When I went to attend the London Coffee Festival in April, I added a little visit to Bristol to my trip. The last time I visited this city was in early 2022 when my dear friend Adam got married at a beautiful farmhouse just south of Bristol and covid was still lingering fresh in our memories. At the time, I had the chance to visit BANK, the fantastic restaurant that was started by my other friend Dan O’Regan. During this year’s visit, I connected again with Dan and went to meet him at one of the city’s hottest new coffee bars, Greytone.
While still in London and asking around for tips, everyone I spoke to mentioned Greytone. It had been a while since a place came up that often in conversation and it only made sense to start my exploration of Bristol’s vibrant coffee scene there. I took a cab from the train station to Greytone on a beautiful spring day to meet Dan who was already inside waiting for me.
This lightfilled café in St. Paul’s was founded by Ernest Ho and Charlotte Fong who wanted to offer the people of Bristol a regularly changing selection of fine coffees from the best European roasters. Every coffee is carefully selected and then prepared to perfection and can be paired with one of the many mouthwatering pastries and cakes on offer such as the stunning and lemon cubes or the lush Earl Grey Roll.
Their seasonal menu also includes more expensive Geshas and other experimental lots, which can cost as much as £12 per cup but will be prepared with the utmost attention to detail and care. During my visit I started off with a flat white and when Dan later suggested we also get a filter coffee, I went for an Ecuadorian coffee from my friends at DAK in Amsterdam. Interestingly, Greytone featured a few different Dutch roasters at the time of my visit also including Ripsnorter from Rotterdam.
Though their location is a bit off the beaten track, Greytone has managed to build a loyal following of coffee enthousiasts who regularly rate it 5 out 5 stars. It seems that this elevated café struck a cord with Bristolians who are generally very proud of their vibrant food and drinks scene. I, for one, really enjoyed my experience here and highly recommend this coffee shop to anyone looking for a more refined coffee experience in the city.
