Parsons Bakery

A chain with branches dotted throughout Bristol, Parsons Bakery is a good stop off when you want a better than supermarket but not quite Patisserie Valerie standard of baked goods.
The St Michaels Hill branch is a student hot spot and can get busy during lunchtimes. It serves a variety of decent paninis, sandwiches and cakes as well as fresh bread, all of which can be either eaten in or taken to go.
The seating in this branch is limited, with a few outdoor tables scattered on the pavement and a small, rather basic upstairs area. For a quick sandwich that needn’t be anything special, Parsons is worth a look-​in.

Parsons is a good bakery that has a great range of pasties, cakes and sandwiches. It serves the students of the area very well because the food is filling and the prices are very low. I used to live off the paninis (flatbread sandwiches) from here, they are a good size and they obviously use good quality ingredients; perfect for those ‘oh god, what did I do last night’ mornings you have more often than not as a student.
The food doesn’t seem to have changed in a good few years, but they are a popular bakery, so why change it I suppose. The bread they make on site is very good.
It is a nice looking bakery with seating, and it seems like its run by a family of lady bakers! (Ex-​dinner ladies who started a new life focused around their love of baking). The food is nothing extraordinary but it’s not too shabby either.

I can see how some people would find this bakery chain charming, but for me the price of admission is just too high. The gingerbread was just over two pounds. I couldn’t believe how overpriced some of their produce was. The quality is good, but the price is too steep for what they are providing.
The clientelle was largely skewed towards those carrying a bus pass: not a bad thing if you want to go for a quiet cup of tea, but I like my bakeries with a bit more fun and a little less cost.

Parson’s is a charming Bristolian family bakery chain, with around twenty branches across the city and as far as Weston. A lifesaver to builders (bacon sarnies ahoy!), students (more bacon sarnies) and sometimes the occaisional OAP regulars (tea and shortcake) and anyone who fancies a hot pasty.
The pasties are pretty good; look out for their changing ‘specialities’ and the good old traditional never goes amiss. This branch also has an upstairs café and outside terrace, great for sunning yourself whilst sipping a Lavazza Coffee.

A bakery that’s branched out a bit, you can get a decent cup of coffee here too. Most important, the bread is very good. A bit expensive compared to the supermarkets, but it will actually fill you up. They’ve also got things like pasties and sausage rolls that bring the students flocking.
It’s lovely and light inside, and the lack of stupid mood music or people tapping away at laptops makes for a relaxing cup of coffee. They don’t overload their coffee with suagar either, something I can stand about Starbucks and co. There’s a couple of seats scattered outside. No garden though, so your sort of just sitting on the pavement. Would probably be nice enough in the summer.
I reckon its a good idea to splash out on bread since its cheap enough anyway. You can do that at Parsons, and find somewhere quiet to sit and drink too.