
The Canteen
A creative community hub with free live music nightly, serving locally sourced, sustainable vegetarian and vegan food.

Highlights
Must-see attractions
Social
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Best Time
Blue hour photography, calmer galleries

The Canteen

Highlights
Must-see attractions
A creative community hub with free live music nightly, serving locally sourced, sustainable vegetarian and vegan food.
"The Canteen offers a unique blend of live music, great food, and a chilled atmosphere, making it a Bristol favorite."
Lunchtime Deals
Visit during lunch for great deals like soup of the day or Burger Mondays.
Enjoy the Beer Garden
Sit outside in the buzzing beer garden surrounded by leafy plants for a relaxing experience.

Quick Facts
Cuisine
Vegetarian/Vegan Cafe & Bar
Price
Mid-range
Phone
+44 117 923 2017
Address
Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft, St Paul's, Bristol BS1 3QY, United Kingdom
Website
canteenbristol.co.uk/Highlights
Discover the most iconic attractions and experiences

Live Music Every Night
Experience a vibrant atmosphere with free live music daily, from jazz to reggae, fostering a creative and inclusive space.

Innovative Vegetarian & Vegan Cuisine
Savor creative, locally sourced dishes with standout options like crispy smashed potatoes and flavorful tempeh burgers.

Buzzing Beer Garden
Relax in a leafy beer garden with communal tables, perfect for enjoying local brews and good company.
Plans like a pro.
Thinks like you
Insider Tips
from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit
Lunchtime Deals
Visit during lunch for great deals like soup of the day or Burger Mondays.
Enjoy the Beer Garden
Sit outside in the buzzing beer garden surrounded by leafy plants for a relaxing experience.
Catch Live Music
Experience live music nights six times a week for added entertainment.
Book for Busy Times
It's a good idea to book a table, especially during peak hours.
Tips
from all over the internet
Lunchtime Deals
Visit during lunch for great deals like soup of the day or Burger Mondays.
Enjoy the Beer Garden
Sit outside in the buzzing beer garden surrounded by leafy plants for a relaxing experience.
Catch Live Music
Experience live music nights six times a week for added entertainment.
Book for Busy Times
It's a good idea to book a table, especially during peak hours.
What Travellers Say
Reviews Summary
The Canteen is praised for its vibrant atmosphere, consistently good vegetarian and vegan food, and nightly live music. Diners appreciate the creative dishes and the inclusive, community-focused vibe. However, some reviews mention long waits for food and small portion sizes, particularly for certain dishes.
"Really loved the food here and the busy atmosphere showed lots of others do too.
I am not vegetarian but this restaurant made me question why. Good food in all senses of the word.
Great to be able to see the team working in the kitchen too and liked the lively decor.
A particular favourite was crispy smashed potatoes with aji aji aioli and pickles.
They also do a lovely cup of tea 👍"
John Maslen
"Better and better over the years and for me, the best roast dinner in the city, veggie, vegan or not. A perfectly flavoured, fresh, and balanced nut roast and trimmings. Beautiful."
Jon Tan
"This place was amazing! Just the job when you are hungry. This is a very cool place to hang out but nobody seemed to mind that we were there too (we were the oldest people there). The food was excellent, the service was fast and efficient. I would definitely go here again next time I'm in the area."
David Wright
What People Like
What People Dislike
Frequently Asked Questions
The Canteen serves a diverse vegetarian and vegan menu with a focus on locally sourced and sustainable ingredients.
Yes, The Canteen hosts free live music every night of the week, showcasing a variety of genres.
The Canteen offers great lunch deals, including soup of the day and a tempeh burger special on Mondays.
Yes, The Canteen has a popular and buzzing beer garden surrounded by leafy plants, perfect for a relaxing experience.
Customers highly recommend the crispy smashed potatoes with aji aioli and the vegetarian/vegan roast dinner.
The Canteen is known for its vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, with staff able to advise on dietary needs.
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Primarily the stomping ground for many of Bristol’s students and wannabe eco warriors, The Canteen is a huge, laid-back joint with plenty of seating, also known for its locally-sourced menu featuring solid vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. However, it’s the general creative, feel-good atmosphere that is its biggest asset, with street art strewn across the walls – as well as a strong lineup of local beers on tap for when those creative juices need a little more encouragement. If there's no need to worry about work, take a look at some of our other favourite coffee shops in Bristol.
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Presided over by a work by Bristol street artist Banksy, the Canteen splits opinion. Critics consider it the storefront of gentrification in Stokes Croft, which roughly coincided with its appearance in 2009, while its advocates argue that it has effectively amplified the local sense of community and provided a platform for that community to express itself. Either way, the simple glass-fronted venue is popular, and its roster of excellent free gigs has an international character involving jazz, reggae, blues, folk and sundry combinations thereof.
