food, reviews and of course coffee
I went to the Temple Quay Street Food market where there was a lot of choice. However, I defaulted to one of my favourite boxes, the Fritto Misto from King Fin.
This was just as good as the previous boxes of Fritto Misto I have had from King Fin. Delicious fresh seafood cooked to order, with tasty fries on the side.
Heading out for lunch on a rather wet Tuesday, myself and my colleagues headed off to the Temple Quay street food market. There are fewer stalls on a Tuesday, but one of my favourites was there, She Sells Streetfood.
I went for my favourite bento box containing the Beef Donburi and the Tan Tan Udon. This was the same combination I had a few times now. As this was a bento box, as well as the Beef Donburi, the Tan Tan Udon came in a smaller cardboard bowl than if you ordered the full size version.
The Tan Tan Udon was udon noodles in a creamy sesame broth with spicy ground pork, Asian greens, spring onions, and crispy chilli.
This was a delight, the creamy smooth broth was brought to life with the pork, the greens, and the chilli added heat. One day I think I will go for the full size version, one day.
The Beef Donburi was slow cooked beef in an oriental sauce on top of sticky rice.
The beef was melt in your mouth tender and was delicious.
I do like this bento box, and I am not surprised that when it comes to choosing lunch, I will more often than not, head for this tasty, delicious bento box.
I was in Bristol and I walked to Finzel Reach for some lunch. I was tempted by the Little Smoker who were there again, but when I saw them preparing their food, I was (initially) a little disappointed. So, I went to King Fin and ordered the Fritto Misto.
Now as I waited for my Fritto Misto two people walked past with their Little Smoker meals and they looked really good. So, much so, I will try them out next time they are at a street food market I am at. I realised what I saw, they hadn’t finished putting the dishes together.
My Fritto Misto was freshly cooked to order, but it wasn’t long before it was ready. There wasn’t much of a queue, so little delay.
The box was brimming with freshly cooked deep fried crispy seafood, with calamari, fresh anchovies (whitebait), whole prawns, chunks of battered haddock, courgette slices, and sage. Alongside I had a side of rosemary fries and sauce.
Like previous boxes, this was delicious. The freshness of the box was amazing. I still found the prawns a little messy and fiddly to eat, but it was all really tasty.
The street food scene around where I work in Bristol, is delightful. There are twice weekly markets at Temple Quay and Finzel Reach as well as all the stalls at St Nicks. The organisers of weekly markets always try and have a mix of stalls and types of cuisine.
On a recent visit I had eaten some delicious Fritto Misto from King Fin.
It was awesome. This was a delicious box of food. The freshly cooked squid rings, prawns and (small) fish were really tasty and it was a generous portion. The deep fried sage and courgette was a nice addition. I thought this was an amazing dish and I was well impressed.
However I like to choose different things. Well I say I like to choose different things.
So, when I was recently in Bristol, I went out at lunchtime to the Finzel Reach street food market. I had read who was there and I was really tempted by the brisket at The Little Smoker. They were a new guest addition to the line up. I even looked at their menu, but in the end I actually went with the Fritto Misto from King Fin.
The wonderful box of food I got from King Fin was slightly different to my previous Fritto Misto. It still had the calamari, the prawns, the fish and courgettes, however this time there were some chunks of battered white fish as well.
As before it was awesome, this was all cooked to order, so was hot, fresh, crisp and full of flavour. Every bite was a delight, well nearly I did find eating the prawns a little messy, but they were tasty. I was really pleased that I had gone again with this box of awesome food.
Nadu brings a slice of Sri Lanka to the epicentre of Bristol’s cultural quarter, Stokes Croft.
Myself and colleagues from work headed to Nadu for a festive meal, well I say festive, as it was that time of year, the menu very much from Sri Lanka.
There was lots of lovely stuff on the menu and I found it quite challenging to choose something. I decided would have a small plate as a starter and then something else as a main.
Across the small plates one dish did stick out to me, which was the Tawa Fish, though there were some others there I would have been happy with. I was quite intrigued by the Mojo Cutlets as well as the Miris Bhaji.
The Tawa Fish was simply a seasonal fish grilled in bell pepper & ginger sauce.
This was not the best looking dish I have seen, and they had tried with the peppers and other garnishes. However, the food was delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the sauce, spicy but not overpowering. I really enjoyed eating this portion of fish.
For my main course, again lots of choice. I liked the idea of the roasted beef bone marrow in the Aeta Midulu, across the different karis, I was tempted by the Era Kulumba, a mild shrimp curry, or the Thora Malu, a fish curry. The Ceylonese Lamb Kari also sounded delicious. In the end though after much thinking I went with the Black Pork Kari, which was slow cooked pork belly with smoked coconut & cinnamon. Alongside I had some coconut rice.
Though not black, this was a very dark looking curry. I was expecting that though. This was also delicious, the pork were very tender, and the sauce was delicious. Not sure I could taste the smoked coconut, but I am sure it was in there somewhere. I really liked this pot and it was really tasty. There was a good level of spice, so you could say spicy, but wasn’t hot and fiery. All rather good and I did finish off this dish.
We also shared a Tear & Share Dosa, 48 hour fermented crispy rice pancake served with chutneys and sambar. Literally tear bits off, dip them in the chutneys and enjoy.
The service was excellent, well informed and friendly waiting staff offering advice and recommendations.
I can’t wait until I can go again.
