get Dipped, who sell French dip sandwiches, with every sandwich you get a pot of gravy. Whilst writing this, I saw that they are also in St Nick’s market, so I might try them there.

In the end I thought I would try a pizza from The Pizza Rocket. They sell wood fired Napoli style pizza. As I wondered what to have, and watched, they got one of their cooked pizzas out of the oven for a customer. It did look good.

Now my only reservation was that one of the specials was ham and pineapple. Yes it was Italian prosciutto crudo, and an interesting sounding chilli pickled pineapple, but even so, ham and pineapple, authentically Italian, I didn’t think so. Other choices included a Mariana, a pizza with no cheese, and a spicy salami option.

I did order, and I ordered a Margherita, which was £11. I had to wait a couple of minutes, but my pizza was ready. I was asked if I wanted some fresh rocket on top, so I said yes.

This was a lovely freshly cooked pizza. A Margherita pizza is a good test of a pizza place. The crust was excellent, the sauce was nice and there was a generous amount go cheese. I really enjoyed it.

June 5, 2026June 4, 2026

Another Bento Box from She Sells Streetfood

It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote this:

When there is a street food market in Bristol and one of the stalls is She Sells Streetfood, then this is the place I will get my lunch.

So, there I was a week later working in Bristol on a Tuesday again, I headed to the Bristol Temple Quay street food market for lunch. Though like last time there was quite a bit of choice, I headed to She Sells Streetfood and ordered a bento box, with beef donburi and katsu fries.

The beef donburi was slow cooked beef in an oriental sauce on top of sticky rice with pickles and crispy onion.

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

As before the bento box was delicious.

June 1, 2026

Bento Box from She Sells Streetfood

When there is a street food market in Bristol and one of the stalls is She Sells Streetfood, then this is the place I will get my lunch. So, there I was working in Bristol on a Tuesday, I headed to the Bristol Temple Quay street food market for lunch. Though there was quite a bit of choice, I headed to She Sells Streetfood and ordered a bento box, with beef donburi and katsu fries.

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

I am growing to like this dish, I’ve had it a few times now. The fried chicken was excellent and with the fries and sauce it is all very tasty.

The beef donburi as always was tender and full of deep Unami flavours.

The crispy onions add texture and the pickles and cucumbers salad add the necessary sharpness to cut through that rich tasty beef.

One of the reasons I buy this box on a regular basis, is that this is excellent fresh street food, full of flavour and very tasty. Also in a time where street food is getting more expensive (not surprisingly with increased costs of food and fuel) it is excellent value for money at £10 for the bento box.

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.

December 18, 2025

The Street Taverna

I was working in our Bristol office and I headed out to the Temple Quay street food market. As it was a Tuesday there wasn’t as many choices as there are on a Thursday. I decided I would have a halloumi wrap from The Street Taverna. This is a nice thick wrap with halloumi, salad and fries.

I did enjoy the wrap; the halloumi was tasty, the chips were nice and crispy. I also enjoyed the flat bread as well. As with my previous wrap from The Street Taverna sure if the chips added anything to the wrap. I am glad I went with the halloumi.