St George’s cafe-bar – restaurant review

St George’s is currently riding the crest of a wave. Just weeks after the opening of its new £6.3m extension, its chief executive Suzanne Rolt was named concert hall manager of the year in the ABO Classical Music Awards.

And now it’s the turn of the restaurant within the extension to make the headlines, with head chef Oakan Brousse committed to using fresh ingredients to create exciting dishes, packed with flavour.

French-born Brousse was previously a pastry chef at Berwick Lodge in Henbury  – and it shows, with a splendid selection of cakes and assorted sweet trades on the counter including salted caramel brownies, bakewell tart and millionaire shortbread on a recent Thursday afternoon.

Returning for lunch the next day, a pineapple, coconut and lime cake was so good it was deserving of a Hollywood handshake in the days before he dished them out faster than Bristol mayor Marvin Rees sets up new committees.

The cake was washed down beautifully with a bottle of Keller Pils from St Anne’s brewery Lost & Grounded, joining a variety of ales from Bristol Beer Factory in the fridges.

As musicians with their instruments in large travel cases walked down the steps from the first floor in preparation for an evening concert, the prime seats within the restaurant were next to the huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the garden and across to the Georgian terraces of Great George Street.

These seats are also underneath a hanging glass sculpture by Bristol artist Luke Jerram called Apollo, comprising of 80 different roundels of different sizes and colours.

Open for breakfast from 10am – featuring the likes of avocado on toast and a full English – and lunch from midday, an evening menu of tapas-style pre-concert food from 6pm is planned for later in the new concert season, with sandwiches as big as doorstops currently served until 5pm.

For now, Brousse and his small kitchen team are keeping things deceptively simple. ‘Pork and potato’ (£10.95) on the menu is in fact cured pork belly, potato purée, smoked pancetta crumb, roasted tomato, garlic kale, chicken, and cider reduction; while ‘celeriac and walnut’ (£9.50) is charred celeriac, roasted celeriac purée, confit shallot, walnut bonbon, pickled walnuts, spinach and fresh herb salsa.

My house ricotta and red onion rosti (£7.50) was a treat, featuring a trio of elements on the plate made up of crispy potato rosti, pickled red onion, poached egg, ricotta with garlic and thyme, and a spinach and ricotta courgette.

With the soothing sounds of smooth jazz from ceiling mounted speakers (unfortunately interrupted at times by loud drilling from upstairs as the last few bits of building still take place) it is easy to forget just how close St George’s is to the hustle and bustle of Park Street.

Be sure to pay a visit to this delightful new cafe and restaurant before the word gets out much further.

St George’s, Great George Street, Bristol, BS1 5RR
0117 929 4929

www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/venue-info/st-georges-bar

Read more: St George’s extension opens to the public