In Bristol, there is a shop, Stokes Croft China, that sells fine bone china emblazoned with quotes from Tony Benn, images of the late, local music legend DJ Derek and a photograph of the Queen surrounded by the words: “I eat swans.” Affiliated to radical community group the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, this ceramics enterprise – in its improbable mix of craft, creativity and protest – sums up Bristol.

Uniquely among large British cities, Bristol marches to the beat of its own drum (and bass). Liverpool and Glasgow may have a similar streak of independence, but Bristol’s refusal to kowtow to the homogenising forces of modern capitalism is a visible, city-wide phenomenon manifested in endless community groups and co-ops. There is a widespread solidarity in the arts, food and music that promotes quality and individual expression, not profit. From Gloucester Road (the UK’s longest strip of independently owned shops) to the city’s distinctive musical association with heavy bass music – from Massive Attack via dubstep pioneers such as Pinch, to modern cult heroes as different as Hodge, Vessel and the label Crazylegs – Bristol is a genuine one-off.

Of course, being such an attractive place is both a blessing and a curse. Bristol is one of those places (along with, say, Berlin and Brighton) that many Londoners dream of moving to for a better life. The consequent gentrification is a double-edged sword – you get more nice beer but also more noise complaints – but it can also be devastating where soaring property prices drive out those who give Bristol its energy. Unlike in other cities though (remember 2011’s Tesco riots?), be assured that Bristol will fight any attempt to commodify its bohemian cool. Independence is hardwired into its DNA.

MUSIC

Roving parties

Party hard … revellers at an event hosted by Alfresco Disco

What Bristol lacks, locals insist, is a high-quality 400-capacity venue that, at the level below Motion, would provide a focal point for the city’s underground. However, that absence is fuelling a subculture of ad hoc parties thrown in weird locations by outfits such as Dirty Talk (“Bristol’s bastion of interesting house and techno bookings,” says Chris Farrell, who runs the record shop and label Idle Hands); People Like Us; and Rough Draft. “There’s a really good DIY party scene,” agrees Luke Sutton, from Crack magazine, who also rates Alfresco Disco: “Recently, they hired an old navy ship and on a beautiful sunny day sailed 500 people down the river under the suspension bridge to sea, and dropped us off at Clevedon Pier. That was special.”

The Island

This former police station is home to music and art studios, a circus school, gallery and a subterranean complex of old prison cells where gigs/club nights happen. “There’s a long, 200-capacity corridor room down there that’s used sporadically, and it’s got a very special vibe,” says Sutton, whose October festival Simple Things uses the Island as a venue. “We had [techno DJ] Helena Hauff down there. It’s the kind of place you want to be when listening to harsh sounds.”

• Nelson Street, 0117 376 3457; theislandbristol.com

Cosies

This cellar bar has been one of Bristol’s key underground spots for decades. Midweek, it hosts some excellent leftfield electronica/bass nights, such as Death Disko from the Young Echo collective duo Kahn & Neek. “Cosies holds a special place in lots of people’s hearts,” says Farrell. “Back in the day, you’d have toothless old dreads in there dancing next to students and everyone getting on, and a lot of interesting music still happens there.”

• 34 Portland Square, 0117-942 4110; cosiesbristol.co.uk

The Exchange

Of all the live music venues in Bristol (the Louisiana, Start The Bus, Lakota, Marble Factory), this 250-capacity space is, arguably, the most musically adventurous. Expect experimental drone acts, hardcore punks, psych weirdos, math-rockers and metal extremists (alongside, in August, a visit from those titans of C86 twee the Flatmates). That the Exchange has welcomed both Four Tet and Sleaford Mods tells you everything.

• 72–73 Old Market; exchangebristol.com

Bristol Fringe



Across its bar and back-room gig venue, this intimate Bristol pub is a haven for live jazz (and folk, comedy, magic and, at a monthly pop-up, French crêpes). Look out for dates from Moscow Drug Club – who meld 1930s Berlin cabaret with Django Reinhardt’s “gypsy jazz” – and appearances from the legendary UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard at Wednesday’s Fringe Jazz night.

• 32 Princess Victoria Street, 0117-330 0900; facebook.com/thebristolfringe

Bristol playlist

Bristol playlist. Spotify

FOOD

Bulrush

With its hand-thrown crockery and homemade foraged liqueurs, Bulrush is one of those post-Noma restaurants that celebrates artisan skills and seasonality. In dishes such as hake with chicken of the woods mushrooms, white asparagus and ox-eye daisy, George Livesey’s food is as fastidious as Bulrush itself is warm and relaxed. Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, chef-owner at Michelin-starred Casamia in Bristol, loves it: “The food offers interesting flavours and techniques, especially in George’s fermenting and use of Japanese ingredients. It feels exciting.”

• Mains from £14.50. 21 Cotham Road South, 0117-329 0990; bulrushrestaurant.co.uk

Bravas

A corner of Barcelona in Bristol, this tapas bar delivers authenticity everywhere, from Asturian air-dried beef to its fried aubergines with molasses, an Andalucían dish now legendary on Cotham Hill. “Everyone packs in like sardines to sip on Manzanilla and eat croquetas and grilled Ibérico pork,” enthuses Olive magazine editor Laura Rowe.

• Tapas £2.50-£6.95. 7 Cotham Hill, 0117-329 6887; bravas.co.uk

Flour & Ash

Bristol pizza is on a rapidly rising trajectory as a new wave of wood-fired, sourdough, slow-proved practitioners hit its streets. Bertha’s is currently fitting out a site on Cumberland Road, and Casamia’s Pi Shop opens on 21 July. In the meantime, Flour & Ash’s beautifully blistered creations topped with British ingredients such as heritage beetroot and ox cheek continue to thrill.

