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.

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.

lamb shish grill

chicken tikka grill

Govindram's potato fries

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.

Sunday at Soukitchen

Last week was a massive dose of coughing half my lungs out and generally feeling sorry for myself. Sunday I dragged myself out of the house to meet Kym for lunch, something I was really looking forward to. Soukitchen, Clifton branch, has been open about 6 months and despite being five minutes from my door this was my first visit. Absolutely woeful.  Situated just off Whiteladies on Apsley Road as far as I can remember there has been a bar or restaurant at this site. Most of these ventures lasted a very short time, perhaps due to location. Souk has solved this with some lovely bright signage that draws in the eye, that and their reputation.

Soukitchen specialises in Persian cuisine but with a much more modern approach to Middle Eastern flavours. Kym and I ordered some drinks and got to the arduous task of deciding what to eat, which was a tall order I can tell you. Meeting someone at 12 means that you're just about on the cusp of being able to acceptably order brunch. However in my mind eating brunch much more after 12 feels wrong. 

Tempted by their cinnamon French toast or the shakshouka, poached eggs in tomato base with onions spices and flatbread with the option of merguez sausage add on was almost too much to pass up. That is until I saw a leg of chicken on a bed of pearl barley with grilled peppers, Iranian gherkins, red onion and spiced yoghurt. Sold. Kym also followed suit and we ordered some hummous and bread to share.

elderflower and rose spritzer

hummous with Mark's Bread

chicken on pearl barley

Just look at my spritzer, a drink topped with rose petals, beautiful and delicious. The food was outstanding. The bread, from Mark's Bread, was superb, my only slight criticism would be that I found the hummous not as smooth as my tastes prefer, this is personal preference however. The crowning glory of the lunch was the wonderful chicken dish. Packed full of flavours and textures I could easily see this being a firm favourite on my must have dishes in Bristol. The chicken was juicy and spiced enhanced by the smokey yoghurt and the pearl barley was plump, we practically licked our plates clean.

Can't wait to return to Soukitchen they really offer something different and that is no bad thing in a city full of burgers and pizzas, which I enjoy eating, it's just nice to have as many options as possible. To find out more about Soukitchen visit their website.

A Weekday Evening at Fishers

Rich and I were invited to preview one of the restaurants for Clifton Foodfest and I chose Fishers. Fishers is somewhere I've never been before but wanted to try, fish is something I just don't eat masses of and that is something I want to change.  Clifton Foodfest, a new food festival, which will be running from Monday 31st March til Sunday 13th April gives people a chance to eat out in 16 restaurants in the village for £10, great for those restaurants you want to try but don't have the money to splurge on. Details of the restaurants participating are on their website.  

We arrived at Fishers, glad to be out of the biting wind that seems to have arisen in the last week, and  were greeted warmly by the staff and shown to a table in the window.  For a weekday evening Fishers was pretty busy, which is a good sign in my book. The menu is mostly fish, as you would expect but there were a couple of meat dishes which sounded just as excellent, my money for next time is on the giant fish and chips that I saw being carried to the table next to us. The offer for Fishers on the Clifton Foodfest deal is a hot shellfish platter at £10 each which is normally double. So being we were there to sample the deal we chose that and were promised a bucket of bread to mop up any juices, and a bottle of zingy Pinot Grigio to accompany it. 

hot shellfish platter

here fishy fishy (langoustine portrait)

An abundance of mussels, prawns, langoustines, crevettes, although I imagine the contents does change with what they buy at the fish markets, all in a cream, garlic and white wine sauce.  All the seafood was so well cooked and that sauce, light enough to not feel heavy was indulgent enough to be completely moreish. Be prepared to get messy if you order this, although perhaps this is just my messy ways, I managed to splash sauce all over the table and it coated my hands, napkins at the ready people. My personal favourite were the giant Atlantic prawns, closely followed by the mussels. Our pot of moping bread contained some super soft olive bread which was lovely it soaked up all the white wine and garlic sauce like a sponge, absolutely delicious. Despite feeling fairly full of seafood we felt we could just about manage some pudding and so I chose the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream and Rich the dark chocolate brownie.

sticky toffee pudding

Best sticky toffee pudding I've ever eaten, hands down, so moist and it melted in the mouth, Rich's brownie was more like a dense torte, it was too rich for me, but then I don't have that sweet a tooth. All in all I was really impressed with Fishers and will be returning, the service was friendly and warm, it did feel a little bit like eating at someone's home which I found quite comforting. We received a generous discount for this meal but it did not impact the authenticity of this review, I am known for my brutal truth givings after all, and we actually left a 100% tip on top of the small bill they gave us because the food and service really deserved it. To find out more about Fishers visit their website, where they state that most of their food is or can be made gluten or dairy free, which I know will please a lot of people. I leave you with a parting shot of this lovely fish mosaic, what a fabulous beast.

