While 2025 has seen a plethora of new places for food and drink open up in Bristol, the current climate for the hospitality industry is still tough, leading to some much loved venues closing their doors for good. Many venues that have made the decision to close up shop so far this year have put it down to the aftermath of Covid-19 and rising costs, among other things.
In the first two months of the year, we’ve lost one of Bristol’s most iconic venues, which had been here for 14 years, and we’ve seen some sudden and shocking closures in all corners of the city.
Here’s a list of the cafes and restaurants we’ve lost so far this year. Think we’ve missed one from the list – let us know….
Boston Tea Party Stokes Croft
Boston Tea Party, the family-owned independent cafe group that opened its first cafe here in Bristol 30 years ago this year, announced it would be closing one of its cafes in the city back in January, after 14 years – its venue in Stokes Croft. The announcement came as a post to Instagram, which read: “We’ve been in Stokes Croft for 14 years.
“We’ve been proud to be part of such a tight-knit, loyal community of independent cafes, bars and shops for so long. Across the industry, we continue to face challenges outside of our control.
“With our lease nearing its end, we’ve made the difficult decision to close BTP Stokes Croft.” The brand confirmed that it was working with staff at the Stokes Croft site to find new opportunities at other Boston Tea Party cafes.
The Not Found Kitchen, Whiteladies Road
The Not Found Kitchen, sister company to 404 Bakes in the same venue, took to Instagram to announce the news that it would be closing back in January. The vegan cafe on Whiteladies Road, said: “After a pretty chaotic couple of years, we’ve decided it’s time to close our doors to the public.
“We have felt so much love and support from our customers over the last year and we know many of you will be disappointed by the decision. But this isn’t the end for The Not Found Kitchen by any means – keep an eye on our socials for events we’ll be hosting at our site on Whiteladies Road later on in the year.
“On to sweeter things- you’ll still be able to grab a slice of @404.bakes cakes from cafes all around town once we’re closed. We’ll be accepting more celebration cake, wholesale customers, pre-orders and wedding bookings than ever. If you’re interested in hiring our space or looking for outside catering in 2025 then do get in touch – we’re open for bookings.”
The Hideaway, Shirehampton Road
In January, popular neighbourhood restaurant The Hideaway, located on Shirehampton Road in Stoke Bishop, confirmed its sudden closure. In an email to its customers in January and later a message on its website, The Hideaway said: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of The Hideaway with immediate effect.
“After much consideration and discussion, we have come to this difficult decision, compelled by the overwhelming external factors that continue to impact small businesses like ours. Since we embarked on this adventure in 2019, we have faced unprecedented challenges, from Brexit to a cost of living crisis (and not forgetting the small issue of a global pandemic in the middle somewhere), all of which have placed immense strain on our operation.
“We want you to know that this decision is not made lightly, and it brings us great sorrow to think of saying goodbye to a space that has meant so much to so many.” BristolLive reported the day prior how locals and fans of the popular restaurant venue had seemingly been left wondering if it had closed for good, after it failed to open as planned. When BristolLive visited the venue, there were groups of people outside wondering what the future held for The Hideaway.
Flour & Ash, Whiteladies Road
Another January closure came at popular pizza restaurant Flour & Ash. Local independent hospitality group, the Hyde & Co group, announced its closure, but said that fans of the food here will still be able to order online.
Founded in 2014 by Steve Gale, Flour & Ash was an award-winning Bristol institution on Cheltenham Road until it closed in 2020, and was widely regarded as one of the best pizza joints in the city. The brand was taken on by local restaurateurs, Nathan Lee, Jason Mead and Kevin Stokes, founders of the well-known Hyde & Co Group, who announced that they would be closing the venue on February 16 after four years, in order to focus on other projects.
Speaking about the closure, Hyde & Co founder Nathan Lee said: “It’s never an easy decision to close a venue, and after four years on Whiteladies we’ve decided to make the tough call to close Flour & Ash. The past few years have been an incredibly difficult time for the entire hospitality industry, which has been impacted by the cost of living crisis, and after a lot of reflection we’ve made this decision so that we can focus on growing our existing bars and restaurants and doing more of what we do best.”