Little Victories

Detail from the A-board outside Little Victories in Bristol, explaining the concept and pointing the way to the door...Small St Espresso, which opened in 2012, was one of Bristol’s first speciality coffee shops and is still one of my favourites, a masterclass on how to run a coffee shop in a small, intimate space. When I visited at the start of 2016, there were rumours of a second Small St, and then, at the very end of the summer, it opened. Going by the name Little Victories and describing itself as a sister venue to Small St, it was a must-visit on my return to Bristol at the end of last year.

Located on the wonderfully-named Spike Island, south of Bristol’s Floating Harbour, Little Victories is part of the Wapping Wharf development, sitting at the bottom (northern) end of Gaol Ferry Steps. Occupying a ground floor corner unit, it’s a big, open space with enormously high ceilings.

Operating as a speciality coffee shop by day, it morphs into a casual bar in the evening (Wednesday to Saturday), bringing craft beer, small plates and coffee-based cocktails to Bristol. All the coffee is from local roasters, Clifton Coffee Roasters, with two options on espresso and two more on available as pour-overs through the Chemex, while bread comes from Hart’s Bakery.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • Little Victories, at the northern (bottom) end of Gaol Ferry Steps on Bristol's Spike Island.
  • It looks very pretty, all lit up at night, but I wish I'd got some photos during the day too!
  • There's plenty of outdoor seating though, lining the pedestrianised steps.
  • Those tables were to the left of the door, while this enormous bench is to the right.
  • In case you were wondering if you'd come to the right place there's a helpful A-board...
  • ... which points the way to the door. Let's go in, shall we?
  • Little Victories has a strange layout, with high ceilings and the counter at the back.
  • There's seating to the right of the door. And really high ceilings.
  • Another view of the seating to the right of the door. I still can't get over the height of it!
  • Against the far wall is a raised bench-seat with tables...
  • ... while along the window to the right of the door is this window-bar/table.
  • There's a similar style of seating to the left of the door...
  • ... including this cosy table in the corner...
  • ... although I imagine people can see in just as easily as I could see out.
  • There is another of the raised benches on this side too.
  • Another view of the counter, which is at the back, offset to the left...
  • ... while on the right are the toilets. Again, it's soooo high.
  • Of course, that means there's plenty of opportunity for lights to dangle down.
  • These are kept in a cage, suspended above the counter.
  • As you might have guessed, I was quite taken by them.
  • These plants adorned the wall immediately to the left of the door.
  • The plants, and their lights, in more detail.
  • Move lovely lights hang in the windows.
  • More lights and the view outside.
  • The view down the Gaol Ferry Steps towards Museum Street.
  • More lighting, this time in the shape of candles.
  • The counter, as seen from the door...
  • ... and from the table in the corner.
  • The detailed menu stretches all the way up the wall behind the counter.
  • It's big... It took me ages to locate the coffee bit!
  • Talking of coffee, all the coffee at Little Victories is from local roaster, Clifton Coffee.
  • More Clifton Coffee. There are two options on espresso and two more on filter.
  • In the evening, Little Victories morphs into a bar, with this range cocktails & small plates.
  • However, there's also cake and bread (an excellent combination).
  • Some of the options in more detail.
  • The business end of Little Victories: the Black Eagle and four (count them) grinders!
  • At my barista's recommendation, I went for a Chemex, served properly, cup on the side.
  • My coffee, a naturally-processed Diima Guji from Ethiopia, in the cup.
  • I'll leave you with a view of the Chemex from above.
Photo Carousel by WOWSlider.com v4.6

Coming from Southville/Bedminster, just cross the Avon via Gaol Ferry Bridge and head down Gaol Ferry Steps, past lots of other coffee shops, bars and restaurants. You’ll find Little Victories on the bottom on the right. Alternatively, coming from town, head onto Spike Island along Museum Road and turn left onto the Gaol Ferry Steps, where you find Little Victories on the left.

Either way, it’s a lovely location, with plenty of outdoor seating between the store front and the pedestrianised steps (which is, in fact, a slope). A pair of planters offer some separation between passing foot traffic and the tables to the left of the door, while there’s a large (and I do mean large) bench-seat to the right of the door, with views down towards the harbour.