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The Canteen is one of Stokes Croft’s best bar and restaurants, one of only two venues in all of Bristol to host live music every night of the week. Located in the heart of Stokes Croft next to a famous Banksy, this bar and restaurant promotes artistry and creativity in its space. The Canteen prides itself on inclusivity being at the heart of their ethos, boasting their accessibility and affordability as well as their part in driving the creative resurgence of Stokes Croft.
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Perfectly capturing the mood of Stokes Croft, The Canteen bar is chilled and affordable with canteen-style tables crammed in front of the stage (there’s live music and DJs every night – afro-beat, reggae, hip-hop and the like). Open from 10am, the mood changes throughout the day, ramping up for the evening sessions. The long bar stocks a vast range of beers and ciders (Bristol Beer Factory and North Street cider among them) plus wine; they do a good Bloody Mary too.
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The Canteen is nothing like the type of canteen that you probably know from school – it’s a friendly venue that attracts both locals and tourists and where you can mingle without feeling out of place. Existing in the Bristol scene since 2009, it’s known as the best hangout spot that provides live music and a vegetarian menu. Irish stew might be your food of choice for St. Paddy’s Day, but The Canteen’s tasty dishes will make you appreciate greens more – it’s a colour of the celebrations after all.
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This is a great place to work from, but an even greater place to have a party or simply spend some time. Besides the organic food at the café on the ground floor, I liked their mix of “drop-in” classes, a formula that allowed me to try many different things, from hula-hoop to Bollywood dance. The restaurant is good as well, but the music is too loud to focus on a proper writing session; perhaps it is better to come here simply for a beer or a live music event.
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The Canteen is one of Bristol's most celebrated, independent and iconic spaces in the heart of Stokes Croft. The menu is entirely vegetarian and vegan with a real focus on sustainability. The Canteen is open throughout the day and has a brilliant lunch deal: including soup of the day and filled soup from £8, as well as a burger Mondays where you can get a local made-tempeh burger, potatoes and a pint for £14 (from 5pm on Mondays, certain pints only)!
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Known for being a buzzing beer garden, The Canteen has it all. The outside area is bursting with leafy plants and communal tables, and entertainment-wise you'll be spoilt, as it has live music nights six times a week. Whether you're in the mood to tuck into a fresh, fluffy sandwich made with focaccia, a couple of sharing plates or wanna sink some pints with friends, it's a top-tier place for whiling away your weekends under the sun in Stokes Croft.
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In the centre of Stokes Croft is a favourite among Bristol residents, The Canteen, a former office block which has been transformed into a creative community hub, which serves a variety of healthy, affordable dishes. Eat A Pitta is another Bristol favourite, where you can order massive pittas packed with falafel, salad, hummus and pickles. Wallfish Bistro is a good option for delicious, beautifully presented dishes such as rabbit and lobster pie.
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The Canteen is one of only two Bristol venues to offer live music every night of the week, providing a stage for local talent, as well as acts touring internationally. Incorporating jazz, reggae, blues, folk, and various combination of the four, the line-up here is never boring, and can include anything from a 25 piece Samba band to a Latin funk hip-hop orchestra. Visit: Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft, BS1 3QY – canteenbristol.co.uk
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Well-known for being a bustling bar at night, The Canteen gives off a much more chilled out vibe by day, proving the perfect environment for those looking to work remotely, but still keep the social aspect of working from an office. Delicious local food and drinks are available throughout the day and the Wi-Fi is reliable and free. No payment is required to use their space, just buy your food and drink there while you toil online.
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The cafe is a huge cafe with canteen design and unusual but perfect seating option on the terrace. The is the best known cafe to sit and work from in Bristol as most of the customers are freelancer or remote workers that can enjoy free high speed internet and coffee that refreshes the soul. You can always lighten the mood with the live music that is available for free in the cafe inside alongside your favorite beverage.
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Since you’ll be in the vibrant area of Stoke’s Croft after your graffiti tour, why not try out a local restaurant that’d dedicated to serving vegan and ethically sourced food?. There’s an amazing community vibe at Canteen and the food is fresh and absurdly tasty. It’s home for the creatives of the area and has become a melting pot for people to gather in and enjoy affordable and fresh food and enjoy the vibe.
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The Canteen is the bar, restaurant and gig venue leg of Hamilton House, arguably the beating heart of this part of town due to its history as one of the central beacons of the Stokes Croft movement. It all began ten years ago when artists began to move into an empty office block. Since then the building has bloomed into an all-inclusive community space run by a collective called ‘coexist’.
