Restaurants / gloucester road
The Bristol Cookhouse – restaurant review
Completely unrecognisable from its former life as a wool shop following major remodelling work, the inside of The Bristol Cookhouse is calm and quiet one sunny lunchtime soon after opening. Fresh flowers and cakes sit atop the wooden bar that also acts as a boundary for the open kitchen, slap bang in the middle of the space. If ever there was a literal representation for putting the food at the heart of your business, this is it.
The space houses just half a dozen tables, but they are all large wooden bench affairs, and a sign on the other side of the bar, next to glasses full of fresh cut greenery from the garden and bottles of table water, instructs patrons to ‘love thy neighbour’ and share tables.
The Cook House has been extensively remodelled after life as a wool shop for many years
Open for breakfast from 9am and lunch from midday, the lunch menu offers plenty of healthy options in keeping with the credentials of owner Sam Waterhouse, a nutritional chef with a day job devising bespoke menus for the rich and famous. Lunches range from a seasonal superfood salad bowl with nuts and grains (£9 on its own or £12 with either salmon or haloumi) to a hake fillet with a cabbage and fennel slaw (£10). There are also local beers on offer including Wiper & True, coffee from Clifton Coffee Roasters and a range of juices and shakes.
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I pick the soba noodle salad with tofu and avocado (£9) and watch as chef fires up the burners on the massive gas stove. As quickly as is humanly possible, a large plate of wholewheat noodles, green vegetables and tofu arrives at the table, along with a complementary bottle of cool water.
The cold noodles are dressed with a delicious sauce that is creamy but remains light, and the broccoli is tender but still retains some nice crunch, helped along by a liberal smattering of sesame seeds. The tofu alone is rather bland but with the help of the other elements, including the puréed avocado, sweated spinach and leafy coriander, it’s swept along into a light and refreshing summer lunch.
The soba noodle salad with avocado and tofu
As the friendly waitress takes the plate away, chef hums along to the music and wipes down the sparkling stainless steel surfaces. Two workmen clutching spirit levels and bags make their way through the cafe from the unfinished garden – evidence that this project is still a work in progress. Owner Sam plans to host pop-up events, workshops and dining clubs in the space in the near future, and it’ll be a great addition to this stretch of Gloucester Road when it comes to fruition.
The Bristol Cookhouse, 405 Gloucester Road, Horfield, Bristol, BS7 8TS
www.thebristolcookhouse.co.uk
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