Papadeli, Bristol

Hidden in the Royal West of England Academy

Papadeli Cafe

Royal West of England Academy

Queens Road, Clifton

Bristol

(Main branch: 84 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol)

The Lansdown, Bristol

Part of the Bristol Sunday Roasts Series!

The Lansdown

8 Clifton Road,

Bristol

BS8 1AF

Tel: 0117 973 4949

Cafe Amore

Brownie Cheesecake

£2.40

Cafe Amore
14 Nelson Street, City Centre
Bristol
BS1 2LE
Tel: 0779 976 8159

Under the Stars

Tapas bar in Bristol!

Under the Stars

Narrow Quay, Harbourside

Bristol

Tel: 0117 929 8392

Top cafes in Bristol - Primrose Cafe - awesome breakfasts / brunch in Bristol

Primrose cafe needs no introduction to local bristolians. Tucked in the corner of Clifton village, this has long been labelled one of the best cafes in Bristol, and as I found out last Sunday, rightly so!

Gingerbread Latte £2.60

Bubble and Squeak with poached eggs £5.50

Smoked Chicken, Bacon Avocado Sandwich £5.50

Selection of British-styled cakes

Sunday Roasts in Bristol - hidden find

So glad to have found this inconspicuous little pub hidden at the top corner off Whiteladies Road (3 York Street). Don't be fooled by its modest, no-frills look, what awaits thee is some very comforting British classics.

Sunday Roast (Large) - £7.95 

Regular available at £6.95 

(The large proved a little too much for the ladies)

Sure, prices may seem steep for pub grub - but pub grub this place serves not. The Yorkshire pudding was perfectly done, crisp on the edge and moist in the centre. Roast potatoes, as evident in the picture, was roasted with a crispy outer layer and soft and fluffy on the inside. And the roast topside of beef was well done, tender, and a great accompaniment to the Yorkshire pudding. The gravy could have done better with a little bit more flavour, but this was a no biggie when each component of the roast did well on its own.

Cauliflower cheese was served with this roast - a real bonus for me - and it was here the star of the vegetables. In my search for Sunday roasts in the UK, I have very often found cauliflower cheese available only as a side dish at additional cost to the Sunday roast, rather than served with it itself. Cauliflower cheese provides a creamy savoury dimension to any roast dinner - so pray, tell, why remove it from the meal!

The pub was more food-centred than anything else, with placemats and utensils laid out on tables and a proper menu of burgers, chips, salads and your traditional British classics. 

The flow of business was brisk, and I noted that a few tables were reserved.

It definitely looked like this place is well-known amongst the Clifton community, and has been a well-kept secret to the rest of Bristol.

Not for long now!

Port of Call

3 York Street, 

Clifton, Bristol

BS8 2YE

Sunday Roasts in Bristol

I'm on a quest to try as many Sunday Roasts in Bristol as I can in my time here. Roast dinners (used generally to refer to both lunch and dinner, as it is here) are typically British, consisting of a roast meat (beef/chicken/pork), roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, sides of vegetables and gravy to top it off. When done well, it can be very satisfying and is a real treat to look forward to in the week!

I've had a few thus far - one at StartTheBus pub, Chin! Chin! restaurant and most recently, at The Square Club at Berkeley Hotel.

On their website, the Square Club claims to be a 2AA Rosette restaurant, and since they were having a "buy one get one half price" offer on their Sunday Roasts, I thought why not!

Sadly, what should have been the star of the dish fell far below expectations.

The duck fat roasted potatoes were nicely done, crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. The vegetable sides were buttered and decent. The Yorkshire pudding was fragrant and crisp on the edges where it should be and nice and soft in the centre.

But.

The roast beef was just tough beyond words. This was despite it being still pink (more like red) in the centre, and one would have expected that for it to be served in such a medium rare condition, it had better been tender like anything.

But it was not.

Perhaps the roast wasn't slow-cooked enough resulting in failure to achieve that soft, pulled-meat texture that the topside of beef is well capable of.

