Restaurants / Reviews
Ironworks – restaurant review
There are t-shirts at the back of Ironworks Supply Company, coffee from Australia behind the counter and male grooming coming soon.
From the kitchen downstairs, breakfast from 8am includes toast and burritos, and pancakes with as many fillings as you can eat; lunch is hot ciabatta baguettes and salads; while dinner with bread and beer costs £10 although there was no supper menu chalked up on the day we visited.
A week after our review of Pizza Workshop on North Street cautioned against food and drink businesses trying to do everything, this new restaurant and shop on Broad Street in the Old City does just that.
is needed now More than ever
(Although they are not such bad culprits as the previous occupants of this site, Wild At Heart, which had a shoe shiner on the pavement outside and inside the opportunitty to have your hair cut, your teeth whitened, flowers arranged, wedding dress sourced and party held.)
Ironworks has been opened by a couple who lived in Australia, moved back to the UK and then fled London for Bristol where they found this unit for sale and made an offer days after arriving in the city.
Its nearest equivalent in Bristol is Spoke & Stringer opposite the ss Great Britain, which has a shop attached to its bar. Here, the shop is at the far end of a room, with t-shirts bearing the logo of Australian custom motorbike firm Deus and a cow hide on the floor.
My sticky pulled gammon (£6.95), slow cooked with a sticky glaze layered in the bread, was much too dry. It was served with a creamy warm onion and mushroom sauce, with jalapeño coleslaw and pineapple relish in small pots.
Better over the other side of the table were the falafels (£6.50) with homemade tzatziki and marinated halloumi served with pickled vegetables.
Thankfully I had a can of refreshing Summer Ale from Brooklyn Brewery, one of the picks of the beers in both cans and bottles, which includes Piston to go with the biking theme. There are also cocktails and a seven-strong wine list.
The black and white colour scheme is striking, with splashes of colours on the walls from artworks that are available to buy.
A splash of red comes from the bags of Di Lorenzo coffee roasted in Sydney, of which Ironworks are the only UK distributors.
Doing everything might not be such a bad thing then. Ironworks have a clear idea of what they want to do, and they’re doing it well.
Ironworks Supply Co., 51 Broad Street, Bristol, BS1 2EP