Bristol has a decent street food scene, around where I work in Bristol, as well as all the stalls at St Nicks, there are twice weekly markets at Temple Quay and Finzel Reach. The organisers of those markets always try and have a mix of stalls and types of cuisine. There aren’t that many traders selling fish, one that stands out is King Fin. If I am at a market and they are trading, it is usually one I go for. So, when I went to the Finzel Reach street food market, I headed towards King Fin to try their new(ish) Fritto Misto dish. The Fritto Misto replaces the tempura monkfish on the menu. I remember when they had Fritto Misto on the menu before, and tried it back in 2022. I wasn’t that enamoured with what I had then, I wrote:
Overall, if I am honest, though I enjoyed the dish, I was a little disappointed. The calamari was great, but the rest of the fish was a little soggy, despite having just being deep fried. There were two prawns in the dish, one peeled prawn and one whole prawn. The courgette was floppy and was quite greasy.
When I heard that King Fin were bringing back the Fritto Misto onto their menu, I was eager to try it again, despite my reservations from my previous experience.
I must go to King Fin quite a bit as I got recognised as a regular, which was nice. I placed my order and waited. As with all their menu items, the food was cooked to order. After a short while I was handed my box of food and I think it looked amazing. I took it back to my office to eat.
It was awesome. This was a delicious box of food. The freshly cooked squid rings, prawns and (small) fish were really tasty and it was a generous portion. The deep fried sage and courgette was a nice addition. I thought this was an amazing dish and I was well impressed. It certainly was much better than my previous experience. The batter was nice and crispy. As per usual the fries were great.
Looking forward to having this again soon.
I was working in our Bristol office and I headed out to the Temple Quay street food market. As it was a Tuesday there wasn’t as many choices as there are on a Thursday. I decided I would have a halloumi wrap from The Street Taverna. This is a nice thick wrap with halloumi, salad and fries.
I did enjoy the wrap; the halloumi was tasty, the chips were nice and crispy. I also enjoyed the flat bread as well. As with my previous wrap from The Street Taverna sure if the chips added anything to the wrap. I am glad I went with the halloumi.
It’s no wonder sometimes when I go to Bristol and there is a street food market if She Sells Streetfood (was She Sells Sushi) is there I will go with a bento box. I enjoy the food and I think one of the reasons I like it is that it’s not a sandwich or a wrap.
This time, I went with a bento box containing the Beef Donburi and the Tan Tan Udon. This was the same combination I had before. As this was a bento box the Tan Tan Udon came in a smaller cardboard bowl than if you ordered the full size version, alongside was the Beef Donburi.
I’ve always enjoyed the Beef Donburi and this was delicious as usual. The beef was beautifully tender, full of flavour. It goes so well with the sticky rice. I do like the addition of the (new) cucumber salad.
Last time I really enjoyed the Tan Tan Udon, so was looking forward to eating that again. The Tan Tan Udon was udon noodles in a creamy sesame broth with spicy ground pork, Asian greens and spring onions. It was excellent and delicious. The creamy broth was superb, full of flavour, thicker than a normal broth (hence the creamy). Nice noodles and the spicy ground pork just added to this one tasty bowl of food.
I do like this food.
One of my favourite street food stalls in Bristol is She Sells Sushi and I was intrigued to hear that after years of trading, that Lisa is changing the name to She Sells Streetfood and was also changing the menu.
So, when I was working in Bristol I headed down to Finzel Reach to see what was available and to try something new. I nearly didn’t go, as there was downpour, and I did get quite soaked in the queue. The menu now has four items and no sushi! Also gone are the lovely hirata buns.
The four items consist of two favourites, Katsu curry and the Beef Donburi. The two new items are Loaded Katsu Fries and Tan Tan Udon noodles.
I went with a bento box containing the Beef Donburi and the new Tan Tan Udon.
The Tan Tan Udon was udon noodles in a creamy sesame broth with spicy ground pork, Asian greens and spring onions. As this was a bento box the Tan Tan Udon came in a smaller cardboard bowl than if you ordered the full size version. This was served alongside the Beef Donburi.
I’ve always enjoyed the Beef Donburi and this time was no exception.
Delicious full flavoured tender beef in a delicious sauce served on fluffy rice. It was delicious.
I was intrigued by the Tan Tan Udon and I did wonder how good it was going to be!
Well, it was excellent, just delicious. The creamy broth was superb, full of flavour, thicker than a normal broth (hence the creamy). Nice noodles and the spicy ground pork just added to this one tasty bowl of food.
I was well impressed with the Tan Tan Udon, so much so, that next time I might just go with the full sized portion and forgo the bento box. I am not really a fan of loaded fries, so might try those in the future, but then again probably not. I am though a little saddened that the delicious hirata buns are no longer on the menu, I will miss those.
I have had breakfast and lunch at various Lounges before, but had never been to the Ritorno Lounge on the Bristol Harbourside. Having had a lovely walk around the Harbourside, it was time for brunch. I chose the Big Lounge Breakfast, which was smoked back bacon, Cumberland sausages, hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, black pudding, flat mushroom, two fried eggs and two slices of toast.
Though the place was really busy, it wasn’t that long before our food arrived.
It was a massive plate of food, but then I was hungry. Actually it looked a lot bigger than it was (well that’s my excuse I am sticking to that).
This was a lovely breakfast, tasty sausage and bacon, nice mushrooms and tomatoes. If I was to make one minor criticism, for me the sourdough toast was a little dry. I did like black pudding and the eggs were cooked well.
It was, for breakfast, I think quite pricey, but it was a good quality breakfast, served to your table in a nice environment. Would I go again, yes I would.