{"id":11554,"date":"2026-04-11T07:22:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/11554\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T07:22:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:22:32","slug":"the-foodie-area-of-bristol-dubbed-little-london-and-the-backlash-has-already-begun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/11554\/","title":{"rendered":"The foodie area of Bristol dubbed ‘Little London’ – and the backlash has already begun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bristol has always been famed for having its own independent restaurant, cafe, bar and food and drink scene – it\u2019s the city that gave the world the concept of the Lounge and Pieminister, and the Bristol-only chains like Eat-A-Pitta, Miss Millie\u2019s and Sandwich Sandwich are expanding beyond the Avon Ring Road to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

But one part of central Bristol has seen that process in reverse, with up-and-coming restaurant chains coming from London or Manchester to set up in Bristol.<\/p>\n

People are starting to notice something of a trend – that these \u2018Down from London\u2019 new restaurants are opening up in a relatively small area around Corn Street, Clare Street and Baldwin Street in what was once the heart of medieval Bristol.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s noticeable enough that it now has a name – Little London – and the backlash against it has already begun.<\/p>\n

Bristol food writer Meg Houghton-Gilmour, the creator of the Bristol Sauce food blog<\/a>, came up with the phrase, and does not mean it in a nice way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an area in the centre of Bristol \u2014 where the bottom of Clare Street, Baldwin Street and St Augustine\u2019s Parade collide \u2014 that has effectively become a \u2018Little London\u2019,\u201d she wrote recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis term isn\u2019t widely used (yet) but you heard it here first. It is jam-packed with brands that originated in London and have pinned Bristol as a stop on their worldwide expansion plans,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rudy’s has opened its first Bristol site in Baldwin Street(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n

In her blog<\/a> introducing the concept to the city, Meg lists 11 establishments that fit the \u2018Little London\u2019 – and suggests at least one alternative establishment of a similar cuisine that is a truly independent, Bristol-based place to go instead.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the likes of controversial bakery Gail\u2019s, London-based steakhouse Flat Iron, or pizza or pasta restaurants like Rudy\u2019s, or Indian restaurants like Mowgli\u2019s, they should be avoided, says Meg, who even points out exactly how many minutes\u2019 walk away the Bristol-based independent alternative is.<\/p>\n

The establishments of Little London do seem to be popular, however – perhaps among those recently-arrived residents of Bristol who have come from London and want to experience London’s eateries again.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Hundreds queue for Flat Iron steak restaurant giveaway on opening night<\/a>READ MORE: Gail’s set to open third Bristol bakery after months of delays<\/a><\/p>\n

When London steakhouse Flat Iron just before Christmas, there were huge queues to bag the opening day giveaways<\/a>, scenes repeated whenever a London-based eaterie, cafe or restaurant opens in Bristol.<\/p>\n

Meg said one motivation to start her \u2018alternative to Little London\u2019 campaign is because the national chains appear to dominate search engine results.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason people go to chain restaurants,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps it\u2019s that they\u2019re predictable, they offer vouchers or discounts, they show calorie counts on the menus or because they have massive marketing budgets meaning they are able to remind you they exist through regular emails, push notifications and billboards,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hundreds queue for Flat Iron steak giveaway on December 4, 2025<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s considerable evidence to suggest they are unfairly prioritised in Google Maps too. Look at the image below \u2014 this is the area to which I refer, and when I search for \u2018restaurants\u2019, the majority that show are chains. Back Garden Pizza, Ramen Monster and MeetUp Noodle Bar are nowhere to be seen,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I know they are there, and that they are definitely worth your patronage \u2014 far more so than many of the surrounding chains,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Popular London ramen bar announces plans for first Bristol site<\/a>READ MORE: Iconic pizza restaurant Rudy’s announces opening date for Bristol venue<\/a><\/p>\n

The 11 \u2018Little London\u2019 chain establishments flagged \u2018to avoid\u2019 by the Bristol Sauce blog<\/a> are: Flat Iron, Pizza Pilgrims, Franco Manca, Rudy\u2019s, Rosa\u2019s Thai, Tonkotsu<\/a>, Gail\u2019s Bakery, Mowgli, Bella Italia, Honest Burger and Turtle Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing outright wrong with chain restaurants as such, it\u2019s just that by visiting an independent instead you are putting your money directly into individual\u2019s livelihood and back into the local economy, rather than into some London-based investor\u2019s wallet,\u201d Meg added.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re keeping our high streets filled with local businesses that are unique and individual, rather than allowing them to be steam-rolled into something that looks just like a street in Manchester, or Brixton, or Milton Keynes. And more often than not, the food is genuinely better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol has always been famed for having its own independent restaurant, cafe, bar and food and drink scene…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[3484,5464,5462,1398,138,27,5463],"class_list":{"0":"post-11554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-bristol-city-centre","9":"tag-cafes","10":"tag-eating-out-in-bristol","11":"tag-food-and-drink","12":"tag-google","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-pubs-and-bars-in-bristol"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116384874032094686","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}