Bristol and Bath

[balex]

We are spending a few days in Bath, Bristol and environs. I had a look in the GFG but there was nothing very inspiring. Any good tips for places to eat? At any level as long as the food is good. We will have a car so stuff in the countryside would also be accessible.

[paul mitchell]

Try the Olive Tree at the Queensbury Hotel in Bath. A good pint can always been had at The Boater on Great Pultney Street.

Edited March 23, 2005 by paul mitchell (log)

[Suzi Edwards]

There's this thread about Bath and Glastonbury but it's a bit old. I've been back to FishWorks since that report, had another really good meal and the service was much better.

There's also the The Moody Goose that's mentioned in the first thread.

Giles Coren reviewed Le Quartier Vert in Bristol recently- I had a very good meal on my last visit so can second his recommendation.

[UkFoodie]

He had a really nice meal at the Bistro at Hotel Du Vin. I would highly reccomend that hotel too!

[Hector]

I love "Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham" if you're looking for really sofisticated stuff, it's not too expensive for being a 2 star michelin restaurant. (23 £ for a three course dinner).

It's like 1 hour drive from Bristol, but definitley worth it. The bread is absolutely amazing, and the dishes is incredible. Lovely restaurant overall.

Check out menus on:

http://www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk/

Driving directions:

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/g...x=30&image.y=13

And then there's exellent country cooking in Somerset if but you have to look for it the local country pubs. Don't forget to buy some local cider.

The Indonesian Restaurant (called Sumatra or Java or Something) on Gay Street (unforgettable street name) in Bath is lovely too... Great indonesian curries and cheap duck dishes.

[CYvonne]

Bristol - Quartier Vert on Whiteladies Rd

The Riverstation on The Grove, BS1

Deason's also Whiteladies Rd

Juniper on Cotham Rd South (don't finish the starters though as the portions are huge)

All of these are sort of Modern European but still very different from each other. All enjoyable places to eat - Quartier Vert and Deason's are probably the best of that list.

Then there's Fishworks on Whiteladies Rd - excellent fish, unsurprisingly, although if you eat late they start running out.

The Glass Boat on the Welsh Back (it is a boat) is more or less French (and better than Hotel Du Vin).

Other, cheaper options, especially the first two:

Kathmandu on Colston Street for Indian/Nepalese

Plantation on Cheltenham Rd for Jamaican

Bocanova on Colston Street for Brazillian/Mediterrranean

A Cozinha on Alfred Place for Portuguese

Bath

Il Tocco D'Italia is almost the only Italian I've found worth eating at in the area but is wonderful. (The other is Sergio's in Bristol on Zetland Rd- pleasant but not in the same league)

The Moody Goose was very good but has moved to Midsummer Norton.

This list is not exhaustive..... I can think of around another 10 places I'd happily go to. Perhaps I eat out too much....

[erica graham]

We are spending a few days in Bath, Bristol and environs.  I had a look in the GFG but there was nothing very inspiring. Any good tips for places to eat? At any level  as long as the food is good. We will have a car so stuff in the countryside would also be accessible.

←

I would second the recomendation for Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, or if you are going further into the Cotswolds by car No 5 North Street in Winchcombe Marcus Ashenford and his wife Kate have a great restaurant (1* Michelin. Very good, very friendly.

[Andy Lynes]

Michael Caines at The Royal Marriot Bristol might be worth a look. I stayed at the hotel a few years before Caines took over the restaurant so I can't comment on the food, but its a lovely place and the menu reads quite nicely.

[Izabel_blue]

Just a quick note to add to this thread....got back from a few days in Bath and I thought that the food scene was really flourishing-- lots of great places to eat for a city of its size.

In particular I'd like to hail Demuths restaurant, which is a veggie joint of rare loveliness. The beetroot and goats cheese souffle main that I had there was absolutely amazing, along with everything else we ate. See http://www.demuths.co.uk/

The other place of note was the newly opened Blackstone's Restaurant, sister to Blackstone's Kitchen, across the road. We only had lunch there and weren't able to sample the full dinner menu but it was excellent quality fare. Also, the takeaway muffins and pastry from the kitchen were scrummy. See http://www.blackstonefood.co.uk

[fisherman]

the king william in bath serves good pub food, several steps above it's rivals. there's a great italian too, in an old chapel, it's name begins with a z but i can't quite remember it!

[PhilD]

We have been in Bath now for nearly a year and are still exploring the food scene.

Are here any updates on this topic for both Bath, Bristol and the surrounding area (I have already noted Allium is quite close)

Especially interested in good quality Indian restaurants. After a long time away from the UK I had been looking forward to again eating great Indian food. I had be telling my partner how fantastic the restaurants were. At the moment she is not convinced and thinks Paris has better...! We have tried the ones with "awards" including the one that is "best in the south west" (and yes it is for 07/08), and I can only assume it was awarded by the owners cousin..!

Heading to the "The Wheatsheaf" in Combe Hay (near Bath) this evening, it was noted in this years Michelin as rising to its first star, so high expectations of Lee Evans food. I will report back.

