Bristol is well served with excellent delicatessens and the Arch House Deli is up there with the best.

David Greenman and Debbie Atherton took over the Arch House in 2009 and it was recently named as one of the top 50 delis in Britain in a national newspaper.

The Arch House sells just about every type of gourmet food and drink you could possibly need, from 60 types of cheese to a pair of dainty handmade chocolate shoes. The small cafe at the rear of the deli showcases much of what is on sale in the shop and it has built up a good reputation of its own with the locals. It's a modest little place with about half a dozen pine tables scattered among the shelves of local honey, olive oil and trugs of dried lavender.

Open for breakfast, morning coffees/teas (they serve pots of the delicious loose teas from Bristol-based Lahloo) and lunch, the menu is short and enticing.

There are sandwiches (the New Yorker comes highly recommended), salads, a cheese board, charcuterie platters and savoury tartlets served every day.

You can also choose a slice of locally made pie, served cold with chutney and a handful of leaves for £4.95.

There's also a changing specials board, with such delights as curried parsnip and carrot soup (£3.75), courgette and Parma ham terrine with mixed leaves (£6.95) and the Parma ham, pecorino, pesto and rocket tart (£2.95).

If you're sweet-toothed, there's also a selection of fabulous cakes on offer.

There's only one snag, if you can call it that, with cafes attached to delis – once you are lured in, you just want to snap up the whole shop on the way out.

Arch House Deli, Boyces Avenue, Clifton Village, Bristol BS84AA