food, reviews and of course coffee
I had enjoyed the Capo Triestino I had had at the Illy Cafe up in Clifton. So on a recent visit to the area, I visited the Illy Cafe and this time I ordered a Cortado.
It probably wasn’t a Cortado, as this is a Spanish drink, and it wasn’t on the menu, when I looked. However the staff said they could make a Cortado. I took a seat and they brought the coffee over to my table.
It was a very nice coffee.
I had a coffee I have never had before. I was up in Clifton and went to the Illy Cafe.
After a nice warm welcome I ordered the Capo Triestino. I took a seat and they brought the coffee over to me.
So what is a Capo Triestino?
An illy espresso with abundant cold emulsified milk served in a small Freddo glass.
I do like Illy coffee and really enjoyed this. I don’t get to Clifton very often these days, so think it will be a while before I can make a return visit. Hopefully not too long.
Now as we start to leave the third lockdown I have been reflecting on some meals I had out over the last few years which never made it to the blog. Sometimes I just run out of time to write up a review and sometimes I forget to write up the meal.
I had forgotten that I had eaten at Wahaca in Bristol in 2017. I had got a money off voucher from a meal kit that I had bought in a supermarket, so though I wouldn’t normally spend the kind of money that this lunch would cost, with the money off voucher it made it a lot cheaper and value for money.
This was my first (and to date) only visit to the Wahaca branch in Clifton, Bristol. I have eaten at a fair few branches in London over the years, but I have only visited the branch in Clifton just this once.
I had a warm and friendly welcome and was shown to a table. It was later in the day for lunch so the place was quite empty.
I went with three dishes. The first of these was the Grilled Steak Tacos.
These are three flash-grilled skirt steak filled toasted soft corn tortilla tacos with chipotle & tomatillo salsas. You could have had it with grilled cheese, but I chose to go without. When I last visited Wahaca in London last year the cheese wasn’t optional, I don’t think it needs the cheese. The tacos were delicious, the steak was cooked well and the different salsas added heat and spice.
The second of my dishes as the Ancho Chicken Baja Tacos.
Two corn and flour tortillas inspired by the beaches of baja filled with grilled chicken thighs marinated with sweet & smoky ancho chilli, topped with and jalapeño-pickled carrots. I really enjoyed these the salad adding freshness to the dish, with the warm tasty grilled chicken.
As for my third dish was a special, the Mushroom Fundido.
Mushrooms roasted in garlic, thyme, chipotle and hibiscus glazed, baked in mozzarella, cheddar and local queso fresco.
When writing this article I checked what the dish was called from my Instagram feed when I posted a photo of it back in March 2017.
I then did a Google Search for more details about the dish and this tweet from Wahaca came up.
NEW SPECIAL! Mushroom fundido: roasted in garlic, thyme, #chipotle and hibiscus glazed, baked in mozzarella, cheddar and local queso fresco. pic.twitter.com/cpr7X2y8ZU
— wahaca (@wahaca) March 31, 2017
As you can see what I got looked very different to how the dish should have looked. Having said that, the dish tasted a lot better than it looked.
Overall three tasty dishes, excellent service.
Meeting up with family near to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, I really did fancy a coffee.
Up on the hill overlooking the bridge is the Clifton Observatory. A former mill, built in 1766, was damaged by fire just eleven years later and lay derelict for over fifty years until, an artist by the name of William West rented it as a studio. West installed telescopes and a camera obscura, which were used by artists of the Bristol School to draw the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods on the opposite side.
I’ve not been to the cafe in the Clifton Observatory before, but it looked like table service was off limits, due to Coivd-19, but they were doing a takeaway service.
They served a range of coffees, which was nice, so I went with my usual choice of a flat white.
This was served with a smile and a contactless payment later I was handed my coffee. The flavour of the coffee was excellent and the milk velvety and smooth as it should be. Really excellent coffee.
Great friendly service and the coffee was delicious.