1766 has now closed and there is a new dining offer (BOV Kitchen + Bar) at the Bristol Old Vic. Sept 2022
These days I rarely dedicate a whole blog post to one place, one meal. I’ve previously written about whether or not the way bloggers review places is right – I mean, can we really know enough after one visit to give a true reflection of a place? To set our thoughts down in stone and either boost or break a place’s reputation because of one experience? I’m honestly not sure.
Well, last weekend’s Sunday roast lead me to make an exception. So here we go. This is a whole blog post dedicated to one place, one meal. Why? Because I’m confident that what I’m saying is true, accurate and right and not a one off.
We were at 1766 Bar & Kitchen which finds its home in the stunningly renovated and recently reopened atrium area of the Bristol Old Vic. The light flooded the space, even on that overcase Sunday, and the mix of metal, wood and brick just works. It’s modern yet old, it’s cosy yet industrial. Just a wonderful space oozing hygge.
We were there to try their Sunday roast, devouring three courses and a bottle of house red which kept us full beyond dinner time that night and into the next day. The Sunday menu is served 12 – 3:30 pm. It’s small and packed with local and seasonal ingredients.
To start, Dave went for the deep fried Homewood Cheese ewes curd with beetroot & crispy kale and chickpeas. I had the smoked mackerel rilette with pickled cucumber & shallot, dill & toast. Both were beautifully presented and very tasty.
Paté is always best (in my view) when it’s chunky. This one was chunky and creamy and delicious. Especially when paired with those pickled shallots and crispy crunchy toasts. Dave’s cheese was equally good – golden crispy breadcrumbs encasing the gooey soft cheese inside.
For our mains, we both went meaty. Dave had maple glazed confit belly of pork with crackling and apple sauce. I always have pork so for a change (and because Dave had nabbed it first) I had the overnight roast topside of 28-day dry-aged beef & horseradish cream. Just yum. Rare roast beef, crispy crackling, soft pull apart pork. It was all perfect.
For me, whilst the meat was exceptionally good, the thing that really took our roast from great to greatest was the veg. Yep. The veg. A smooth, creamy squash puree shouted autumn and added a sweetness to the plate which was welcome. Kale is always a winner in my book and alongside baby carrots and roast parsnips, was the perfect green vegetable for an October roast. Let’s finish this paragraph in a roastie flourish. Duck fat, garlic and rosemary roast potatoes. Let that sink in.
We also enjoyed a side dish of cauliflower cheese which, if I’m honest, wasn’t needed but was certainly enjoyed. I’m not ashamed to say that I picked off and ate all those crispy bits around the edge of the tin. It was brought to our table after our mains ‘with compliments of the chef’. This made us very happy and grateful and then, raised a small giggle as we remembered that actually, we were there as guests. The whole meal was complimentary. Still, it was a lovely touch.
Ok, the negatives? My beef had a piece of string left on it. A small bit which you can probably spot on the pictures. It didn’t bother me really, I just took it off but I guess for some, it’s a negative. Also, our waitress was lovely but a bit disorganised, perhaps still new at her job. She took our knives and forks away with the starters and we had to ask for them to come back before we could start eating our mains. Usually, that would also have been fine as roasts tend to come out, well, roasting. Ours for some reason was a little cooler than we would have liked – perhaps it had been left a little too long on the pass. Happily, though, that didn’t affect the flavour!
In all, as I think you’ve probably gathered – this was a very very good Sunday roast. Price wise, it’s probably one of the more expensive at around £5-£6 for a starter and £13-£14 for a main. There are also plenty of delicious puddings. We shared a pannacotta but for some reason didn’t photograph it. Anyway, it was tasty and wobbly in all the right places.
1766 Bar & Kitchen is a lovely addition to the Bristol dining scene. It’s in a gorgeous space which elevates it to something rather special and I will 100% be returning to try their lunch and dinner menus soon. Oh and let’s face it, I’m almost definitely going to be back before the year is out for another roast.
We were invited to dine at 1766 and our meal was not paid for. But, obviously, as you’d expect by now, all opinions are my own.
