Three Course Dining at The Square

Just before we jetted off to Budapest we were invited to sample the new menu at the Square. I had not been to the Square in some time, probably about 4 years in fact. The Square is a private members club but the restaurant is open to the public, as long as you sign in at the door. They have smartened up the place a bit since I was last here, it is more welcoming and the staff who greeted us were friendly.

The dining rooms at the Square are beautiful. Long tables and candelabras dotted around the place make for a relaxed atmosphere. As for the new Spring menu. First impressions were good. The menu is a modern British one with lots of classic combinations. For our starters we decided to opt for the Wiltshire bred pork belly with pressed ham hock and pickled vegetables and the wild mushroom soup with truffle and a poached egg. As for the mains Rich picked the 8oz rib-eye steak with triple cooked chips and myself, the Upper Wraxall lamb, two ways with spinach puree and pommes mousseline plus a port jus. We also picked side orders of asparagus and creamy leeks.

My soup was wonderfully earthy and rich. I was impressed, definitely up there for mushroom dishes I've had before. the egg in the centre just added to the creaminess. The only slight let down was the bread, it was nice enough but nothing over whelming. Rich loved the pork belly it was juicy and the flavours all worked together nicely.

My lamb dish was great. The lamb belly fell apart and was well seasoned. The meat was full of flavour and went perfectly with the glass of Malbec I had chosen to go with it. The pommes mousseline was rich and creamy and the vegetables were cooked properly with a slight crunch to them. The only slight problem was the rump was a little too underdone in parts for me, yes I like pink lamb but this was boardering on very rare indeed, so I left a little end bit of that.

The creamy leeks were very tasty and buttery but the dish was so huge we shouldn't have ordered too sides.  Rich enjoyed his steak said it was well cooked and juicy and the asparagus was full of flavour. I tried one of his chips and it was so huge, a breeze block of potato but with a fluffy centre. I could have built a delicious potato brick house to hide from the world in with these chips.

We hardly had room for pudding but I had spotted something on the dessert menu that ticked all my boxes. Creme brulee with rhubarb and ginger and spiced shortbread. Rich decided to test out the selection of cheese.

Rich enjoyed his selection of cheeses and the crackers were a nice quality. It is hard to get a cheese board wrong to be honest. My creme brulee was tasty but the rhubarb was too sweet it would have been great to have that sharper contrast, The shortbread was nice and gingery in flavour but overall the biscuits were a little dry and floury for my taste.

There were a few tiny little things that weren't 100% but overall we had a great meal at the Square and the staff were wonderful. The food definitely deserves more people visiting the restaurant. When we were there it was quite quiet and the people who were eating seemed to mainly be hotel guests. It is a shame because the food and atmosphere equal a nice evening out, people of Bristol, if you haven't had a chance check out the Spring menu at the Square give it a go. To find out more visit their website.

This meal was complimentary in return for a review, it did not impact my opinion. Rich and I decided to leave a 15% on what our bill would have been to thank the staff for the evening. 

Birthday Lunchings at Lido

Last month we were celebrating my parents in law's birthdays. Rich and his sisters had decided to treat them to spa and dine at the Lido with us joining them for the lunch part. Rich and I used to live round the corner from the Lido and we often used to pop in for a glass of wine and some tapas at the cafe bar bit. We arrived at the cafe early so we could take advantage of a hot drink and catch up with Natty and Pepper. I ordered a chai latte and some of their spiced fruit loaf with maple butter, as I hadn't had breakfast yet, and Rich tried the breakfast martini and the girls went for hot drinks all round. The service in the cafe part of the Lido has always been, let's say relaxed, certainly don't expect for things to arrive promptly or for ordering to be a breeze. But as long as you are in no rush you can while away the time looking out over the pool and chatting around the table.

