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.