• Pizzas from £8. 203b Cheltenham Road, 0117-908 3228; flourandash.co.uk

Bellita

Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

A sister venue to Bristol institution Bell’s Diner & Bar Rooms, Bellita modestly bills itself as a “bar with food”, but its Mediterranean and North African small plates show a very sure touch. “Grab a window seat and work your way through the likes of braised octopus, seasonal veg with jamón butter and courgette and feta fritters,” advises Laura Rowe, editor of Olive Magazine, who previously edited the Bristol & Bath edition of the regional food mag, Crumbs.

• Plates £3-£8.50. 34 Cotham Hill, 0117-923 8755; bellita.co.uk

Hart’s Bakery

Photograph: Adrian Sherratt

Outside Temple Meads station, Laura Hart’s exceptional bakery-cafe offers succour to weary travellers and discerning Bristolians. As well as sandwiches and soups that use Hart’s famous sourdough, you can pick up awesome sausage rolls, cakes, croissants and cauliflower cheese pasties.

• Savouries/lunch, £3-£6. Arch 35, Lower Approach Road; hartsbakery.co.uk

DRINK

Hyde & Co

This speakeasy-style bar, hidden by the Triangle (look out for bowler hat sign by the door), is Bristol’s best cocktail bar, where even its bitters and tinctures are homemade. “The menu is designed around Prohibition-era classics, but they can make anything,” says Rowe. “I once ordered a salt ‘n’ vinegar martini, as I’d read about them somewhere trendy… which I regretted the next day.”

• Cocktails from £8. 2 The Basement, Upper Byron Place, 0117-929 7007; hydeand.co

Beer Emporium

Up top, Beer Emporium is a modest bottle shop, but down below its vaulted cellars stock a pleasantly bewildering array of craft beer. Across 38 taps and endless bottles, the choice starts local (ales from Arbor, Moor, Good Chemistry, Crane, Left Handed Giant), before going global: Italian Hibu, for instance, is new even to hardcore beer geeks.

• Pint from £3.60. 15 King Street, 0117-379 0333; thebeeremporium.net

Bar Buvette

This spin-off from Auberge de Chassignolles – a boutique hotel and smallholding in the Auvergne – is a modish, rustic bar, specialising in natural wines, cheese and charcuterie. “The nearest thing to a Parisian natural wine bar this side of the Channel,” enthuses the Guardian’s Bristol-based wine writer, Fiona Beckett.

• Wines by-the-glass from £3.50. 31 Baldwin Street, no phone; facebook.com

The Hillgrove

Perched on a hill overlooking Stokes Croft, this pub has been pushing good beer since time immemorial, but it has not stood still. Its 14 real ales are now partnered by six keg lines (not to mention DJs, kitchen takeovers, food pop-ups in the yard…). “It just feels right,” says Michael Wiper, owner of Bristol craft brewery Wiper & True. “Adorned in hop vines and pump-clips, the whole place speaks of a love of beer, and the staff will happily take you through their favourites. It’s difficult not to have a good time.”

• Pint from £3.60. 53 Hillgrove Street North, 0117 924 9818; @TheHillgrove

CULTURE

The Wardrobe Theatre

Photograph: Paul Blakemore

A small, artist-led theatre that fosters new local talent and often leftfield performance, including a monthly Speak Easy Story Slam, in which the audience shares stories. The Slam is a pay-what-you-want gig, and Wardrobe emphasises that the suggested £4 donation is not mandatory: “We’d rather have you here sharing stories than at home crying about capitalism.”

• The Old Market Assembly, 25 West Street, Old Market, 0117-902 0344; thewardrobetheatre.com

Hamilton House

This 1960s office block is now a base for creatives and community groups. It houses exhibition and event spaces (where you can get involved in everything from dance classes to screen-printing workshops), and the Canteen bar, which hosts live bands every night – everything from New Orleans jazz to hip-hop. “It’s a fantastic creative hub,” says Sarah Thorp, owner of Gloucester Road gallery, Room 212. “There’s a Banksy on the wall outside and the famous Trump-Boris kiss is just round the corner.”

• 80 Stokes Croft, 0117-924 9599; hamiltonhouse.org

Upfest

An artist working on a street mural as part of Upfest

Like Berlin and New York, Bristol is a global centre for street art. Stokes Croft is an open-air graffiti gallery, most notably in the permanent See No Evil works around Nelson Street. The city has several commercial urban art galleries such as Hangfire and Upfest, which this month (23-25 July) will stage the eighth edition of its huge annual festival. Three hundred artists will paint 30 locations around Bedminster and Southville, with cult international artists, such as Spain’s PichiAvo and Dutch 3D don Leon Keer, joining local heroes including Inkie and Cheba.

• 198 North Street, 07725 231878; upfest.co.uk

Here

A bookshop and exhibition space, the small, quirky Here celebrates all possible permutations of illustration and print. Its shelves are stacked with aesthetically arresting journals from underground US comics, fanzines and obscure art publications to lavish, limited-edition style magazines.

• 108b Stokes Croft, 0117-942 2222; heregallery.co.uk

Art Trails

This most creative of cities loves art trails, where visitors can buy direct from artists in their studios, galleries and homes. The trails are, essentially, community festivals and every district (BS9, Victoria Park, Totterdown, etc) has its own. “They’re generally monthly and every area has its own flavour,” says Sarah Thorp, who helps organise the North Bristol Arts Trail.

• creativebristol.org