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The Canteen in Bristol is a unique budget dining experience. Located in the heart of Stokes Croft, the alternative district in Bristol, this restaurant is housed on the ground floor of a creative space. The focus here is on locally sourced food at reasonable prices; with an emphasis on ethos as well as food, The Canteen is definitely worth checking out.
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Located in the heart of Stokes Croft on the ground floor of Hamilton House, The Canteen is another venue which proudly boasts hosting live music every night of the week. That impressive fact means it is able to attract an eclectic mix of talent covering a broad range of genres. Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft, St Paul's, Bristol BS1 3QY
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Biblos do a selection of great, healthy wraps for around £6, and if you’re looking for something a bit more substantial, Canteen manage to create a fantastic menu each day using local and sustainable ingredients for around £7-8. A few doors up, Cafe Kino will fill you up on a selection of sturdy vegan meals for well under a tenner.
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Enjoy the full spa experience at The Lido in Clifton, where you can relax in hot tubs, dine on flavoursome food and swim in an outdoor pool dating back to the Victorian era. You've got plenty of options on nearby Whiteladies Road, from sushi platters at KIBOU to French classics at Aqua Brasserie, or a taste of Spain at Bravas.
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We’ve highlighted The Canteen’s spectacular vegan-friendly dishes before. What we failed to mention was that this restaurant-cum-bar is probably just as well known in Stokes Croft for its music events. Six nights a week and always free (before 9.30 on Friday and Saturday), The Canteen hosts some of the best free music around.
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A chic spot that balances work and leisure with great vibes, unique drink options on tap, and tasty, worth-it dishes. We had been told that there was quite an atmosphere, aside from the fact that it has a certain name, the place is ideal for a beer and also for eating. There is quite a variety of beer, even gluten-free
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One of the most popular places to eat on Stokes Croft, The Canteen has a great value menu of seasonal and locally-sourced dishes, which you can enjoy in the main bar area, or people watch from their front terrace. Sister venue The Old Market Assembly also has its own popular outdoor space - a large roof terrace!
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The Canteen is at the heart of Stokes Croft, with an always buzzing terrace out front overlooked by a Banksy mural. This is one of the most reliable places for a great night of live music in the city. There are gigs on five nights a week, with the most upbeat, high energy acts reserved for Fridays and Saturdays.
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Bustling with all sorts of Bristol characters (you’ll usually see the famous Jeff the Big Issue seller popping in after 5). Serving some tasty but occasionally slightly unusual food (squid linguine at lunch?). The Canteen features great music, a large outside and oh yeah, table tennis.
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Listen to jazz at The Old Duke, folk and rock at The Canteen or something classical at St George’s. Or for an eclectic night out, keep your balance at the roller disco at the converted Trinity Centre church or rave the night away on the Thekla, a floating boat in Bristol’s harbour.
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This is Stokes Croft Central, ground floor of Hamilton House, with great food and music seven nights a week. Enterprising jazz bookings, most often on Thursday nights or Sunday afternoons. Free entry, often really busy, though not necessarily with people who came for the music.
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Canteen boasts its own Banksy mural, a vast beer garden and live music and DJs every night. Oh, and the food’s pretty good too. Embracing a slow-food movement that’s “good, clean and fair” it serves delicious plant-based dishes such as broccoli jambalaya.
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The Louisiana has multiple floors for the live music that is often performed by locals. St George’s is the place to go for classical music, and The Fleece is simply legendary having seen the likes of Amy Winehouse and Oasis on its stage.
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Located underneath the well-known community arts and dance space- Hamilton House, The Canteen encapsulates the wayward spirit of Stokes Croft. With regular live music events and fantastic food, it's a wonderful drinking hole.
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The Canteen café occupies the ground floor of Hamilton House and offers honest, affordable home food with emphasis being on local supplier networks. The café serves wonderful rolls that will keep your mouth drooling for long.
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A go-to for those who are new to Bristol, if you're on the hunt for new artists then look no further. Hosting folk, jazz and blues centric artists, The Canteen boasts free entry and a good time!
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The Canteen has an outdoor space to grab a drink, soak up some live music, and bask in the community spirit.
Social
from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit