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Tuesday 22 December 2015

Eating Dirty at Meatliquor

In the last month Bristol has finally been able to welcome Meatliquor to it's streets. A launch that was heavily hampered by delays of licensing suspended opening it's doors for over a year. But now finally dirty burgers plus liquor have descended from London and they are ours for the taking. We were invited to the launch of Meatliquor the other week to sample their cuisine although it wasn't the first time I had visited. The first week there was a soft launch and one week day lunch time we headed down there to see what was what.

Meatliquor Bristol

I personally find the decor in the day time a touch depressing and real, sometimes feels a bit like eating in a car park.  At night it seems a bit better, the neon red strips, a nod to the previous incarnation of the space, Dynamic Heating Services, soften the stark concrete pillars. The first Meatliquor I visited was the Brighton branch and the decor there is the stuff straight out of a Terry Gilliam film or a brothel in Blade Runner. Neon clowns, industrial metal tables, things to catch the eye everywhere, it is completely fantastical. I know the Bristol branch was looking to fit in with it's new home of Stokes Croft but to me it feels a little less magical and a bit too gritty. Although I really liked the light boxes filled with weird and wonderful etching styled pictures.
Meatliquor Bristol


As for the food, this is a place to pig out so come hungry, hungover or both. What is a nice touch is they tailor each menu to include some dishes that reflect it's location. So Bristol has extended vegetarian and vegan options. On launch night I decided to try their buffalo chicken burger, chicken covered in hot pepper sauce, lettuce, onions and blue cheese sauce. Rich had the bacon cheeseburger and we shared some fries and sampled the xmac & cheese, deep fried camembert and stilton macaroni cheese logs with port and cranberry dipping sauce. On our first visit however I tried the deep fried pickles and the dead hippie burger, their signature burger.

As expected they have local beer from Wild Beer, a Bibble, and Rich sampled two cans. I was happily recommended their signature cocktail St Lawrence; Bulleit rye shaken with maple syrup, fresh lemon juice a dash of bitters and a twist of orange. It was really great, a wonderfully balanced cocktail very much recommended.
Meatliquor Bristol
Meatliquor Bristol
xmac & cheese bites


All of the food came on one tray but we decided to tackle the xmac & cheese first because we were really hungry, purposefully saving ourselves for a feast. These were seriously dirty food, pretty stodgy but that was only to be expected. I could have done with a little more stilton flavour coming through because they were a little bland to what I was expecting. But they were very rich so the port and cranberry sauce was well matched and needed. If you are looking for a side from their normal menu, first time round we sampled the deep fried pickles with blue cheese dip. These are seriously good, a great crunch on the batter which is crucial, no one wants a soggy batter. The dip could have been more blue but again I am a blue cheese obsessive.
Meatliquor Bristol
Look Ma! Pickles
Meatliquor Bristol
buffalo chicken burger
Meatliquor Bristol

On to the burgers. The buffalo chicken burger was spicy, but enjoyably so. The rich blue cheese sauce helped temper it down a bit. I enjoyed this burger it was just very intense, the flavours are so strong they almost punch you in the face, but I would have it again if I didn't fancy any of the beef ones. The beef burgers are cooked pink, as they should be. Rich found his bacon cheese pretty tasty although they use a bacon patty instead of rashers which is a bit different. The chips were a big enough portion to share between the two of us. The dead hippie burger which I sampled first time round, two patties fried in American mustard, cheese and dead hippie sauce is rather good, and offers something a little different.

Meatliquor Bristol
inside the dead hippie
Meatliquor is good, but had it opened a year or two ago when it was supposed to it might have been in my top 3 burgers but unfortunately, or fortunately, Bristol has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to burgers. My top three, as it stands are Burger Joint, Chomp and Three Brothers. These places offer better value for better burgers. Meatliquor is pretty expensive, like Byron before it these London joints have to evaluate their prices for outside the capital. Meatliquor's burgers also like Byron do not come with fries and with drinks prices as they are you could easily spend £30 for a couple of burgers, fries and a side plus non alcoholic drinks. To find out more about Meatliquor check out their website.

The launch night meal was complimentary but did not affect my opinion of the burgers. My first visit I paid as normal. 

Thursday 10 December 2015

Vegetarian Dining at 1847

Last week the weather was horrendous, gales, driving rain and cold, basically everything you associate with Winter. After all the fairly mild offerings leading up to December it seemed to catch everyone off guard. It was on such a night of biblical weather proportions that Katherine and I headed to 1847 a new vegetarian restaurant that has opened up on St Stephen's street. I had been invited to sample the menu and for full testing purposes taking a vegetarian friend with me seemed only right. Vegetarian definitely seems to be de rigueur in the Bristol food scene at the moment with Flow opening up a few months back and the Black Sheep on Gloucester road joining suit. Hell even Meatliquor has adapted their menu to offer more veggie options for their new Bristol branch.

The gusts of wind blew us through the door of 1847, named after the date the vegetarian society was formed, and we were greeted very warmly by the waiter. The restaurant is smartly decorated mainly keeping to black and white with a few different lighting features to attract the eye. Katherine and I decided upon a glass of wine each and we were brought some olives and sunblushed tomatoes to snack upon whilst we decided what to eat. We browsed the selection and there were lots of things to tempt the eye. The menus are seasonal so there were lots of warm and hearty dishes to comfort the soul.


