Zena's BistroCafe

Zena's Bistro Cafe occupies a small corner unit on West Street in Bedminster, run single-handedly by owner Mehdi, who named the restaurant after his mother. He cooks, bakes and serves everything himself, six days a week, having worked without staff for the past two years. The kitchen turns out teardrop-shaped Sicilian arancini filled with ragu, truffle or quattro formaggi, alongside Neapolitan-style thin-crust pizza, spaghetti al ragu and gluten-free options. Cannoli, filled to order with ricotta, are imported from Sicily rather than made in-house. Bread is baked fresh daily on site. The dining room is painted in an avocado-and-grocery mural that stands out against the massage parlours and bed shops lining the rest of the street. Customers can bring their own drinks from nearby shops, and Mehdi serves most regulars by name.