Firewood Grill and Gelato – restaurant review

It was a rainy March Monday and the new Firewood Grill and Gelato on Bond Street held all the promise of a pit stop capable of giving me the pick-me-up I badly needed.

One of the latest in a somewhat saturated market of burger joints, this offering in Bristol city centre certainly wins points for creativity.

From the distinctive cow logo, to the faux grass coating the interior walls, this is a business that has picked a theme and run with it, but the overall effect is bright, cheerful and quirky and I certainly couldn’t fault the friendly smile I was greeted with.

With the rain (I assume) keeping other would-be lunchers at bay, I had the place to myself and was met with infinite patience when I took longer than is strictly polite to decide from the options laid out in front of me on the large, wall-mounted menu.

Seeking to offer something a bit more that artery-clogging carbs, Firewood has a range of grilled gourmet burgers, flame-grilled chicken and two token vegetarian options on an otherwise meat-filled menu, as well as an assortment of fresh juices, waffles and, of course, gelato.

I eventually opted for the Italian-style burger with fries, presuming the fairly steep £8.30 for my main was to be a reflection of the quality of the classic combination to come.

I followed the astroturf-bricked wall up to the spacious first floor dining area and settled in a quirky booth with a wood-lined wall, more faux-grass for the floor and stark white, comfortable seating.

My meal arrived promptly on a plastic tray, in an array of wrappings that I couldn’t help feeling were a bit excessive given that I’d already committed to eating inside, but nevertheless, I tore off the moist paper encasing my burger and tucked in with gusto.

Sadly the offering inside was far more McDonald’s than Michelin-starred.

While certainly sizeable, the burger offered little in the way of taste. Crammed inside the large brioche bun doused in pesto (the Italian element of the meal) was the burger itself, some sort of soft melted cheese, iceberg lettuce, gherkins, a nondescript burger sauce in a peculiar shade of yellow and a generous portion of sun dried tomatoes to top it all off.

The overall effect was really rather sickly and while I must take some of the blame for my poor choice, in hindsight I have to question whether it is really wise to include sun dried tomatoes and pesto in addition to all the usual burger trimmings.

The fries were fresh and hot, but otherwise uninspiring, despite my efforts to jazz them up with the aid of an array of sauce sachets that accompanied my meal.

I opted for a rum and raisin gelato dessert which was sweet and perfectly pleasant but lacked the punch I’d have hoped for in the flavour – it was going to take more than that to banish the Monday blues.

I certainly wouldn’t write off this quirky little cafe cum takeaway – if only for the fact that you have to respect a business with that kind of commitment to faux grass in its interior decorating – but, lesson learnt: forget the continental twist – don’t mess with a classic.

Firewood Grill and Gelato, 22 Bond Street, Bristol, BS1 3LU
0117 3290 870

www.facebook.com/FirewoodGrillandGelato

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