Bristol Foozie Awards Have Been Announced

Foozie, Bristol’s foodie and boozie events guide and events business, has ended the year with the first ever Foozie Awards – and we think it’s pretty bang-on!

Thom from Foozie tells us a bit more about the awards and what they’re all about “2016 has been an incredible year for Bristol’s food and drink scene. Not only have we had over 60 new bars, restaurants, pubs and other foodie destinations open across the city, but we’ve had a whole new destination with the opening of Whapping Wharf and Cargo – and soon to be Cargo 2. Bristol is absolutely buzzing with great food and drink and shows no signs of slowing down… ”

“So we decided it was about time Foozie awarded the best of the best. We’ve spent all year talking, writing and tweeting about the places we love to eat and drink, so we felt it was the right time to kick off an annual awards. It has been really tough to pick the winners, especially in a couple of categories – but here they are, the winners of the Foozie Awards 2016…”

 Best New Opening – Pasta Loco

Pasta isn’t normally the most exciting of foods, which makes Pasta Loco’s achievements that much more impressive. Owners Dom and Ben have created some of the best dishes we’ve seen in any restaurant and have completely changed our perception of what you can do with pasta forever. The restaurant and atmosphere is also a breath of fresh air, with a real rebellious but charming feel to it.

Best Restaurant – Adelina Yard

This category didn’t have to be won by a fine dining restaurant, but it was only right that Adelina Yard took it. Their regularly changing tasting menus have provided Bristol with, dare we say it, a Michelin standard restaurant in the city centre – which has been needed for some time.

Best Casual Dining – Pigsty

The majority of new openings in Bristol this year have fitted into the casual dining category, so there were lots to be considered. Pigsty topped the bill because they have created so much out of such a small restaurant and with one key ingredient: pork. The food is incredible and we love the fact that everybody has a different favourite.

Best Take Away – OOWEE Diner

Not only do they serve some of the best burgers in the city, along with ridiculous fries and sides, but they take serious pride in their drinks selection, which we wholeheartedly approve of. While waiting for your food you can enjoy a Chocomel, which is a delicious chocolate milk drink normally only found in Holland. Mix all of that with a unique buzz that you won’t find in any other take away, OOWEE absolutely dominated this category.

Best Bar – Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Bars don’t come any more unique than Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Situated next to Clifton Down station, you’ll enter through an old red phone box door and into a dark and atmospheric cocktail bar. It’s the cocktails that really set this place apart, though, with some served in noodle boxes (the cool American ones, not Tupperware), small welly boots and other oddities. But this is no gimmick – oh no! The cocktails here are some of the bets in the city.

Best Sunday Lunch – The Old Bookshop

This is a HUGE category and took a lot of debating and deliberating, but The Old Bookshop took it definitely deserve it. They have consistently served incredible Sunday lunches all year and since taking on their new chef, Alex Bluette, they’ve upped the bar even higher.

Best Event – Durty Gurties: Alice in Wonderland

Durty Gurties has now run three sell-out events and their most recent pop-up was their biggest and best yet. Taking guests to a secret location by coach and serving them a delicious three-course meal within an amazingly curated Alice in Wonderland theme really set them apart. We love the fact that it’s a family run event with everyone chipping in and making it happen.

Best Festival – Bristol Food Connections

It’s one of the biggest and most attended food festivals in the country and us at Foozie are proud to have it. Hosted over a week, set across the whole of Bristol and featuring dozens of the best local business, Bristol Food Connections takes a lot of beating.

Best Pop-up – Plumed Serpent

Plumed Serpent is run by partners Ed and Laura who have mastered the art of Mexican tacos. They had several pop-ups throughout 2016, but most notably in Mathilda’s in Haymarket and at The Old Bookshop. Their fish tacos alone were a highlight of 2016.

Best Event Creative – Milk Thistle: NYE Labyrinth Ball

We love events and great creative event branding gets us very excited. When we saw Milk Thistle’s poster for their NYE Labyrinth Ball we were ridiculously impressed. It’s no wonder the event sold out so quickly.

Best Social Media – Pizzarova

Pizzarova has created some brilliant marketing social media campaigns this year. Their pink card giveaways have created so much buzz and their weekly pizza prize has been a huge success. But it’s not all been about freebies, they share create content and get stuck in with local foodie, which has made them really stand out.

Best Supper Club – 91 Ways

Unfortunately we have been unable to reach 91 Ways to tell them about their win, but if you’re unaware of what they do, they “harness the uniting power of food to bridge the gaps between Bristol’s 91 language communities, in order to build a more united and sustainable city”. They have held numerous pop-ups over the year that have provided great food with brilliant settings and benevolent ambitions.

* The Foozie Awards are completely non-profit and were influenced only by our experiences and our passion for Bristols food and drink scene. We have not received any form of payment from any of the winners or nominees and no free meals/drink were involved as part of the selection process. The nominees and winners were all chosen based entirely our collective opinions.