Bath - some more recommendations

[PhilD]

Visited a couple of new restaurants this weekend and thought it would be good to share some comments, as both were very good.

The Pinch - we had tried to book this a few times and found it was usually full. So with some rare advance planning we booked early in the week but even so they could only fit us in at 8:00. It is a smallish restaurant with 20+ covers and a function room at the back. It is on the site of an old institution "Le Petit Cochon" and I think it is a reincarnation. The menu is pretty short with 3 or 4 choices per course. After an Amuse Bouche of mushroom soup with truffle oil, we had “Duck Liver Pate” and a “Duck, Quail Egg and Roquefort Salad” to start. We followed with a “Scallop Brochette with Truffles and Saffron Tagliatelli” and a “Rack of Lamb on bed of Cassoulet”. All the food was well cooked and enjoyable. Weaknesses were a doughy frozen baguette instead of decent bread, a fairly average wine list, and oddly shaped crockery - my lamb was served in what could have passed for hospital bedpan, which made it tricky to eat from. Total bill was £68 for two, without desert or coffee, including approx £14 on a bottle of house French Cab Sav. All in all, pretty good value given the quality of cooking and quite generous portions (for example 5 large scallops in the brochette).

The Wheatsheaf at Combe Hay - inspired by this weeks Michelin ranking of this pub as a “Rising One Star” we booked a table for Sunday lunch. It is quite a short drive out of the centre of town (10 to 15 mins). It has a great setting in an old village with a nice terraced garden with tables etc - it will be great in the summer. The Sunday menu was pretty short, three starters, three mains and three deserts. The first sign of quality was two types of homemade bread rolls, with some excellent butter. We then had the “Pork Belly with Black Pudding and a Apple Salad” and “Seared Tuna, Pineapple, Pomegranate and a Wasabi Foam”. Both were very good although the wasabi foam let the tuna down a little as it lacked punch. Mains were “Roast Halibut on a Vegetable Risotto” and “Roast Beef Sirloin” with all the trimmings. The Halibut was probably one of the better dishes I have had in the last 12 months, with a great risotto of tiny baby vegetables including peas, broad beans, carrots, and turnips. The beef was also good, with excellent cauliflower cheese, however it didn’t really show the deft touch that the Halibut did. Probably simply a limitation of trying to turn out a hearty roast lunch for the many walkers who seem to stop at the pub.

We finished by sharing a cheese plate and then sharing a bread and butter pudding. Cheese was well presented, nicely mature. The English cheeses (Stilton and Cheddar) were on top form; the French (Pont-l’Evêque and Bȗche) were good and ripe but maybe a little past their best. The bread and butter pudding however was a bit of a let down as it seemed as if the custard had scrambled around the bread rather than being absorbed. Coffee to finish was good. Good beer on draft (Butcombe), local Cider (Cheddar Valley) and a long wine list going from some good house wines to some top Bordeaux (Palmer, Latour etc). We drank some house Chianti and Chablis and both were very good (£6 a glass). I understand that the dinner menu is far more extensive than the limited Sunday lunch menu – we will report back when we have tried it. Total bill was £80 for two, which included six glasses of wine and coffee. Very good value for this standard of food - this is going to be a regular haunt.

[PhilD]

A couple of updates.

We revisited "The Wheatsheaf" in Coombe Hay near bath (10 mins drive from the centre). Sunday lunch has a choice of three starters, mains and desserts: £19.95 for two, and £24.95 for three courses. The bread is home made, including a carrot and cumin roll which was interesting and tasty. I chose a Brixham shellfish risotto and my partner a chicken confit terrine. Both very good, the risotto with good flavoured crab and prawns. for mains we both has well cooked bream with a lovely crispy skin. The Riedel glassware shows they are a pub which is serious about wine and the house Rioja was a cut above most pubs usual selections.

Next, a new opening; "Mini Bar" is a mini tapas bar that has opened at 1 John Street, it is on the first floor above the Paxton and Whitfield cheese shop with a door next door to the Firehouse Rotisserie (OK pizza). It is a nice, modern space with window that looks down to Queens Sq. The cooking is in the Barrafina style, well presented modern tapas, and the wine list is interesting. It is a nice oasis in which to avoid the marauding hen parties.

[abby d]

i ate at the wheatsheaf last year and although it was a lovely setting and good enough food we couldn't work out why it had been tipped by the michelin folks.

bath review of it and a few other places here:
http://eattherightstuff.squarespace.c...

[PhilD]

Abby, I would agree. We have eaten there pre, during and now post the Michelin star tip. To us it seemed once they got the "one star rising" they started trying too hard and the food lost it's way a little, good food but trying too hard.

From this weekends meal it was simple and the dishes worked better, OK this was lunch and it may be simpler as a result. For me it is a good pub, with good reliable food. Is it likely to be Michelin starred soon? I doubt it.

[allvox]

My favourite restaurant in Bath has to be The Circus in Brock St. Consistently good food and excellent service overseen by Maitre d Mark. The menu is seasonal, and changes monthly. Downstairs is more romantic in the evenings, as upstairs still has the cafe feel of the daytime lunch session.
Mini Bar is still good, although they have lost the excellent Eamon 'Mo' behind the bar. Alejandro (the chef) wife works there.
The Priory is still good, although i did prefer Chris Horridge's style of cooking and presentation.
New restaurant on the (london Rd) block is One Beaufort which has taken over the old Filos sports pub premises. My friends are raving about it. Review coming soon.
The Pinch is sold, and is to be a wine bar The Lime Lounge. Chequers gastro pub in Rivers St has now turned into a grill and bar. Only opened last Thursday, but enquiries as to menu were met by pretty clueless responses by bar staff! However, Chequers has managed to bag 2 of the Royal Crescent chefs (presumably some of the 'walk out' brigade recently!

[PhilD]

Interesting update. We only ate at The Circus once and had a lacklustre meal, nothing bad but nothing to wow us. We kept meaning to return but never managed too, looks like we should have.

I also never tried Horridge's food, his personality on GBM put me off; all publicity is not good publicity (although I see he got a great review in the Indy for his new place at Waldo's). Our post Horridge lunch at the Priory was exceptional and a real bargain. It is a beautiful, stylish dining room and they do a good value set lunch on mid-week and on Saturdays, a good idea for those on a romantic weekend visit.

Funny comment about the Chequers, sort of summed up our eating experience, although it was good pub food.

[Harters]

Nice bit of weekend eating there, Phil. Thanks for the post.