Review of The Pipe and Lovers at Breaking Bread
One of the many jewels in Bristol’s crown is our many awesome pubs, cafes and restaurants. Whether it’s a Michelin star extravaganza or a classic fry up, this city has got it covered! Like everywhere in Britain though, it has been very tough times for hospitality firms over the past six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But showing off that classic Bristol spirit, several collaborations have happened with companies joining forces to trade and get through the crisis. One of them is Breaking Bread, a pop-up food and drink village on the Clifton Downs. In an ever so 2020-way, you can enjoy fine food and wine in a socially distanced tipi version of top restaurants The Pony & Trap, Pasta Loco and Pasta Ripiena.
If a four-course meal doesn’t take your fancy, don’t worry because there’s also a pop-up boozer! Pubs The Pipe & Slippers and The Love Inn have joined forces to create The Pipe and Lovers and it was here that we were invited for a complimentary night out to sample the menu.
Breaking Bread Bristol
With its impressive tipis, Breaking Bread is a classy looking place and despite having to wear that now must-have accessory of a mask and get our temperature checked, it didn’t take away from the excitement of a new dining experience.
From behind their visors, the staff were friendly and welcoming as they showed us to our large wooden table set up for the rule of six.
It was a chilly evening the night we visited, so we went straight for the mulled Asbridge cider with rum and brandy. Our first hot beverage of the season really hit the spot. I’m generally not a cider drinker but this one was tasty so I had another!
Among the other tipples on The Pipe and Lovers’ extensive and reasonably priced hot booze menu are Hot Buttered Bourbon (Wild Turkey Bourbon, honey, butter, hot water and nutmeg), Bailey’s hot chocolate and Lovers Milk (Appletons Rum, Martell Cognac, honey and steamed milk).
After sipping our cider, it was time to tuck into some pub grub. For the purposes of the review, we were served a selection of food to try but ordering is usually done via an app.
For the carnivores, there are several burgers, a chilli dog and spicy chickens wings but The Pipe and Lovers menu also has good options for us veggies. The Meatless Farm Burger (with burger mayo, onion, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce) was delicious and it got us quickly googling to find out more about the Meatless Farm brand. Veggie burgers can be really hit and miss but this one was super tasty.
We also tried the Meatless Farm Chilli Dog. It was good too but we felt it could have done with some cheese to make it perfect. Some yummy skin on fries completed the feast.
As we tucked into our dinner, we enjoyed the sounds of the Jonny Bruce Trio, performing for the weekly Thursday jazz night. It had been months since we’d heard live music which made it even better. Here are the other performances coming up in October.
Breaking Bread is brilliant and real effort has gone into making it a proper dining and drinking experience. It has also directly employed over 100 people and supported hundreds of producers and other supplier businesses. Amid all the bad news, we applaud the restauranteurs, pub owners and event organisers for helping us Bristolians to have a much needed (and socially distanced) great night out.
This visit was provided free of charge but all views are our own. Breaking Bread closes on 8 November. Tables can be booked here.
