One of my favourite spots in Bristol is a tiny street in Clifton Village. Boyces Avenue is a vivid image etched into my memory from when I visited the city for the first time many years ago.
I remember tearing my way through the narrow pathway on a busy Saturday afternoon among queues of people buying fruit and veg, visiting the boutique shops and people waiting to be seated for lunch. It looks almost the same when I visit this week aside from a sign that has emerged for a new café on the corner in place of Sunday General and an unfortunate closure sign for Victoria James.
Tucked away in the corner of Boyces Avenue is Primrose Café which has been serving breakfast and lunch for almost three decades. Despite being hidden off the main stretch in Clifton Village, it's always marked by its trailing queues of people waiting for a table at the weekend with its no reservation policy.
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Indoor tables are few inside the small neighbourhood café but the front terrace has a sprawl of seating in front of other veteran businesses like Reg the Veg. I sipped my iced coffee (£3.50) and watched the constant hum of Clifton go by, an area that is always busy even in the middle of the week.
The long menu is filled with some of my favourite brunch dishes like bagels, Welsh rarebit, fresh salads and huevos rancheros. There is a warm message above one column politely asking for the refrained use of laptops during busy times, a welcomed café policy in a busy area of the city.
Primrose Café also has a handful of daily specials with Mediterranean influence; a fennel soup, mushroom pappardelle, beetroot arancini and courgette quiche. A series of plates of the latter was carried out from the kitchen to diners who sat beside me on the terrace downstairs, presumably also deciding to brave the wind for a slice of the summer sun.
The sandwich selection is exclusive to weekdays including the popular New Yorker (£8.95), stuffed with a thick layer of salt beef pastrami and a nutty Gruyère cheese. The tang came from the pickled gherkins, sauerkraut and French mustard.
I'm always drawn to the Croques at Primrose Café, something it's known for and a dish you scarcely see on the menu beyond the few remaining Café Rouge restaurants. The Croque Forestiere is filled with buttery mushrooms and wilted spinach, slathered in a rich, Bechamel sauce again made with Gruyère (£8.95). I opted for the imperative addition of the fried eye on top that oozed its bright orange yolk at the touch of a knife.
Both were served with a fresh, crisp salad and drizzled in a sweet and sour French dressing. It's lovingly prepared comfort food in a setting that makes you feel at ease and warmly welcomed.
The straw chips, more like French fries, were teetering on Glastonbury Festival prices at £4.50 a portion. They were coated in sea salt, pink peppercorns, rosemary and fried shallots that gave a satisfying, fragrant aroma paired with a cooling vegan mayonnaise.
Primrose Café is undeniably one of my favourite lunch spots in Bristol and is always worth the steep uphill climb from south Bristol for me. It's simple cooking that champions the best local and seasonal produce the area has to offer, helping to cement its legacy after 30 years.
My only qualm is that I wish it was open in the evenings, although the fact it's exclusively for breakfast and lunch merely adds to its charm.
Primrose Café, 1, Clifton Arcade, Boyces Avenue, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4AA. Open seven days a week: Monday to Saturday 9am - 4pm; Sunday 9.30am - 4pm. https://primrosecafe.co.uk/