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. 

A Wednesday Evening at Bombay Spice

So on Wednesday evening I returned from my Jolates class somewhat weary, I had already done 40 minutes of hula hooping during the day and I was flagging. The idea of cooking just did not appeal so remembering that we had received a 50% off flyer through the door for Bombay Spice I thought, why not give it a go. Located in Clifton Village, an area possessing five curry venues, quite a number for a relatively small space, it is possibly sometimes overlooked for the excellent Brunel Raj but after Wednesday I urge you to give it a try.

A much larger dining room greeted us upon arrival and the welcome was warm and friendly, we chose a seat in the window and were given some menus. As well as the expected curry dishes they do a large number of specials and chef recommendations. After ordering our drinks we set about deciding what to eat out of the many choices. In the end we went for a couple of poppadoms each plus two of our favourites, a madras, but with lamb and Honey Chicken, which isn't a standard but we have found it at a couple of Indian restaurants, plus a peshwari naan and keema rice.

chutneys galore

The poppadoms were crisp, and when our waiter noticed the top poppadom had a big chip out of it he brought a replacement, which I thought was a nice touch. The chutneys were more or less the standard selection, the raita was a little different and not as minty which I personally preferred. Also was pleasing to be granted the rare presence of the fragrant desiccated coconut which is always a nice surprise on the chutney tray.  After we munched our way through the poppadoms we eagerly and hungrily awaited the arrival of the curries.

Lamb Madras and Honey Chicken

The curries arrived smelling delicious and we could not wait to get stuck in so we helped ourselves to spoonfuls of the thickly spiced sauces. We were blown away by the high quality of the curries at Bombay Spice, I was to be honest not really expecting more than your average curry house, but I am happy to report that I was wrong. The honey chicken was rich and sweet a perfect combination with the peshwari naan, it also was slightly better than my usual order of honey chicken from Roopsha, which is saying something. Rich and I usually order a mild and a hot curry to share and the lamb madras fitted that bill perfectly. It was hot but not blow your head off hot and had a pleasingly earthy flavour which you don't always get with madras. 

We were praising food all the way through the meal, which tells you just how good it was, in fact it will be first on my list to return to when I next fancy a curry. So if you find yourself looking for a new curry venue do check out Bombay Spice, the service and food far exceeded my expectations, it could possibly be a contender for Bristol's best curry. I am craving curry as I write up this review, practically drooling on my keyboard in fact. Bombay Spice also offers a takeaway service with 20% off, if you feel tempted check out their menu. 

A Sunny Saturday Lunch at Bill's

On our last sunny weekend, it does seem like an age ago, mum and I decided to check out a light lunch in Bill's. Bill's opened up on the Triangle a few months ago and I had heard a couple of mixed reviews about the place. Mum had said the Bath branch was tasty, others had said that there wasn't enough varied choice and the prices were questionable. So armed with information and hunger we arrived for an early lunch. The restaurant was a lot larger than I was expecting and although a little dark inside it was nice and airy and full of decorations to entertain the eye. I decided to go for their elderflower cordial, bit of a fan of the old elderflower, and mum had a ginger beer. 

Inside Bill's

Elderflower Cordial

The elderflower cordial was much more prettily dressed than I was expecting and extra refreshing on a hot day. The weather certainly made us consider our food choices more carefully. We weren't feeling like anything heavy so eventually decided on sharing the mezze board with a side of sweet potato fries. The mezze board was described as a selection of dips, salsa, hummus, babaganouj, marinated olives and halloumi skewers, though you can swap the halloumi for chicken or kofte skewers so we opted for the chicken.

mezze board

sweet potato fries

mezze upclose

A wonderfully bright board arrived at our table, it looked superb and the bread was lovely and warm, sounds obvious but often can be overlooked. Everything was really fresh tasting, mum had never had babaganjouj before and loved it, certainly for me it is the most acceptable form of aubergine, for not the greatest of aubergine fans. The chicken was chunky and juicy and the hummus warming and garlicky. The sweet potato fries were quite nice but in my opinion could have been a bit crispier and needed extra salt. Mum and I definitely had room for pudding so we opted for the peach melba sundae to share.

peach melba sundae

The sundae looked a picture and it wasn't as unhealthy as it appeared as instead of ice cream there was sorbet in the layers which made it all the more refreshing. Having said that my favourite part of the sundae was actually the most unhealthy part, the vanilla flavoured piped cream on top, light as air and dangerously moreish.  Generally speaking it was a tasty lunch, I probably wouldn't choose Bill's for an evening meal but for a lunch it is a lovely venue for snacking and catching up for a chat. The prices aren't too bad either for some things, the mezze board was £9.99, having said that the sweet potato fries were nearly £4 which is just a bit silly. To cut to the chase I would return, the service was friendly and efficient, now they just need to do something about the occasional crazy price. To check out what Bill's has to offer visit their website.

