food, reviews and of course coffee
Having missed out on lunch, I headed out for a walk and possibly coffee. I ended up at Spicer & Cole and ordered a flat white to drink in.
I was asked to take a seat and when my coffee was done they brought it over to me.
This was an excellently made coffee and I really enjoyed sitting down, doing some working, watching the world go by and drinking coffee.
I was in Bristol and went for a walk at lunchtime. Went to the Finzel Reach market intending to have something from Big Nath’s BBQ stall, but they weren’t there, so went to King Fin instead.
Was torn between the calamari and the new monkfish tempura. Whatever I chose I was going to have chips anyhow. In the end I went without the chips and went with both the monkfish and the calamari.
The calamari was excellent as usual (maybe a little too salty), but they were cooked to order, so the squid was nice and tender, and the coating was nice and crispy. The and cider vinegar slaw was a nice accompaniment.
The special, monkfish tempura was new to me.
The pieces of monkfish were deep fried in a tempura batter, and served with a lime and coriander yoghurt, tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.
The monkfish was cooked perfectly, and the batter (on top) was nice and crisp. Alas by the time I got back from the market to the office, the batter on the underside of the fish had got a little soggy from the yoghurt. I think if I had eaten the dish as soon as I was served it, it would have been fine. If I was to offer one piece of advice, I would probably say serve the yoghurt on the side, rather than on the bottom of the box. Or have something to separate the crispy fish from the yoghurt. Even so I liked the lime and coriander yoghurt which added a sharpness to the fish. I also enjoyed the tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.
Overall it was a little extravagant to have two mains, and no fries, however I really enjoyed having the calamari instead of fries.
I was up around the Gloucester Road and needing to kill some time, decided to go for coffee. There are plenty of places to get coffee on the Gloucester Road around the Zetland Road area. One place I had been meaning to try for a while was Future Leap. The Future Leap Hub was opened on Gloucester Road, Bristol, in 2019, using the site of the old Tandy shop, and was the first carbon neutral co-working space of its kind in the UK.
The place looks very different to when I remember it as Tandy, it has been completely refurbished. There is now a welcoming sustainable feel to the space, lots of wood and plants.
I was given a warm welcome and I ordered a cortado. I took a seat and the coffee was delivered to my table.
I had intended to take a photograph of it before I drank it, but my phone was playing up, so had to restart it.
I really liked the smooth coffee taste and enjoyed it.
The food menu looked interesting and tempting, I nearly had some soup. Certainly a place I would go again.
I hadn’t actually planned to have lunch in Bristol, but I was shopping in Broadmead and was feeling a little peckish. It was getting past the lunchtime, so wasn’t sure what would be available. I did quite fancy something from La Lola in the end, also I could sit down as well.
I decided not to have the paella, as it was near the end of lunchtime so probably might be not so fresh. In the end I went with the calamari.
This was cooked to order so was nice and fresh. It came with salad and deep fried potato slices.
The squid was delicious. It was nice and tender with a crisp coating. I felt though that the potatoes were like thick crisps. I wasn’t too enamoured with them and preferred the fried sliced potatoes that they use to serve. The salad was nice though.
Overall I enjoyed the food and it was a nice place to sit, eat and take in the atmosphere of the street food market.
We were up in Clifton Village and I quite liked the idea of a coffee. I had planned to go to Spiller & Cole as I had enjoyed my coffee there last year. However I got sidetracked and we ended up at Coffee #1.
I had a flat white which was really nice. It was expertly made and tasted great. I was quite tempted by the pastries and the cakes, but in the end I went with just the coffee.
It’s been a while since I have had a Bento Box from See Sells Sushi, but as it was Friday, and the Finzle Reach market was on, I headed off in the heavy rain to see what was around, but thinking I would probably have the Bento Box.
It was raining quite heavily, I did think earlier in the day that the market might be cancelled because of the rain and wind. However, it was open, though the weather did mean it wasn’t very busy. There was though still a queue for the See Sells Sushi stall. I did have a look around to see what was around. In the end, I went back and queued up for my Bento Box.
I had my usual choice of been donburi and crispy chicken hirata bun. Service was quick and friendly.
The beef was as usual, excellent. It is tasty tender beef rib on a bed of sushi rice and served with pickle and spring onions.
