Birthday Celebrations at The Kensington Arms

The first Friday of January we were celebrating the birthdays of two good friends born two days apart. As we were all still recovering from New Years Eve, either from hangovers or genuine illnesses we opted for a plan of low key dinner and drinks.  Josh Eggleton has recently taken over the ownership of the Kensington Arms we thought this would be a good spot to check out. The Kenny has always been a super cosy pub with a reputation for good food, a browse of a sample menu before our visit had Rich and I both salivating at the options. Table was booked for 7.30 which was lucky as it meant we missed the downpour that followed. 

 

The menu on the night contained a varied selection of mains, including three fish dishes, some pub classics and one vegetarian option. What I was particularly drawn to was their selection of puddings mostly all containing ingredients that conjured up cosy Winter evenings. I am not normally a dessert person, it has to be something particularly intriguing to sway me, but sway me they did so I opted for a lighter main choice to accommodate room for an indulgent sweet.

Rich chose the rare onglet steak with roasted tomato, field mushrooms, chips and peppercorn sauce whilst I picked the vegetarian option; ricotta gnocchi, cavolo nero, tomato compote and caper salsa. Whilst some of our table opted for starters such as, devilled whitebait with aioli and a plate of fishcakes with warm tartare sauce, Rich and I chose a little taster of a quail scotch egg each. 

 

 

The scotch eggs arrived with a runny centre, as expected and a blob of smooth chutney. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what flavour it was, it reminded me of fig but I was told that it was a branston pickle puree. It was tangy but sweet, hugely enjoyable. The crumb round the scotch egg was crisp but I found the actual sausage meat lacking in seasoning which was a bit of a shame.  

The pub was busy so we waited quite a while for our mains. Once our plates arrived most of the portions seemed generous, except mine, it was a touch on the small side. However gnocchi is deceptively filling and it looked appetising so I ventured on in. I have to say I loved this dish. The cavolo nero came crisped in part which added a nice texture, the tomato compote was my favourite element, full of rich tomato flavour. The only thing I might have added was some toasted nuts of some description for even more crunch. Was I hungry afterwards, a little, but that was the objective, to leave room for dessert. Rich’s steak was plentiful, juicy and rare as expected. A wonderful cut of meat, lovingly prepared and cooked, a triumph. The only downside was the absence of the listed mushrooms, these did not make an appearance on the plate.

It was time to pick a dessert. There are only a few flavours that if they make an appearance on the menu I have to order them. Chocolate is not one of them, caramel or toffee is however. So I ordered the sticky toffee pudding with Christmas pudding ice cream which Rich chose the orange pannacotta and burnt orange caramel.  Other offerings included a chocolate mousse cake with peanut butter ice cream and maple and pecan tart with clotted cream ice cream.

 

 

I would say that the dessert, for me at least, was the highlight of the meal. It’s a course that for some places can be a bit of an after-thought.  However the sticky toffee pudding was as light as anything but coated in a rich buttery toffee sauce. What elevated it was the Christmas pudding ice cream. When I first tasted it I described it as complex, for which I was some what derided, however they agreed it had layers of flavour. What you get is a spiced ice cream and then you gradually tasted the soaked fruit and then the torched whiskey at the end. In a word, wonderful. Rich loved his dessert he said the burnt orange caramel was smoky and filled with a deep orange flavour. A pretty successful visit and we were sleepy, warm and full. 

We all enjoyed our trip to the new Kensington Arms definitely would return for dinner again. It is important to note that the service, though friendly, was slow. Replenishing drinks was a little tricky as was asking for the bill. There seemed to be enough staff on the ground but perhaps not as attentive as they could have been, but perhaps this is something you might expect on a busy Friday night. To find out more check out a sample menu on their website. 

Burgers at The Shakespeare in Redland

Although we have a pub right on our doorstep it's not really everything I could want in a pub. So when I heard the Shakespeare on Lower Redland Road had been given a snazzy new makeover and encouraging noises about it were surfacing, I was compelled to check it out. We headed over on a Wednesday evening and decided to take advantage of their new menu. A good number of pub classics with an emphasis on burgers, and I like love burgers.

I decided to opt for their special, beef with chorizo and red leicester with sweet potato chips. Whilst Rich went for beef topped with smoked applewood, smoked bacon and barbecue sauce, plus some chips which were given a shake of rosemary salt. Homemade dips such as lemon mayonnaise and spicy relish are available for 50p each. Prices for the burgers hover just under the £10 mark, which considering the size of them is fairly reasonable.