Pre-cocktail Munch at Bauhinia

If you land in Clifton village from Victoria Square Bauhinia is one of the first places to greet you as you pass Arch House Deli. Quite a small shop front from the outside, like the tardis, inside will surprise you with the space. Bauhinia, the floral emblem on the Hong Kong flag, prides itself on serving up pan Asian cuisine that won't break the bank. Before 7pm every day you can order 2 courses from their set menu for £8.90. Jessie and I arrived after 7pm on Saturday and stepped up to the busy bar, doubtful that there would be a table free. However we were in luck and we were ushered to the lone table right by the door and the bar, not exactly ideal but beggars can't be choosers.

It took us a very short time to decide what to have, so we picked two Pad Thai's and some Thai prawn crackers with peanut satay and sweet chilli dips, not forgetting two large glasses of Pinot, it had been that kind of week. Despite feeling like were dining in a bar the service was really friendly and efficient.

Thai crackers with dips

The peanut satay dip was the king here, a perfect accompaniment to the slightly zingy prawn crackers, reminded me I need to work on making peanut satay sauce for a chicken dish, this long weekend would be the perfect time to try. The Pad Thai arrived soon after, it was a medium sized portion I was disappointed to see that only two prawns came with the dish and only a bit more chicken. I have been spoiled when it comes to Pad Thai, huge plates of tamarind pink tinged rice noodles from Hong Kong Bistro are still my favourite.

Pad Thai at Bauhinia

Close up

The noodles did need a little more zing and flavour but they were tasty enough and the prawns were well cooked. The meal only worked out at about £16 each including wine so it was perfect for a cheap treat. I was still a little hungry afterwards but I staved off my hunger with a Thai daquiri from Amoeba, round the corner, definitely one of my favourite cocktails.

Thai daquiris

Bauhinia is a good choice for a quick and cheap bite to eat but to be honest the crackers were the best thing about the meal for me, although the Pad Thai was tasty I have had much better elsewhere. It wouldn't stop me returning though and trying something else because I really liked the atmosphere and service. To see what else Bauhinia has to offer visit their website.

Celebration Curry at Rajmoni

Last week was one of celebration, Rich had got a new job, with immediate start, after his first day and after a tough work out at Jolates, we went for curry with friends Claire and Katherine. The Rajmoni is right by the Victoria Rooms a venue that looks rather like a scout hut from the outside but is rather charmingly different on the inside. 'Banquet Night' is every Wednesday which for £10.95 you will get poppadoms with chutney, a starter, main and rice or naan bread.

We were seated under a brightly lit table, and given the banquet night menu. The rules are you can order any starter which is priced £3.50 or under and any curry under £8.50 which considering most of the classics are under the £7 mark gives you quite a bit of choice. The poppadoms arrived promptly and we were rather pushed to hurry and order our starter and mains which did seem a little rude, luckily I already knew what I wanted and I was hungry.

With half of us ordering onion bhajis I went for somosas and Rich the lamb tikka. The bhajis here are enormous you could easily share one portion. They are also some of the best bhajis I have had in Bristol so far. Crispy strips of onion contained with in a spicy batter and the size of a small fist, so if you like bhajis certainly give these ones a try. My somosas were well filled but nothing special, Rich's lamb tikka was fairly small but very well flavoured. I was the partial loser here as far as choosing starters goes.

Giant Bhajis

Lamb Somosas

Lamb Tikka

Recently I have been trying to branch out with my curry ordering, and tonight was no exception, I always tended to order either lamb saag or rogan josh so this time I decided to pick korai lamb, a spicy dish with ginger, chopped onions, pepper and tomatoes served in an iron korai. Rich chose one of his favourites, chicken madras, and Claire and Katherine went for, chicken tikka masala and chang saag ponir respectively. Although when the curries arrived mine was wrong this was swiftly rectified and my sizzling iron korai clad curry came smoking to join the rest of the set.

Chicken Madras

Lamb Korai

The lamb in my korai fell apart and was delicately flavoured, I was not expecting quite so much chopped onion but it had been cooked down for a while, and slowly so it was almost caramelised. I am glad I took a chance on something different because I was impressed, my only gripe was that on the menu it is labelled as medium, to me it was not in the least bit spicy, definitely full of flavour, but I was expecting a tiny kick. Rich's madras was pretty hot, although madras' can vary wildly in our personal opinion from one's we have sampled so far. It was a good madras though, a nice building heat softened by the yoghurt giving it a silky creamy texture.

