News / Cafes
New cafe offers Scandinavian feel and an ever-changing menu
Fresh salad, an ever-changing menu and a light, airy space are what is on offer at one of Bristol’s newest cafes, which has now opened its doors.
Fresh & Wild is the latest creation of life-long chef Kim Koniotes and her husband Alex, and sits right next to fellow new-opener Little Loaf on Redland Road.
Open from Tuesday to Sunday during the day and set in a cool, open space, it offers an array of freshly-made salads and bakes.
“Because I don’t have a set menu I can change it up every day,” Kim said. “That’s the joy of what I do.
“I don’t use recipes per se. I just order a load of fruit and veg and work that way. It’s all up here,” she said, tapping her head.
The clean, minimalist aesthetic, muted colours and floor-to-ceiling windows have been carefully pulled together.
“I didn’t want another grungy type cafe,” Kim said. “I wanted something a bit more Scandinavian, a little bit cleaner on the lines. If I open the same as everyone else I’m not going to stand out.”
The cafe’s menu changes every day with Kim working off instinct rather than recipes – photo: Kim Koniotes
Clifton-born Kim, whose father opened the neighbourhood’s The Mall pub on the road of the same name, previously ran pubs and cafes all around the country.
She ended up worn out by the hard work and sold her last business, St James Cafe Deli in Bath, three years ago.
The road to this new business was far from easy.
“We took two years to find these premises,” Kim said. “There’s always a queue behind you waiting to offer more money.”
But the agreement fell through when Kim and Alex found out that another cafe was set to open next door – on a street previously devoid of eateries.
Fortunately, once the couple realised it was Little Loaf they took it back on, feeling they would not compete too much.
“I have a good relationship with them,” said Kim. “I’m very different from them and we hope to complement each other.”
Even that wasn’t the end of the story for the roller-coaster ride to launching the business.
On the cafe’s first day of trading, Alex went outside to move something and accidentally smashed the floor-to-ceiling window at the front of the shop.
An emergency glazier was called and the couple managed to get the window up and fixed almost straight away, but it was a stressful moment.
The future, hopefully, will be less fraught.
Kim and Alex have plans to introduce breakfasts over the next few weeks, likely in the form of toasties.
They also want to run cookery demos and host open nights where visiting food experts do talks.
Mostly though Kim’s aim is to build “a nice community cafe, and really try to create community spirit”.
Main photo: Molly Pipe
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