Anglo-French

Bristol

HOTEL DU VIN & BISTRO
Sugar House, Narrow Lewins Mead, BS1 2NU
Tel: 0117 925 5577, web: www.hotelduvin.com
A winning mix of urban chic and urbane surroundings at the gorgeous Hotel du Vin continues to keep the Bristol fooderati very happy. Bistro offers a menu rooted in classic, seasonal European cuisine with a contemporary edge, with head chef Marcus Lang adding his own selections daily, all supporting the Hotel du Vin ethos of using the finest, freshest local produce, cooked simply and priced sensibly (three-course dinner, sans wine, will set you back around £40). The wine list – like the food – is the stuff that classic bon viveur dreams are made of. Menu S: squid, chorizo & crayfish salad; chicken liver & foie gras parfait with pear chutney. M: panfried fillet of halibut with olive mash, provencal vegetables and crayfish gremolata; roast breast of chicken with pumpkin risotto and rainbow chard. P: creme brulee; homemade sorbet Price ALC: from £5.75/from £14.50/from £6 Wine list Extensive and impressive, with bottles starting at around £17 Open Mon-Sat 12noon-2pm, Sun 12.15-2.30pm, Mon-Thur 6-10pm, Fri-Sun 6-10.30pm. Children welcome - kiddie-oriented dishes & smaller portions of main menu available. Disabled access, toilets on ground floor. All credit cards. Three function rooms for hire. Parties of up to 10 in bistro, but on separate tables.

HOWARDS
1a-2a Avon Crescent, BS1 6XQ
Tel: 0117 926 2921, web: www.howardsrestaurant.co.uk
Charming, award-winning harbourside bistro with waterfront views, alfresco opportunities and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, serving top-quality Anglo-French cuisine. Outside you’ll find primroses in the window boxes and a characterful British racing green colour scheme. The feel within is cosy yet smart, with friendly, efficient staff enhancing a relaxed yet slick operation. Traditional roasts with all the trimmings available every Sun. Menu changes on a month by month basis and is based around local and seasonal produce Price ALC: 2 £22.95, 3 £24.95. Sun lunch from £6.95 Wine list Mainly European & new world. HW from £13.50 btl Open Food served Tue-Fri 12noon-2.30pm & 6-10.30pm, Sat-Sun 12noon-close. Children welcome. Major credit cards. Disabled access. Parties welcome – call in adv. Booking recommended.

MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL
College Green, BS1 5TA
Tel: 0117 925 5100, web: www.bristolmarriottroyal.co.uk
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, a very stylish sundowner or a full-on contemporary fine dining experience, all under one very elegant roof. This grand Victorian-style hotel is infused with polished marble, warm mahogany and gleaming brass, with polished, warm, gleaming staff to match. The Champagne Bar is the afternoon tea/cocktail zone, the Club Lounge offers lunch and light bar snacks, and the Palm Court Restaurant specialises in modern, locally sourced cuisine and offers a rather spectacular global wine list, too. Menu Daily changing - check with hotel for today’s selection Price ALC & menu de jour: 3 from £21 Wine list Extensive, global, with an emphasis on new world/European. HW from approx £16 btl. Excellent cocktails, very well-stocked bar Open Breakfast: Mon-Fri 6.30-11am, Sat-Sun 7-11am. Dinner Sun-Thur 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 5-10.30pm. Club Lounge: Mon-Fri 8am-6.30pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9.30am-6pm. Champagne/cocktail bar: Mon-Sat 11am (Sun 12noon), closes to public at 11pm. Children welcome. Disabled access. Major credit cards. Parties, weddings, functions – call for adv.

PICTURE HOUSE
44 Whiteladies Rd, Clifton, BS8 2NH
Tel: 0117 973 9302/1529, web: www.thepicturehouse.eu
Impeccable taste and incredibly high standards mark the work of Picture House owner and head chef Nick Armitage, who now also runs the excellent Kingsdown Vaults and the King’s Arms, formerly known as the Black Bear (see pubs). The lunch and dinner menus at this chic yet comfortable haunt change daily depending on what fresh local produce is available, and the Mediterranean-inspired tapas menu allows diners to graze from a large selection of different dishes including griddled freshwater king prawns with chilli, rock salt and garlic; roast peppers with goat’s cheese; Bush farm bison with chips and peppercorn sauce. Nick’s attention to detail means that everything is homemade, right down to the warm butterscotch sauce drizzled over the knockout apple tart. The beautifully crafted bar boasts an extensive selection of excellent spirits and wines, the latter focusing heavily on New Zealand, testament to Nick’s many years in the Antipodes. Menu S: dripping toast (rare roast forerib of lackham farm limousin beef on hot dripping toast with parsley, capers, sea salt, creamed horseradish); organic salad (salad leaves, red onion, herbs, dried fruit, vine cherry tomatoes, fresh vegetables, toasted seeds, radish sprouts). M: beer-battered fillet of pollack, thick-cut jacket chips, pea puree, tartare sauce; lackham farm limousin rib-eye steak, hand-cut french fries, bearnaise sauce. P: toffee apple crumble with rum custard; dark chocolate nemesis with creme fraiche and thyme sugar Price ALC: from £4.50/from £8.90/from £4. Tapas from approx £4. Weekday (lunch): 2 £10, 3 £13.50. Sun (lunch): 2 £15, 3 £18.50 Wine list Wide selection of wines, cocktails, spirits. HW £13.50 btl Open 12noon-12midnight. Children welcome, especially at lunchtimes, highchairs. No disabled access. Most major credit cards (not Amex). Parties of 20+ welcome.

