Restaurants / Reviews
The Spiny Lobster
The Spiny Lobster doesn’t just have a fabulous name. Rockfish Grill, already one of Bristol’s best restaurants, has just got even better.
The name change has come about after owner Mitch Tonks wanted a separation between his growing chain of fish and chip shops from Brixham to Dartmouth, and this more upmarket establishment on Blackboy Hill in Clifton.
Tonks hopes to open more Rockfish restaurants and takeaways soon, so the time was right for the Bristol branch to get a new name and a fresh lick of paint.
is needed now More than ever
This is dining in style, with plush green leather banquettes and starched cream tablecloths. The walls are lined with paintings and photographs, with one corner of the room taken up by the open kitchen and its large Josper grill and oven.
Squid and sprats with smoked garlic aioli was presented to me on a small plate soon after I had sat down, with dozens of wine bottles on display behind my seat.
In another corner, two Irish coffees were being ordered after a leisurely long lunch. It felt a bit like being on holiday, and I would have loved to have tried the four different oysters (rocks £2; natives £3.20) that even come with their own tasting notes: from Cumbrae in west Scotland, “briny with notes of wood and nuts”; from Grouville Bay in Jersey, “flavours of cucumber and lemon”.
The menu depends on that day’s catch. On the Thursday that I visited, seafood cooked over charcoal included monkfish (£22.50 per person for two people to share), John Dory with peperonata (£19.50) and prawns with sea salt and chilli jam (£21).
But I unfortunately was pressed for time so ordered from the set lunchtime and early evening menu – two courses for £15 or three for £18.
Blood orange slices disguised themselves among the slivers of cured salmon in the starter, with a delightful sweetness of fruit and freshness of fish, accompanied by crunchy fennel.
The Basque-style baked crab came piping hot, served in a clay ramekin. One small slice of toast on the side wasn’t quite enough and unfortunately a small bit of crab shell had to be extricated. But this was as salty as the sea from whence it came and it was delicious.
When it was time for pudding, I couldn’t help thinking before the first bite that those sticks of rhubarb in the Yorkshire rhubarb fool were in fact crab sticks and the fishy theme had continued all the way through to dessert. Thankfully not and I could have licked the small glass bowl clean.
The Spiny Lobster, 128 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2RS
0117 973 7384
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
