Carwardines was one of Bristol's most beloved coffee institutions, with roots going back to 1861 when the Carwardine family entered the tea and coffee trade at a time when Bristol's docks were busy with clippers from India and Ceylon. The Union Street branch was one of several city-centre cafés that became fixtures of Bristol daily life through much of the twentieth century.
The cafés were known for their uniformed waitresses and for the rich smell of freshly roasted coffee beans drifting out onto the street. At a time when decent coffee in Britain was hard to come by, Carwardines was a reliable exception — serious about its beans and proud of it.
The retail and café operation has wound down over the years, but Martin Carwardine & Co continues today as a coffee roaster and wholesaler based in the Mendip Hills, supplying cafés and restaurants across the region.