BFN Premium Update - Exciting News!

NEW SECTION ANNOUNCEMENT!

We launched BFN Premium back in February with three promises: help you find the good stuff, keep you ahead of what's on, and make eating out in Bristol cheaper. Seven months and 60-odd members later, this is us going after that third one properly.

We're working with Bristol's best independent food producers to set up discount codes, exclusive to BFN Premium members. From this week the codes get their own section in the newsletter, and we'll keep adding to the list as we work with more and more local businesses.

First up: 20% off everything at Easton Chilli. Sauces, chilli jams, merch, even their cooking classes, with no limit on how often you use it. Cracking one to start with. Our personal fav is the Black Garlic Chilli Jam!

More landing over the next few weeks, including Gurt Lush Food Co and GingerBeard's Preserves.

The codes are for BFN Premium members only. Upgrade for just £5 a month and unlock access to the BFN Food Map, the Weekly Deal Scout, the Event Calendar, and every discount code we add from here.

Run a local food business? If you're a producer, a restaurant owner, or anything in between, and you fancy offering BFN members a discount, give us a shout. We'd love to have you on the list.

Four Bristol Kitchens On The Good Food Guide: The Good Food Guide has published its 100 Best Local Restaurants list for the South West, and four Bristol kitchens are on it. Wangs in Montpelier comes seventh nationally and takes the regional win for the South West. Dongnae in Redland is 35th, Other in Bedminster 86th, and Lido in Clifton 88th. The guide calls the region "a magnet for exciting, independent cooking", and singles out Other for a relaxed style that refuses to stick to one cuisine, which is where the name comes from.

World's Best Alcohol-Free Pale Ale: Wiper & True have won gold at the 2026 World Beer Awards, with the alcohol-free version of Kaleidoscope named world's best alcohol-free pale ale. The Old Market brewery's flagship beer was recently listed among the world's top six non-alcoholic beers by Pete Brown in the Times, and it picked up two Great Taste stars in 2025. Co-founder Michael Wiper called it "a significant moment", adding that alcohol-free beer "should be exciting in its own right, not an afterthought".

A Record Shop Cafe On Cheltenham Road: Sophie Redmond and Ben Woodruff are turning the former Social on Cheltenham Road into Super Nature, a cafe and bar with rotating kitchen pop-ups and a record shop run by Disk Frisk. Ben used to programme at Loco Klub and describes the music as "home listening and curveball", so dub, soul, punk and rock rather than a dance floor. It's laid back by day and record-led by night. Opening is planned for autumn, with a crowdfunder running to finish the renovation.

Seventh Best Coffee Shop In The UK: Full Court Press has been named the seventh best independent coffee shop in the country. The ranking leans on their 4.8-star Google rating, monthly search numbers and Instagram following, so treat it as a popularity measure rather than a tasting. Still, it's a fair reflection of a place built on carefully sourced single-origin coffee, served as filter or espresso. If you want their beans at home, they run weekly, fortnightly and monthly subscriptions.

Lebanese Wine On The Back Terrace (10th Sept): Tapps on Whiteladies Road have Lebanese producer Massaya over for an intimate tasting on their back terrace this Thursday. It's £32 a head for five wines, starting at 7.30pm and running about an hour and a half, and you're welcome to stay on for drinks afterwards. Massaya is family owned with a distillery and wineries in the Beqaa Valley and on Mount Lebanon, going since 1996. Lebanon has been making wine for over 5,000 years, so there's plenty to talk about.

A One-Night Fusion Menu In Redland (11th Sept): Burra on Lower Redland Road are teaming up with Corks of Bristol for a one-night-only autumn tasting evening. Burra's former Michelin-star chef Toru Yanada has built a seasonal menu that runs Japanese technique through a modern Antipodean lens, and Corks are pairing every course, from crisp whites to elegant reds and a few odd ones. It kicks off at 7pm and seats are limited.

A Full Day Of Food In Clifton Village (12th Sept): Clifton Village Day is back on Saturday, with food, live music, shopping and family stuff across the village all day. On the food side there's freshly cooked paella at Bar 44 and £3 oysters at Fishtales, plus special in-store offers at plenty of the shops. Away from the plates you've got vintage bus rides, guided tours, children's activities and live sport. Discover Clifton have posted the full programme, so save it before you head down.

The Last Canto BBQ Of Summer (13th Sept): Wangs in Montpelier are running their final Canto BBQ of the summer on Sunday, before they switch things up in October. Expect crispy siu yuk, glazed Iberico char siu and Cantonese roast duck, all done over charcoal by their siu mei master and the team. There are new starters, sides and desserts alongside, plus new cocktails and the usual wine list. Only a few tables were left when they posted, and they've hinted a vegan Canto BBQ is coming next.

Oktoberfest At Lost & Grounded (19th Sept): The taproom on Whitby Road does its annual Oktoberfest on Saturday 19th, 1pm to 10pm, and reckons this is the biggest one yet. They're tapping a barrel of their own Festbier alongside their German-inspired lagers, and Ardito's Kitchen are cooking Latin American meets Oktoberfest specials. There's a stein holding competition, toad in the hole, cask tapping and taproom games, with music from Pastel De Nata, Alex Anderson and DJs all day. Tickets are £5 for adults and include your first pint. Under 18s and dogs go free.

Two Days Of Food Ideas At The Arnolfini (26th Sept - 27th Sept): FŌDA is back at the Arnolfini for two days, pulling together local chefs, producers and experts around the question "Can Britain feed itself?". Alongside the panels there are Sunday masterclasses on fermentation, offal butchery, wine tasting and food writing. You can wander the Producer Village, get into the weeds on bread at the Sourdough Exchange, or park the kids at the Pony Farm Bus for pizza and pasta making. It's the thinking person's food festival, and it's a good one.

Caribbean Meets Greek On Christmas Steps (27th Sept): Two of Dongnae's chefs, Alvino Zavlis and Ella Palmer, are taking over The Scrandit on Christmas Steps for the ninth Sunday Scran. It's a one-day menu of Caribbean and Greek fusion, which is not a pairing you see often and is exactly why it's worth a look. Doors from 12.30pm and they go until it's sold out. Walk-ins only, so no booking, and turning up early is the whole strategy here.

Members are getting 20% off everything at Easton Chilli right now. Sauces, chilli jams, merch, and their cooking classes too. No usage limit, no minimum spend.

More codes will be landing throughout September, including Gurt Lush Food Co and GingerBeard's Preserves, and the list will keep growing from there! Every one is negotiated for BFN members and you won't find them anywhere else.

£5 a month gets you all of them, plus the BFN Food Map, the Weekly Deal Scout and the Event Calendar.

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