We decided to have a starter and main each, I decided upon the crispy egg, which topped pearl barley, celeriac and radicchio and Katherine opted for mushroom and walnut paté which came with pickled quince and smoked butter toast. For our mains I went for the much celebrated 'Fish' and chips, ginger ale battered halloumi, triple cooked chips with savoury lemon curd and pea and basil. Katherine went for Beet Bourguignon, beetroot stew with sautéed potatoes and crumbled goat's cheese. Our waiter also recommended a side of caramelised cauliflower with harissa yoghurt
1847 restaurant Bristol
crispy egg with pearl barley
1847 restaurant Bristol
mushroom paté

The egg for my starter was soft boiled with a lovely crunchy crispy crumb on it. The pearl barley was cooked well but generally under seasoned for me, it could have done with a little twist of lemon too. Katherine enjoyed her paté, and there was plenty of it.

On to the mains. Two sizable plates were brought to us. I was greeted by 3 golden globes of battered halloumi sat on a pea green sauce with dots of lemon curd and a mini friar filled with thick cut chips. Katherine's main was a colourful affair with plenty of textures and the cauliflower looked and smelled wonderful, we were looking forward to tucking in.
1847 restaurant Bristol
halloumi 'fish' & chips

1847 restaurant Bristol

1847 restaurant Bristol
beet bourguignon
1847 restaurant Bristol
caramelised cauliflower with harissa yoghurt
The crunch on the batter on the halloumi was super crisp. I wasn't quite sure how this dish would work but the halloumi was such a great fish substitute, the lemon curd really lifted it up and added to the illusion of fish. I didn't miss having fish at all it was really delicious. The chips were pretty good but we decided that they could have done with a little tartar sauce on the side to further add to the dish. Katherine's beet bourguignon was rich and full of flavour although she said she would have liked a touch more cheese. The cauliflower was great, the harissa yoghurt had a good level of spice and it went really well.

We were too full to attempt dessert but the options were enticing. 1847 does a lunch deal where you can have any main and a glass of wine for £10 which is pretty good considering how generous the portions are. In the evening the options appear to be 2 courses for £19 and 3 for £25 I was a little confused why you can't seem to order just one course as there were no individual plate prices. I was impressed overall by 1847, the food is interesting enough to keep meat eaters interested and veggies will be spoiled for choice by the variety. A little attention needs to be made to some of the starter dishes as I didn't find the selection as interesting as the mains and my starter was a bit bland. But the mains really impressed me so treat the veggies in your life to a meal at 1847 they won't be disappointed. To find out more about 1847 visit their website.

This meal was complimentary but we paid for our drinks, it did not impact my opinion of the food when writing this review.

Tuesday 1 December 2015

New Menu Sampling at Thali Cafe Clifton

Last week I was invited to try some of the new items on the menu at the Thali cafe. Not one to shirk duty I invited the very lovely Charlie of Bedsit Bonnne Vivante to join me for dinner. It was a miserably wet and cold evening but the cheer of enjoying a pre drink in Nettle & Rye lifted our spirits and we headed down to the Thali cafe. We were greeted very cheerfully by the staff and sat near the window so we could watch the passers by.

Starting the evening with the Thali gin and tonic which comes with grapefruit wedges and they make their own tonic don't you know? We couldn't pass up a couple of their poppadoms each, they do the best selection of dips, twists on the classics you expect to find at Indian restaurants. Of course you have the mango chutney which has a bit of chilli added to it but also you'll find tomato with tamarind, coconut and ginger, a personal favourite, and finally coriander coconut.
Thali Cafe Bristol

For our mains we ordered the new grill mains, chicken tikka and lamb shish which are served on a fluffy naan, mooli salad, leafy greens, pomegranate raita and Keralan thoran. We also ordered side orders of Govindram's Potato fries double fried potato served with tomato tamarind chutney.
Thali Cafe Bristol
lamb shish grill
Thali Cafe Bristol
chicken tikka grill
Thali Cafe Bristol
Govindram's potato fries
Thali Cafe Bristol
karalan thonan
Their poppadoms were great as always. I really enjoyed the chicken tikka on naan. The naan was so soft and the chicken was spiced but not spicy, although I do love some heat so I wouldn't have minded if it had had a kick, although that isn't something you expect from tikka anyway. The mooli salad offered a crunchy and fresh texture. We were very kindly also given an extra portion of Keralan thonan and this turned out to be one of our favourite dishes. Stir fried squash, beetroot and curry leaves with toasted coconut. So delicious, it had a little heat to it and it was particularly morish. It was the one dish in particular we wanted to replicate at home, it was healthy but super tasty.

The only let down of the night were Govindram's potato fries. They looked a little over done and didn't really taste of a lot which was surprising really. However it didn't detract too much from the rest of the meal which was wonderful. So now if you don't fancy going down the curry route Thali cafe has some great grills for you to enjoy. More choice in this case is a very tasty good thing. To find out more about the Thali cafe's new menu items check out their website.

This meal was complimentary but did not affect my opinion writing this review. I will never be censored after all.