Lunch at Ronnie's of Thornbury

Last Wednesday Rich and I found ourselves in Thornbury doing wedding related things and we thought whilst we were here we would take in a tasty lunch. Ronnie's, run by the very talented Ron Faulkner, is somewhere I've been wanting to try for a while ever since enjoying Ronnie's taster menu at Eat Drink Bristol 2012. Ronnie's of Thornbury is situated just off the main high street and does some tasty lunch deals, a set 3 course menu for £13 or for a wider choice two courses for £15.

A lovely bright restaurant greeted us when we walked in, as expected for a Wednesday lunchtime it was not packed but there was a good stream of customers that wandered in as we were dining. We decided to go for the two courses for £15 option plus a bottle of wine, we were celebrating after all. The options for mains were great I could have happily eaten all of the five options. I decided to go for the mushroom risotto with champagne and truffle oil, after my heavenly experience at the taster menu last year, whilst Rich picked the rib-eye steak and fries. We also ordered some lovely Hobbs House bread to start us off as we were rather peckish.

mixed Hobbs House bread

rib-eye steak, fries and onion rings

wild mushroom and champagne risotto with truffle oil

Absolutely sublime food. Rich's steak which was perfectly cooked, was coated in a chimichurri sauce which really brought a light, fresh zingyness to the meat, perfect flavours for Summer. The menu doesn't give much away on detail, which I actually kind of like because you aren't completely sure what to expect and for the steak this was an extremely welcome and pleasant surprise. With regards to my risotto, I tried to eat it as slowly as possible to savour it. Terribly rich and indulgent but with ingredients such as champagne and truffle oil I would have been disappointed at an insipid flavour, it was gorgeous. The earthy truffle oil helped balance out the creaminess neither of which overwhelmed the mushrooms which were the stars of the show. I would eat this every week if I could. 

The delight of the main course made us wonder if the pudding could follow such an enjoyable dishes, our concerns were misplaced. I ordered an Eton mess and Rich the caramelized lemon tart with lemon sorbet, as I don't really like citrus desserts we rarely have them at home, here was a chance for him to go the whole lemon hog and he went for it.

caramelized lemon tart with lemon sorbet

eton mess

a closer look

As you can see the Eton mess in particular was a thing of beauty. Not at all what I was expecting but actually it was better than the usual expected Eton mess. As the slate arrived and was set down I got a waft of pure strawberries, this was the essence of Summer I cannot enthuse about this dessert enough it was sweet yet light possibly one of the best desserts I have ever had, and I don't really have a sweet tooth. Rich was very pleased with his lemon tart, described as wonderfully refreshing and definitely satisfied his craving for a good pudding, they are his speciality after all.

We left in a very satisfied haze of good food and wine remarking that it is worth the 50 minute bus journey to Thornbury just to take lunch at Ronnie's, it's a lovely family friendly restaurant with superb food, we even saw the man himself checking in with diners, which is a nice touch. So hopefully this has all peaked your interest and will get you planning your trip to Ronnie's, check out the sample menus on their website.