Birch, Raleigh Road

Birch
47 Raleigh Road, Southville, BS3 1QS
http://birchbristol.co/

Twitter in Bristol has been alight with excitement about Birch and it's been on my wish list to try since it opened. North Street and the surrounding area has been totally spoilt lately with new openings and it's frustrating for a North Bristol resident that Bristol transport links are so shoddy that it makes a trip over to the other side of town a total pain if you don't have a designated driver. That elusive trifecta of events which mean I get to try out new places south of the river is a rare occurrence so I was delighted when the birthday stars collided and I got to sample Birch for myself.

We booked in for 9pm and we found ourselves in the area an hour early with no hope of finding a car parking space on one of the wettest nights of the year so far. After driving around the North Street area searching for a space so we could enjoy a pre-dinner drink we gave up and called Birch in the hope they could squeeze us in early. No luck, but they were perfectly fine with us holding up their bar for an hour so we gave up on North Street and managed to find a parking spot nearby.

Birch is sneaky little establishment; away from the hustle and bustle of North Street in a residential area. It has limited covers and the menu is about as fresh and seasonal as it gets. It even changes during service when popular items sell out. Whilst we waited for our table we sampled some drinks; husband plumped for the "In the Groves" beer from local boys Wiper and True whilst I also stayed close to home with a Psychopomp Gin and Tonic. We also snacked on the cheese straws which were suprising but pleasantly spicy.

Our table was ready spot on time and we decided on our starters of brawn, celeriac and mustard and the salad of radicchio, pear, ewes curd and cobnut. My salad was tweaked slightly to use a different cheese but it was tasty. Husband enjoyed his headcheese but admitted he thought I'd picked the better choice. I wasn't particularly wowed with my starter but on a very limited menu it was the best choice I felt.

To go with my main course I decided to sample the house white wine; which is a very interesting choice to serve. It's very sweet and I thought I'd been served the dessert wine choice by mistake; I kept reading the board above the bar to try and work out if it was the right one. It's a shame there isn't more choice in wine by the glass but I guess as most of the clientele are probably local and the mark-up on bottles is so small it makes sense to deal in bottles. As husband was driving, a bottle was a bit overkill and I probably wouldn't have remembered leaving.

For our main choices we were very predictable; husband plumped for fallow haunch (venison to us mere mortals) with celeriac, chicory and almond brittle. I went for hake with squash, chard, fried potato and sage butter. I happened to mention in passing to the waitress that I was sad the veggie course from the day previously wasn't still on which was egg and potato cake and she said that the venison came with potato cake and did we want some extra to make up for having to wait for our table. This was totally above and beyond what we were expecting as we didn't wait for our table really and I think husband was relieved he didn't have to share his.

The main course was amazing; the hake was perfectly cooked with a slight bounce. I was warned for bones but I didn't find a single one. The fried potato was like a giant potato croquette which was a lovely golden brown. The squash and leaves combined with the crunch of the deep fried sage leaves. Oh, it was wonderful. It was one of those dishes you can still taste later when you think back and you could eat again and again. Really well done Birch!

Husband's venison was also tasty. The almond brittle added a lovely crunch and sweetness injection into the dish. The venison was perfectly cooked and those potato cakes. Oh my! the potato cakes. I would abandon triple cooked chips for all eternity if I could have Birch's potato cakes. So good.

We finished the meal on that high, as we were totally stuffed and didn't really fancy the pudding selection. We also had homemade peanut butter cup brownies at home. However, when the bill came it was accompanied by some freshly made chocolate truffles. Again a lovely touch.

I had a wonderful birthday at Birch and I'm willing the stars to re-align again so I can go back. I said to husband that Birch is to my generation what Bell's diner was to the generation before me. I think that also reflects Bristol and how areas of Bristol have completed morphed and changed in 20 years. Birch has a great neighbourhood feel and I think it will have a very loyal fan base for many years to come. Well Done Birch team.