Budget Friendly eats in St Nicholas' Market

St Nicholas Market is the Aladdin’s cave of Bristol- full of rare finds, world cuisine, and there’s probably even a genie in there somewhere.  You’re in luck if you’d use any of your three wishes to gain excellent, budget-friendly food in the central Bristol area. St Nicholas Market has its own food market with plenty of options to keep you fed for less.

Low and Slow

If you’ve ever wondered where you can find Bristol’s best BBQ joint, I’m happy to tell you that you need wonder no more. Low and Slow was founded in 2016 as a pop-up on Gloucester Road, and has gone from strength to strength in the eight years since. Unlike many BBQ places, all of their food is made fresh rather than reheated, ensuring quality and flavours are as good as they can be. Their burgers start at £5, and an entire box full of BBQ meat and sides will only set you back £8. They even have a veggie option, and delicious loaded chips if that’s more your style. Low and Slow is open from 11:30 am – 3 pm Monday-Saturday.

Eat a Pitta

Eat a Pitta is a Bristol staple that has locations around Bristol. Their St Nicholas Market location is open from 11 am – 4:15 pm on weekdays, and until 5 pm on Saturdays. Grab yourself a pitta or box filled with delicious falafel and fillings of your choice, from grilled aubergine to feta cheese. Their large selection of salad options to choose from makes Eat a Pitta highly customisable, so no worries if you’re picky about how you like your falafel boxes. On top of all of this, they are committed to being climate-friendly- most of their packaging is compostable, and 100% of the energy they use is renewable. For a balanced meal of falafel, salad, hummus, and saving the environment all wrapped up in a pitta for only £7, Eat a Pitta is a steal. 

Eatchu

Eatchu’s speciality is their ‘happy little dumplings’, which are as delightful as they sound. For £6.35, you can choose between four options for fillings, including pork, chicken, mushroom, and mixed vegetables, meaning there are great options for veggies and vegans too. If that’s not your thing, they also do flavourful rice boxes for £4.25, both of which are vegan-friendly too. All their dumplings are made fresh each morning by their talented chefs, and their reasonable price points make this an ideal lunch spot. But hurry! They close at 3 pm on weekdays.

Pieminster

Once a small family business hailing from Bristol, Pieminster is now a mighty, national business. But why not try them in their original home? If you’re after something more hearty for your marketplace adventure, Pieminster has you covered. They have a range of flavours which you may not be used to in the context of a pie, such as mint and lamb and ‘The Mothership,’ which contains all the essentials from a roast dinner, which is only marginally less cool than if it were an actual UFO. Again, with plenty of veggie and vegan options, be sure to check out their stall.

La Lola

Bringing a taste of the Mediterranean to Bristol, La Lola offers proper, authentic Spanish dishes such as paella and potato croquettes. Opening from 9-5 each day, although come early as some of their more popular dishes are prone to selling out by lunchtime. If you’re not in a rush, the stall has seating to eat your food in, and freshly baked churros to round it all off as dessert.