Lunch at St Nicholas Market: seven stalls and what to order

The naan at Matina comes straight out of a tandoor and gets rolled round lamb kofta, chicken or grilled halloumi with a heap of salad, at the Market Gate end of St Nicholas Market. St Nicks has traded since 1743, and its covered Glass Arcade is where the Old City eats lunch: about twenty food and drink stalls, open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm. Most stalls cook from late morning to mid-afternoon, so aim for 12 to 2. On the first Friday of the month a street food market adds guest traders from 11am to 2.30pm.

How we chose: Bristol City Council’s own St Nicks trader listings, Visit Bristol’s September 2026 halal and vegan guides, and the stalls’ own menus where they publish them.

Matina

Waild Abdi’s stall sells Kurdish naan wraps, and Visit Bristol’s halal guide calls it one of the most popular in the market. Order the lamb kofta in a naan still warm from the oven, with salad and sauces; the halloumi and grilled vegetables make the vegetarian version, and you can swap the bread for a salad box with couscous or rice. Market Gate · halal naan wraps · Mon–Sat · walk-in

Pieminister St Nicks

Jon and Tris started Pieminister in a small Bristol kitchen in 2003, after a pie-eating trip round Australia, and this Glass Arcade counter is one of the two places to eat them in their home city. The Mothership is the order: any pie with mash, minty mushy peas and vintage Cheddar, at £15 on the current restaurant menu. Every pie uses free-range British meat, and there are vegan pies too. Glass Arcade · Mothership £15 · Mon–Sat 10am–5pm · walk-in

Cafe Atlas

Moroccan tagines of chicken or lamb come with couscous or rice at Cafe Atlas, run by A Naimi and A El Messioni and previously called the Moorish Cafe. For a vegan lunch, order the chickpea stew that Visit Bristol’s vegan guide points to. Cooking runs from noon to 4pm only. Glass Arcade · tagine with couscous · Mon–Sat 12–4pm · walk-in

Eat a Pitta

Falafel, hummus and pitta, all made fresh each day, is the whole menu at D Levy’s stall in the Glass Arcade. Order the falafel in a pitta with hummus and salad. It opens at 11am, earlier than most of its neighbours, and stays open until 5pm on Saturdays. Glass Arcade · falafel pitta · Mon–Sat from 11am · walk-in

Royce Rolls Cafe

Royce Rolls has been a vegetarian and vegan café in the South Arcade since 1979, which makes it the longest-running stall on this list. It does rolls, baguettes, pies, jacket potatoes and soup, with plant milks for the coffee; the freshly made roll and a soup is the order on a cold day. South Arcade · vegan and vegetarian · Mon–Sat 9.30am–5pm · walk-in

Grano Pasta Bar

Grano, the pasta restaurant in Old Market, runs this counter, and brings its homemade pasta and desserts with it. Order the day’s pasta, and a dessert if there is one. It is lunch only, 11.30am to 3pm. Glass Arcade · fresh pasta · Mon–Sat 11.30am–3pm · walk-in

Spice Up Your Life

Trading since 1998, Spice Up Your Life cooks Indian curries without ghee or additives in the Exchange Hall, and much of the counter is vegetarian or vegan. Order one of the vegetable curries, with a chai or a mango lassi. Exchange Hall · curry and chai · Mon–Sat 11am–4.30pm · walk-in

Checked October 2026.