[Sarah74]

Especially interested in good quality Indian restaurants. After a long time away from the UK I had been looking forward to again eating great Indian food. I had be telling my partner how fantastic the restaurants were. At the moment she is not convinced and thinks Paris has better...! We have tried the ones with "awards" including the one that is "best in the south west" (and yes it is for 07/08), and I can only assume it was awarded by the owners cousin..!   

Can't vouch for awards and the like, but have always enjoyed eating in Cafe Romna in Wells. Interesting Indian food and usually packed, as it has been since it opened.

[PhilD]

Sarah - Thanks, menu looks interesting. I love their comments about getting there by train..! I suspect no awards are a plus.

[insomniac]

After you've sampled the delights of the Cafe Romna, nip over the road to The Old Spot, a rare oasis of excellent grub in this part of Somerset's culinary desert....

[PhilD]

Thank you to both Sarah and Insomniac for the recommendations - tried both this weekend and both are good.

Dinner at Cafe Roma on Friday was good, next time we may go for more spicy dishes as the ones we chose were not to hot. Breads were good and the menu was interesting.

Sunday lunch at the Old Spot was really excellent. Highly accomplished cooking, interesting dishes, and a very comfortable room. Lunch for two was ₤55 including two glasses of wine and coffee. We had:

Wood pigeon salad with walnuts - very tender rare pigeon with good fresh leaves

Gravlax - really fresh and vibrant with great home made pickles

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Smoked Haddock on a bed of carrots, leeks with great mashed potatoes

Belly pork, lentils, carrots, cabbage & bacon, and a really vibrant salsa verde

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Chocolate Brownie with Chantilly cream - stuffed full of pecan/walnut praline which made it very filling (but no complaints)

Apple and almond pudding with creme fraiche - like a great gooey tarte tatin

Flavours in all dishes were very good, with each component standing very well on its own and showing really good technique. All in all a restaurant we will return to over and over again.

One other restaurant we tried in the area was the Wheatsheaf at Combe Hay. This pub/restaurant has got a "Rising Star" in this years Michelin. It is worth a trip, and will be great in the summer as it has a great terraced garden with nice views, and I believe the restaurant expands into his during the summer. However, the food was a bit hit and miss. When good it is fabulous, but not all dishes worked. The bread appears home made with a number of varieties on offer - I really like the dense cheese muffin. We had:

Scallops with belly pork which was OK, although the portion of scallops was quite small and the belly pork was bland. I felt it needed a stronger stock for the braise.

Torchon of foie gras with an onion marmalade and brioche. This was OK but a little pedestrian.

-

Rabbit wrapped in ham, with a black pudding tortellini, and pureed cauliflower. Overall it was OK although it did need more black pudding to balance he dish.

Halibut (from memory) on a bed of carrot noodles and a tempura oyster. The oyster was very, very good and overall this dish worked.

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Bannana tarte tatin, with peanut butter ice cream, a jam milk shake, and toffee coated peanuts. OK we did go for the wackiest desert and most of it worked (apart from the jam milkshake), but probably one concept to many on the plate.

The bill was ₤85 for two with a couple of glasses of wine and no coffee. Which we thought was quite expensive for the variable standard of cooking. The room is quite comfortable, and service is good. However, no tablecloths, or other touches that I would expect at this price. We will go back because it shows some promise and we want them to succeed, but not 100% convinced yet - after all The Old Spot isn't to much further and has better cooking at lower prices.

[PhilD]

Bordeaux Quays is a modern building on a wharf in central Bristol, downstairs is a bar, brasserie, and bakery/deli, whilst upstairs is the restaurant. Last November Mathew Fort in The Guardian gave it a 9.5/10, but Jay Rayner in The Observer back in '06 rated it badly. Intersting.

The restaurant has lots of open space and is comfortable, with an open plan kitchen towards the back. The menu is quite short but with some interesting dishes, the wine list is good. The front section (longer than a lot of restaurants full lists) has lots of wines by the glass, carafe (375 ml) and bottle. The back section has their "reserve" stock by the bottle - not surprisingly quite a lot from Bordeaux.

We kicked off with a choice of good bread, and were offered free large bottles "house" sparkling or still water...! A very positive start.

My partner chose Rillettes for her entrees which were fine, they came with a onion/parsley based salsa which was OK but she would have preferred the traditional cornichones etc. I has a Paysanne salad, which came with shredded duck confit, gizzards, liver and some pate. Nice and meaty, but could have had a few more leaves to get the balance right.

Mains were Halibut on a bed of green vegetables (asparagus, peas, spinach etc.), my partner really enjoyed this and thought the flavours were good. I had Hoggett, two good meaty rounds served on a bed of kale with a caper sauce - overall not a bad dish although the caper/garlic sauce was very aggressive and tended to dominate. We drank a glass of very decent Chablis £8, and an OK bottle of Brouilly at £28. We skipped coffee and desert. The bill for two, including a "discretionary automatic" service charge of 10% was £100.

Overall it was OK but not great. The cooking is as good as my local pub (The White Hart in Bath) which isn't a bad thing because it is a pub with very good food. However, it is about 40% more expensive, part of this can be justified because it is a restaurant, however I felt the food was punching a little below its price point.

