You Heard It Here First: Bristol Is a Rising Hot Spot. Here’s Where to Shop, Eat, and Play
Discover new shops and restaurants — plus a few longtime favorites — along Mill Street.
A walk around Bristol / Illustration by Melissa McFeeters
New Hope gets all the love, but this Bucks borough has reinvigorated itself into a rising hot spot, with plenty of new shops and restaurants lining Mill Street. You heard it here first.
Looking for one-of-a-kind Philly sports clothing and paraphernalia? Laser-engraved custom purses? What about specialty pickles from Dezzis Dills? You can find them all thanks to the bounty of local vendors at the sprawling new Shops on Mill ❶ marketplace.
Lovers of antiques, vintage finds, and ephemera need only visit the corner of Mill and Pond, where Collectors Corner ❷ and the Bristol Antiques Market ❸ are as much museums of the past as they are shops.
After a few hours of browsing the boutiques, you’ll welcome the tasty $12 lunch menu at the newly opened Drift ❹.
The cheesemonger at the Forager ❺ knows way more about the stuff than any one person should. Don’t know a Brie de Meaux from a Brie de Melun? They offer free classes.
Locals pile into Itri ❻ for wood-fired pizzas — try the carbonara pie — and the bargain happy hour.
Daddy Tom’s ❼, a self-described speakeasy, seems to be the place in Bristol where all the cool people hang out. You enter through, yes, a bookcase.
They’re serious about their brew at Calm Waters Coffee ❽, a family-owned small-batch roaster and cafe.
In 2023, twin sisters Jordan and Andie DeChirico created Terra Cotta Green Market Co. ❾, a calming shop filled with gorgeous greenery that peddles plant-based prepared foods and fresh-pressed juices.
Dad’s Hat ❿ distillery opened a tasting room on Mill Street in 2022. Stop by for a sip, take home a bottle of their award-winning rye, and be sure to inquire about tours of the distillery, located just outside the quaint borough.
A must-stop for literary nerds: Bristol Books & Bindery ⓫, which sells new, used, and rare tomes, and can even repair that tattered first edition of The Great Gatsby you uncovered at an estate sale.
A one-block detour off Mill Street, the sophisticated Best of Philly–winning Jules at Market ⓬, a BYOB, features a seafood-focused menu and is the best fine dining for miles.
Show your kids what Pac-Man is at the year-old Players Only Arcade ⓭, where you spend $10 to partake in as many arcade games as you like in an hour.
Watch the boats on the river at Bristol Waterfront Park ⓮. The views are gorgeous, and you can also join a yoga class and enjoy occasional live music. Pack a picnic!
Published as “Bristol Bound” in the March 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
