I have lived in the South West for most of my life, and yet my knowledge of Bristol is fairly limited. Well, it’s embarrassingly poor. So, last night, we ventured out into the city to Whiteladies Road and made three very different stops.
Roaring fire, jazz music playing, plush high backed chairs. This was nice and relaxing. The bar maid was clearly on a learning curve (“ice and lemon in your spritzer?”…ummm…just ice please) but the place had a mixed crowd; couples going for pre-dinner drinks, drinkers poring over the Saturday papers and friends chatting. There looks to be a nice restaurant behind the bar, and the place seems to have a place in Bristol’s history. As a meeting place, it was good for a couple of drinks, but my new favourite place has to be the next stop…
Described as having “luxe décor inspired by pre-war Berlin”, I wanted to see this place. I am not sure if that Google description is quite right though. Talking to the mixologist (and using my eyes!) the inspiration is more 1960s Berlin. I certainly felt like I was in an episode of Mad Men, and that’s no bad thing.
The bar is located beneath a curry house- stay with me here though. You go down a set of dingy concrete steps and are met with a black door. A door that only opens from the inside. We were convinced it was closed, then saw two people walk down the steps- so we followed them! They had booked: the host had a small, handwritten clipboard and walked them to their table. He asked us to remain outside. It was cold last night, but I guess this adds to the feeling of exclusivity. When he came back, he told us we could have three seats at the bar for thirty minutes (it actually ended up being a little longer than that). We were in, and behind the curtain a beautiful, tiny bar was delivered. A true “speakeasy” style experience. I suppose, in this sense, there was some pre-war Berlin about the place: we were entering the Kit Kat Club (but there was no Sally Bowles awaiting us!)
So, we’re in. The cocktail list is extensive, arranged by spirits. Round one is a Manhattan, a Raspberry Daiquiri and a Virgin Mojito. Round two is a Manhattan, a Singapore Sling and a Virgin Mojito. These are, hands down, the best cocktails I have had in the UK. This is the closest I have come to finding American style service and cocktails here- and I loved it.
Next time, I want my name on that list and I want to make a night of it!
Third Stop: River Cottage Canteen
At this stage, it’s 9pm. I am 4 drinks in and need some sustenance. We had a table booked at the River Cottage Canteen for 9.15pm (they are on OpenTable) so walked back down Whiteladies Road towards it. Just to add a bit of class back to the evening, a man in a sailor outfit guarded his projectile vomit that was covering the pavement, apologising profusely to passers-by, whilst simultaneously proudly acknowledging “that was me- I did that”. Lovely. Thank you, Bristol.
The River Cottage Canteen is in a beautiful converted church building. The lighting is beautiful and the heavy wood and iron staircase an apparent feat in engineering. The kitchen is open, so when sitting on the lower level, you can watch the chefs at work. I love restaurants with this. I just love to watch chefs at work.
The premise of River Cottage, if you haven’t seen the TV shows, is all about provenance. The menu matches the seasons, and the quality of ingredients is set at a high standard.
At this stage, I had drunk a fair bit. So the quality of the photos isn’t great.
Starters are more like tapas and we selected English Buffalo Mozzarella with Beetroot and Blood Orange, Ham Hock and Leek Crumble topped with Pickled Roots (cue the question from our American friend “What is Ham Hock?” well, we know it’s “delicious”, but it’s actually the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot…yeah, let’s just answer with “delicious”) and Buxton Merguez Sausage with Fava Bean Humus. This also came with some bread, which was welcomed by me to curb some of my intoxication.
L-R Beautiful Bread, Ham Hock & Leek Crumble, Mozzarella…after we had attacked it all!
Then the main courses: Confit Duck Leg, Roast Carrot Salad with Marmalade Dressing (Reaction from Matt when I asked “did you know it was a salad?”: “I didn’t get past the ‘Confit Duck Leg’ part of the description”), Roast Portobello Mushrooms Blue Vinney Rarebit and Polenta Chips, and for me, Fowey Mussels, Burrowhill Cider, Leeks, Bacon and Chips. Delicious. I haven’t ordered Mussels for ages! The only thing missing was a finger bowl of water: I eat mussels the French way (pinching an empty shell into the mussels to eat them- it’s just easier that splitting and chasing the mussels with a fork) so my hands got a bit covered in the Cider-y sauce!
So. You’d think we’d had enough, wouldn’t you?
No, we had dessert.
A Chocolate Mousse Cake, Salty Peanut Caramel & Cream, a Sticky Parsnip and Butterscoth Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream (the waitress pointed out, you make Carrot Cake from a root vegetable, why not use Parsnips?) and then I had Roast Rhubarb Pavlova with Cashew Cream.
Delicious. Great portion sizes (not too big, not too small). All accompanied with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola.
Then we drove back (note the Virgin Mojitos and Curiosity Cola- we had a designated driver) and I fell asleep, like a baby, awaking as we drove down the hill to our house.
All in all, a pretty good Saturday night then!
