Cherry Duck Bistro, Welsh Back

Cherry Duck Bistro
3 Queen Quay, Welshback, Bristol, BS1 4SL
http://www.cherryduckbistro.co.uk/

A year ago, Derren Brown released details of his "Infamous" tour for which I immediately snapped up front row tickets. So, when the date came around to actually watch the show we wanted to make a night of it!

Cherry Duck Bistro on Welshback seemed a perfect fit. Open at a time which would fit in for a pre-show dinner, within walking distance to the Hippodrome and with a very enticing menu.

I was able to easily book a table over email which is a real perk in today's online world. I often have trouble booking things over the phone as you need to catch staff  in a non-busy time of service. We booked the table for 6pm thinking 1.5 hours would be plenty of time to sample the seasonal menu. I had to look up on the website where the place actually was as I couldn't picture the restaurant at all. I found out it was slightly off the beaten track just behind Queen's Square.

We arrived at the restaurant slightly early as we were conscious of time and were surprised to be the only ones in there. We were given a waterside table at the back of the restaurant. The place was bright, airy with the glass sides giving a modern feel. We could see that this place must be popular with surrounding businesses for lunches and we agreed it would be a lovely spot for lunch in the summer.

We looked at the menu and chose wood pigeon and squid & chorizo for starters and a half bottle of malbec to share along with a oddly named Scottish beer for husband who was taken in by the unpronounceable name.

The food arrived quickly as you would hope being the only guests and was wonderfully presented. The bright red of the peppers and white of the squid contracted nicely on a grey slate. We shared both dishes and the squid was the better of the two dishes with an amazingly punchy chorizo stealing the show.

For mains we had opted for the Frampton on Severn Beef which was 40 day aged fillet of beef, oxtail croquette, calves liver, jerusalem artichokes, chantenay carrots, horseradish jelly, watercress, beef jus and the Ragstone soufflé which was a Goat's cheese soufflé, baby beetroot, cocotte potatoes, beetroot puree and red onion jelly.

Now, I like a vegetarian dish and often pick them over meat dishes if they sound creative and tasty. This time however I picked the vegetarian dish as I simply didn't fancy any of the other dishes. Whilst I was spoilt for choice on starter and dessert I really struggled with choosing a main.

Again, the dishes were delivered quickly and the beef looked stunning. The soufflé however, was a little disappointing. It was small and saggy and just looked uninspiring and a little sad. I expected a larger soufflé given the £16 price tag. Taste wise the beef was superb and husband really enjoyed it. The soufflé was quite bland and didn't improve when put together with the beetroot and cocotte potatoes as the beetroot, although mild overpowered the goats cheese. We had ordered sides of creamed spinach and garlic & herb roasted new potatoes and the addition of these to the plate helped bring out some of the flavour as well as inject some punch. The creamed spinach really helped the soufflé take a bigger role on the plate by bringing out the creaminess, I would recommend any vegetarians to add this if they have the soufflé. 

I hope Cherry Duck Bistro improve their vegetarian offering on their next seasonal menu, perhaps taking some tips from somewhere like the Maitreya social for tasty vegetarian dishes.

Thankfully, Cherry Duck redeemed itself on the desserts. We picked the lemon meringue pie and the rhubarb and custard and both were outstanding. I wish I had ordered more starters and desserts and skipped the main. The lemon meringue was fantastic. The tartness of the lemon sorbet against the creaminess of the lemon curd and pastry contrasted by the chewiness provided by the meringue, marshmallow and candied lemon was a delight. The rhubarb was equally magical, the crunch of the brandy snap, the silkiness of the crème patisserie and the sweetness of the rhubarb was yummy. If you eat at Cherry Duck, you must leave room for pudding!

Coffee rounded off our lovely meal at Cherry Duck and we had plenty of time to stroll across Queen's Square to the Hippodrome. The staff were attentive and service was swift. I did feel the price for main courses was a little steep and I really feel that for a Saturday night pre-theatre dinner the place should have been packed. Perhaps a pre-theatre set menu might help that, and I would certainly be back with guests if that was offered.

Overall we had a great night, a lovely dinner in an attractive setting with great service followed by a mesmerizingly jaw dropping show.

Akash, Filton Avenue

Akash
522 Filton Ave, Bristol BS7 0QE
no website, but you can find their menu on http://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-akash-bristol/menu

We had such a #gastrobragging time planned over the weekend but we were foiled on Saturday with both our sets of plans.


Our first plan to visit Bakers & Co for brunch was foiled by this chap demanding to come with us on our bimble down Gloucester Road. This meant a change of plans to visit our favourite doggy friendly Boston Tea Party on the corner of Nevil Road instead of trying out the much hyped San Francisco inspired brunch joint. We will make it there one day!

Our second change of plans came in the form of Bristol Bootlegger postponing their opening until Thursday 17th April. So we were left looking for an alternative Saturday night plan. We had spent the day in the garden so we were looking for something low key. We decided to visit our favourite local curry house as we hadn't been in a while as we've been so busy trying out new places.

Akash does most of its trade through takeaway and I think that's normal for the area we live. It's a shame it's not more busy in the restaurant as the food really is great. I've done a few birthdays and work do's at Akash and each time it's been exceptional. They have opened specially for us at lunchtimes for work events and also early evening for birthdays (to suit small people eating times) and have been fantastic catering for us. They are happy to work with you to make it a successful event; happy to take orders/deposits in advance if required. I would highly recommend them for any event you have especially as they are walking distance from places such as the MoD, Airbus, HP and UWE.

