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Wines of Hungary

We had the pleasure of being invited to a fantastic industry tasting hosted by Wines of Hungary at Racks in Clifton last week. The event was an immersive showcase of the country's rich winemaking heritage, highlighting the incredible diversity that comes from its 22 wine districts—from crisp, volcanic whites to elegant, historic reds. As this was a tasting for Bristol's top restaurants and importers, it's a preview of what's to come, so we wanted to share some of the producers who really stood out.

The highlight for us was how the story and personality of each producer shone through in their wines. From Barta Winery, we tasted an incredible purity and minerality—a direct reflection of the volcanic soils of the legendary ‘Old King’ vineyard they are painstakingly restoring by hand. The wines from Zsirai Winery felt like a taste of history itself, a continuation of a family dream in the region famed for the ‘Wine of Kings’. And for the reds, the Fine Wines Association of Hungary introduced us to the work of Péter Vida—a previous winner of Hungary's prestigious 'Winemaker of the Year' award—who showcased elegant, welcoming wines designed to express the true character of the Szekszárd region.

The passion and quality on display were undeniable, and it’s genuinely exciting to know these bottles will soon be landing on wine lists here in Bristol. If you own or run a local restaurant, we highly recommend looking into what Hungary has to offer.

Explore further on the Wines of Hungary website.

New Openings & Recent Reviews

A Viral Shawarma, a Super-Affordable New Cafe & Pizzas on Gloucester Road

Achari:AM Cafe: The team behind the excellent Achari Indian Kitchen has just opened a daytime spot, Achari:AM, on Cotham Hill. The main talking point is the incredible pricing – we're talking £1.50 for matcha lattes and main dishes for just £5. With butter chicken, daal roti, and masala kebab bites on the menu, it looks set to become a firm favourite, especially for the local student population.

Pig’s Pizzas at The Grak: Great news for pizza fans. Pig's Pizzas has found a new home. You can now find them slinging their fresh pizzas and famous dips at The Grak (99 Gloucester Road) every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening, starting this Thursday, 16th October.

The Vench Corner Cafe: A new community-focused cafe has been built at The Vench adventure playground in Lockleaze. The Vench Corner Cafe is sustainably constructed from converted shipping containers and will support the centre's community initiatives. In addition to serving the public, the space will be used as a teaching tool, allowing the team to help the local community develop skills in hospitality and catering.

Coal Fired Lamb Shawarma at St Nick's Market: A review for a lamb shawarma stall inside St Nick's Market has gone viral this past week, and for good reason. Located near the Wine Street entrance, they cook a 20kg shawarma from scratch on a flaming horizontal rotisserie. It's top-quality stuff at a great price. The advice is to get down there early before they sell out for the day.

(Ad) The Granary - After highlighting The Granary's new chef in a recent newsletter, we were kindly invited down to try their food for ourselves. We can confirm it’s fantastic; our personal favourites were the gambas in a rich Turkish brown butter and the innovative squid ragout in filo pastry. To finish, the flourless chocolate cake with banana ice cream and tahini caramel was a triumph. Supporting local breweries with Lost & Grounded on tap, it's a brilliant meal out. View the menu here.

Upcoming Food Events

A Foraged Game Tasting, North Street's Joint Birthday Bash & a Spooky Brewery Run

Tapps Wine Bar Inaugural Tasting Menu: This Tuesday, 14th October. Tapps on Whiteladies Road is hosting its first-ever tasting menu. Created in collaboration with Game Grove Larder, the menu will focus on game and foraged ingredients. Only a few tickets are left, available here.

Kask's 6th & LUPE Bar's 1st Birthday: This Friday, 17th October. It’s a joint birthday bash on North Street. Kask is celebrating six years by pouring glasses of their team's favourite wines for just £6 all night, with no ticket needed. Right next door, LUPE Bar is celebrating its first birthday with a full-on party, featuring a curated tap list, a DJ, and a brand new menu from their kitchen partners, Eatchu.

Left Handed Giant's Halloween Run & Quiz: Thursday, 30th October. Get into the spooky spirit at the LHG St Philips Brewery. They're hosting a Halloween Fancy Dress 6K run followed by a quiz. Entry is just £2, with prizes for the best costumes and the sharpest minds.

Local Highlight

Root

Situated in its prime spot on the banks of Bristol's historic harbour at Wapping Wharf, Root has been a cornerstone of the city's dining scene since opening in 2017. It’s a modern, veg-led restaurant focused on sharing plates, born from a collaboration between Josh Eggleton of The Pony and Luke Hasell of The Story Farms. The founding ethos was to create a forward-thinking restaurant that champions local suppliers and producers through a 'more veg, less meat' philosophy.

A look at the sample menu shows exactly how this philosophy comes to life. The heart of the menu is a selection of inventive vegetable plates, with dishes like Grilled Carrots with Aleppo, Tahini, and Seed Dukkah, Leeks with Soy, Smoked Butter, and Cured Egg Yolk, and a creative take on a Caesar salad using Hispi Cabbage. Meat and fish are used sparingly, with options like Cured Chalkstream Trout and Hebredian Hogget appearing as singular, high-quality plates rather than the menu's main focus.

More info: rootbristol.co.uk

That’s it for this week.

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