Bravas, Cotham Hill

Bravas
7 Cotham Hill, Bristol, BS6 6LD
http://www.bravas.co.uk/

I had wanted to visit Stonehenge for the Solstice, but as we're off to Glastonbury on Wednesday we decided we'd get the Solstice experience there so we decided to stay in Bristol and go out and sample some places we had wanted to visit for a while, return to some favorites and also check out some new openings.

First stop was the re-branded Flipside Cocktail Club which was previously Papaji's for a cheeky pre-meal cocktail. Flipside is a little shabby around the edges with dog-eared drinks menus and gentleman club style décor in need of some TLC, but a very tasty Disaronno cherry kiss put me in the mood for some grub.

Bravas was packed when we arrived, so booking is essential for busy periods. We were shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. I must confess, normally this is my kind of table as it allows me optimum people watching, but for some reason the bustle of Bravas left me wanting one of the bar stools or tall tables to really feel like we were in the thick of it.

We looked at the menu and decided on a strategy of ordering three plates at a time whilst we contemplated the next selection to order. We also decided on the 2012 Gran Cerdo to accompany our food choices.

We ended up with three rounds of plates; 10 in total which matches the recommendation of 5 plates each.

• Stuffed piquillo peppers
• Fried duck egg with Chorizo
• Goats cheese and spinach croquette
• New potato, asparagus & soft boiled egg salad
• Cod Frito
• Chorizo cooked in cider
• Presa a la plancha - Grilled Iberico pork
• Tortilla & alioli
• Braised Ox cheek
• Fried aubergine & molasses

It was interesting catching snippets of conversation from other tables and we ended up with some recommendations of plates to order. The stand out dishes were the duck egg with chorizo, the freshness of cod frito, the spicy chorizo cooked in cider and the amazing Presa a la plancha. The pork was stunning. It was melt in the mouth soft with a beautiful flavour. Like the best filet steak but lighter. It was a total showcase for how good pork could be. We were also bowled over by the simple but scrummy fried aubergine & molasses which we only ordered after overhearing another table rave about it. We were totally stuffed at the end of this, but still had a little room for coffee and salted chocolate truffles.

We were there for around two hours and never felt rushed. The service was fantastic, it was an excellent example of how good service should look and feel. Our waitress was chatty without being intrusive, attentive without loitering and nothing was too much trouble as she juggled multiple requests with ease . She is a real asset to the establishment and made our time at Bravas all the more memorable.

We were also pleasantly surprised at the bill, coming in under £80 including the bottle of wine which for the amount of food we stuffed ourselves with, the outstanding service and buzzy atmosphere was a bargain. I can't wait to visit again!

We finished the night paying a visit to one of my new favourites; Charlie's Bar next to Clifton Down Shopping Centre which we discovered through the wriggle app (if you don't have the wriggle app yet, download it from the play store as soon as you can!) and the newly rebranded Christmas Steps. 

Cosy Club, Corn Street, Bristol and Southgate Place, Bath

The Cosy Club
31 Corn Street, Old City, Bristol, BS1 1HT
http://www.cosyclub.co.uk/Bristol

The Cosy Club
Unit R4, SouthGate Place, Bath, BA1 1AP
http://www.cosyclub.co.uk/bath

By sheer luck, I have visited the brand spanking new branch of The Cosy Club in Bristol a mere two weeks after visiting the Bath branch so I felt compelled to write a review of both establishments entitled: "Same, Same but Different".

My visit to the Bath branch came one particularly hungover morning with my best shopping companion; my niece. We were both feeling like brunch and although had planned to travel up town to Jika Jika, the sheer closeness of The Cosy Club to the train station made it a clear winner. It's a hidden away little gem in the middle of the new Southgate shopping complex. You could quite easily walk past the door and not even know it was there.

We arrived and asked for a table, asking specifically to sit outside as we could see two free tables. We were declined a table outside and when questioned were told they were for drinkers only and we'd have to sit inside. On further questioning it became apparent that the tables were not just for drinkers, they were just not table serviced tables and to order you would have to go to the bar. What a crazy concept! We, of course, had no problem walking 20 yards to a deserted bar to order and it was much quicker to do this than actually wait for the table service!

I ordered our brunch at the bar - a large pot of Assam tea (anywhere that sells Assam tea gets a massive thumbs up from me - no other tea will do), a pancakes and bacon and a ham hock hash.

I had eyed up the ham hock hash on the menu on the train coming over to Bath; it stood out on an otherwise generic brunch  menu, and anything which comes with "breakfast" gravy is a must-try.

The drinks arrived swiftly with an apology of no large tea-pots so that had provided two standard pots instead. Each pot served 3 cups so we were most pleased.

The food arrived shortly after, and for once I won the menu choice game with my niece. Wonderfully roasted potatoes, a perfectly runny poached egg and the most amazing crispy, chewy, soft ham hock and the biggest surprise the best ever gravy to drown it all in. It was like a brown sauce, Worcestershire sauce infused gravy which just went with the ham and potatoes and egg  so well that the dish didn't taste right without it. I would have liked another egg on top, but that's because I love eggs and believe they taste better with friends.

My niece's pancakes were great and she had no complaints at all; other than the fact they came with golden syrup instead of maple syrup which is a big no-no in my book but they were totally overshadowed by the hash.