Apart from the sheer thickness of my burger I just want to alert you, dear readers, to the fact that it had a whole chorizo sauage in the centre. None of those thin weak ass chorizo slices from a packet that one could get from any supermarket but a juicy, smokey whole sausage. Red Leicester has never been high on my cheese favourites list but this had melted beautifully over the generous meat patty. I wasn't sure what to expect from the burgers here, pub burgers are often generic but acceptable. This was a whole different ball game.

Soft brioche bun, well seasoned meat and toppings that went very well together all made for a great burger.  The sweet potato fries were a bit of a let down but the rosemary salted standard chips were much better. So basically if they can add that chorizo burger to the regular's list I will be even happier.  If you haven't already checked out the refit of the Shakespeare in Redland, please do it's rather good. To find out more visit their website.

Beating Bank Holiday Blues at The Clifton

So last Bank Holiday Monday, I had just finished a Jolates class and I was feeling pretty hungry and also deflated by the thought of having to go to work the next day.  So we decided to have a browse for dinner around and we stopped at the Clifton. The night before the wedding Rich had told me how him and Bud, the best man, stumbled upon burgers here and they remember them being pretty good, mind you they were down 4/5 pints by this point. 

Franziskaner, king of beers

The pub was pretty quiet but the welcome we received from the bar staff was warm and friendly.  We were told that we were just in time for last orders before the kitchen closed, well it was almost 9pm. The Clifton do have a menu full of pub classics like sausage and mash, steak and burgers, but they also throw a few curve balls in with their specials occasionally.

Rich ordered a burger topped with pulled pork whilst I was swayed by the fried chicken with slaw and a pickle dip. Fried chicken is a rarity, unless you find yourself in KFC or Miss Millies, but I definitely feel this is starting to change, more places seem to slowly be offering fried chicken as an option. It is a guilty pleasure but when it's done right it is so comforting and homely that it is worth it.

We didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive, which was a good thing as I was extremely hungry, and luckily the portions were pretty generous. The amount of fried chicken I got was huge, I do like fried chicken so this was definitely a good thing.

pulled pork and cheese burger

fried chicken in a basket

They have taken care of the details with the food here, feels like it is a bit more loved. The fried chicken was pretty good, mostly all juicy and the flavour of the batter was nicely seasoned. What was great is that it came with a tangy sauce which matched the fried chicken perfectly. The skin on fries were slightly crunchy basically it was a reassuring hug in a meal, maybe a four day week at work wouldn't be so bad after all with a start like this?

Rich's burger was a high quality meat patty, again juicy, I felt the pulled pork was a touch over slathered with barbecue sauce, but that could just be my personal preference, it did have a great smoky flavour after all. Plus the burger came with a pot of fry sauce that was absolutely moreish, a good addition to any burger. Over all I was pretty impressed with what The Clifton had to offer, it's upped it's game since I last went to eat there, and all to the good because I did feel it was coasting a little before.  They have a rather bargainous fixed price menu with two courses for £10, three for £13 for the whole of Monday to Friday. To see what else The Clifton has to offer check out their website.

The Kensington Arms for Cheese, Wine & Nibbles

In all the four and a half years I have lived in Bristol I have never been to the Kensington Arms, there I said it. Quite the secret I have been keeping locked inside for years, feels good to get it out in the open. The Kenny, as it is often affectionately known, is renowned for it's excellent food and cosy atmosphere. Wuthering Bites had organised us a wine, cheese and general grazing evening and as we were a little early Rich and I decided to check out the wine list.

The Kenny has a wonderful wine list, lots to choose from but our eyes were immediately drawn to the Chilean El Campesino Cabernet Carmenere. Being fairly recent converts and then quickly super fans of Carmenere we always jump on it when we see it on a wine list, and we were not disappointed. It was fruity, rich and slightly spicy an excellent choice and went down far to easily. We shall be tracking this one down to buy a few more bottles of to top up the wine rack.

Rich and I decided to order, a cheese selection, triple cooked chips and home made pork pie and after a glass of wine I was getting decidedly peckish. Talk of Pokemon, cake and cats eased the burden of waiting for our nibbles to appear. I had taken the precaution of ordering 2 bowls of triple cooked chips as one thing most people agree on is how irritating it is when other people pinch their chips.

Up Close and Personal with  Triple Cheese Treat

Home Made Pork Pie...