That aside though, the roast was decent, and at a price like that for a 2AA Rosette experience, it's worth a try. I noted that they have a £5 lunch deal for weekday lunches - shall give it a go soon, and hopefully it does the restaurant more justice.

Sunday Roast (12-4pm) 

£9.95 

(VAT inclusive, service charge exclusive)

The Square Kitchen

15 Berkeley Square

Clifton, Bristol

BS8 1HB

Tel: 0117 921 0455

Friday Night Pub Dining

And so it was Friday night, where f&b outlets everywhere would be swarming with people; but hey we are in England afterall where Friday nights is the time of the week which people look forward to to unwind and chill out, coupled with the fact that for my mates and I, this Friday in particular called for a celebration to the end of a crazy, work-filled week, so where better than to head to a pub on the Bristol harbourside? No.1 Harbourside it is.

Cream of Cauliflower

 This pub prides itself on serving their home-made soup of the day with any order of food. Cream of cauliflower was served, but pity effort was evidently lacking in terms of presentation. The taste was good, albeit a bit diluted, but the pub would have scored brownie points if we weren't made to feel that "it's free so don't expect too much".

Slow braised Wye Valley duck leg in orange and red wine jus (£10) 

served with vegetable pastry, buttered kale and chestnut mushroom puree

The orange and red wine jus flavoured the duck with a wonderful tangy sweet taste. A longer stewing time would perhaps do it more good, as the duck meat didn't quite come off the bone as easily as I would have liked. The buttered kale (under the duck) was nicely done, cooked fragrant and still left with a crunch in it. Chestnut mushroom puree was interesting, but subtle in flavours, and the pesto that it was served with had an aftertaste akin to raw garlic that didn't go so well with my mates.

Herb encrusted Pork Tenderloin (£9), 

served with the same sides as abovementioned

 The pork tenderloin was tender... but unfortunately, slightly on the chewy side as well. 

What I enjoyed about the meal here was the side of vegetable pastry that all the mains came with. I found it a good replacement to the usual sides of chips or mash; guilt-free and helpful to those looking for a meal where you won't be made full just based on the carbs alone. The root vegetables under the pastry were stewed with their natural sweetness still intact, providing a satisfying end to the meal!

Overall, a hearty meal that worked well as comfort food for the wearied soul! (not to mention good value pre-theatre meal too!)

No.1 Harbourside
No.1 Canons Road,
Bristol,
BS1 5UH

Happy 2012! Starting the first post of the year from ground Zero... Degrees

I have been to ZeroDegrees 3 times in 3 months.

Each time, I never fail to order a kilo pot of mussels.

Yes, the mussels there are that good.

Mussels Thermidore 

- cooked in brandy, wine, cheddar cheese, cream, mustard and parsley.

The mussels were good-sized (not like the tiny ones I had at the Belgo chain in London), and they were cooked so perfectly that one's teeth sinks in on first bite. Nothing of the chewy rubber nonsense one gets when the mussels are overcooked.

I've tried mussels done 4 ways here - Creole, Marinere and Thai Green Curry in addition to the above-mentioned Thermidore. Of all of them, Marinere stands out best in terms of taste - imagine mussels bursting in juices of butter and cream flavours in your mouth. Thermidore comes in a close second and is a must-try if you adore cheese like I do. Give it a good mix while it's hot and you'll get a sticky, cheesy mess but delicious nonetheless and that's all that really matters. Tip: ask for a spoon and dig deep to get some of those gravy at the bottom of the pot because that's where the good stuff is! Rich and flavourful - not good for the cholesterol but well worth it!

Besides mussels, and interesting beers that are brewed on the premises itself, ZeroDegrees does a wide range of pizzas and some pastas. Their cuisine seems to have international influences, with flavours like Thai Green Curry, Peking Duck and Teriyaki Chicken appearing a few times on the menu.


I've tried several of their pizzas, and Teriyaki Chicken, Peri Peri Chicken and Peking Duck Pizza stand out.

