There is a lot going on in this neighbourhood. Unofficially the ‘Queer District’ of the city, the neighbourhood is not only LGBTQ+ friendly, but also serves the whole community with exciting events as well as being the place to find the only LGBT bookshop in Plymouth. Bretonside has a cool, young vibe as well as being steeped in history, and it’s just a stones throw from the water’s edge with Sutton Harbour fringing the area.
Bretonside has three pubs, The Trawlerman – which recently re-opened with new owners and a new name – then there’s the King’s Head, and at the other end of the road, LGBTQ+ friendly pub, The Swallow. This street is known as the ‘Queer District’ to many and it certainly has an LGBTQ+ friendly focus along with a cool vibe. The well-known Plymouth street has a couple of businesses that have been there for many decades, although sadly, a long-established shop, Bretonside Tropicals is soon to close its doors forever. But, there are several businesses that are doing well in the location; one of those is White Room Tattoo (WRT) at no. 40 which has been trading for six years. Opposite WRT is The Old Queeriosity Shop, an independent LGBT bookshop which is housed in the building where Farley’s Rusks were once baked by Plymouth baker, Mrs Anne Farley in the late 1800s.
The Old Queeriosity Shop is owned by El Redman and the shop has been open since October 2022. It’s already been a popular choice for all ages wanting to read and relate to LGBT lived experiences, recorded in an extensive range of literature. Customers visiting range from a child aged five, who loves the flags, through to customers aged 70 or older.
El said: “The community here is really nice. We have many people popping down and they tend to go from here to Minerva cafe. For sale here are all LGBT books, we’re trying to create a bond between the community. Everyone is welcome as long as they are respectful. People want to read books that they can see themselves in. People also come down here and ask questions about family members – that have perhaps just come out – they want to be able to understand more about their friend or relative. It is genuinely lovely, hearing different generational points of view. Younger people get to learn the city’s LGBT history and how things have changed. People are beginning to feel safe in this part of Plymouth.”
Quince is a new restaurant trading in Bretonside, it’s next door to the printing shop which has been located on the street for many years. Quince specialises in small plates using the best locally-sourced ingredients. Bretonside is also home to Plymouth Laser Clinic, a treatment and beauty studio. At night the area becomes busy as there’s several other restaurants such as Cinnamon Garden, Lost In Rio steakhouse and takeaways such as Bretonside Kebab and Bombay Burger. There are also a few late night bars in the area.
Bretonside is within the St Peter and the Waterfront electoral ward of the city and the constituency of Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport. The majority of housing in the area is flats with only one terraced property within the neighbourhood, according to StreetCheck. The total population for this community is 239 people residing there and the majority of those residents are aged between 18 – 44 years old. The area has a fun vibe enhanced by the unique independent businesses that trade from there.
Pashur Canby, aged 35, is joint owner of WRT along with his brother, Uzzi. Many guest artists come to WRT from abroad to learn new tattoo artist skills at the Plymouth-based business. Customers travel from far afield too to get a tattoo at WRT studio, last week, a client flew in from America, said Pashur.
He explained what makes WRT so popular: “I think there’s two reasons, we focus on quality. We keep standards high, most of the tattoos we do now are large scale sleeves and back pieces and I think that’s another reason that we’ve captured people’s attention. The other reason is in 2018 we were on the TV show, Tattoo Fixers, on E4 and Channel 4 for two seasons. That was my brother and I, a lot of recognition came from that and it put us on the map. We also connect with celebrities which makes us popular.”
(Image: Katie Oborn)This tattoo has a global reach and has been visited by many celebrities, including Russell Brand, who have been tattooed by the WRT team. White Room Tattoo is currently looking for a new team member for its busy studio; they are searching for a full-time apprentice tattooist to join their cool team. Trainee tattooists are taught by the senior tattoo artists, such as owner Pashur on the premises. This tattoo room specialises in realism, this is the style that customers want when they book in at WRT, traditional style tattoos are not something that WRT carries out.