...now with mustard

Triple Cooked Chips

The home made pork pie was the star of the show for us, meaty, flavoursome jelly and the crunchy pastry you associate with a good pork pie, plus it really looked the business too. The cheese board was a little small for £7.50 I thought but the selections were good particularly the blue, slightly sharp but creamy and it melted in the mouth so delightfully. The only slight disappointment were the chips, though really crunchy and tasty they were really overly salted you can even see huge salt deposits in the above photo. The home made mayonnaise was however a real winner well recommended.

Having had a glimpse of what the Kenny is like I am really looking forward to having a meal in the restaurant part of the pub, the wafts of food coming from that area were divine. Plus it has given me a new favourite wine to enjoy and that can never be a bad thing.

Food Blogger Meet Up: The Bird in Hand

A few weeks ago myself and some fellow bloggers, Bristol Bites, The Awkward Eater and Wuthering Bites were fortunate enough to be invited by the lovely Catherine from Red Cherry to sample the menu at The Bird in Hand pub in Long Ashton. An off shoot of restaurant/pub The Pump House in Hotwells, The Bird in Hand is more like it's casual, rustic cousin.

 

The pub is right on a main road which I was not expecting but you walk in at it's nicely decorated with some old adverts and it definitely feels like a classic country pub. The menu was fairly small with about 5-6 choices to choose from for each course, you can mostly forget the pub food classics this menu was gastro pub dining and then some.

I was tempted by the mussels as a starter but with my main already in sight I decided to go for something a bit lighter so opted for the Bulls Heart Tomato with Goats Curd. Gloriously creamy the goats curd did not disappoint the tomatoes were fragrant and well matched, my main gripe was the herb, which I think was tarragon, it did not match or compliment the dish at all, I found myself picking most of it out. Other than that it was really delicious and I would definitely order it again.

Bulls Heart Tomatoes with Goats Curd

Bristol Bites opted for White Bait

For my main I chose Honey Roast Rare Duck Breast with Stuffing, Potato Cake and Bread Sauce. This was delicious the duck was very pink, just how it should be, and the stuffing ball was particularly good as it seemed to be of the pork and sage type variety. As my mum will tell you I get a bit possessive at Christmas over the stuffing, done well pork, sage and chestnut stuffing is heavenly and which is why I find myself guarding and rationing the leftovers a bit too aggressively. My only tiny criticism is the inclusion of bread sauce, horrible stuff even though Rich and a few other people seem to think it's accompaniment of the gods, does it belong beside duck?

Honey Roast Duck with Potato Cake and Stuffing

Duck is more filling than it looks and I was considering the possibility of pudding. I was eventually swayed by the fact everyone else was eager for a sugar hit and opted for the sticky toffee pudding.Usually a pudding in the top 5 of my favourite puddings, as long as you lump it in with syrup sponge pudding as a tie, it can easily be dry and disappointing. It was not the case here, the sticky toffee pudding was luscious and wonderfully indulgent with a nicely rich toffee sauce. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Eton Mess

Buttermilk & Elderflower Pudding with Summer Fruits

All in all the Bird in Hand does good food but I would argue the prices might be a tiny bit steep for some people and particularly a village pub type place. But the choices are definitely a bit different compared to your usual pub grub so if you find yourself looking for something a bit different check it out. For more information check their website.

The food was complimentary on this visit but I shall not bow to any sponsor, thus as usual, it is all my own views and personal thoughts.

Post Aquarium Snacking at The Clifton Wine Bar

The day after Rich's birthday weekend we had off and the weather was unexpectedly glorious so we thought as it was a Monday it would be an optimum time to go back to the aquarium whilst it was still quiet. How wrong we were. After paying our entrance fee we headed in to see the place teeming with a school trip full of children. Wide eyed with horror at our peaceful fish viewing being ruined we backed out and had a look round the gallery for a bit. With skill and finesse we managed to move round the aquarium avoiding the school trip but only by missing out on the bay of rays demo.

After skipping breakfast and it being the hour of lunch we pondered where to go for a munch. After throwing around a few ideas Rich decided as we had not yet sampled the food in the Clifton Wine Bar, and it was just up the road from our flat, so we headed up the hill.

Being it was a Monday the pub was pretty empty so we browsed the menu and waiting for something to jump out at us. It was a warm day so we didn't feel like a huge meal each. Starring at fish for a couple of hours had rather influenced our choices.  So we went for one main to share, the breaded whole tail scampi, chunky chips with peas, and some of their tapas snacks. £3.25 each, 3 for £8.95 or 6 for £15.95. We basked in the garden sunshine me with my ice cold Crabbies and Rich with the ever reliable Thatcher's Gold and waited for our food.

