Bristol is very much known for its independent cafes, coffee shops and bakeries. It, perhaps, is a good thing when it comes to discussing the best places to have a bite to eat across the city, as if often debated.
The city centre of Bristol is home to many of these cafes, but across the city there are plenty of great options to choose from and many more to explore besides. In Shirehampton, there is one daytime café which has proved to have a great reputation locally.
AJ’s Bistro is located on High Street on one of the main roads through Shirehampton. Since opening in 2021, the quality of food and portion sizes have been mentioned in Google reviews which has seen the café earn a 4.7 star rating out of five.
From the outside, AJ’s blends into the surroundings and if it weren’t for the outside seating, you may not have known that it was there. It was around lunchtime when we ordered some food, despite the breakfasts being tempting, I was drawn to the burger section on the last page of the menu.
You can get burgers pretty much everywhere you go, but to see a ‘Cheddar & Red Leicester Bacon Burger’ on the menu was quite exciting, proper cheese on a burger, and two of them – sign me up! It was £9.95, came with chips and thought nothing more of it as I waited for the food.
Looking around the café, I was surprised to see just how clean it was. It was spotless on every table. In addition, there were plenty of tables for locals to sit down and enjoy a cuppa or a burger, so it was a pleasant surprise to see how nice it was.
It was after a few minutes when we came to the realisation that the burgers were all cooked to order and used meat from local butchers. Again, another great surprise.
So the burger came out and you got a lot more for your money than expected. There were plenty of chips and the burger itself looked amazing, the salad was fresh and I couldn’t wait to tuck in.
It was incredible. The burger itself was full of flavour and juicy, the cheeses melted together to create a taste sensation and it was extremely filling. The chips were seasoned nicely and it was just a great experience.
But I’ll admit, I cannot put into words just how nice the burger was. If you were to imagine the ideal beef burger, grilled to perfection, almost like an American classic but with a bit of flair, you’d be imagining AJ’s Bistro.
AJ’s Bistro is a true hidden gem in Bristol, it is maybe the last place you’d expect that sort of quality and it delivers so much more than promised. The only problem I had with AJ’s was that it took me this long to visit, it is worth the visit no matter where you are in Bristol.