I’ve often walked past this place over the years whilst in its catering company form with an enticing table display that one can see from outside. I always wondered what it would be like to eat in there if one could eat in there.
I’ll be gladly corrected but I only recently noticed during the recent Covid period that this place became a food serving bistro that is The Chef’s Table. As soon as I spotted it, I knew I had to find an excuse to go and try it.
And we did, as our first proper meal out since Covid started, and my expectations were more than exceeded.
Nestled in this unassuming corner of Avon Crescent by Underfall Yard is this intimate gem of an eaterie next to the Nova Scotia pub. Because of the Covid restrictions, they only had tables for 7 covers at a time with the kitchen in full plain view of the diners behind a glass partition. The menu was a seasonal feast which I understand changes every week with ingredients sourced from local producers.
As it was lunchtime, we opted for beers rather than wine. Serving a well selected choice of beers and ales from local breweries such as Moor beer in Bristol.
We had mixture of dishes from the printed menu and the specials, the latter of which proved to be very popular as we overheard they ran out of some of the specials.
Pickled mackerel with crab potato salad Chicken liver parfait with onion relish Fresh focaccia with dark balsamic oil Thai beef salad
We could see the freshly made trays of focaccia through the kitchen partition so of course we had to have some. The focaccia flaked and was still warm. You’re offered a choice of either light and dark balsamic to be added to your oil as a bread dip.
My mackerel was just rightly pickled and not too over powering. The creaminess of the crab meat potato salad complimented the fish beautifully. The lightly seared beef Thai salad had a beautifully balanced dressing. What can go wrong with a good old chicken liver parfait with crostini and onion relish which devoured in no time. We were particularly impressed that they actually provided you with sufficient pieces of crostini to go with your parfait so you didn’t have to end up eating the parfait on its on as you often do with this dish!
Fillet of beef rossini Chicken supreme Pan seared cod
I learned that a rossini is a tower and a tower my fillet of beef certainly was! Topped with sauteed mushrooms and served on a bed of chicken liver pate and bread, the fillet of beef was beautifully seasoned and just cooked enough not to offend those that are medium beef eaters.
I was reliably informed that the cod and the chicken supreme were equally impressive based on the clean plates at the end of the meal.
The only criticism I would have of this place which are factors that a lot of modern restaurants suffer from are their acoustic and air flow. The minimalistic decor that is the trend, coupled with the intimate venue unfortunately made the dining room a cacophony of sounds and made it impossible to have conversations with your fellow diners without feeling like you’re shouting at each other. As the dining room filled with tables, the heat of the kitchen and the number of people in the dining room also made the restaurant feel rather stuffy towards the end of our meal. In a time when air flow is emphasised in indoor settings during this Covid landscape, it perhaps was not doing as well on this front but clearly this was a limitation on the property itself as it did not seem that any of the windows were capable of opening. Otherwise, we were made to feel very safe whilst on site with the lovely and friendly staff both donning their face masks and hand sanitisers were available for use.
All in all, I really enjoyed this our first proper meal out since Covid began and would return without hesitation.
🤤🤤🤤🤤
Happy eating!
