Gloucester Old Spot - Bristol Food Review
Posted on: 2017-08-15
Our rating:
Gloucester Old Spot is a family run gastro pub, on Kellaway Avenue, Horfield. Specialising in fine ales and locally sourced food. Surprisingly, after living a stones throw away, I had yet to visit!
Review by: Sam Rowswell
First thing I noticed when entering was how beautifully light and airy the restaurant was. With stunning feature nooks, mismatched wooden chairs, hanging tealights and a huge garden, I loved the home from home feel without that typical 'pub' feel that I often expect. Gloucester Old Spot is also great for those with children, with baskets brimming with colouring books, games and a playhouse in the garden. Dogs on leads are also welcomed.
After acquainting myself with the super friendly staff and owner, Amy Devenish, I got stuck in to the menu. After winning Best Pub Food 2015 the Bristol Good Food Awards, I was very keen to sample what was on offer.
My husband and I had trouble deciding what to order for our starter so we went for the fish sharing platter (£12.95) A board brimming with a selection of the fish based starter courses which took away the hassle of having to opt for just one option. With smoked haddock fritters, Cornish crab mayonnaise and my absolute favourite, the salt and pepper squid, which was melt in the mouth soft. There was also a generous side of crostini, sweet chilli sauce and grebiche sauce for dipping plus a little salad garnish.
For mains, both my husband and I decided to go for pub classics. I always find fish and chips hard to resist when its an option and being a Monday night, thought it was an ideal start to the week. What's the first thing you look for in a proper fish supper? Crunchy, thick batter, right? Gloucester Old Spot got it bang on! The cod fillet was just the right size. Beautifully white, plump and firm flakes, just the way I like it with that noisy crunch and no soggy bottom! Nestled on a portion of thick cut, fluffy chips and sides of minted crushed peas and tartare sauce. (£11.75)
.JPG "Fish and Chips in Gloucester Old Spot Bristol")
My husband went for the sausage and mash (£10.95) The sausage flavour changes weekly and his was pork and chive. With 3 big meaty sausages atop a generous helping of creamy mash, this made one happy chap. The chive was delicate in flavour and the pork, as expected was of superb quality. This was served with Savoy cabbage, red onion jus and pea shoot garnish.
Bearing in mind these were some hearty dishes consumed, I felt bad to turn down dessert but we were at the point of having to undo our buttons. We persevered in the name of good food and ordered a Crème Catalana (£5.75) to share. With it's perfectly cooked, crunchy sugar top cracked in to, we tucked in to this super creamy Spanish style brûlée. Flecked with vanilla bean, it was rich and comforting yet still relatively light on the palette. I loved the candied rhubarb addition to the top.
Now I've visited Gloucester Old Spot for myself, I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back again and I highly recommend this venue for families. If you'd like to see more Bristol based reviews, be sure to check out my blog page www.fattyboomtatty.co.uk.
You can find Gloucester Old Spot on Facebook and Twitter!
Article by:
Fashion influencer Sam Rowswell has recently switched focus after discovering the diversity in the Bristols buzzing food scene. Originally from Essex, Sam has realised that there's a whole lot of West Country in her since her move 8 years ago.
You can find Sam at fattyboomtatty.co.uk, and on Twitter and Instagram.
