Bosco Pizzeria, Whiteladies Road

Bosco Pizzeria
96 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, BS8 2QX
http://www.boscopizzeria.co.uk/

Bosco aims to deliver the taste of wood-fired pizzas from Naples and seeing as I love pizza I was very excited to see if Bosco could pull it off. It was very easy to book at table through the website and when we arrived for a pre-theatre dinner at 6pm there were already 4 or 5 other tables occupied with a good number of children. We were shown to a table right at the front of the restaurant in front of an open floor to ceiling window which given the dropping temperature outside and a sparsely decorated luke warm restaurant was not a particularly nice welcome to Bosco. Luckily the waitress cottoned on to the not-so-great table choice and asked if we would prefer to sit nearer the back of the restaurant to which we immediately agreed on the proviso that they could claim the table back at 8pm. As we were due at the theatre by 7:30pm this was fine. Had we visited on a hot sunny day, then the window seat would have been an excellent choice so I'm glad the waitress used some common sense to move us.
The inside of Bosco took a long time to renovate, which given the size of the massive pizza oven is no surprise. However, it feels not finished. The walls are exposed concrete with exposed pipework. I know this is trendy; however it made the place feel cold. Perhaps with a bustling service it would warm up and keep the heat in.

There were an assortment of different places to sit; bar seats by the pizza cooker and also by the bar were mixed with a some low tables in the center of the restaurant and a line of tables across the back wall. We were sat in the bank of tables along the back wall which was great to watch the service; but we were right next to the "front of house" point which meant the phone rang almost constantly and there were lots of panicked conversations taking place within earshot.

There seemed to be a lot of emphasis being put on the booking sheet and it was very apparent that the staff were a week into their new jobs.

We were asked promptly for our drink order and when we requested a few minutes to decide what we were eating first we were then abandoned for a while and then approached again for a drink order and then abandoned again until someone noticed that our menus had been shut on the table for quite a while. I'm not sure why the waitress who took the drink order couldn't take the food order at the same time.
We decided we had to sample the pizza after reading about how pizza had inspired the opening of the restaurant and we also decided to try a pasta dish. We opted for the Emila - Romagna pizza for £9.50 which came topped with Italian sausage, Napoli tomato sauce, Fior di latte, wood roasted onions & sweet peppers and the Ox cheek ragu, rigatoni & smoked mozzarella also for £9.50. We also opted for the Primitivo to accompany our meal for £13 a carafe.

The food took quite a while to arrive, but we decided this must have been because of the baked Ox Cheek Ragu dish.

Both dishes were very appetizing but the Ox Cheek Ragu was fantastic. Very high meat content which was super soft and plenty of lightly smoked mozzarella on top. It was utterly divine. The pizza was ok, we didn't feel it was amazing and was certainly trumped by the pasta. This was a shame as we were expecting great things from the pizza. Perhaps we should have tried one of the more adventurous bianco pizzas but having never sampled a real-life pizza from Naples I can only talk from personal taste. The topping was very watery and sparse. The sausage was tasty; it contained a lot of star anise which was the main flavor coming through.

We wrapped up our meal with a double espresso each and made our way to the Hippodrome. The bill came in at under £30 and we did use a 20% off voucher we collected from another restaurant. The service was ok but I would imagine on a busy service it might be slow. If I was to visit again, I'd have to order the Ox Cheek ragu and for that dish alone I can recommend visiting but for pizza I would return to Beerd as that is the pizza I can't stop thinking about. We were debating how successful Bosco will be in the location it is and what trade it will catch. For us it would be a special visit as it's not in a location that is very accessible to us but seeing as most tables last night were families that bodes well for the future.

Prego, Westbury Park

Prego
7 North View, Westbury Park, Bristol, BS6 7PT
http://www.pregobar.co.uk/

When we went to London earlier in the year, we walked past the Wyndham theatre when Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy are starring in David Hare's Skylight. When we returned I found out that NT:Live were doing a live screening on the 17th July. All cinemas in Bristol were sold out, but Scott cinema in Henleaze held an Encore screening on 5th August. I booked tickets and then immediately booked a table at Prego via email.

Prego is a Italian restaurant in Westbury Park right on the edge of the downs. The restaurant is clean and tidy and obviously thriving in its location. We booked for the early opening of 5:30pm and were pleasantly surprised to find 5 other tables booked at the same time; two of which also came to watch Skylight (great minds and all that!!). Prego runs an early dining deal (Tuesday - Thursday) where all pizzas are £6.95 and seeing two of the tables booked last night also had children it seems a cheap way out eating out with the family.

We decided to skip starters in favour of dessert later and we decided to share a couple of dishes; a pizza with parma ham, rocket, parmesan and Tuscan extra virgin olive oil and a carbonara dish with guanciale, free range egg, parmesan and cream.  We also sampled a glass each of the 2013 Inzolia/Catarratto (a brave choice considering we are normally red wine connoisseurs).

The food arrived quickly, each generously portioned. The pizza was fresh, non-greasy and tasty. The pasta was wonderful and I would say it was even better than the carbonara we ate in Venice which has always been our standard to compare too. High praise indeed.

