Restaurants / Old favourite
Bordeaux Quay – restaurant review
There was an article in the Financial Times Weekend Magazine recently about what exactly sets apart the very best restaurants. A great location is one shared factor of the crème de la crème, just as crucial according to Nicholas Lander as the menu or the wine list, with the examples given including Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester Hotel within the luxury of London’s exclusive Mayfair and The Waterside Inn sitting on the banks of the River Thames in Berkshire.
Bordeaux Quay is not quite in the illustrious company of these three Michelin-starred establishments but it has long been considered as one of the finest restaurants in Bristol – and its great location most certainly has something to do with this.
If ambitious plans had come to fruition in the mid-90s, the former dockside warehouse would now be next to a world class concert hall and arts centre to rival the Guggenheim in Bilbao. But the Arts Council pulled out of funding the ambitious project so Bordeaux Quay remains somewhat out on a limb.
is needed now More than ever
It can be an oasis of calm after passing a couple of the bars nearby, especially in the evening. It may be Jagerbombs all round in the V Shed but in Bordeaux Quay it’s an altogether more relaxed affair in a restaurant, brasserie, bar, deli, bakery and cookery school all found under one rain-harvesting roof.
A new offer here on a Friday and Saturday night from 5.30pm to 10pm sees a small plates menu served in the Wine Bar upstairs. It’s a tapas-style selection of dishes and with prices from £3 to £6 for a selection of dishes taken from the fine dining menu so you can order some great food without breaking the bank – a key consideration in purse-tightening January.
The Wine Bar makes up a small corner of the first floor. Just look out for the comfy sofas and small wobbly tables – ours was soon replaced after a near calamity with a glass of Chilean red.
The lights of the Floating Harbour twinkled below as a parade of taster plates were presented to us. It’s not a good idea to eat this way if you’re hungry, especially with the main restaurant and their more traditional plates of food within eyeline, but it’s ideal if you’ve got to get to the theatre or another evening appointment and have only a limited amount of time.
Small strips of 30-day aged beef sirloin steak were precisely cooked and a Cornish Hake fillet. The same size as these two usual main courses was a glimpse of a delightful Bordeaux Quay starter of mission fig, goats cheese mousse, hazelnuts, fig and red onion relish on pastry.
Yes, it’s got one of the best locations in Bristol but that’s not all that sets Bordeaux Quay apart.
Bordeaux Quay Ltd, V-Shed, Canons Way, Bristol, BS1 5UH
0117 943 1200
Photos by Darren Shepherd