People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Sarah Middleton
Sarah Middleton is an events organiser who has been working in festivals and performing arts events in Bristol for almost 20 years.
Sarah runs Hotel Paradiso, one of the late-night venues at Boomtown festival, in collaboration with her old school friend and music promoter Vikki Porter, who established the Attic on Stokes Croft.
Sarah is also the founder of Walkabout which offers a “transformative” journey for women along the South West Coast Path in Cornwall featuring a four-day long-distance walking adventure and retreat, complete with camping, outdoor cooking, and campfires.
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These are Sarah’s top-five Bristol favourites:
St Mark’s Road
The annual Grand Iftar on St Mark’s Road took place in April – photo: Martin Booth
“St Mark’s Road is like a vibrant multicultural village with anything you could really want and some of my favorites such as the Garden of Easton. Their breakfasts and brunches are delicious, they also do some great garden-inspired cocktails too! It’s beautiful there, the plants, the atmosphere and Sweetmart across the road sell a great variety of food and do the best value for money lunchtime curries to take away. I also think Jamia Masjid Mosque on St Mark’s Road is the most beautiful I have seen, especially at night when it lights up. For Eid everyone comes out into the streets and the community has a big shared feast and celebration.”
Radical Roasters
Radical Roasters on St Mark’s Road is open from Thursday to Sunday – photo: Radical Roasters
“I love this new roastery and coffee shop in Easton. These ladies know their coffee and the atmosphere in there feels really fresh. It’s almost like your granny’s cafe mixed with punk! Radical Roasters do workshops and events and serve great coffee with cakes and pastries. It feels pretty unique.”
The Baffled King
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“Dinner at the Baffled King is a treat. It’s a cosy little French bistro in the heart of Easton. The place was set up by a group of neighbors, one of which is Campbell Craig, an American professor whose mother ran a number of French restaurants back home in the States. Campbell is passionate about wine and they serve some sumptuous plates along with delicious European wines. On a Wednesday, they do a prixe fix menu making dining out more affordable the French way. My fave is mussels marines with a glass of one of their recommended white wines.”
Greenbank Cemetery
Greenbank Cemetery was the first large cemetery after Arnos Cemetery to be set up in Bristol in 1871 – photo: Martin Booth
“Not your typical outdoor location to enjoy but I love Greenbank Cemetery. If I need some time to step away from my computer on a busy day I will go for a walk down the Bristol & Bath Railway Path and take a walk around Greenbank Cemetery. There are some beautiful big old trees to rest your back against and it always has a really relaxing, respectful and peaceful atmosphere with lots of nature around.”
The Plough
Flamenco Immigrants at the Plough – photo: Nic Ferris / Facebook
“Bristol wouldn’t be Bristol without the Plough. It’s a long established pub in Easton with a welcoming atmosphere and a community feel. They also currently have the award winning Gourmet Warriors providing food there. A pint at the Plough is always really welcome and I love what both Angelo and Tom do with their ongoing support of the local community, especially the Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls sports and social clubs, and their community veg box scheme.”
Main photo: Sarah Middleton
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