The Granary

The Granary occupies a genuinely storied building: a Grade II*-listed 1869 grain store on Welsh Back that, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, was one of the UK's most famous rock venues, hosting Iron Maiden, Dire Straits and Thin Lizzy among others. Sumit and Puja Chadha reopened it as a restaurant in October 2023, after the space had stood empty since before the pandemic following stints as Belgo and then Loch Fyne -- Sumit already runs Harbour House nearby, so this is an experienced local operator's second site rather than a first-timer finding its feet. The menu is modern British with Mediterranean-Persian influences, built around open-fire cooking and in-house flatbreads, drawing on Byzantine trade-route inspiration and produce sourced within 40 miles.

At just under three years old, The Granary sits comfortably inside the brief's "1 to 4 years" window, and Bristol24/7's own review -- headlined "an exciting menu and a rock star welcome" -- describes a bright, cosy, attentive room, complimentary touches like bananas from the breakfast bar, and a genuinely enticing spread across the all-day menu. A Back Dining Room seats up to 30 for groups, with parties under 12 able to book directly online, which suggests an operator set up to handle exactly the kind of table this series would need without a special negotiation.

The venue trades Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 11pm and Sunday 8am to 5pm, closed Monday -- so Tuesday is the earliest early-week option, not Monday. By evening, Wednesday to Saturday, the vaulted cellar below becomes The Granary Club, an upscale cocktail bar in the building's old rock-venue heart. Welsh Back itself sits on the harbourside edge of the Old City, a working stretch of restaurants and bars a short walk from the more tourist-heavy Queen Square and King Street.