Breaded Scampi Tail and Chunky chips

Scampi Up Close and Personal

I know as a little girl I used to adore Nik Naks scampi and lemon flavour I used to eat them in the playground at break and they were always my favourite, until some other kids pointed out how bad they smelled and I felt like I would be a social pariah if I continued to eat them so I gave them up from that point. I don't even think they make that flavour any more. Either way I cannot remember whether I have ever even tried real scampi before, I must have and yet I have no recollection of it. So when I bit into a piece I couldn't quite believe where it had been all my life since the crisps in the playground.

The fish was meaty and flavoursome and the crumb was super crispy. It was definitely love at first bite I couldn't quite believe how tasty it was. The chips were very delicious too and the peas were super sweet and fresh tasting, my mouth is just watering at the memory. The tapas dishes we chose were, deep fried brie wedges with cranberry dip, battered calamari with tartar sauce and mini roast potatoes with gravy dip, it is funny how looking at fish can make you want to eat fish.

Trio of nibbles

Brie Wedges with Cranberry Dip

Battered Calamari Rings with Tartar Sauce

Roast Potatoes with Gravy Dip

First off having roast potatoes with gravy on the menu is a genius idea. Roast potatoes, when done properly, are on par with the meat as my favourite part of a roast. This was amazing the roasties were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and the gravy was thick and flavoursome. Also perfect when you are nursing a delicate head the morning after. Batter is way too heavy for calamari, tempura being the exception. The flavour of the calamari was completely obscured by the coating which was a shame but we found the totally delicious scampi more than appropriate consolation. 

Cooked brie or Camembert is one of my favourite starters, in fact I often bake a Camembert for tapas nights to dip carrots or bread in. We recently had the baked brie at The Bristol Flyer to soak up some wine we'd been having at a friend's birthday drinks, I don't know whether it was the drink talking but it was wonderful. Anyway I digress, the baked brie wedges here were also very nice, cranberry and redcurrant make such a good accompaniments for brie and it's other similar cheese relatives it really cuts through the richness.

All in all I was really surprised by the food at Clifton Wine Bar it was delicious and well cooked, definitely worth a look in, although plan your visit carefully if you aren't a sport fan as they do advertise the sports they show fairly heavily outside. If you are a sport's fan you probably already know and love to hang here. Check out the menu on their website.  

A Quick Lunch at Channings

Channings pub/hotel is 2 minutes from our flat so quite often on a Saturday we will pop in there for a spot of lunch. We have a few favourites which we stick, these reside in the sandwich section of the menu. This time we went for club sandwich stack and chips and the fish finger sandwich also with chips.

Rich and I would argue that they do the best fish finger sandwich we've tasted so far. They have a piece of battered fillet with salad and a bit of mayonnaise. It really is delicious. Apologies in advance for the less than amazing photos on this post, Channings can be a bit dark round the back, which is no bad thing for a pub really.

Fish Finger Sandwich of Kings

Fish Finger Sandwich of Kings

Club Sandwich Stack

Their steak melt is particularly good but I was in the mood for the ultimate fish finger sandwich this time. Their chips are also worth mentioning really fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside, like proper good quality chip shop style. They have a couple of mid week food deals, where you can get a meal from the grill and a glass of wine for under £10, also a curry night on Thursdays.

What I like about Channings is that it is a good standard pub. Big enough space for a catch up with a few friends, home cooked tasty pub food and everyone there seems to be having a good time. This lunch time we saw some lovely old boys watching Trooping the Colour on their big screen, clearly regulars and it was obviously their peaceful haven to relax in.   Although Rich and I did struggle to imagine any other pubs in Bristol screening the parade, it was definitely novel.

It helps that Channings is so close to where we live but it's a good solid pub for friendly meet ups plus their beer garden is pretty large, it is always buzzing in the sunshine. By no means my favourite pub in Bristol but definitely one of the most consistent.

Sunday Snacking at The Brass Pig

I returned from a visit home in Bath, where I had tea with my mum and frolicked with the 4 cats. Here is Bobo playing around the sofa.

Rich and I were due to watch some jazz with some friends at The Brass Pig, which has free jazz gigs every Sunday, early evening. So being we didn't have time to make dinner before going out we decided to sample some of the food at The Brass Pig. The pub was empty when we arrived but the band, The Andy Hague Quintet, had already started setting up.