I’ve always enjoyed the hirata buns from the stall, this crispy chicken hirata bun was tasty. It was a charcoal bao bun with two pieces of crispy chicken, lettuce, pickles and sauce.
Overall a delicious box of food, which I really enjoyed.
Heading to Finzel Reach street food market in Bristol for lunch, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have. I did see that King Fin has their calamari, which I had enjoyed the other day. However first I walked down the market to see what was on offer. Decided I would go with the calamari, only to find when I got back to the King Fin stall they had sold out of the calamari.
Though I hadn’t been totally impressed with the soft shell crab burger when I had it before, I went with it this time.
The burger was a soft brioche bun with a deep fried soft shell crab, and a coleslaw. I added a side order of rosemary chips as well.
The twice cooked rosemary fries with sauce were very tasty, and crispy.
The burger was as I was expecting. The bun was lovely and soft, and the spicy coleslaw added heat and freshness. The deep fried soft shell crab was crispy, but didn’t have the crab taste intensity I would really like to see in this dish. I also felt the crab got lost in the spicy coleslaw as well. However, as I was expecting the food to be like this, I wasn’t really that disappointed.
I was working in Bristol and went for a walk at lunchtime.
I wasn’t really thinking about getting some lunch, but knew that I was out that evening, so might be a good idea to have a bigger lunch. I had brought a packed lunch, but did think that I might get a portion of something to add to it.
I decided to head to the Finzel Reach. There I wasn’t sure if I wanted anything, or what to have. In the end I got some calamari from King Fin. I’ve had some lovely food from King Fin in the past.
This time I got it without fries, you can add fries for another three pounds to make it a more substantial dish.
This was a decent portion of calamari. It was served with a chunk of lemon, garlic aioli, and some slaw.
It had been cooked to order, so was lovely and fresh. The coating was nice and crispy, the squid was tasty and tender. I liked the slaw, could have had more of that to be honest.
I think my only real criticism was that there was slightly too much added salt for my liking. I think in the future I will ask for no salt, and then add my own.
Overall I really enjoyed the food and it was excellent again.
We made our way to Bristol for a meal, and as we had enjoyed our last visit to the Coal Kitchen, we headed there again.
They have quite an extensive menu, but also a set menu. I went with the set menu again, but planned to have something different for my starter and my main course. This time for my starter I had the Beef Koftas. For my main course I looked over the menu. I had the minute steak, this time I wanted something different. I decided I didn’t want a wrap or a burger. I did think about the Caesar salad, but there was a £4.50 supplement to add halloumi. In the end I went with the Chicken Schnitzel. This was a chicken breast in golden crispy breadcrumbs, fried egg, and salad. I recently had a chicken schnitzel at Drayton Court which was a little dry, so was slightly hesitant, but in the end I did plump for the chicken.
The dish arrived, the chicken, was a chicken breast in golden crispy breadcrumbs. This was served on top of a salad which consisted of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and red onion. On top of the chicken was a fried egg.
The chicken schnitzel was a lot better than the last one I had, the chicken was still moist and tender, the breadcrumb coating was crispy and golden. The salad was nice and fresh. The fried egg was a nice addition. I quite like having a freshly cooked egg with a salad. I remember once watching a cooking programme where the chef had placed a freshly poached duck egg on top of a salad.
I did enjoy this plate of food. The waiter had asked if I wanted fries with my food, I think if I was just having a main course, then you might want some fries with it. However having had a starter I decided not to have the fries. I don’t think it needed the fries.
The service was friendly and warm.
We enjoyed our meal and it certainly was a place I would visit again.
We made our way to Bristol for a meal, and as we had enjoyed our last visit to the Coal Kitchen, we headed there again.
They have quite an extensive menu, but also a set menu. I went with the set menu again, but planned to have something different for my starter and my main course.
This time for my starter I had the Beef Koftas – four beef koftas, spicy tomato and red pepper sauce, fresh mint, toasted ciabatta.
This was a nice sized starter. The tomato sauce was rich and complimented the beef. The beef koftas were nice, not as tender as I think they could have been. The toasted ciabatta added some nice texture to the dish, I probably could have done with a third piece.
I liked the dish.