Flour & Ash - Bristol food review
Posted on: 2017-06-20
Our rating:
With a firm foothold on Bristol’s congested pizza scene, Flour & Ash has accrued a reputation for spinning some of the best pies in the city with a commitment to absolute quality that is rarely matched.
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Exhibiting a philosophy and an aesthetic that eschews the flowery in favour of the, ahem, floury, Flour & Ash has been all about the food since it opened its doors on Cheltenham Road back in 2014.
Step through these and this sentiment becomes increasingly evident, with the interior modestly decked out with a ‘Clifton chic’ charm. The space is bifurcated by two long metal-topped wooden trestle tables, which point to the open kitchen and the wood-fired pizza oven at the back - providing the titular ash. Industrial lights dangle above, with a trinity of large blackboards denoting the day’s specials on the walls either side.
And it is one of these with which I begin, opting for the whitebait (£4.95) comprising a pile of the diminutive fish, battered lightly, atop a compote of new potato and pesto. Fried to a delicate crisp, the faint crunch of the fish plays nicely against the smoother texture of the spud, with the resultant flavour abounding very pleasantly. My guest, meanwhile, has wolfed down her starter of bait cod and potato fritters (£4.50) without taking breath, with the speed at which the dish disappears as ready a testament to its quality as the noises of satisfaction that follow its departure.
What follows takes slightly longer to escape the plate: a chorizo pizza (£13.50), adorned with mozzarella, scattered pickled chilli and a healthy mound of rocket at its epicentre. It looks glorious; its vivid reds and greens striking a merry contrast of bold colour. It is impeccably tasty too, down to the elastic dough, which has been fired over wood, and reflects these flames in its formative ingredients.
Appearing slightly less pizza-like is that of ox cheek and red wine ragu (£14), the standout option from the ‘No Tomato Sauce’ section, which is decorated with a less customary brown courtesy of the sauce. This comes from simmering the most tender cuts of cow in rouge, the result a master stroke which is generously played across the pie. This lands brilliantly on the béchamel, which is itself dotted with complementary additions of basil and splatters of grana padano. As far as pizza-making goes, this is ingenious.
An apposite corner of space is found to tuck away the concluding wheel of ices, curving to create a roundabout spectrum of colour and taste. The picks of these were the cleansing passion fruit and lemon sorbets, which burst forth with searing flavour, as well as the more indulgent dark chocolate ice cream.
The food at Flour & Ash been, in its entirety, excellent, the quality sharpened by the absolute focus on its creation. The restaurant takes the basic principle of the pizzeria, in all of its glorious simplicity, and, rather than adding to or overcomplicating it, makes it as good as it can possibly be.
Article by:
An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