The menu is a bit more gastro pub with options such as Grilled Pork Loin, spring greens with cranberries, sautéed potatoes & cider gravy and Pan -fried Duck Breast served on a fresh bed of Asian noodles. But they also have a small pizza menu and some light bites. Rich and I decided to share the 'Meatzza' which had chicken, pepperoni, ground beef and chilli on it. We also ordered a side bowl of cheesy chips and bacon strips. Obviously this was not the healthy option but we both craved salt and something quick and easy.

The 'Meatzza'

Cheesy Chips with Strips

The Brass Pig is a bit of an odd venue, in what was previously home to a La Tasca, it's too big to have the pub atmosphere yet too casual to be a real restaurant. I can't help but feel it hasn't quite figured out what sort of venue it should be. Food arrived promptly enough the pizza was very generously topped the pepperoni especially was really thick and tasty. The pizza itself was way too doughy for my personal tastes, I like a really thin base but for those of the doughier persuasion then this is a good solid effort on the pizza front. It wasn't ground breaking but it was nice.

The chips were nice but something was not quite right about them. They were half way between wedges and chips but almost as if they had only been blanched rather than fried properly because they were rather anaemic in colour. The Brass Pig did a good job of pit stop refuelling food, I would be interested to go back to try some of the main menu to see if it is on par with the pizzas. If you enjoy live jazz definitely check out  The Brass Pig on Sundays because the acoustics in there are actually pretty good and you'll always get a good view in a relaxed setting. The Andy Hague Quintet were excellent chilled Sunday jazz, so definitely check them out. For more info on The Brass Pig visit their website

The Royal Inn, Portishead

On Saturday we woke late and were mulling over the idea of a picnic on Clifton green but then the phone rang and Jamie said that she and Boz were going to drive to Portishead to walk around for the day and grab some pub food, we were in.

It was lovely to actually feel warm outside, Winter has seemed very long this year and to finally be able to leave the house without a coat was hugely refreshing. We walked around enjoying the sea views until we reached a pub. The pub was The Royal Inn and there were many tables and chairs outside looking over the sea.

We stopped for a spot of lunch, being it was the first warm day of the year it was fairly busy with families. We picked up a menu to see if there was anything we fancied. The menu was mostly pub grub fare with fish and chips, burger and sandwiches but with occasional smatterings of something lesser spotted on pub menus, like Coq au Vin.

Jamie decided to plump for the aforementioned au vin whilst Boz went for the pork burger which was on the specials board. Rich and I went for their ciabatta sandwiches. I chose the chicken with salad, sunblushed tomatoes and basil mayo whilst Rich picked the BLT which topped by mustard mayo rather than the usual mayonnaise, both came with salad and chips.

When we went to order the staff were wonderfully friendly and it did almost feel like we were on holiday somewhere instead of just 20mins down the road in Portishead. I am happy to report when the food arrived it far exceeded our expectations. This was good simple meals made well, which some pubs don't always get right.

Coq au Vin

Pork Burger in Seeded Ciabatta

 The Coq au Vin was extremely well flavoured, and we were all impressed when we had a sample of Jamie's meal it was a real surprise and the chicken melted in the mouth with all the tomato and winey juices, plus it was a very generous portion. The only downside was that the mash seemed quite dry. The pork burger was remarked as fresh and tasty but oddly came with a pot of tsatziki, normally perfect with lamb, which did not really go with pork, Boz said he would have preferred a sweet apple chutney or something similar.

Close up of the burger

Finally our sandwiches, which we chose partially because we didn't want a big lunch, because the lovely Jayne was cooking us dinner in the evening, which was almost more delicious than I can describe, and also because I actually have a bit of a crush on a well crafted sandwich.

Chicken and Sun Blushed Tomato Salad with Basil Mayo

BLT with Mustard Mayonnaise

These were some of the best sandwiches I've had in a while, and I have been crowned sandwich crafting queen in my family. The ciabatta was crunchy but flavoursome but for me the basil mayonnaise was the crowning glory working beautifully with the chicken, sun blushed tomatoes, of which I am already quite the fan, and salad. The bacon in Rich's BLT was thick and high quality and perfect with the mustard mayo. The chips were as you would want them to be, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, well recommended.

We all declared that on a sunny day we would gladly return to The Royal Inn to enjoy the warm sea breezes and home cooked food. Definitely go there if you find yourself wandering around Portishead pier and sea front the food is extremely pleasing. To view their menus go to their website the evening menu also looks superb.