I’ve been meaning to visit Rockfish Grill since it opened last year. I’d been underwhelmed by it’s predecessor, Fish Works, but after reading many good reviews of the new Mitch Tonks venture it was back on my list of restaurants to visit, and I eventually made it there this week.
We arrived without a booking and were dismayed to see the restaurant full even though it was a Tuesday evening, great for business but potentially bad news for our dinner prospects. Luckily they’d just had a cancellation so we were squeezed in.
We ordered Venetian style sardines with pine nuts and sultanas and Shrimps on toast to start. I’d been hankering after sardines for days so this simple starter of super fresh tasty sardines in their sweet and sour dressing really hit the spot. The shrimps were a towering pile of warm buttery loveliness tottering on a bread base. If I was being picky I’d say that the bread could have been toastier to give a better contrast in texture to the soft prawns, but it was still pretty good.
For main course we ordered Pollack fried in beer batter with mashed peas and a side of chips and the Fritto Misto with aioli.
The chunky, flavoursome Pollack was encased in a beautifully light batter and served on a bed of fresh, tasty mashed peas. The homemade tartare sauce was a little too tart for my taste but my husband was perfectly happy with it.
The Fritto Misto di mare was a wonderful selection of anglerfish, gurnard, whitebait, cuttlefish, prawns & chiperones all wrapped up in a thin, crisp batter and piping hot. Each morsel was as delicious as the next, everything was cooked perfectly with not a chewy squid in sight. The accompanying aioli was lovely and not too garlicky. I was also pleased that the usually skinny slice of lemon served with fish was replaced with a sturdy half lemon so it really added to the dish rather than being a token gesture.
Unfortunately we had no room left for pudding, a rare piece of self control for us especially as the desserts being delivered to other dinners looked so yummy.
With one beer and a glass of wine the bill came to around £60. For us, that’s maybe a little high for a mid week meal but the early evening menu has two courses for £15 or three for £20 which I think is pretty good. We’ll definitely be back and will make sure we keep some room for pudding next time.
I’ve eaten at The Star & Dove, Totterdown once before and had a great meal so I was very much looking forward to returning. Having seen it was part of a promotion in the local paper I avidly collected tokens for a half price meal (and a good excuse for a repeat visit).
Since I was last there the restaurant area had moved upstairs to allow more space for the busy pub below. I was initially worried this move might mean a more formal, stilted atmosphere but I needn’t have been concerned, the lovely surroundings and friendly staff resulted in a laid back dinner but away from the hustle bustle of the bar.
Despite the very affordable set menu, we chose from the A la Carte, starting with an impressive Squirrel pie, rissole, peaspudding & macerated hazelnuts (pic) and Cornish fish broth & parsley mayonnaise. The hot, hand made squirrel pie was delicious, nicely herby and not too gamey and it worked perfectly with the rissole, smooth peaspudding and sweet nuts. The presentation was also really lovely.
The Cornish fish broth wasn’t what I’d call a broth but a delicious mixture of fish pieces and vegetables in a thick, creamy, fishy sauce. It was topped with a crumbed fishcake, who’s crisp outside was the perfect contrast to the creamy ‘broth’, and a dollop of lemony, parsley mayonnaise.
For main we ordered Smoked hock, gammon pie & parsley emulsion with a side of fries (pic) and Aged Hereford rib eye, forerib cottage pie & dripping chips. Again both dishes were very good. The smoked hock, presented like a meaty lollipop in a crispy crumb on the ham bone, was bursting with smokey flavour with a melting texture. The only criticism was that the side of fries were far too salty so weren’t eaten, which is very unusual for us. Our waitress did appologise as soon as we mentioned it and took them off our bill.
The rib eye was perfectly cooked and very tender and flavoursome and its accompanying cottage pie was wonderful, the base incredibly rich and full bodied with a smooth creamy top. The chips could have been a little crisper but over all a darn good plate of food.
The puddings didn’t last long enough for a photo I’m afraid, we had Spotted Dick with raisin & port puree and brown sugar ice-cream which was good but not outstanding. But the winning dessert was the Pressed chocolate with malt nougat, salt toffee popcorn and peanut ice-cream. The combination of flavours were so complimentary that even at the end of a rather large meal this was polished off very quickly. The dense chocolate with the lighter layered nougat and salt of the popcorn was just amazing and topped off with the peanut ice-cream it made dessert that was possibly perfect.
The Star and Dove is absolutely in my top 5 places to eat in Bristol and now I’ve spotted that they also do bar meals I may be there more regularly.
The Lazy Dog is the newly transformed pub on Ashley Down Road in Bristol. It opened a fortnight ago and when we went for lunch yesterday it was already doing a brisk trade. Pretty much every table was occupied with lots of punters also taking advantage of their lovely beer garden in the first of the spring sunshine.
The decor is a blend of traditional and retro that really works. The front half has wooden tables and chairs but the huge windows means it retains an open, airy feeling. The back of the pub has secluded booths with black leather seating and metal tables that feel quite private.
As it was Easter Sunday the menu had a selection of roast diners along with Tom’s pies & mash, local sausages and a few other choices. All looked appealing but we ordered the Belly Pork Roast and a Ham Hock & Pea pie and mash accompanied by a Bath Ales Gem and a Mineral water. All came to a very reasonable £20.
The meals arrived quite promptly and looked great.
Both meals really delivered. My husband wolfed down all of his rather delicious, super smooth Rosemary mash with a gravy that had real depth of flavour. He then embarked upon the Pie which was piping hot and jam packed with tasty ham and peas that had retained their fresh flavour. The pastry was crisp and well made and not as indigestion inducing as Pie Minister pies could be accused of. This is the first time either of us have tried a Tom’s Pie but they definitely pose a serious challenge to Pie Minister.
My meal was equally as delicious with well cooked veg, extremely well flavoured braised red cabbage and roast parsnips and potatoes with just the right level of crunch. The belly pork was a good sized slab carved from a rolled belly topped with a large impressive looking yorkshire. The crackling was only just crisp enough to get away with but the flavour and tenderness of the meat was lovely. It did still have a piece of string tied around it that I would have preferred been removed before it was served to me and the yorkshire was a little dry but these are minor points. The thing that took the shine off my meal however was that it could have been hotter, not cold enough to send back but enough to impact my enjoyment. Hopefully that’s a teething problem as everything else was pretty good, so we’re more than happy to give them a second try soon.
Having seen Tom tweet a link to his Hot Cross Buns recipe I thought it only sensible to follow the advice of the master baker and make some Easter treats. Just as expected they were delicious having exactly the right amount of spice and sweetness. The only change I made was to reduce the oven temperature a little because 210C seemed just too hot. They were eaten hot from the oven with a good smear of butter.
I’ve just come back from a great weekend in Edinburgh. We went for relaxation, a bit of shopping and some good food and managed to satisfy all requirements. We stayed in an apartment in the Old Town so were is well located for the sights and sounds of the city.
Here’s a quick tour of my top food highlights:
Stoats Porridge, Cranachan flavour, from their stall at the farmers market at Castle Terrace which happens every Saturday morning. Really gorgeous traditional porridge with fresh raspberries, cream, honey and sweet oats. http://www.stoatsporridgebars.co.uk
North Bridge Brasserie, great food in the beautiful surroundings of the old Scotsman newspaper building. Very good braised pork cheeks with sautéed artichokes, wild mushroom, tarragon jus. http://www.northbridgebrasserie.com
Wannaburger, good chicken breast burger with excellent onion rings and coleslaw and a really amazing peanut butter and banana milkshake. http://www.wannaburger.com/ @wannaburger
