Aquila

No expense has been spared on the opening of Aquila, a new 150-cover Italian restaurant in a former office building on Baldwin Street.

There is glistening chandelier that must be an absolute bugger to clean, stretching the height of the two-storey dining room – with its floor to ceiling window out front unfortunately looking out onto roadworks.

It’s so big inside that I got lost on my way to the toilets. Oak beams that look like they’ve been hacked from an Elizabethan country house mix with plush cream leather banquettes. Even the cutlery is of a superior weight.

It’s of a similar scale and ambition to the now-closed Namaskar Lounge on King Street, a world away from some of the best restaurants that have opened in Bristol this year. Think small-scale ventures such as Sky Kong Kong on Haymarket Walk near the bus station or Birch hidden away on a residential road in Bedminster.

Aquila is where in days gone by, long business lunches would have been had and expense accounts blown.

In the present, however, an “express lunch” of two courses certainly shouldn’t take two hours, elongated by our waitress explaining the restaurant’s concept which from what I gathered is basically just cooking authentic Italian recipes – proof enough of that comes from the Italian voices in the kitchen.

Yes, it’s still early days, but I wouldn’t have minded taking a couple of hours here so much if another diner cordially welcomed by Aquila director and former Bristol Rovers chairman Geoff Dunford who was eating on another table (and who could have purchased a few new Rovers players for the money spent on Aquila), was onto his cheese course before we had even been presented with the dessert menu.

Worse things happen at sea, of course. But with the size of Aquila and the sacks of cash clearly spent on, this is a restaurant that needs to hit the ground running.

Starters are priced from £6.45 for rice balls up to £11.95 for grilled king prawns. Pasta and salads can be ordered as a starter or main, and pizzas (from £7.95 for a margherita) can be deep or thin crust.

The ‘secondi’ course features fish or meat dishes. Play safe with the Aquila burger (£9.95) or splash out on the grilled 8oz fillet steak for £23.95, excluding sauces which costs an extra £1.95.

Our so-called express lunch was £12.95 for two courses – with the added surprise of an amuse bouche of mini calzone with mozzarella and tomato.

My rigatoni came with cream of pumpkin featuring surprisingly large chunks of pumpkin, topped with roast pine nuts for a satisfying crunch.

Over the other side of the table, the burger in a brioche bun and served on a slate was well-received, especially after half the waiting staff had helped in the hunt to find some mayonnaise to accompany the chips.

The wait for the puddings was thankfully worth it. A sweet apple tart served with cinnamon sauce was excellent, as was the two cannoli filled with ricotta – although a chainsaw would have been useful to reach its inside.

Aquila, 30-34 Baldwin Street, Bristol, BS1 1NR
0117 321 0322

www.aquila-restaurant.com