Salmon and Mascarpone Pizza

The Salmon and Mascarpone pizza is also quite a good match of ingredients. I chose to try this mainly because I love cheese (oh dear, second time I'm mentioning this in the same post) and I thought mascarpone cheese as a base instead of the usual tomato and mozarella sauce base on the pizza sounded interesting! I would have appreciated a few more slices of smoked salmon on the pizza here though.

 Seafood Pizza

The seafood pizza was quite average; much lacking in wow factor.

The pizza crust here is bread-like, but about a third the thickness of what you get from your standard pizza chains.

I've never tried the pastas, but stomach-space constraints aside, my disinterest may also be due to the poor and unappealing presentation of the Porcini and Mexican Sausage Pasta my food companion ordered.

All in all though, ZeroDegrees proves to be a rare find in Bristol for good mussels. I daresay they serve mussels better than the ones I had in Melbourne (which were already quite good in their own right).

ZERODEGREES Bristol

53 Colston Street
Bristol BS1 5PB

Happy New Year everyone! 

May 2012 be a year of great experiences, good company and much joy for all!

xoxo

Goldbrick House Cafe, Bristol UK

There are people who would fancy a lie-in over everything else in the morning, but I, personally, would get up early for a good breakfast. Why not? It's like a reassuring pat on the shoulder; makes you feel like whatever has gone badly in the days before are all past now and nothing will stand in the way to having a fruitful rest of the day!

Breakfast from Goldbricks Cafe in Bristol, UK.

Eggs Royale 

- eggs benedict's with smoked salmon atop an English muffin with creamy buttery hollandaise sauce

X 

twice the goodness

Full English Fry-up (aka Full English Breakfast)

- the standard (buttered toast, sunny-side up, sausage, black pudding, baked beans, chestnut mushrooms, potatoes and bacon)

I had my first go at black pudding here. I wouldn't rule it out completely in the future, but I'm sure to avoid it as much as I can. It's an acquired taste. The coagulated blood in the sausage is kind of a dry-sticky texture and I found it too rich to have it on its own - I had to have a tiny bit of it with the tastier bits of the fry up each time. I finished it anyway, and it's worth a try - just to say that you've been to England and eaten black pudding in the full fry-up!

As for the quality of the breakfast here? The Eggs Royale was fairly good, but I felt that the fry-up could have done much better. Something about it was lacking - could have been that the buttered toast was not quite the traditional fried toast I was expecting, or that the sausage was rather small or that some of the mushrooms were slightly undercooked; but otherwise, it's still a good effort (considering the mushrooms were chestnut ones and there were herbed potatoes which are usually absent in your standard fry-ups)!

AND (to reward those who have read to the end of this post), how can it not be worth a try when they have an excellent half-priced breakfast deal from Monday to Fridays, 9-11am?

The Eggs Royale worked out to be about 3GBP and the Full English for about 4GBP after discount.

Sure is reason enough to wake up early isn't it? :)

Goldbrick House Cafe
69 Park Street, West end,
Bristol BS1 5PB

Shanghai Nights, Rupert St., Bristol, UK

Roasted Pork Belly

Braised Lobster with Ginger and Spring Onion

Custard Bun

Roasted Duck

Shredded Duck Spring Roll

Siew Mai

minced pork with prawn and scallop wrapped in yellow dumpling skin

Honey Roasted Pork Ribs

Chee Cheong Fun (You Tiao)

Glutinous Rice Rolls with Deep Fried Dough Fritter (You Tiao)

Pi Pa Tofu

A kind of beancurd but mixed with fish paste

Deep Fried Wanton

3 Types of Mushrooms with Bak Choi in XO Sauce

Prawn and Mango Spring Roll

Char Siew Bun

Steamed buns filled with roasted pork in honey bbq sauce

Oriental Carrot Cake

grated radish and turnips mixed with flour to form a paste, and then pan-fried

Banana wrapped with Shredded Filo Pastry Dough, Deep Fried,

served with Vanilla Ice Cream