Pizza Workshop, on my Doorstep

I am always particularly happy when I hear of new restaurants opening up near my flat. Partly because I am lazy but mainly because I enjoy eating at new places, obviously. So when Pizza Workshop opened up on Whiteladies Road I was somewhat excited. I had heard good things about their first venue on North Street and was looking forward to trying it out.  The restaurant is pretty small but no smaller than Flour and Ash. Pizza Workshop have 10 pizzas on their menu as well as weekly specials listed on their blackboard. At lunchtimes they offer Boccas, a calzone/panini experience, all £5 each with a variety of fillings leaning from the more traditional Italian to British fried eggs and bacon. 

The dough they make is the now almost universally present sourdough, but unlike some of the most popular places at the moment they do not have as much of a raised crust. Pizza Workshop also offer gluten free bases which will be a relief to a lot of people. Most of the pizzas are tomato based but they do offer one white based pizza with lots of mushrooms and truffle oil. I sampled a number eight which is prosiutto, salsiccia, chorizo and n’duja, basically a meat feast. N’duja is becoming more prevalent on pizzas these days but I personally could see more places offer it because it’s simply delicious, spicy and meaty, and perfect for pizza. 

The base is chewy and enjoyable, I didn’t leave many crusts which is a good sign for me. I was also able to request for some mayonnaise to dip them in. They make the mayo fresh and it is extra indulgent with chewy pizza edges. Although dips are not offered as standard in Pizza Workshop you should definitely ask them for a dollop of their mayonnaise because it will enhance your pizza experience. To think that dips in a pizza restaurant were not that common place a few years ago but thankfully due to countless suggestions and feedback from social media and the love people have for Domino’s garlic and herb dip more restaurants are starting to offer dips as an add on. Although it would be good if a standard dipping sauce was offered included in the price of your pizza and the ability to upgrade was there instead, but this is just my opinion.

The number eight pizza was one of the best meat feast pizzas I have had in Bristol because it the toppings were so tasty and plentiful. They certainly weren’t shy with the n’duja, I know I go on about it, but it is sublime. The dough isn’t my favourite from the ones the city has to offer but it was very good. I am so glad to have this pizza place on my door step, the generosity of toppings alone are worth the visit. They mostly stick to the standard Italian meats and veg on offer, toppings wise, but there is something for most tastebuds here.

We have a lot of pizza restaurants in Bristol and each has their own loyal following of fans. The best ones offer something different so you can have a selection to rotate, depending on your preference on a particular day. I am fairly sure this one will enter my rotation under the, close by and traditional.  To find out more about the pizza selection check out their website. 

Tuesday Night Testing Polpo

This month we were invited, along with other bloggers and food enthusiasts to sample the newly opened Polpo restaurant on Whiteladies. Situated where Entelia used to be, Polpo describes itself as a bacaro, a Venetian word for a humble restaurant serving simple food and young Italian wines. Basically I think it is quite hard to describe yourself as humble it's for other people to decide really, and to be honest I am not sure whether this fits the brief of the description, for reasons I shall explain shortly.

Polpo opened its first branch in Soho in 2009 and has expanded over the years to eight restaurants, mostly in London but now also one each in Brighton and Bristol. Polpo is the Italian word for octopus and you can get a few dishes of the eight armed creature to sample. The menu is one of small plates to share or keep to yourself depending on how territorial you are about your food choices. I still don't really like small plates but if the food is good I can warm to them, it is a case by case basis for me. Rich and I were welcomed by owner Russell Norman, which was a nice touch. We chose an Aperol spritz to start which is a favourite after honeymooning in Venice in April. We were brought some of their stuffed fried olives to munch on whilst we perused the menu.

The menu is set out in sections such as pizzette, meat, fish, vegetables and also cicheti. Cicheti bars can be found all over Venice serving bite sized snacks to accompany an after work drink or quick lunch. We chose a few more cicheti, more olives, arancini, potato and parmesan crocchette and coppa and peperonata crostini. Polpo have a section for just meatballs so seeing this as a sign we opted for the pork and fennel ones with spaghetti. We also went for a gorgonzola & prosciutto pizzette, some fried gnocchi with rainbow chard pesto and peccorino. 

With more dishes than arms arriving in front of us we started off with the cicheti. For me the most enjoyable elements of the whole meal were in some of the little snacks we started with. The deep fried olives are something I've never seen before. They are stuffed with anchovy, coated in breadcrumbs and fried, and they are incredible. Easily the best thing Polpo do. I also really enjoyed the arancini - creamy, crunchy and light. The crostini were crisp and topped with roasted pepper, prosciutto, capers and I think ricotta, very tasty indeed. I wasn't totally sold on the crocchette it was a bit like a hash brown with more finely grated potato.

