Bristol · South West
Online ordering for Bristol takeaways, restaurants and cafés
Bristol has about 3.5 restaurants and cafés for each takeaway on the FSA register.
Food Standards Agency figures for Bristol
These counts are from the Food Standards Agency open data, pulled on 19 October 2026. “Takeaway” means the FSA business type “Takeaway/sandwich shop”. Cuisine rows are a name-keyword estimate, not a census, and 49% of takeaway names were not classified.
| Measure | Bristol |
|---|---|
| Takeaway / sandwich shops | 425 |
| Restaurants, cafés and canteens | 1,502 |
| All registered food businesses | 4,461 |
| Takeaways rated 5 | 60.9% of rated businesses |
| Takeaways rated 4 or 5 | 85.5% of rated businesses |
| Takeaways rated 0, 1 or 2 | 2.8% of rated businesses |
| Mean rating of rated takeaways | 4.42 |
| Takeaways awaiting inspection | 39 |
| Takeaways inspected in the last 12 months | 174 |
| Postcode districts with a takeaway | 15 |
| Median miles from the takeaway centre of this register | 1.6 |
| Takeaways within 3 miles of that centre | 83% |
| England benchmark | 61.9% rated 5 · 51,838 takeaways |
| South West benchmark | 72.9% rated 5 · 4,065 takeaways |
| FHRS rating | Takeaways |
|---|---|
| 5 | 235 |
| 4 | 95 |
| 3 | 45 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 1 | 5 |
| 0 | 1 |
| Awaiting inspection | 37 |
| Awaiting publication | 2 |
| Postcode district | Takeaways | Share |
|---|---|---|
| BS1 | 61 | 14.4% |
| BS5 | 60 | 14.1% |
| BS4 | 50 | 11.8% |
| BS3 | 38 | 8.9% |
| BS16 | 32 | 7.5% |
| BS7 | 29 | 6.8% |
| BS8 | 25 | 5.9% |
| BS2 | 21 | 4.9% |
Cuisine estimate from business names
| Name keyword | Takeaways |
|---|---|
| Unclassified | 209 |
| Pizza | 59 |
| Fish and chips | 42 |
| Chinese | 31 |
| Kebab | 24 |
| Indian or Bangladeshi | 20 |
| Chicken | 17 |
| Thai or other Asian | 9 |
| Café or bakery | 7 |
| Burger | 6 |
| Caribbean or African | 1 |
Among South West authorities with 50+ takeaways, ranked by takeaway pct_rated_5. Rank 19 of 22.
Source: Food Standards Agency, contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Extract date 19 October 2026. The council food team page is Bristol.
# Online ordering for Bristol takeaways, restaurants and cafés
Short answer: Bristol is a restaurant-heavy city. It has 1,502 restaurants, cafés and canteens against 425 takeaways, about 3.5 to 1. Many of its independents add online ordering to an eat-in business rather than running as pure takeaways. Delivery here has a Bristol-specific complication: the harbour and river split the city. The council also publishes a Clean Air Zone; check that site before you price a city-centre run. Chefzi gives you a commission-free ordering site: 3 months free, then £19 a month for cash or no-card payments, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe.
Bristol's delivery geography
Bristol's takeaways are compact: the median is 1.6 miles from the centre point, 83% are within 3 miles and nearly all within 5. Even so, a few things change journey times.
- The Floating Harbour and the New Cut. Bedminster and Southville (BS3) and Knowle and Brislington (BS4) sit south of the water. A rider from BS5 (Easton, St George) or BS2 has to cross on one of a handful of bridges. Zones that cross the river need longer delivery-time estimates than the distance suggests.
- Hills. Totterdown, Kingsdown, Cotham and Clifton (BS8, BS6) are steep. Cycle couriers lose time here, so keep their zones tight.
- Gloucester Road and the northern districts (BS7, BS6). This is a long run of independents where competition is local and loyal. A small, cheap delivery zone close to you will bring more reorders than a wide one.
- Edges of the city boundary. Parts of BS16 (Fishponds, Staple Hill) cross into South Gloucestershire. Customers don't care about council boundaries, so set your zones by postcode district and journey time, not by the city limit.
The city centre
Bristol publishes a Clean Air Zone. The boundary, the vehicle rules and any charge are the council's to state, and this page does not restate them. Check Clean Air for Bristol before you price a city-centre delivery or send a driver in. Collection remains an option for the centre.
In Chefzi delivery zones you can price BS1 separately from your home districts, and run a different minimum order south of the river.
Late-night refreshment
Hot food or hot drinks served to the public between 11pm and 5am count as late night refreshment under the Licensing Act 2003. That needs a premises licence from Bristol City Council, including for takeaway and delivery. Check your licence's permitted hours and set your online ordering to close at the same time.
Why Bristol independents choose Chefzi
Bristol owners tend to be proud of being independent. Your own branded ordering page keeps it that way: your menu, your customers' details, your rules, and 0% commission. Chefzi includes a restaurant website, QR table ordering for eat-in, collection slots, postcode-district delivery and a kitchen app that rings. It's free for 3 months, then £19 a month for cash or no-card payments, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe. Leaving GloriaFood before it closes on 30 April 2027? We'll migrate your menu for you.
Nearby and related
Sources
- Food Standards Agency, food hygiene rating open data API, Bristol (authority "Bristol"), extract 19 Oct 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. South West and England benchmarks computed from the same extract. Cuisine split estimated from names.
- Bristol City Council, Clean Air for Bristol: https://www.cleanairforbristol.org/ (boundary, vehicle rules and charges are on that site; this page does not restate them)
- Licensing Act 2003, Schedule 2: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/17/schedule/2
Bristol
Questions from Bristol kitchens.
I run a café, not a takeaway. Is online ordering worth it?
For collection and pre-orders, usually yes. It fills quieter hours and doesn't need drivers. Delivery is optional.
What should I do about the Clean Air Zone?
Check the council's Clean Air for Bristol pages before you send a driver into the centre. This page does not restate the zone class, the boundary or which vehicles pay.
What delivery radius suits Bristol?
Usually 1.5 to 2.5 miles, adjusted for bridges and hills. Use districts, not a perfect circle.
Can I take table orders by QR as well?
Yes. Chefzi's QR table ordering sends eat-in orders to the same kitchen app.
Other city pages
Bring Bristol orders onto your own site.
3 months free, then £19 a month for cash or no-card payments, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe. Standard Stripe card processing fees apply. No setup fee. We move the menu.