The service was mixed. All the staff were very friendly and looked after us very well. However there were long waits throughout the meal, and the areas where empty bottles and plates were placed were not cleared quickly. Overall this gave the impression of a restaurant that is only just keeping it together.

The restaurant space is impressive, lots of glass and masses of space. The downstairs are is bustling and quite full, whilst upstairs initially feel quite sedate and classy, but upstairs does feel like it’s a restaurant that needs to grow into its space, adding some more tables and tightening up the way space is used would make it feel complete. At the moment it feels they have just moved in (it is a few years old), i.e. some of the fittings and features came from their last place and don’t really fit. Quite strange.

So is it Jay or Mathew? Well both, some good and some not so good. When it works it is quite pleasant, but it does have some misteps in the cooking which it shouldn't have - especially at £20 a main course. We will probably give it a shot for a weekend lunch as he windows, and water views will make it nice, but the jurys out for dinner.

[Siharris28]

We ate at the Cavendish restaurant, part of Dukes Hotel, in Bath, a couple of weeks ago. Thought the food was bloody good actually, not very adventurous, but really well cooked. Service was a tad hit & miss, the waiter knew nothing about the wine for example, but the food was very enjoyable.

[PhilD]

We ate at the Albion Pub and Dining Rooms in Clifton Village on Saturday night. It is a popular pub which is updated in the modern gastro-pub style. The food is towards the top end of the gasto-pub genre. Bread seemed homemade and was excellent, served with good butter.

We tried the charcuterie sharing plate which was more than enough for two, three generous slices of different homemade terrine with pickles, bread and a celeriac coleslaw. Gutsy, full of flavour, and hits the spot. For mains a whole Salcombe crab with chips and mayonnaise, plaice with girolles and a swiss chard gratin. All polished off and much enjoyed. The dishes on other tables also looked good, especially the platter of rib of beef, oxtail etc. and a salad garnished with lots of flowers.

Bill for two, including a £29 bottle of Aussie Cab Sav, was £96.25 including 10% service but with no dessert and coffee. Not inexpensive but fair value for what was delivered. Service is fine, a little chaotic (it was very busy) but with quite a lot of character - we liked it.

We would return.

[fisherman]

I've eaten at the Albion a few times over the last few months and more often than not really enjoyed it. It's not cheap, but as Phil says, fair value.

[tony h]

Going to Bristol for week - any recs for eating out? Its an old thread and quite a few of the places mentioned above seem to have closed.

Thanks

Tony

[iainpb]

I live in Bristol and would recommend the following

Deasons - Whiteladies rd - great food, service can be hit and miss

Prosecco - The Mall, Clifton Village - great food, great service

Max's Italian Bistro - Worral Rd, Clifton

Bells Diner - Montpelier

Kathmandu - Colston Towe (indian and Nepalese)

The Muset - great cognac flambed steak

out of the above Max's is one of my favourites in the city - I have yet to visit Bells but hear great great things about it - their menu looks excellent

http://www.bellsdiner.com/menus.php

Edited September 23, 2008 by iainpb (log)

[PhilD]

Going to Bristol for week - any recs for eating out?  Its an old thread and quite a few of the places mentioned above seem to have closed.

Thanks

Tony

←

Tony - we ate at Bell's Diner on Saturday night. It is superb. Very strong cooking from Chris Wicks, good classic dishes with little modern twists that lift them. Every dish we had was brilliant, probably the best meal I have had in the UK since I moved here 18 months ago, on par with a good French one star.

Montpellier isn't a great area of Bristol, but the restaurant nicely decorated and very comfortable. The whole FOH team is great; professional in a laid back, very friendly, way. They looked like they enjoyed working there - rare in UK restaurants!

[Champagne Sadie]

I add to the recs of Bells Diner.

The Muset is a safe bet too, and rather brilliantly, they don't charge corkage.

[malcolmwilliamson]

In my search for a lunch venue in or near Bristol in a few weeks time two restaurants not mentioned above get good reports elsewhere:

Ronnies in Thornbury, and

Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym

Does anyone have any experience of either?

[malcolmwilliamson]

In my search for a lunch venue in or near Bristol in a few weeks time two restaurants not mentioned above get good reports elsewhere:

Ronnies in Thornbury, and

Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym

Does anyone have any experience of either?

←

I went to Ronnie's http://www.ronnies-restaurant.co.uk/index.php for lunch last week. It turned out to be a very good choice.

His Market Menu (4 choices per course. Available except Fri and Sat dinner) is competitively priced at £13.75 for 2 courses or £16.75 for 3 with a current bonus of a free glass of wine.

My mussels chowder starter was thick and wholesome. Grilled venison steak was served with crusted root vegetables, orange and cranberry compote with a thyme jus and along with my bread and butter pud was packed with flavour.

Bread was fresh from the oven.

Service was spot on from the waiter and restaurant manager. Ronnie came and chatted at the end of my meal. He came across as a chef who cares a lot about both his cooking and customers.

I've clocked up more than fifty lunches around the UK during the past 18 months or so. This is definitely in the frame for the best QPR.