Great grassy beer garden here which is good for a sunny afternoon. Pub is nice and the staff are always friendly. The food is incredible, have eaten (vegetarian) here twice and both times have been incredibly impressed with the food (risotto and stuffed peppers). Their desserts are also great. Can get busy on a weekend evening so best to go early or book in advance for dinner.

The Spotted Cow was one of the first pubs in Bristol to place an emphasis on locally sourced and organic produce... North Street has come a long way over the years and The Spotted Cow has had a hand to play in its resurgence.

The menu makes for interesting reading, not least because the Cow have extended their 'local, sustainable, ethical' food-sourcing policy to include 'grown on the premises', with a roof garden providing many of the vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen.

Some gastropubs are, truth to tell, wannabe restaurants that feel fairly uncomfortable places to pop in to for a pint. Other places are cheerfully unpromising pubs that provide amazing food.

This spacious downtown gastropub oozes unpretentious sophistication, from the candle-lit minimalism of the decor to the chilled Sunday jazz DJ sets. Food is also a big deal here. You'll find classic pub grub brilliantly reinvented with locally sourced and organic ingredients whenever possible.

The Spotted Cow has been one such haunt of mine, and it has been for most of the seven years I’ve lived in Bristol. It’s remained a constant on ever-evolving North Street, seeing neighbouring businesses come and go, and the food and drink offering flourish. It’s actually been there, in the same guise and ownership, for over a decade. Come the summer, the large garden will come into its own, too – locals flock here at the first sign of sun to work on those vitamin D levels. A proper crowd-pleaser.