Setting up a restaurant is a daunting task, but what if you’ve already gained a loyal following before opening night? In the US, the combination of high rents and an abundance of out-of-work chefs led to the emergence of something beautiful: modern street food. The phenomenon spread to the UK, expanding from London outwards, and Bristol has since earned itself a reputation as a hotbed for street-food talent.
The scene here is more vibrant and diverse than ever. Just look at the Bristol Eats (BEATS) collective and their thriving Temple Quay market. Every other Thursday, you'll find some of the city’s best street-food traders serving up their wares to hungry office workers, including the puntastic Feastie Boys and Gopal’s Curry Shack. The weekly Friday food market on Wine Street is also thriving, featuring the likes of American Kitchen, who do a mean sloppy joe.
Serving food from the back of a van can be a way of making the dream of running a food business a reality, but it can equally be a means of testing the water before you take the plunge into a permanent site. Here are a few of Bristol’s most successful kerbside vendors who've moved out of the cold…
Chomp
When Chomp opened up in St Nicholas’ Market at the end of 2014, it certainly wasn’t an unfamiliar face. Today, diners might be inclined to dive into their dry-aged patties and steaks with a knife and fork, but this former mobile business had already made a name for itself with tremendous takeaway burgers served from a Citroen van behind Temple Meads station and on the Harbourside.
Sian Griffiths
Burger Theory
Another roaming purveyor of burgers that's found itself a home is Burger Theory, now housed in the beloved Golden Lion pub on Gloucester Road. Originally from Brighton, it was as a regular at Bristol’s street food events, and their 12oz patties, sloppy joes and chilli-cheese fries, which ensured the business would hit the ground running in a bricks-and-mortar home. Now a second site can be found at the Bristol Rocks Café.
Katie and Kim's Kitchen
Montpelier’s award-winning Katie and Kim’s Kitchen, run by two former art students, began life as a spruced-up horsebox in Stokes Croft. Making the move from a mobile to proper kitchen was made easier by virtue of their already-sterling reputation for toasted cheese scones and brilliant bacon sandwiches. The horsebox might be back in the stable, but the focus is still on their original formula of a simple menu with a focus on fresh produce.
Chilli Daddy
Then there’s Chilli Daddy, which used to trade one day a week at the Friday food market on Wine Street, but now operates from Monday to Thursday in its long-term home on Perry Road. Founded in 2011, Chilli Daddy is the UK’s first Szechuan street-food stall, and the permanent site still provides the same traditional dishes inspired by owner Dr Weng’s grandmother – think spicy chicken gizzards, pork saozi hot pot and spare ribs. It’s a place for a quick bite rather than long, lingering lunches, but the daily-changing menu keeps things interesting and flavours are consistently authentic.
Grillstock
The Grillstock name is known across the UK as an organiser of festivals celebrating barbecue culture, but its pitch in St Nicholas’ Market has long been the go-to place for a slap-up 'low 'n' slow' southern-style feast. We all know the British weather can be temperamental (especially at festivals), so Grillstock has sensibly sought shelter on the Clifton Triangle, where the smokehouse fare is every bit as epic. Expect to get messy with beef brisket, pulled pork, coleslaw and the giant Lockjaw Burger – this is dude food at its finest.
Sian Griffiths
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