Smoke & Glaze

Operating as the resident kitchen inside a much-loved Montpelier pub, Smoke & Glaze has carved out a name for big-hearted Southern American cooking on this corner of Bristol. It began life as a street-food pop-up and settled into the pub kitchen, and that low-and-slow, smoke-forward approach still defines the menu. The set-up is easy and pub-casual: grab a drink, order at the kitchen, and tuck into proper comfort food either at a table or boxed up to go.

The draw is unapologetically meaty, with towering burgers and barbecue plates leading the charge, from a messy Pulled Pork Burger to smoke-kissed wings and loaded fries. Portions are famously generous and the flavours bold, though it is worth knowing the kitchen can rotate, so regulars keep an eye on who is cooking. It holds a Google rating of 4.2/5, with a Restaurant Guru score of 4.3 across roughly seventy reviews backing up the burger fans. For unfussy American comfort food in the Montpelier area, it is a solid shout.