Little Victories is on the ground floor of a modern, warehouse-like building, one of a pair which line the Gaol Ferry Steps. Because of the steep upward slop, Little Victories, at the bottom of the slope, has incredibly high ceilings, while its corner location at the building’s end results in floor-to-ceiling windows along two sides, giving it an immense sense of space. The only downside is that you do sometimes feel like you are sitting in a goldfish bowl!

The door is slightly offset to the right, while the interior has a strange design. The counter’s at the back on the left, while there’s a toilet block at the back to the right. The seating’s arranged in two groups, to the right and left of the door, separated by a set of retail shelves which simultaneously funnels incoming customers towards the counter and provides some protection to the tables immediately to the left of the door.

On the right, there’s a small window-bar/table, with more tables between that and the toilets. An elevated bench-seat with metre-high tables (one two-person and one four-person) occupies the right-hand wall, providing a rather glorious view across the room. To the door’s left, beyond the shelves, is a pair of tables (again, one two-person, one four-person), with another elevated bench against the left-hand wall. Finally, in the corner, with glass on two sides, is a cosy, two/three-person table, ideal for a quiet rendezvous, except that everyone outside can see you…

It felt, to me, simultaneously like and yet unlike Small St Espresso, almost like a grown up version: bigger, more spacious and serving alcohol, but at the same time, retaining the spirit and friendly welcome of Small St. Although a much bigger space, it still feels small/intimate.

While the speciality-coffee-meets-bar model has been successful in London with the likes of Notes and Fernandez & Wells, it’s only slowly catching on outside the capital. However, Little Victories seems to have embraced it: while I was there, it was the transition period, people arriving for some small plates, plus a glass of wine, craft beer or a cocktail.

During the day, it’s much more of a coffee shop, with toast/pastries for breakfast, sandwiches, frittatas and salads for lunch, plus cake all day from the wonderful Hart’s Bakery. Unlike Small St, which is a multi-roaster, Little Victories sticks with Clifton Coffee Roasters. There’s a house-blend on espresso, plus a single-origin, with two more single-origins available through the Chemex. One of these changes each week, so there’s some week-on-week consistency, but return three weeks later and everything except the house-blend will have changed.

After a discussion with my barista, I had the naturally-processed Diima Guji from Ethiopia as a Chemex. It was a fruity, subtle coffee which improved as it cooled and was still fabulous when cold. Perfect, really.

December 2017: Little Victories was a runner-up for both the 2017 Best Outdoor Seating and Most Passionate About Coffee Awards.

7 GAOL FERRY STEPS • WAPPING WHARF • BRISTOL • BS1 6WE
https://twitter.com/littlevicsbris
Monday 07:30 – 16:30 Roaster Clifton Coffee (espresso + filter)
Tuesday 07:30 – 16:30 Seating Tables, Tables (outside)
Wednesday 07:30 – 21:00 Food Breakfast, Lunch, Small Plates
Thursday 07:30 – 21:00 Service Order at Counter
Friday 07:30 – 21:00 Cards Amex, Mastercard, Visa
Saturday 09:00 – 21:00 Wifi No
Sunday 09:30 – 16:30 Power Limited
Chain Local Visits 9th December 2016

If you liked this Coffee Spot, then check out the rest of Bristol’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Bristol.


If you liked this post, please let me know by clicking the “Like” button. If you have a WordPress account and you don’t mind everyone knowing that you liked this post, you can use the “Like this” button right at the bottom instead. [bawlu_buttons]
Don’t forget that you can share this post with your friends using the buttons below.

5 thoughts on “Little Victories

  1. Pingback: Small St Espresso Update | Brian's Coffee Spot

  2. Pingback: Caffeine Magazine | Brian's Coffee Spot

  3. Pingback: 2017 Awards – Best Filter Coffee | Brian's Coffee Spot

  4. Pingback: 2017 Awards – Most Passionate About Coffee | Brian's Coffee Spot

  5. Pingback: Small St Espresso | Brian's Coffee Spot

Please let me know what you think. Guidelines for comments are in the "Posts" drop-down menu.