Bristol | A green guide to one of Europe's most vegan friendly cities

Bristol's harbourside is buzzing with shops, bars, and cafes

Published on 01/12/2019 - 19:00•Updated 09/12/2019 - 13:20

Filled with plant-based cafes and incredible street art, this guide will help you seek out some green gems.

Early in 2019 Bristol was named the most popular city in the world for veganism according to a study that looked at vegan-related searches. As a place with rich food history, it isn’t surprising that plant-based sustainability is such a big focus for many of the businesses choosing to set up in the city.

Just 2 hours by train from London, here's just a small taste of the city's eco-friendly offerings.

Street Art

Why not hire a bike and take a cycle tour of Bristol’s world-famous street art. As you’d expect from the hometown of Banksy, the city truly embraces its public artwork celebrating it each year with Upfest. As Europe's largest Street Art and Graffiti festival each year locations are repainted to keep the scene as fresh as possible.

Although the festival took a year off in 2019, its mini-event, “Summer Editions” saw a large mural of Greta Thunberg appear on the side of the Tobacco Factory venue. This constant renewal means that whenever you go you are likely to find something you can’t find posted online. There are quite a number of DIY walking tours but if you fancy a bit more insight into the pieces and the artists behind them, there are tours led by knowledgeable local guides.

Oowee

A Bristol institution, this diner chain has a location dedicated to showcasing their incredible vegan options. The diner in Baldwin street has all kinds of plant-based junk food on offer including a chicken burger renowned among locals. Named restaurant of the year at the first-ever Deliveroo Awards there’s no doubt it has some great vegan fare. The real star, however, is Oowee’s Vebab where they serve Berlin-style vegan kebabs using Turkish pide bread.

KASK sustainable wine bar

This North Street bar offers sustainable wines on tap. Focusing on varieties that are organic, biodynamic and minimal intervention, the owners like to support small independent producers and vineyards. “We work with small independent producers and vineyards, purchasing our wine in kegs rather than bottles.” the Kask team says, “This is both better for the environment as well as more financially sustainable for the vineyards as it reduces logistics and distribution costs.”

“Bristol is a place very close to our heart” add the founders, “but we also just love the city and the way it fully embraces independents - specifically those with a focus on being environmentally-friendly.”

Wave Inland Surf Lake

This recently opened inland surf lake is the first of its kind in the world. At 180 m long it can produce up to 1,000 waves an hour to give the perfect conditions for everyone from first-time surfers to the most experienced. Founder, Nick Hounsfield, believes that surfing is great for your mental and physical health. “We are all so busy in our day-to-day lives that we don’t take that time out to step back, reset and simply ‘be’.” he says, “I found that surfing and being close to nature really worked for me and I wondered if there was a way of giving more people access to this feeling of wellbeing.”