On the the 'main' dishes. For £9 you can have three fairly large meatballs of your choice with spaghetti, not exactly a bargain. But I thought for a place that has five varieties of meatballs these have got to be worth it. They weren't. Fennel overpowered the meat I could barely taste any meat flavour at all and the tomato sauce was fairly bland as well. The pizzette had some tasty toppings but the base lacked salt. 

Lastly the gnocchi with rainbow chard pesto and pecorino, the gnocchi were soft and potatoey but the pesto was just too oily and flavourless to make the dish stand out. All in all a bit disappointed with the dishes we chose. We decided to finish with a coffee and ricotta doughnuts with cinnamon sugar to share. These were almost raw and doughy inside with a floury taste. It was a shame about how the rest of the meal went because the cicheti were really delicious. In fact I would welcome having a cicheti and drinks bar in Bristol. As it is I find Polpo a little expensive for what you get and the taste isn't quite there. Humble makes me think of homely food at a low price such as your mama used to make and I am not sure that describes Polpo to me.

I think despite this Polpo will be quite popular. It is a fairly well known brand and the location will catch some great after work traffic. Our meal was free of charge but did not impact my opinion. To find out more about Polpo check out their website.

A Saturday Night Catch Up at Al Bacio

Last weekend our good friends Kathryn and Gavin came down to visit from London and a big catch up and as I had been dying to try Al Bacio after hearing from friends that it was rather good, I booked us in for Saturday evening.  Located in the space formerly occupied for years by Sands and after that Sahara, Al Bacio is a fairly small restaurant but the night we were there it was very busy. Rather glad to be out of the cold we were directed to our table and coats were taken. They seem to have a lot of waiting staff at Al Bacio, but for good reason because their service operation was pretty slick, friendly unobtrusive Italian waiters who seem passionate about the food they are serving and offering up the odd joke.

Having already looked over the menu several times online before our visit I had mostly decided what to order. I was impressed by how many fish dishes they offered up and not just the usual couple so definitely check out the specials menu if you are a fish fanatic. I decided to pick the calamari for starters and classic Italian dish osso buco, as I have been wanting to try it for an age. Rich went for the mixed arancini and a steak whilst all four of us shared some garlic bread pizza.

garlic bread pizza

Trio Fantasia (arancini)

calamari

Caprese Al Bacio

As you can see from the photos of the starters they like to be a little different in their presentation it is nice to see dishes in an Italian restaurant presented with a little more flair. What you will also notice is how huge the portions are, these were starters and whereas most portions of calamari are around six rings at the most there must have been nearly twenty on my plate. When my calamari arrived I did think they looked a little anemic however they were cooked perfectly, no chewiness, although I would have liked a touch more salt on the batter but I was impressed on the whole.

Rich's arancini, the trio fantasia, were so tasty I almost wish I had ordered them, in fact next time that might be on my list. Kathryn ordered the Caprese Al Bacio, like a Caprese salad but wrapped in filo, she really enjoyed it. So far so good, Al Bacio had impressed with their starters, not to mention the lovely bottle of Italian red which was warmed just to the right temperature and was a smooth accompaniment to dinner.  On to the mains...

risotto Al Bacio

osso buco alla Milanese

steak in garlic butter sauce

The veal in my osso buco was very tender it just fell apart and was full of flavour I enjoyed it, I felt the risotto alla Milanese could have done with a tad more seasoning but I would definitely order this dish again when I see it on a menu. Rich's steak was cooked exactly to order with enough garlic to keep the vampires away. Once again the portions were generous and so by the end of two courses we were stuffed although we did almost crumble in front of the profiteroles but our stomachs begged us not to.

I was impressed with Al Bacio, they offer tasty Italian food, including dishes that aren't on your typical Italian in England restaurant menus, which means you get to explore some new dishes or stick to more familiar ones if you have your favourites. The prices are also really reasonable for what you get nearly all the pasta, pizza and risotto dishes are under £10 and even the meat dishes hover around the £15 or so mark. I am looking forward to trying out their pizza next time I visit as the dough on the garlic bread was superb.  Also if you are gluten free you can be rest assured that they offer up gluten free pasta which opens up more choices to the gluten intolerant for whom usually Italian restaurants are a bit of a no go area.  A great new restaurant edition to Bristol, I urge you to check it out although booking is advisable, news has spread fast about this place. To find out more about Al Bacio visit their website.