We finished off our meal with an espresso and a couple of the desserts; chocolate mousse on a florentine base and limoncello and forest fruit semi-freddo. The puddings were both pleasant but a little disappointing for the price of £5.95 each especially following that amazing pasta. But never the less, we enjoyed every morsel.

Service was quick, polite and prompt and the bill was a welcome sight at under £40, a lovely change from being pleased to see change from £80 which seems to be the going rate in Bristol!

It was lovely to be able to walk down to the cinema; overall a perfect date and one I can see becoming a regular thing especially as we can cycle so easily from our house.

If you get a chance to catch Skylight either in the West End or at a cinema then I can highly recommend it.

The Ethicurean, Barley Wood Walled Garden

The Ethicurean
Barley Wood Walled Garden, Long Lane, Wrington, Bristol, BS40 5SA
http://www.theethicurean.com/

The Ethicurean, for us, is one of those places all your friends rave about, have been too and love but due to circumstances we've just never quite got there. It took a offer on an archery experience nearby to finally get us to make the trip. Husband was a keen archer in his youth so for our 4th wedding anniversary I took advantage of a offer for a reduced price 2 hour session. The place was in Redhill just past Bristol Airport. I knew the Ethicurean was out that way somewhere and was pleased to discover it was a mere 4 minute drive from where we would be spending the morning attempting to hit targets with wayward arrows. I booked easily over email and the restaurant was easy to find with a little help from Sat Nav.

The Ethicurean is part of the Barley Wood Walled Garden and when we arrived and parked in the car park at the bottom of the garden, the sun was shining and we decided to mooch around the garden a little seeing as we were early. The garden is a delight and its wonderful to see some many of the ingredients used in the Ethicurean menu are sourced on site from the garden.

The restaurant itself is at the top of the garden in what looks like an old potting shed. There is a lovely outdoor seating area and the restaurant do a mixture of lunch service, afternoon tea and dinner service.

We were booked for lunch and took our seats at the front of the building which gave us a wonderful vista over the gardens and out over the hills. We were thinking perhaps we should sit outside in the glorious sunshine, but husband pointed out the ominous black clouds making their way rapidly towards us. The building was simply decorated with a rustic feel and we could imagine the room at night lit up with candles. Very romantic. We did comment that it might be a great place to visit around fireworks night as you could watch the fireworks go off around the area.

We studied the menu and everything sounds delicious; it was a master class in seasonal produce with many of the same ingredients being used in totally different ways throughout the menu. We settled on sharing the Cider and Cheddar Welsh Rabbit (rarebit) with Gert salad for starters. Then I chose the
Confit leg of Madgett's farm duck, sauerkraut, sautéed potato goat bacon & cos salad for main whilst husband chose the Bavette of Gloucester beef, Kimchi, burnt aubergine & brown butter roasted hispi cabbage. I also decided to sample one of the cocktails after they were recommended by a friend and I plumped for the Gin and Juice using Barley Wood apple juice and also a glass of the Portuguese red. Husband went for a Butcombe blond.

As our starter arrived, the heavens opened and our view was reduced to mist, rain and gloom with a hint of thunder and lighting. The Rarebit was lovely though and a welcome distraction from the weather. It was a very large slab of bread with a very tasty rarebit topping which had a lovely twang. The salad that came with it actually complemented the rarebit with its tangy dressing. It was very large for a starter so we were glad we shared.

The main courses were also great, I won the main course battle with the amazing duck course. The duck leg itself was massive, so much meat on it. The dish itself had a oriental feel to it and it was a treat for the dish to include potato as normally you would just get meat and vegetable. The goat bacon included with the cos salad was a taste explosion. Wow!

As we were celebrating, we decided to try a pudding each. Our initial choice had sold out, this was a common theme but to be expected when the ethical/environmentally friendly nature of the restaurant means food wastage is at a minimum. We plumped for the Ethicurean sticky toffee apple cake, toffee apple syrup, double cream & cinnamon and the rhubarb, white chocolate, rose water and anise tart with candied rhubarb sauce and clotted cream ice cream.

Both desserts were lovely; but not as stand out as the main course. Husband commented on how light his sticky toffee apple cake was and although I enjoyed my rhubarb tart and I could taste a small hint of white chocolate and anise it was a little lackluster. I think we also ordered at a particularly busy time as the desserts took around 15 minutes to arrive. This meant we needed to eat and run as we had another appointment to make back in Bristol rather than enjoy our food.

The weather brightened out for our return to Bristol. We really enjoyed our lunch and it was a lovely day out. Service was good considering the staff were having to check quantities of each dish to be able to inform diners what had sold out.  For us, its definitely a lunch venue rather than a evening one due to its distance from where we live. A taxi would be extortionate and add significant cost to an evening out. I would like to return with my mum and nan as I think they would love lunch here especially as they could wander around the walled garden. The other surprise was the price; very reasonable considering the reputation of the restaurant. The Ethicurean manages to balance great food with the ability to retain its casual and understated feel which is in keeping with its surroundings.  Well worthy of it's high reputation!

Koh Thai Tapas, Triangle South

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.

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.

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.