After whiling a way a couple of hours, Rich's parents emerged, blissful from their massages. We headed upstairs to the Lido restaurant to take advantage of their set lunch menu. Their set menu is served at lunchtime but you can also catch it early evening between 6-6.45. Two courses will cost £16 and you can get three for £20 which isn't bad at all. I decided to opt for the avocado, chilli and coriander on toast followed by poussin with crispy potatoes and a paprika with hazelnut sauce. Everyone else had a mix of all the options available, including hake for main and a vegetable mezze with some flatbreads.

In comparison to the cafe the staff in the restaurant were much more attentive and I couldn't fault the service. We ordered a bottle of Rioja for the table and we had some of the freshly made bread with a choice of oil or butter to enjoy whilst we waited for the starters to arrive. One of my favourite things about the restaurant is the wonderful light you have coming through the wall to wall windows and looking out over the pool does make you feel like you are on holiday.

avocado toast

                         

scallop baked in it's own shell

roasted poussin

vegetable mezze

Avocado toast, the en vogue brunch favourite, including mine, this was fresh and zingy the nigella seeds were a nice touch of texture. There was a mistake in the scallop order so our waitress kindly brought the excess to the table so I was able to try one. Hot and cooked in their own shells this was salty and tasted like a hit of the sea. These were a popular choice on our table. On to the mains.

The poussin main for me elevated the meal to the next level. The poussin was juicy and the potatoes were like mini roasties. The sauce was phenomenal. A subtle smoky hit of paprika with the texture of coarsely ground hazelnuts really added an extra dimension. This was one of the best dishes I've had out in a while I would happily eat this over and over again, I left a very clean plate.

I was trying to decide whether to opt for a third course and thought perhaps the rosemary manchego and quince jelly would round off the meal nicely. However my father in law, as it was his birthday, decide to go to the a la carte menu for his dessert and he chose pineapple tarte tatin with black pepper ice cream. I sampled a spoonful and immediately regretted not ordering it. It was a brilliant dessert, a proper tarte tatin as well, I have not had a decent one in Bristol yet and this thankfully put an end to that.

It had been a long time since my last visit to the Lido restaurant and I should never have left it so long. The set menu is a great way to sample the food as it's good value for the quality and taste offered. For something a little extra special going in the evening means you can enjoy the all the lights for a romantic atmosphere. To find out more about the Lido restaurant visit their website.

Birthday Lunching at The Glassboat

The end of February is always taken up by what is known as 'birthday week'. The Tuesday I took a half day and met mum and Rich for lunch at The Glassboat. I had never visited this beautiful boat before and I decided taking advantage of their two courses for £10 lunch menu was a good way to dip my toe in the water.  If you've never been to The Glassboat it is a bit of a treat, the decor is rather plush and it makes the whole affair a little bit special. 

We sat down with the menus and pawed over the choices. Mum ordered a lovely bottle of wine to help us through the decision making process.  In the end I picked the chicken liver parfait with onion jam and duck confit with red cabbage and sauteed potatoes. Mum opted for the spiced squash soup followed by the goats cheese omelette and Rich the pork and pistachio terrine with pan fried coley with hollandaise as his main, plus a portion of fries for mum and Rich. My only slight gripe at this point was one of the options for main was an 8oz ribeye steak with fries and béarnaise, but it had a (£13) supplement which considering the option for 3 courses is £12 are you expected to pay just over double again for a steak?

spiced squash soup

pork terrine with pistachios and prunes

chicken liver parfait

The starters looked beautiful and tasted great. The onion jam was a particular hit. Lovely seeded toast to spread the rich and indulgent parfait on, just needed a bit more of it.  Mum was very pleased with her soup and I got to try the pork terrine which was accompanied by cornichons which were very crisp and gave the added tartness needed to cut through the rich pork flavour.

goats cheese omelette

pan fried coley with beetroot and hollandaise

duck confit with red cabbage and sauteed potatoes

The mains were wonderful also. The red cabbage wasn't over spiced or sweetened like some, definitely the nicest I have had. The duck was very moist and the skin nice and crispy. Mum's omelette was huge and had plenty of creamy goats cheese in it, so much so she couldn't quite finish it. Rich devoured his coley very happily. We were impressed but very full so we decided against pudding. Such lovely surroundings and a bargainous lunch menu, head down to The Glassboat for a special treat lunch.

