What began as a lockdown project making and selling sourdough pizzas from home has now blossomed into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Southville, that's lovingly named after owner's Mary Glynn and Pegs Quinn's son. The menu is formed with more of that much-loved Italian inspiration, which comes from Pegs' experience working at London's River Cafe, so expect a similar style and level of cooking, but just in a small laid-back neighbourhood restaurant, with a much smaller bill at the end. The blackboard menu changes depending on what's available daily, but dishes might include favourites such as marinated Cantabrian anchovies and bianca pizza.

What: Tucked away in the friendly neighbourhood of Southville, Sonny Stores brings rustic Italian charm to Bristol, with seasonal menus and authentic dishes. While the focus here is undoubtedly on ingredient-led plates for grown-ups, families are very much welcome. Whether you’re heading in for a relaxed lunch, or an early dinner, kids are catered for with a brilliant value £5 pasta and pizza offer that parents will love as much as kids.

It may be small in size but Sonny Stores has made a big impression since replacing Birch in Southville in the summer of 2020. The business was started by Mary Glynn and her chef husband, Pegs Quinn, who had previously worked in London’s famous River Cafe restaurant. As well as strong local support, the small neighbourhood eatery has attracted rave reviews from national restaurant critics including Jay Rayner and Tom Parker Bowles.

This seemingly unassuming restaurant found in an even more unassuming residential street in Bedminster has become somewhat of a Bristol institution. Since receiving a visit by a certain Jay Rayner, the joys of Sonny Stores have been bought to the attention of the masses – and rightly so. Run by ex-River Café chef Pegs Quinn, expect simple yet faultless Italian-influenced cooking, without the River Café Price tag.

Ideal for an expertly conceived ‘Britalian’ dining experience…. Another family-run operation named after the co-owners’ son; Sonny Stores. Here, River Cafe alumnus Pegs Quinn and his wife Mary Glynn run one of the city’s most cherished recent openings, with a broadly ‘Britalian’ menu showcasing fantastic local produce cooked with reverence in a tightly-packed, always busy dining room.

Sorry, you need to accept cookies from Instagram to view this content. It’s hard to put your finger on what makes a neighbourhood restaurant a neighbourhood restaurant and not just, y’know, a normal restaurant. Whatever that secret something-something is that can make a space feel intimate, familiar, and special all at once, Sonny Storeshas got it in spades.

You wouldn’t guess it from the name, but Sonny Stores is a charming neighbourhood Italian, set in a former corner shop amid the terraces and bay windows of Southville. Out front, a blackboard advertises takeaway pizzas, but … Read more. 47 Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol BS3 1QS

Chef-owner Pegs Quinn is ex-River Café and cooks with seasonal, produce-led rigour. Expect elevated plates of, perhaps, farinata (chickpea flour flatbread) with charred Friggitelli sweet peppers and borlotti, or pappardelle with chicken livers. Mains from £12; sonnystores.com

This relaxed wine bar and bistro has been leading the way for the rejuvenated dining scene south of the river. Cracking authentic Italian plates are simple but brilliantly executed, and served alongside an all-natural wine list. Just great food and drink with no frills.