Restaurants / Reviews
Casamia, The General – restaurant review
The stars twinkled on Bathurst Basin on a crisp winter’s night, the moon bright in the sky. Across the water were the illuminated signs of Asda Bedminster and McDonalds. But let’s forget about those. We were here to visit Bristol’s world famous Casamia in its new home at The General, in the former ground floor storerooms of the old hospital accessed through imposing stone archways.
Time seems to operate differently through these archways. A nine-course tasting menu accompanied by a matching wine flight on a recent Friday night saw us sat in awe at the food presented to us for four hours, with only the babysitter fees racking up at home our cue to depart soon before midnight.
In the open kitchen was the sound of blowtorches, and the sight of Peter Sanchez-Iglesias at the pass plating the food when he wasn’t spending time talking to diners. Behind him, a well-drilled brigade of chefs were operating with military efficiency.
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Front of house, Peter’s dad Paco worked the room, warmly greeting old friends and greeting new friends like old friends. It’s no longer both of his two boys in charge, however, and memories of eldest son Jonray who died in the months leading up to Casamia’s move to Redcliffe were never far away.
The heart and soul of their original Westbury home remains; it’s just been transplanted to different surroundings. The dining room here features exposed cream painted bricks, grey marble counters, white tiles in the kitchen and photos of wintry scenes on the walls. Casamia changes its menu four times a year with the seasons, although the wintry temperature inside that saw my wife needing to keep her thick jumper on for most of our meal probably shouldn’t have been part of the plan.
Early problems with the thermostat aside, however, barely a foot was put wrong from when tweezers were the first implements set in front of us to the gobbling of chocolate lollies with candied fruit and raisins to finish.
Opposite me, the kitchen had thoughtfully prepared a vegan menu for my wife, with substitutions including parsnip, curry and lentils for my sensational sous-vide fallow deer; and cabbage and bulgur wheat instead of a Jenga-sized block of rainbow trout.
A foam pas was narrowly avoided as Joanna wondered whether she was meant to drink her pea veloute with pea oil and foam, since no cutlery had been presented. After some questioning a spoon was quickly procured.
Highlights came thick and fast. Among the earlier courses, what the menu succinctly describes as “hen egg, duck, cardamom” was served in a hollowed-out egg-shell-shaped bowl on a bed of hay. There was egg mousse, cardamom foam on top that melted away in the mouth, and small chunks of diced duck meat with more and more of its juices revealed as the wooden spoon delved further down.
A theme throughout the menu was the tang of fermented vegetables. There were a couple of appearances of foam and one memorable arrival of dry ice poured on top of a bowl of mandarins, the citrus-smelling smoke billowing out over our table on top of which delicate rosemary, juniper and thyme shards around a mandarin sorbet.
A winter root vegetable salad of dehydrated turnips, pickled carrot and carrot jam was followed by sourdough bread from Joe’s Bakery on Gloucester Road as the temperature hadn’t been right in Casamia’s kitchen to bake it themselves.
If there was a main course or two, it was next: the rainbow trout and then the fallow deer, followed by a small piece of Cornish Camembert within sourdough crackers and Muscat grape chutney, served on top of a wooden Camembert wheel.
All of the dishes, bowls, various wooden boards and other bits and pieces are made especially for Casamia by the Village Pottery on Princess Victoria Street in Clifton Village. All the better to give these top quality ingredients each prepared exquisitely in the kitchen the best possible show on the plate.
They think of everything here. A rice pudding-style dish with celeriac-apple puree was the transition course from savoury to sweet, with the accompanying wine this time on the flight – each one explained superbly by our sommelier – a 2002 All Rounder Semillion from Australia.
At £88 for this tasting menu on a Friday and Saturday evening (it costs £68 from Tuesday to Thursday) and £60 for the wine flight, this is an expensive night out, although a set lunch menu does cost a more manageable £38 and still comes with some dry ice. Things aren’t cheap here, but nor should they be. Bristol has never seen food this good.
Not content with opening Casamia in its new waterfront home, the Sanchez Iglesias family will in the next few months be opening two other restaurants at The General: Pi Shop serving pizza and ice cream, and Paco Tapas, a Spanish tapas and sherry bar.
Talking of two, if Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym deserved its one Michelin star, Casamia at The General is clearly looking to secure its second. And on first visit to their new home this exceptional team is not far away from achieving that lofty goal.
Casamia, The General, Lower Guinea Street, Bristol, BS1 6SY
0117 959 2884
Exterior photo by Darren Shepherd