Birthday Dinner at Wallfish Bistro

So the main event of my birthday was dinner at Wallfish Bistro, on Wednesdays they do BYO, so it was very fortunate that my birthday fell on a Wednesday wasn't it? We took along a bottle of Rioja to keep our food company. I will start off by saying this was one of the most enjoyable meals out I have had in a very long time, everything was right about it, the atmosphere, the decor, the service and obviously the food, but I shall go into more detail about that shortly. Wallfish Bistro occupies the former location of Bistro Bierre and before that Keith Floyd's bistro. We entered the little warm and candlelit restaurant with a fair level of hunger ready to see what the menu had in store for us. Wallfish Bistro changes their menu, almost daily, so you'll never be completely sure what to expect, which I personally find quite exciting. 

menu du jour

white peach bellini

The menu on this particular evening had a lot of things to tempt the eye, and not just the usual dishes there was something a little different about some of the offerings, fresh and new to explore. If you like fish there are certainly a refreshing number of options instead of just the one or two which is good to see. After ordering two white peach bellinis we pawed over the menu, I couldn't resist immediately ordering a snack of pork crackling and apple sauce to share to help process all the dish choices in front of me.  We were also brought some bread with a choice of butter or olive tapenade to spread on.

beautiful salt and pepper set

The crackling could have done with a touch more salt in my opinion but I am nitpicking, it crunched delightfully and the apple sauce was perfect. With the periodical and very wonderful glug glug accompaniment of the gluggle jug, that I greatly admired, Rich and I decided to order tactically so as not to be stupidly full later on. We picked the pork rillettes with toast and cornichons to share plus two butchers steaks with baked bone marrow and chips.

pork rillettes

Butcher's steak with baked bone marrow

close up steak

can't have steak with out chips

The rillettes was creamy, melt in the mouth, perfectly seasoned, a delight. I am glad we shared as it was quite rich but the cornichons combated this very well indeed. On to the main event. The steak came with a gravy boat of béarnaise sauce and kindly we were also brought over a little jug with some of the escaped cooking liquor.  Where to start? Firstly I felt the béarnaise was left out of a job because the steak was so well cooked it didn't need it, what we did find was that the baked crumbed bone marrow was a perfect topper for bringing out even more meaty flavour.  

It has taken me a while to get on with bone marrow, it is hugely en vogue at the moment, but this is the first time I've really felt I loved it the flavoured crumb on top was inspired.  The two enamel dishes of chips were of course also perfect, proper chips that I suspect might have been double or triple cooked because they were heavenly, we couldn't finish all of them however.

We just about felt we had reasonable space for dessert and as Rich had his eye on the banana sticky toffee pudding since he first saw it on the menu earlier in the week, I decided to go for one of my all time favourites the vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb and ginger. 

birthday panna cotta

banana sticky toffee pudding

As you can see I was brought a lovely birthday panna cotta which was easily the best one I've ever had the fortune of tasting. Perfect texture, the vanilla flavour was plentiful and the rhubarb and ginger added just the right amount of zing.  Rich's dessert was spongy, indulgent yet not too heavy it was gone almost before I could snap a photo of it.  Voilà! There you have it, quite possibly the best birthday meal I have had, a perfect combination of excellent food, wonderful atmosphere and brilliant service. 

 Also I noticed that when I went to the bathroom they had lent against a record player one of my all time favourite records, Roxy Music Country Life, it had to be fate.  I cannot wait to go back I really can't just thinking about it now is making me nostalgic for this meal all over again. To see what Wallfish Bistro has to offer visit their website, the guggle jugs will be waiting patiently for you. 

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.