Restaurants / Reviews
Rosemarino, Colston Street
It’s a dream for many people to open their own restaurant or cafe.
As The Restaurant Man documentary on BBC Two showed, many who take the leap have had no previous experience of working within the tough environment of the food industry where there is no such thing as a quick win, only hard graft.
Not so the trio of friends behind Rosemarino, who met while working for the Lounger chain and whose original restaurant tucked away in a residential corner of Clifton Village has won them many fans and almost as many awards since opening almost four years’ ago.
is needed now More than ever
So it comes as no surprise that a second Rosemarino has now opened on Colston Street, still an all-day affair but now also hoping to attract the pre-theatre and post-work crowds.
The removal of half of a dividing wall and a few other minor structural changes has made this site far removed from previous incarnations Urban Wood and Bocanova, especially with the back dining room overlooking the historic Colston Yard flooded with natural light.
The duck egg blue colour scheme will be familiar to anyone who has visited Rosemarino #1. The bar now greets you as you walk in, with a few tables opposite and through to the back dining room with seating for some 30 people.
I visited for the first time this week for lunch where the stand-out dish was tarragon pappardelle with slow-braised rabbit and pancetta, closely followed by the smoked haddock and pea arancini.
Both of these main course dishes can be had “piccolo” or “grande” for lunch at £6.50 or £13, and also both make an appearance on the cichetti menu of smaller dishes served between 4pm and 7pm.
For pudding, our tiramisu was a treat, wobbly with just a subtle hint of coffee.
No cheese for us this time, but from a list of four the Little Wallop from Somerset is particularly noticeable as it is made by Blur bassist turned farmer Alex James.
Rosemarino has built up a reputation as one of the best places in Bristol for breakfast, so a couple of days after lunch I returned in the morning.
This time I had a well-made flat white with beans from Clifton Coffee Roasters, and a bowl of granola with fresh fruit artfully displayed on top with a dollop of natural yoghurt.
Anyone harboring dreams of opening a restaurant could learn a lot from Rosemarino, with this second restaurant once again showcasing a knack of creating the best type of all-day casual eating.
Rosemarino, 90 Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 5BB
0117 925 3524
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