Pashur explains that at WRT they are fully booked up for the next year and more, this Plymouth tattooist is very popular and many travel far to get some new tattoo art. They also network internationally, run competitions and do charity work. If you’d like to be part of their fabulous creative team get in touch by email [email protected] or pop in to the Bretonside business.
(Image: Katie Oborn)North Street No 7 Cafe and Bar is described as a ‘hidden gem’. It’s tucked away just off of the main street of Bretonside. It’s a family-run business owned by mother and son, Mary and Daniel Mckay. As well as an array of locally-sourced food, including meats from nearby butchers, Jones and Champion, there’s also plenty of entertainment on offer at the eatery. Mary explained that the premises is a cosy cafe by day, becoming a lively bar in the evenings. There are fun and quirky quiz nights, popular with students, and karaoke, which is held during the day so that children can also join in and have a go. Karaoke is on the second Sunday of each month.
Mary said: “Some of the children absolutely love it, it’s a bit different as we have it during the afternoon so that all ages can get involved.”
On the first Sunday of each month, the cafe holds an open jam session for musicians. Mary said: “People come along with guitars, there’s even someone who comes along with a flute sometimes. It’s very popular and very laid back. People bring their instruments, their voice or just themselves to join in.”
Quiz night is on the first Wednesday of each month at the North Street cafe, Mary explained that there’s always an ‘extra challenge’ for people attending the quiz nights. Inside of the cafe, large projected screens display the menu and at times, play music videos too.
The cafe is currently in the process of bringing in a large range of Tarquin gins along with a new, expanded wine list. All these new drink lines are sourced very locally, the new wine selection will be coming from a supplier in Saltash. Mary said: “This is something exciting that’s coming up in the near future. We have a large range of draught beers, from St Austell Brewery. We have an IPA and a Guiness on tap along with various lagers and ciders.”
There are also coffee and cake offers; cakes are made on the premises or sourced from locally-based Cakehole. One popular speciality on the menu is the salt beef bagel, made with beef brisket which is marinated with juniper berries, peppers and cloves, served on a bagel with sweet gherkin pickle and mustard.
North Street No 7 Cafe and Bar has been open for about 12 years, Mary says it’s constantly developing and is popular with locals, students and tourists. There is a large outdoor seating area, perfect for people on a sunny day.
Mary said: “When people come here, they come back. If you come here again in the evening it’s a completely different atmosphere. Our large outdoor seating area is great as many people like to sit outside especially on a sunny day like today. Quite often there’ll be live music outside too, there’s a lot going on. We’re also dog-friendly, we’re really good value and we do quick lunches for office workers and other people that work in the area.”
(Image: Katie Oborn)Minerva Streetwear & Cafe has been trading for nearly two years and is owned by Dan and Lou Rowbotham. Serving up superb Round Hill Roastery coffee with a fresh fruity taste, the premises also serves as a neighbourhood space for local artists, creatives and the LGBT community.
On a Friday night, there’s tacos and cocktails available at Minerva Streetwear & Cafe. Dan connects with illustrators to create the streetwear clothing available to purchase at the premises.
Street seating is available for al fresco eating. There’s also a large indoor cafe area with artwork on the walls and a corner rail with streetwear clothing for sale.
Lou said: “We try to get involved with the community, we have art exhibitions here, on the first Thursday of every month we have an event run by the Queer District Collective. Queer Out Loud have also regularly used this space. As we’ve developed we’ve put on more things for the community, we’ve found people have just felt comfortable here. We just want to support the community wherever we can.”
(Image: Katie Oborn)The bright tunnel cheers up the under road footpath
(Image: Katie Oborn)Many of the redbrick buildings on Bretonside date back to the 1800s or 1900s, most buildings here have businesses on ground level and flats above.
(Image: Katie Oborn)There’s a diversion in place at the roundabout
(Image: Katie Oborn)