Tiffins – restaurant review

Husband and wife team Nick and Jay Jethwa must be among the nicest two people to run a restaurant. Ever.

I was feeling miserable. My baby daughter was spending a second night in the Children’s Hospital and I had been tasked by my wife with providing sustenance for the evening.

During Lois’ three nights in hospital, I got used to the food and drink offerings in the vicinity of Upper Maudlin Street. Walk into the main BRI and be confronted by a giant Costa. Walk a little further and there is an M&S Simply Food.

In the lobby of the Children’s Hospital there is a shop selling snacks manned by tireless volunteers. Over the road, there is Penfold’s Kitchen – who kindly gave me an unused vegetable tray to take a collection of coffees and pastries into ward 30 early one morning.

But it was now the evening and my family needed feeding. My hunter-gatherer instincts kicked in and I powered my bicycle the short distance up St Michael’s Hill.

Shining like a beacon in the gloom were the lights of Tiffins and shining just as brightly inside were the smiles of Nick and Jay.

Nick told me that they buy the freshest local ingredients every day which means an ever-changing choice of products. I learned that the style and type of cooking here is regional Gujarati from India which uses much less oil (all dishes are cooked in pure sunflower oil only) and no ghee, artificial flavours or colourings.

As I was wondering how hot I wanted my curry to be, Jay joined in our conversation and we spoke about a variety of diverse topics as my food was placed piping hot into various Tupperware dishes: how great the Children’s Hospital is, other Indian restaurants, state coaches, and Bristol’s pomp in the run-up to the Remembrance Sunday parade. Jay was a city councillor until earlier this year and is now an alderman who still enjoys the ceremony of civic occasions.

If I didn’t have three hungry mouths to feed, I could have spoken to the jovial pair all night. As it was, I had to make my excuses and roll back down the steep hill with the precious load balanced precariously on my handlebars.

Safely back to our room in ward 30, the Tiffins spread was laid out in all its glory. It felt like a banquet and so far removed from your typical curry house.

My chicken curry (£7 for a large portion) packed a spicy punch, the meat delicately cooked and the curry sweet-smelling and zesty. The rice was fluffy and as light as a feather, while we also enjoyed poppadoms with a range of homemade chutneys.

For a while there was seating inside Tiffins. But new kitchen equipment has meant that this is now solely a takeaway operation, so you can briefly enjoy a colourful mural by Nick Walker inside as you wait for the wonderful Nick and Jay to serve you their fantastic food – just what the doctor ordered.

Tiffins, 151 St Michael’s Hill, Kingsdown, Bristol, BS2 8DB
0117 973 4834

www.tiffins-bristol.com