As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted like old friends and were immediately asked where our furry four legged pooch was. He normally comes with us when we visit and sits quietly under the table snagging cucumber slices. We sat at our usual table and beers were delivered promptly along with some poppodums. We sat looking at the menu and although we eat there regularly we can never decide what to have as it's all so yummy.

In the end I decided on some old favourites; prawn puri to start. I sometimes ask for this as a main as it is so nice. Freshly cooked puri filled with a delicious medium spiced prawn curry. It's a meal in itself and a great option for a main course as you don't need any extras.

For main I decided to have a mixed vegetable bhaji with a starter portion of chicken tikka and a stuffed paratha to share with the table. I love the vegetable bhaji here, it's got a great spicy kick which you don't normally find in other places. I also had a small taster of the other mains on the table; a spiced up lamb passanda and a chicken tikka jalfrezi.

The lamb passanda was a hit after trying a similar experiment at another local curry house and being given a far too hot dish and the chicken tikka jalfrezi was a surprise as we were expecting a dry dish. This was quite a hot gravy with plenty of spice from the chilli and sour from the lemons.

Other dishes we highly recommend are the lamb rogan josh, chicken ceylon, chicken dupiaza and the lamb sagwala.

We managed to eat nearly all the food and the small bit leftover was bagged up for us to take home with a few poppodums thrown in for free. We were also treated to a free ice cream to finish off our highly enjoyable meal.

Akash is great value for money, they do a few different meal deals. The £10 deal is very good value; 2 poppodums, main, rice and bread. There is also a £15 deal (2 poppodums, starter, main, side, rice and bread), a couple of set menus and a new thali deal for week days. If you around North Bristol and hankering for a curry then I suggest you check out Akash.

Greenbank Easton, Bellevue Road

Greenbank Easton
57 Bellevue Road, Bristol, BS5 6DP
https://twitter.com/GreenbankEaston

The Greenbank Easton has recently been saved from demolition by the Zuzu Kitchen team and has been refurbished and re-opened to the delight of local Easton residents. We travelled down by train on Friday to meet up with friends and we were really impressed with what we found. A warm, inviting bar, beautifully decorated with subtle nods to the "green"bank area. Estrella and Orchard Pig Reveller on tap held memories of summer holidays and autumn weddings and the amazing aroma of freshly cooked pizza had us salivating.


The main problem we had was actually finding a seat. The bar is situated in the centre of the open plan bar with tables placed around the outside of the building. This means plenty of standing space but not much scope for adding another ring of tables or putting your drinks down whilst you stand. We ended up on what I can only assume by the amount of colouring pencils, is the kiddies table by the kitchen exit perched on some stools whilst we waited for a table to open up.

The smell of the pizza eventually got too much for husband and he decided he'd split a pizza with one of our friends. They ordered a pepperoni, ground beef and jalapeno pizza, very reasonably priced at £8. It arrived very promptly and from the bite I had, was delicious. The menu also lists half sized pizzas from £3 suitable for children or small appetites. Very clever! Everything on the menu looks lovely with the egg, taglio cheese and truffle oil pizza catching my eye.

The vibe at Greenbank Easton is very relaxed, the ambience is great with candlelight lit tables. I could actually hear the other people in our party speak over the low level buzz. This bar looks like it's going to be a real asset to the community of Greenbank. We had a great time here and will be back for sure!

Yume Kitchen, Cotham Hill

Yume Kitchen
9 Cotham Hill,  Bristol,  BS6 6LD
http://yumekitchen.co.uk


I have seen Yume Kitchen pop up all over my news feed recently and with a hankering for katsu curry, I decided to check it out.

Booking was easy, a quick email to the team which was answered politely and quickly. Getting there was also easy with the Wessex Red bus service dropping us off at the top of Cotham Hill.
Our reserved table was right next to the front counter with a direct view into the kitchen through the serving hatch, just the right seat to see everything going on. The restaurant has a relaxed café/bistro feel with a number of tables at street level and then some extras downstairs. We arrived at 8pm and there was a steady stream of custom throughout our time there. It was a bit of a mix between table service, counter service, eat-in or takeaway. We were completed boxed in at our table so had to assume table service would be forthcoming which it was!

We had decided to try and share a variety of dishes that took our fancy so we selected the chicken katsu curry, chicken teriyaki, beef yakisoba, potato korokke and chicken gyoza. I also warned the staff of my mushroom intolerance and they were great, suggesting an alternative "side" for the chicken teriyaki as the stir-fry veg it normally comes with included mushrooms. We didn't order anything from the sushi and sashimi menu as we didn't fancy it, but seeing the wonderful plates coming out of the kitchen I might be tempted on a return visit.

Our food arrived hot and fresh out of the kitchen in the order it was prepared so everything was piping hot. The chicken teriyaki came with a seaweed salad instead of the stirfry vegetables and all the dishes were delicious, our favourites were the katsu curry, the gyoza and the korokke with the latter two being so steaming hot we needed to wait before attempting to eat!

We were sat in a prime seat to watch the kitchen and the front of house. There were frequent confusions over orders; which I think comes with being so busy, but each time I could see it was sorted swiftly and without fuss. There was a table which complained about a wait time of 45 minutes which was hard to understand with how swift the service was but the staff jumped straight in and jiggled a few orders around to make it work!

Overall, we had a great time. The service we received was good, the food excellent and the bill reasonable for how stuffed we left. I can really only compare to places like Yo! Sushi which rely on conveyor belt gimmicks but over-priced for the small portions. You pay more a plate at Yume Kitchen but for double the food.

I would be happy to visit Yume Kitchen again and seeing as they are open from 12noon until late it would be a perfect stop for early dinner or lunch whilst out and about. We will be back!