Koh Thai Tapas
7-9 Triangle South, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1EY
http://www.koh-thai.co.uk
We ended up in Koh Thai Tapas by accident on the weekend. We'd met some friends down on the waterfront and decided to have a nose at the Thai festival going on in the Amphitheatre. We decided we didn't really want to pay the £2 entry fee when it looked like it was winding down for the evening and so we went in search of a beer elsewhere. Our friends asked us about the Koh Thai Tapas pop-up restaurant at the event and we told them they had a branch on the triangle. We also said it was on our list to try out as they have quite a big social presence online and we'd heard good things plus it was often on wriggle for a discount deal.
Seeing as these friends had spent their honeymoon in Thailand and were very big thai food fans we decided as we were already on our way up Park Street we would grab a beer in the Triangle branch and have a nose around. Although they weren't quite open yet, the staff were happy to show up to a table in their lovely hidden walled garden which is a lovely little find in the middle of the triangle and was perfect for what we were after. As soon as we sat down we were talking about coming back with a group.
We split a beer bucket which is a fantastic idea and it was great that they were happy to include a selection of beers which pleased all. We also had a look at the menu as although our friends had eaten, husband, niece and I were a little peckish. We just couldn't decide what to have so ordered everything we fancied thinking the portions would be pretty small as most dishes were priced around £6.
I ordered a tapas sized massamann lamb and the pad thai, my niece ordered the dim sum tapas and duck noodle soup and husband ordered the 24 hour ribs tapas and the rice soup. I don't know if Koh Thai Tapas have actually ever eaten tapas as every portion was huge!! Everything was delicious and well cooked and pretty authentic according to our friends. The ribs were actually THE biggest plate of ribs I've ever seen and the "tapas" portion of lamb massamann was big enough that along with a starter you wouldn't have needed anymore. We easily had enough food to feed another couple of people!
It definitely a place to go with friends and the whole place and menu is geared up for group dining and sharing. From the beer buckets to the "per head" priced menu where you tell them what you want to spend per person and they just supply a mix of different things.
The service was a little inconsistent, and one of the waiters really needed cheering up. We had a small oversight on our bill but it was fixed immediately.
But overall, we were impressed and will be back with friends for sure as the whole ethos suits communal eating and sharing with prices designed to ease the bill splitting at the end of the night.
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Monday, 21 July 2014
Flinty Red, Cotham Hill
Flinty Red
34 Cotham Hill, Bristol, BS6 6LA
http://www.flintyred.co.uk/
It does seem that Cotham Hill really does have the monopoly on excellent restaurants. This time we made the trek to visit Flinty Red.
Flinty Red seems to be one of those restaurants alongside places such as Bell's Diner and Lido which crops up in conversation when discussing great places to eat in Bristol. I think it's earned it's place there by being reliably and consistently good and I was eager to try it out to see what the fuss was about. I booked via email for a Saturday night at 8pm and the place was pleasantly busy when we arrived. We were seated at the back of the restaurant, side-by-side, near the bar which was good for people watching. The first thing which hit us was the heat of the place, it was hot, hot, hot! Being at the back of the restaurant meant the breeze coming from the open front door wasn't really reaching us and it did have us reaching for the water jug to cool down.
We poured over the menus, trying to decide what to try. The menu has a Spanish/Italian tapas feel with a selection of small and large plates. The plates are split into categories such as "cured/preserved", "fried/deep fired", "slow cooked/braised" etc. We decided to start with the fried fresh haloumi with tomato and oregano and the grilled chorizo whilst we debated some more.
We also decided to try the New World 2009, Zinfandel, Nalle to accompany our choices. The wine was gorgeous but we were a little miffed we were served a 2012 vintage with no acknowledgement but it didn't affect our immense enjoyment of the wine.
Whilst we waited for the food to be delivered we discussed the restaurant and tried to work out what it wanted to be: wine bar which does food or restaurant with a pretty substantial wine list.
We couldn't decide. What we did decide was that it's a restaurant for catching up with friends over a couple of (potentially expensive!) bottles of wine and a spot of supper or a place to host business meetings.
Our starters were delivered and although very tasty we were a little deflated. The fresh haloumi didn't have that salty kick you expect or the slightly squeaky texture, it was more on a par with a mozzarella. The chorizo was tasty but I think Flinty Red could do with popping over the road to Bravas and finding out who their chorizo supplier is as compared to the Bravas' "Chorizo in Cider" it was lacking spice and kick.
