I have to be in Bristol for some work on a Friday afternoon, so we decide to make a weekend of it. I have pre-booked for 3 of our 4 meal-times, in an area just 5-10 minutes from our hotel.
So come Friday evening we make our way down by the harbourside to The Olive Shed. They make a great deal about their al fresco eating, but of course on a damp evening that's not for us. Downstairs there are just a few seats at the counter; we're shown upstairs to a cosy room with views over the harbour - though we don't get one of those tables, being given a large one near the stairs. It's not a big place - perhaps 40 covers - gently lit, and pretty full. Clearly a popular place, as there is also quite a turnover of tables.
The focus is on tapas, a relatively short list, though there are a couple of large plates - market fish, steak - on the menu too. We're told they have sold out of the fish. There is a French SB at £26.50, which comes delivered fairly promptly. They seem to be obsessed with water though, as we get offered immediately, and twice more.
There's soft shell crab on the menu, so obviously that's B's first choice. Gambas pil pil is a no brainer too. Iberico bavette is on the specials board - the waiter declares it to be his favourite, so that's on the list; "croquette" (singular) is just £3, but we're assured there are two pieces - ham croquette today. Finally, we choose a sliced venison chorizo to round things off.
As often happens with tapas most of the dishes arrive at the same time, which means you tend to eat them rapidly while they are still hot. In fact, we could have been through in an hour.
The crab is a good enough size to be able to taste the meat rather than just batter. The prawns come in their shells and the meat doesn't come away very easily. They don't have a lot of flavour and the pil pil doesn't help much. The bavette comes sliced in a very nice jus and is indeed a good choice, tender and tasty. The croquettes are a reasonable size and very hot and gooey, also a good choice, and the venison chorizo quite good too.
We order a second bottle, have a bit of a pause, and then order more crab and croquettes.
The staff have been busy scuttling up and down stairs all evening, but remain cheerful and friendly, despite the obsession with water. With service the total comes to £140, a fair price I'd say.
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After a visit to the SS Great Britain the following morning, we explore around the main harbour basin to find somewhere for lunch. Most of the places seem geared up for big groups and don't appeal much, but right at the end is moored a boat with what looks like an attractive dining room - Under the Stars. They say they are fully booked downstairs, but we can eat outdoors up top. The weather is quite bright, so we go for that. The menu is again tapas - or pizza. We have a bottle of Marlborough SB (£20), and then order food: hummus and bread, spiced lamb kofte and spider crab croquettes. B thought we'd agreed to have gambas as well, but I thought we'd said we wouldn't as we'd have prawns in the evening. So it ends up a modest lunch. The hummus was a little dry for B's taste, The kofte were really good, spicy with pine nuts and pickled red onion slices. The croquettes were pretty good too. Total £47.
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For the evening I have booked Salt and Malt, a fish restaurant in the collection of container sheds that is Wapping Wharf. There is a queue out of the door as we arrive, but it transpires this is for take-away fish and chips. The seating area is busy too, divided into smaller areas by strange screens. We get given what is a pretty rubbish table, where we can't see the rest of the restaurant. We can see the kitchen and chef though, and that becomes quite interesting. The menu has a good selection of starters, but fairly conventional fish and chips for mains.
The wine list is short, so we opt for the cheapest, a Pecorino from Italy (£26). We have three starters. The scallop (just the one, but large) is attractively served on a shell, with a parsnip gratin - nicely cooked. Prawns pil pil are much better than the previous night, lots of kick to the sauce and fresh prawns. The Thai fishcakes with teriyaki sauce come more like croquettes, balls rather than cakes. But they are good and fishy too, decorated with a little chilli and garlic. And from our table we had been able to watch the somewhat grumpy chef cook all these. The waiting staff were very pleasant though.
For main, B had the haddock and chips, with crushed peas. It's a good sized portion, but as extreme as some cod and chips you get in pubs. It's a professional example of the dish - hot, good batter, firm fish. I have whole-tailed battered scampi, which also comes with crushed peas - they are rather good. We order two glasses of wine, but they don't do the Pecorino by the glass, so we have Touraine Sauvignon at £8 each. B can't finish her fish so asks to take some away, which they are geared up to anyway.
Total was £98, only 10% service. The poor table put a downer on things, though it was quite interesting watching our starters being cooked; the starters were good, but the mains not much more than average. Maybe a "tapas" selection of starters would have been a better choice.
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Sunday lunchtime we are booked into another tapas place, again in Wapping Wharf, though upstairs - Gambas. This is apparently related to the Michelin star tapas, Paco Tapas. After last night's experience we approach with a due sense of dread. In fact, it is a very pleasant place, and we get a good central table, with a reasonable view down to the harbour.
There are also outside tables. There's a nice warm buzz to the place, blackboards listing sherries, and a goodly number of staff. Again a short menu.
We order the house wine, a Verdejo at £26. It's perfectly fine. The dishes here arrive a little more spaced apart. First we get the bread and aioli, a luscious dip with serious garlic supporting half a loaf of tasty bread, and alongside it the cured trout ("fish of the day"), which is in a delicious green sauce.
Shortly after come the calamares - hot, crispy; padron peppers - B gets a hot one first up; and the sausage croquettes (sobrasada).
Finally the inevitable gambas pil pil - an easy to eat version with just the heads left on for decoration. We'd ordered an extra prawn to make it two each. And the Presa Iberica (pork shoulder), succulent slices in a tasty sauce, more mouth-melting than Friday's.
All very pleasant, so I indulge in salted chocolate truffles as a dessert. £4 for 4, but they are excellent.
With a second bottle of wine, this comes to £126, a better option than the Olive Shed.
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