Claire's Tikka Masala

Katherine's Chang Sag Ponir

Happy eating sounds hushed the conversation on our table for several minutes. The classic tikka masala was pronounced a perfect partner to Claire's peshwari naan. Vegetarian Katherine's curry was made up of chickpeas, spinach and paneer cheese and looked really comforting and homely. Curry is definitely one of the nicest things to eat when the nights start drawing in and if you find yourself looking for a bargain you can do no better than the Rajmoni. It is not the best curry house in Bristol but it definitely ticks all the boxes for a warming tasty curry, nice surroundings and a good deal. Check out their rather dated website for a browse of the menu.

Sunday Roast at The Townhouse

This year The Townhouse won best Sunday Roast at the Bristol Good Food Awards. I am notoriously picky about my roasts, preferring to make my own or go to my mum for hers. I've only ever had one worth going out for and that was from Bill Butt at The Grapes in Clifton, before the current owners. His 24 hour roast pork with all the trimmings was a proper Sunday treat indeed. I am happy to report that I can add a second venue to my 'worth leaving the house for on a Sunday' list.

Super organised Wuthering Bites had set up our September food blogger meet up at The Townhouse for a Sunday Roast last weekend and we had the whole mezzanine level to ourselves, perfect light for photographing the food, a blogger's primary concern, obviously.

First to arrive, got my priorities...

What is great about the roast at The Townhouse is that you can choose from 4 meats, usually most places only offer two choices, so with all bases covered, and with something for the veggies, everyone is likely to be happy. As far as I know the menu changes every so often, so what's on the website is just a sample and likewise the photo of my menu, will get you drooling but don't get too attached.

We were a group of 12 of hungry food bloggers and food enthusiasts I did feel a slight pang of guilt for the pressure we must have added to the staff at the Townhouse but having heard such great things from a few of our group, I had every faith we would be rewarded greatly. After seeing truffled mushrooms on brioche I decided to go for a starter as well as a main. Regular readers will be familiar with me waxing lyrical about mushroom dishes that have sent me to heaven (see here and here for more details) so my starter choice will be of no real surprise.

Rich went for the Lyme Bay scallops with applewood smoked bacon, black and white pudding, English peas and beans with a cider butter sauce. Not everyone in the group went for starters, with hindsight I almost wished I hadn't because the roast was so massive.

Truffled Mushrooms on Toasted Brioche

Truffled Mushrooms, a closer look

Lyme Bay Scallops with Applewood Smoked Bacon

Scallops with a Cider Butter Sauce

My starter was a delight, the buttery brioche melted in the mouth with the cream, sage and mushrooms giving off growing flavours with each chew. Personally not quite as good as the breakfast truffled mushrooms on toast at Rosemarino but pretty much there, very delicious indeed, I urge you to order this starter if it's on the menu when you go. Rich's scallops were cooked to perfection and the cider butter cut through the richness of the black and white puddings. We had never had white pudding and it was very tasty indeed, complete revelation to me so will be looking out for it on menus eagerly next time I am out and about.

Roast wise I plumped for the roast belly of Devon rose pork which came with Stornaway black pudding and a rhubarb and ginger sauce. Rich was swayed by the truffled bread sauce and white pudding that accompanied the roast chicken. He adores bread sauce, something which I cannot understand at all, and proclaimed this one to be the best he's ever tasted and was only a bit sad that there wasn't more of it.

Roast Pork in Full

Juicy Flavoursome Rolled Pork Belly

Roast Chicken with all the Trimmings

How hungry are you now?

As you can see from the photos they are generous with the portions and I haven't even covered the vegetables yet. Wonderful meat and more importantly for me, being a roast potato nut, these were some of the best I've had. Properly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Check the close up photo below for proof of roast potato nirvana. We got a wonderfully creamy ramekin of cauliflower cheese and some mixed vegetables to share but for a lot of people roasts are all about the Yorkshire pudding. Both Rich and my mum are massive Yorkshire pudding enthusiasts, mum will make a tray of 12 for lunch but her and Rich will have about 5 each leaving one a piece for dad and I, there is no sharing on their watch.

Luckily The Townhouse have solved this conundrum by supplying their roasts with a Yorkshire loaf to share between 4. It is enormous, even Rich could not finish it so I will be interested in how my mum does when we visit there with her. Also very impressed with the service, nothing was too much trouble, even when the table asked for a few extra roasties a couple of small dishes plus crispy bits were brought to us to crunch over, delicious.

A Crunchy Potato Dream

Vegetable Sides

Yorkshire Pudding of Doom

So there you have it, Bristol's best Sunday roast. One course will cost you £12.50 or you can get two for £16 and 3 for £20, which is a great deal considering the high quality of food on offer. There are some non roast items available on the menu, but after seeing what we were given, are you really going to choose anything else? To have a browse at the menu check out their website, they are also pretty active on Twitter so give them a follow @TownHouseBris.

Coming up on the blog, American diner style food from London, dinner at Noa and a trip to Marshfield Ice Cream farm.