Bath

BEAUJOLAIS BISTRO BAR
5 Chapel Row (off Queen Square), BA1 1HN
Tel: 01225 423417, web: www.beaujolaisbath.co.uk
Equal parts classic French bistro, long-standing social institution and esteemed kitchen training camp specialising in delicious modern British cuisine but maintaining a strong essence of Gallic je ne sais quoi, all in laidback but lively surroundings: informal but efficient, cosy but smart. A delightful little alfresco area out back makes for a thoroughly charming urban oasis, and the restaurant now boasts its own wine shop, too. Menu S: ham hock terrine with apple chutney and toasted bread; steak tartar with egg yolk and chive oil. M: rib-eye steak with garlic mash and red wine jus; herb-crusted fillet of gurnard with braised red peppers, tomato and pine nut dressing. P: espresso coffee & vanilla ice-cream; dark chocolate rice pudding Price ALC: from £4.80/from approx £12.50/from approx £3.50 SL: 2 £10. SD: 2 £16.95 (excl Sat) Wine list Extensive and Euro-centric (inc British selection). HW £13.50 btl Open Mon-Sat 11am-close (Sat from 10am, Mon from 5pm). Lunch Tue-Sat 12noon-2.30pm. Dinner Mon-Thur 6-9.30pm, Fri 6-10.30pm, Sat 5.30-10.30pm. Bar/wine shop: Tue-Sat 11am-close. Children welcome. Disabled access – call in adv for details. Major credit cards. Private dining up to 30 people.

GREEN PARK BRASSERIE
Green Park Station, BA1 1JB
Tel: 01225 338565, web: www.greenparkbrasserie.com
Intimate yet spacious Euro-style brasserie boasting a well-stocked bar and extremely competent kitchen. Indoor/outdoor seating opportunities (60-seater port-cochere out front; 70-seater deck out back, in what was once a railway station but is now home to the popular weekend farmers’ market) further add to the overall appeal. Free broadband/Wi-Fi in the library area and regular live jazz up the good-times ante. Mornings are given over to coffee and muffins, lunchtime menu is a notch up from ciabattas and panini, and the evening a la carte is always imaginative. Menu S: vodka & beetroot gravadlax with rocket and pecorino, and mustard dressing; grilled ox tongue salad with endive, watercress, spring onion, capers and lemon vinaigrette. M: mullet fillets with lemongrass, ginger, chilli & mussel broth; chargrilled somerset venison haunch steak with bearnaise sauce. P: spiced plum & vanilla creme brulee; hot chocolate fondant with Marshfield vanilla ice-cream Price ALC: from £4.50/from £9.50/from £4.25. Tue-Fri (order before 7pm) & Sat (order before 6.30pm): 2 £9.95 Wine list Extensive, eclectic. HW from £10.95 btl, £3.70 gls Open Tue-Sat 10.30am-11pm. Children welcome. Disabled access. Major credit cards. Large parties/weddings/business functions welcome (up to 200, set menus available).

WOODS
9-13 Alfred St, BA1 2QX
Tel: 01225 314812
Enjoying a prime location opposite Bath’s elegant Assembly Rooms, Woods opened in the late 1970s. Since then, the upmarket but informal bistro environment and affordable food to match have earned it local institution status. A French-style bar-brasserie (dark wood, lots of greenery) at the front leads to an elegant, spacious dining room - all white cloths, fresh flowers and candlelight - with softly-softly carpet underfoot and walls lined with all things racehorse-related. ‘A refreshingly uncomplicated approach sums up the Woods ethos: well-sourced ingredients, competently cooked and nicely served in quietly convivial surroundings,’ said Venue’s Lady Bath. Menu S: roast tomato & basil soup; black pudding & pork terrine. M: panfried gurnard fillet with lobster & avruga sauce; sirloin steak with red wine & balsamic jus. P: orange bakewell tart; brandy & apricot creme brulee Price ALC: from £5.50/from £12.50/£5.50. SL: 2 £12.95. SD (Mon-Fri 5.30-6.45pm): 2 £14.95 (2 £21.95 after 6.45pm) Wine list Lively selection, inc good range of organics and regular wine of the month. HW from approx £14 btl Open Mon-Sat 12noon-2.30pm & 6-10pm (Sat 11pm). Children welcome. Wheelchair accessible with staff assistance at entrance, no problems inside. Major credit cards. Room for private hire, up to 45.

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