We turned our attention back to the menu to decide what else took our fancy. In the end we decided to go for two large plates to share rather than any more small plates. This was just personal taste as we didn't really fancy any more of the small plates although there were plenty more to choose from. For main we went with the onglet which came with green beans, potatoes and anchovies and the gnocchi with pesto and again, green beans.
Both mains were tasty but for me the gnocchi with pesto and green beans was superb, husband attempted to steal far too much of it for my liking so it must have been good.
We decided to skip pudding and go in hunt of some elsewhere. We finished the meal relaxed, content and not overly stuffed which was great.
Our overall impressions of Flinty Red were that it's a great place, a lot more chilled and relaxed than we both expected. The food was great, but it did seem a little confused - Spanish mixed with Italian. If it was tapas I was after I would head for Bravas, but I could see this as a Clifton based replacement option for Bell's Diner. The wine list was great and I can see myself heading here with some of my older Clifton based friends for supper, wine and conversation. A real grown-up establishment. The service was swift and polite. It feels like the restaurant have the right mix of covers for staff numbers and that relaxed feel helps as time just seems to seep away. The only negative I could really find was the price, it's not extortionate but not cheap either and to be honest, in relation to other restaurants in the area, the price is competitive, I just felt like I didn't get value for money and I can't quite put my finger on why.
34 Cotham Hill, Bristol, BS6 6LA
http://www.flintyred.co.uk/
It does seem that Cotham Hill really does have the monopoly on excellent restaurants. This time we made the trek to visit Flinty Red.
Flinty Red seems to be one of those restaurants alongside places such as Bell's Diner and Lido which crops up in conversation when discussing great places to eat in Bristol. I think it's earned it's place there by being reliably and consistently good and I was eager to try it out to see what the fuss was about. I booked via email for a Saturday night at 8pm and the place was pleasantly busy when we arrived. We were seated at the back of the restaurant, side-by-side, near the bar which was good for people watching. The first thing which hit us was the heat of the place, it was hot, hot, hot! Being at the back of the restaurant meant the breeze coming from the open front door wasn't really reaching us and it did have us reaching for the water jug to cool down.
We poured over the menus, trying to decide what to try. The menu has a Spanish/Italian tapas feel with a selection of small and large plates. The plates are split into categories such as "cured/preserved", "fried/deep fired", "slow cooked/braised" etc. We decided to start with the fried fresh haloumi with tomato and oregano and the grilled chorizo whilst we debated some more.
We also decided to try the New World 2009, Zinfandel, Nalle to accompany our choices. The wine was gorgeous but we were a little miffed we were served a 2012 vintage with no acknowledgement but it didn't affect our immense enjoyment of the wine.
Whilst we waited for the food to be delivered we discussed the restaurant and tried to work out what it wanted to be: wine bar which does food or restaurant with a pretty substantial wine list.
We couldn't decide. What we did decide was that it's a restaurant for catching up with friends over a couple of (potentially expensive!) bottles of wine and a spot of supper or a place to host business meetings.
Our starters were delivered and although very tasty we were a little deflated. The fresh haloumi didn't have that salty kick you expect or the slightly squeaky texture, it was more on a par with a mozzarella. The chorizo was tasty but I think Flinty Red could do with popping over the road to Bravas and finding out who their chorizo supplier is as compared to the Bravas' "Chorizo in Cider" it was lacking spice and kick.
We turned our attention back to the menu to decide what else took our fancy. In the end we decided to go for two large plates to share rather than any more small plates. This was just personal taste as we didn't really fancy any more of the small plates although there were plenty more to choose from. For main we went with the onglet which came with green beans, potatoes and anchovies and the gnocchi with pesto and again, green beans.
Both mains were tasty but for me the gnocchi with pesto and green beans was superb, husband attempted to steal far too much of it for my liking so it must have been good.
We decided to skip pudding and go in hunt of some elsewhere. We finished the meal relaxed, content and not overly stuffed which was great.
Our overall impressions of Flinty Red were that it's a great place, a lot more chilled and relaxed than we both expected. The food was great, but it did seem a little confused - Spanish mixed with Italian. If it was tapas I was after I would head for Bravas, but I could see this as a Clifton based replacement option for Bell's Diner. The wine list was great and I can see myself heading here with some of my older Clifton based friends for supper, wine and conversation. A real grown-up establishment. The service was swift and polite. It feels like the restaurant have the right mix of covers for staff numbers and that relaxed feel helps as time just seems to seep away. The only negative I could really find was the price, it's not extortionate but not cheap either and to be honest, in relation to other restaurants in the area, the price is competitive, I just felt like I didn't get value for money and I can't quite put my finger on why.
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