We try the cooked breakfast at the highest-rated Boston Tea Party on Tripadvisor and it's not cheap

The new year has barely started but we already have the first contender for the best cooked breakfast of 2024.

The bar for the best fry-up in Bristol was raised considerably in 2023 thanks to a number of places.

From the Sunshine Cafe in Bedminster’s East Street to Cafe EJ’s inside the Selco builders warehouse at Filton, Bristol World discovered plenty of cooked breakfast gems last year.

Since it opened its first cafe in Park Street back in 1995, Boston Tea Party has long been considered one of Bristol’s go-to places for breakfast and brunch.

And it’s not just the meaty cooked breakfasts that attract queues at the various branches of Boston Tea Party dotted around the city.

There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian dishes to start the day - everything from sweetcorn hash to shakshuka - and classics like smoked salmon, avocado and scrambled eggs or American pancakes with back bacon and maple syrup.

It’s seven years since Boston Tea Party opened in Cheswick Village, a 1,000-home development on the edge of Stoke Gifford, close to Lockleaze.

Within walking distance of the U.W.E. campus at Frenchay and the M.O.D. at Abbeywood, it’s a location with a high footfall but also feels quite tucked away.

Spacious, light and airy with smiley staff who couldn’t be more helpful, it also feels more community-focussed than other Boston Tea Party cafes and on the day I visited, it was packed with families, many with toddlers, and a noticeboard advertised various events for visiting children.

At the time of writing, the Cheswick Village is also the highest placed branch of Boston Tea Party for ‘quick bites’ on Tripadvisor.

The menu is the same as in other branches and customers are encouraged to use the QR codes on tables to order.

I went for the Boss Breakfast, which over the years has become the signature breakfast at this popular chain.

OK, at £13.95 before drinks (my Americano coffee was £3), it’s not exactly the cheapest fry-up in a city where some greasy spoon cafes charge half that, but it’s all about the quality of the ingredients on the plate.

The plump free-range ‘Old English’ sausage was much meatier than the pale and pappy bangers served in most cafes and the crisp-edged back bacon was clearly a cut above, too.

A roasted flat mushroom was fleshy and juicy, the chive-flecked scrambled eggs were fluffy and creamy and the homemade hash browns tasted better than the usual greasy, frozen jobs.

There was a slice of herby, spicy hog’s pudding, copious baked beans and two slices of granary toast generously buttered and cut into triangles.

Every individual element was piping hot and clearly cooked with care. Great food and excellent service - it was a first-rate breakfast and one that sets a high benchmark for the year ahead. 

Boston Tea Party, Unit 7, The Square, Long Down Avenue, Cheswick Village, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS16 1GU.