Halfway down Bristol’s most iconic street, Boston Tea Party offers a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle outside.
This is the original flagship BTP, which opened way back in 1995. Since then, it has spread across the West Country, and even further afield, with 15 branches altogether.
Over the years, a few things have changed – the upstairs seating area and garden recently doubled in size, and the menu has switched things up from time to time, but the quality of coffee, food and service has remained constant.
Each BTP has its own quirks, and the newly renovated Park Street branch has plenty of its own. Downstairs has an industrial feel, with a huge concrete counter, blackboards and rustic floors. Upstairs, there’s a slight 1950s diner feel, with red leather seats and plenty of open space. It’s a popular spot with everybody – students, freelancers and mums included.
The menus are the same across the board, give or take a special or two, with breakfast and lunch served all day, right up to the moment the doors close.
The Boston breakfast is a highlight, as is the pulled pork burger for lunch. There’s a good mix to choose from, all ingredients are sourced locally and only free-range meat and eggs are used.
The coffee is Extract, and you can choose from dark or medium roast. It’s genuinely remarkable how BTP manages to deliver such consistently good coffee given the number of branches now in its empire. Well worth a visit.