Chin! Chin! Bar and Kitchen review in Bristol

Posted on: 2016-02-19

Our rating:

Chin! Chin! walks the walk as much as its talks the talk when it comes to plating up comforting, filling, totally splendid, utterly spiffing hearty fare that encapsulates the very best of British gastronomy.


 

Gadzooks and Tally-ho! The top-rate tucker being dished up at Chin! Chin! Bar and Kitchen on St Michael's Hill in Bristol is worthy of the bulldog, indomitable spirit of the British Empire itself.

Bit of luck that then, seeing as this fantastic neighborhood deli-style cafe, bar and restaurant is a marvelous throwback to all things resolutely King and country. For sure, there's been a steady proliferation of vintage and retro fashions over the past few years and perhaps a dewy-eyed halcyon romanticism about those nostalgic days past, but Chin! Chin! takes the concept to another level of irresistible kitsch awesomeness.

Chin! Chin! Bar and Kitchen in Bristol - Tel. 0117 973 9393

Chin! Chin! already has an impressive string of awards to its bow, including winning the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence four years in a row from 2011 to 2015 and ranking as highly commended in the Bristol Good Food Awards 2014 and 2015. This year it's been shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious Bristol Lifestyle Awards 2016. 

Proudly proclaiming to celebrate the food and drink of the great British Empire one bite at at time, this fantastically period venue has an impressively extensive menu that covers afternoon teas and titbits, deli-licious lunches, evening, weekend brunch and Sunday roast menus. 

***Vote for Chin! Chin! in the Bristol Lifestyle Awards here***

Chin! Chin!'s passion for celebrating all things commonwealth extends to its vehemence to use the finest ingredients of local, seasonal and regional British produce. During the day there's a superb range of deli-style lunches, super-food salads and sandwiches, and in the afternoon you can indulge in the oh-so quintessentially British combo of cream teas and cakes, their double chocolate brownie being a particular favourite. 

With its shabby chic decor of reclaimed floorboards, large wall-mounted mirrors, wooden tables, old church pews plumped up with comfy cushions, stained glass windows, and oddments of ephemera and trinkets dotted around, it immediately enshrouds you in its warm, comforting hug and transports you back to another, perhaps more enchantingly innocent time.  

During the evening, however, Chin! Chin! becomes a whole other animal and takes on an entirely different ambiance, dimly lit, full of flickering tea lights and with a steady stream of chilled out tracks providing a subtle dining soundtrack. 

Working on very much the same premise as a tapas menu, you can pick and choose dishes to either create your own sharing banquet feast or select three dishes for yourself which equates to the traditional sized British main course. 

I went for the slow roasted and pressed Gloucestershire pork belly with spiced Bramley apple relish (£6.90), and it was divine; three thick slabs of beautifully cooked, moist, melt in the mouth pork topped with a golden, crunchy crackling. Accompanied by a dish full of faultless roast potatoes sprinkled with rosemary and smoke paprika salt ((£4.50) and a bowl warm, earthy sweet caramelised balsamic beetroot with Somerset goat's cheese, red onion and parsley (£4.90), it was a pure, hedonistic, kaleidoscopic indulgence of sumptuous, mouthwatering flavours and textures.

Gloucestershire Pork Belly with Spiced Bramley Apple Relish at Chin Chin Bristol

My dad's wild Welsh pheasant with house cured pancetta, prunes and dry sherry (£6.90) combined the rich, intense, gamey punchiness of the pheasant with the contrasting sweet, salty and subtly spiced flavours. His triple-cooked Maris Piper chips (£3.90) were chunky wedges of crunchy outside/fluffy inside perfection, while the mixed leaf salad with honey dressing (£3.90) counterbalanced everything with a light, refreshing finesse. 

Wild Welsh Pheasant with House Cured Pancetta at Chin Chin Bristol

After a few minutes of pensive ruminating, I capitulated to the classic dessert traditionalist in me and opted for the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and English cream (£4.90); as good a version of the pudding I've ever had and a winning dynamic balance of powerfully sweet and intensely rich, cut through by the silky smooth cream. My dad's apple, winter berry and ginger crumble with cinnamon cream (£4.90) unconventionally mixed the fruit and the crumble together but it was an idiosyncratic flourish that worked brilliantly; sweet, tart, sharp fruit blended deliriously with the marvelously crunchy, buttery crumble. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and English Cream at Chin Chin Bristol

Served by genial, attentive staff, Chin! Chin! is refreshingly old school and utterly charming. It's eclectic, intimate, homey and chilled out with a welcoming vibe and a quirky edge brimming with oodles of retro vintage cool. 

Reverentially doffing its cap to the largest colonial empire in history, Chin! Chin! also walks the walk as much as its talks the talk when it comes to plating up comforting, filling, totally splendid, utterly spiffing hearty fare that encapsulates the very best of British gastronomy. 

5/5

Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol

Contact Chin! Chin! Bristol at : 

155 St Michael's Hill, Bristol, BS2 8DB.

Tel. 0117 973 9393

Web. www.thisischinchin.com
 

The Chin! Chin Bristol video:

 



Article by:

James Anderson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.