Birch

If there was an award for the highest proportion of glowing reviews in the shortest period of time, I think Birch restaurant in Southville would probably take home the prize. In the few short weeks since they have opened, I have seen countless reviews highlighting just what a star of a place it is. Bristol folk are lining up to get a piece of the action.

So in order to break with tradition, I am going to start my review with the things I didn't like about Birch. The negatives of my meal and the little niggling annoyances I haven’t been able to let go. So here goes…

On the day I went, my birthday in fact, it was raining. Like end of days raining. And my hair got wet, and lost some of its oomph.

Okay, now that’s the negatives dealt with. Let’s talk about the rest...

The Glassboat

How do you feel about restaurants on boats? I've thought about this a lot recently (I know, get a life). I used to associate them with slightly weird cafés and dodgy seafood. Admittedly I think this must stem from the ropey one in my home town. But I really haven’t had a great experience thus far.

Thankfully Bristol is awash (haha) with boat restaurants, none of them ropey. And I had the pleasure of visiting Glassboat a couple of weeks ago with my family. I can report it was neither slightly weird nor dodgy. 

In fact, it pretty much smashed it out of the park. Or harbour. Marina? Oh, you get my drift.

The Gallimaufry

The Gallimaufry (or ‘Galli’) was the first place I ate in when I moved to Bristol. In that time I have eaten there on numerous occasions. Some good, some brilliant, some just missed the mark. But all in all, it’s a place which can be relied upon to serve up some decent food with an equally decent price tag.

Local producers are proudly displayed in this bar come restaurant on Gloucester Road. After opening in 2012 they were quickly named Best Newcomer at the Bristol Good Food Awards in the same year, and have upheld a loyal following ever since. The Galli serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner, in a trendy environment displaying ever changing local art and plenty of live music events to enjoy whilst drinking or dining. 

Bill's Bill's Bill's The Triangle, Bristol

I’m not usually a big fan of a chain restaurant. I think a lot of it has to do with the huge mix of dishes on the menu...if I see the words ‘Cajun’ next to spaghetti carbonara I get a bit edgy. So with that in mind, I was a little wary when I first visited Bill’s new restaurant on the Triangle.

It was my first experience of a Bill’s, as I’m reasonably northern and most of their restaurants are in the south, including fifteen just in London. The Bristol branch opened last year and hearing good things, including the buzzwords “good value”, I thought it best to try it out myself.

And it can’t have been bad...because I've been back four times since.

Colour and Cuisine Da Boes & Motley Collective

A few weeks ago I attended an event hosted by Falmouth-based culinary events company Da Boes, in collaboration with “creative folk” Motley Collective. Having no prior knowledge of either company I was a little nervous about what to expect. A little light Facebooking uncovered that Motley Collective aim to create “visually appealing portraits using paint and props”. Bearing in mind the event was entitled ‘Colour and Cuisine’ this was my first clue that I could be in for an interesting evening. It turned out that the goal of the event was to use food to make as much mess as possible. 

Challenge accepted. 

Crème de la crème Bell's Diner & Bar Rooms

Thirteen years ago, my brother, sister and I cooked a meal for my parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary. Looking back, there are large parts of that evening that escape my memory. I do remember a hugely disappointing main course of home-made meatballs, and I remember painstakingly crafting invitations (for a meal in their own house - genius).  However, there is one memory which has burnt brightly for all this time. And that is of the crème brûlée.

My mum is not a big pudding fan. Unlike me, she can quite happily feel that her meal is complete without a dessert (she is partial to a peanut M & M however). There are few exceptions to this rule but crème brûlée is the most notable. Now, I would forgive you for thinking that this means my mum would be likely to order a crème brûlée whenever it’s on a menu. The truth is far from that. All those years ago on her anniversary, we treated my mum to a crème brûlée made by my brother’s friend – otherwise known in my mother’s eyes, as the chef who made the perfect crème brûlée. After that, there have been years of failed attempts – those with sugar that didn’t produce a true crack, those with custard that was too thick, custard that was too thin and, the very worst offenders – those with fruit in the bottom. None have come close.