The bill was a pleasant surprise as brunch is a deceptively lucrative market for food establishments nowadays. The staff at the bar were great and the servers polite. The front of house was disappointing with the fiasco of actually trying to sit down and I can see the merits of their policy at really busy times - but a quiet Sunday brunch was not one of those times.

Onto my second visit to The Cosy Club, Bristol.

This time my companion was different; husband was in tow for this visit and after my raving about the Bath brunch he was eager to try the ham hock hash for himself.

We entered the amazing building; totally blown away by the ceiling height and the light and space. We were taken to a table for two with upright chairs right in the middle of the room; with hangovers kicking in, all I wanted was to melt into a sofa in the corner. So I asked to move to a sofa and got the same feeble policy of those seats are for drinkers, you'll have to order at the bar. Fine, again a deserted bar which is all of 10 yards away. No problem. I really find this policy at quiet times totally bizarre. We sat, correction, sank down into the sofa and raided the games selection placed in boxes around our table. You could tell that this place has only just opened by the squeak of the scrabble board as I opened it and the fact it looked like the game still had all the letters. I love this touch and would mean I would venture there to make more of a morning out of my brunch, I just hope they survive the Bristol nightife.

Anyway, I digress, husband went and ordered two ham hock hashs's, a lemon sherbert and a large Assam tea.

The tea, was the same sized pot to share, as we had in Bath each which was a total fail; surely I can expect a comparable sized pot from a chain. It meant we have to share the last cup from the pot and our caffeine levels for the day were left very depleted.  The lemon sherbet was a good choice for that furry mouth feeling, it woke us both up and was really refreshing. We asked for skimmed milk which was not provided; I don't understand why so few places provide skimmed milk - this is an easy win for places like this.

After a short wait the ham hock hash appeared. Slightly down in portion size and meat content compared to Bath and the potatoes not quite as well cooked and the ham not as crispy. But, still bloody tasty; we both could have eaten the dish again and agreed it was a real hangover buster.

I can see The Cosy Club in Bristol having a bright future in a building which has seen businesses come and go. It will be popular in the evening and will capture all the Sunday brunchers staying the in the centre. I can see lots of stag and hen groups making use of the place and also a lively after work venue. A welcome addition to the City Centre; but they just need to make sure they are aligned with other branches.

Overall for the chain, my major gripe is the seating policy; it really starts your visit off on a poor note, but I do understand its useful-ness at peak times; perhaps some common sense is needed here by the front of house staff. But, everyone was polite, helpful and both venues welcoming and enjoyable.

Soukitchen, North Street

Soukitchen

 277 North Street,  Bedminster,  Bristol,  BS3 1JP

http://www.soukitchen.co.uk/

We have been wanting to try Soukitchen ever since we visited EatDrinkBristolFashion last year on their night and were blown away by the amazing food we ate. We have several places lined up on North Street which we'd love to try and Soukitchen has been top of our list for forever but we're not often over that side of town to enjoy them especially with poor rail links back to our area later on. We finally got a reason this weekend so after I booked our show tickets to see Extravaganza by Le Navet Bete at the Brewery Theatre I immediately booked a table at Soukitchen through their website.

We arrived early for our 7:30pm booking but this was no problem and we were invited to take a seat. The restaurant is sat on a corner plot and is glazed on both sides which makes it feel very light and airy. The kitchen is to the rear of the room and is open so you can see some of the food preparation. The decoration is bright and colourful and the wallpaper used throughout the restaurant looks to be custom with its depiction of Moroccan style teapots.

We relaxed and browsed the menu, not really having a clue what anything meant, but excited to find out. There were three of us eating so we wanted to get a selection of dishes so we could try as many things as we could. Whilst we debated what dishes we wanted to try, we ordered a selection of flatbreads and dips to pick at. These were lovely; bright colours again and each very tasty. I can't remember what each dip was - I know one was carrot and rose which was lovely and sweet and I think one was made with split peas.

 We decided to order a selection of hot mezze:

• Batata hara, chickpeas + merguez sausage
• Spinach, spiced feta + pinenut bistilla with orange blossom honey
• Pork, preserved lemons meatballs with slow cooked tomato sauce

and for mains:

• Chargrilled vine leaf wrapped halloumi, roast beetroot, squash, couscous and mango amba
• Chargrilled lamb adana skewers, sour cherry + bulgar pilaf, zalouk and garlic yoghurt
• Chicken Khoresh, Omani limes, dried plums, split peas + spinach with saffron rice

The food was delivered promptly and we all had our favorites; which turned out to be the item we had suggested we try. For me the Batata Hara and the Chicken Khoresh were the stand out dishes. With the bistilla and lamb kebab a close runner up. The meatballs were disappointing though as we all decided that they needed to be tastier to compete with the other dishes we picked. The halloumi was nice and as a vegetarian option it was great; it just didn't do it for me, but it was husband's favourite and from a dedicated meat lover that's high praise indeed!!
 
We really enjoyed our meal at Soukitchen. The only thing I would have liked was perhaps a small description of the dish on the menu as I was very unfamiliar with a lot of the terms and even the ingredients, but having sampled a small snippet of food from these guys before I didn't worry as I knew it would all be delicious.  We were well looked after even with a packed dinner service. The bill was a very pleasant surprise at the end of the meal considering we had ordered a bottle of red. With it's relaxed atmosphere, tasty food which is big on flavour but light on the bank account I would be happy to visit again to sample the next menu the team produces.