Harveys Cellars food review in Bristol
Posted on: 2014-11-11
Our rating:
Our meal was delicious. At £45 for the sherry tasting, £35 for wine tasting and just £20 for food only, it is absolutely fantastic value. I will definitely go back to Harveys Cellars for food and I?m kicking myself for waiting this long to try it.
Sometimes when I go out for a meal, and I know I'm going to be reviewing it, I start thinking about what I'm going to say even while I'm still eating. I think about what aspects have made an impression, what ingredients stand out, what the atmosphere in the venue is like, and so on.
Harveys Cellars provided me with a quandary in this respect; after the first couple of plates and drinks, I quickly realised that my knowledge of the English language has failed me in that there simply aren't enough synonyms for 'fresh' in my vocabulary. I'm enjoying plate after plate of delicious food, but I keep returning to the same adjectives! Luckily, my dismay at this realisation was tempered by the lovely food that kept arriving. So please forgive me for the repetitious nature of my praise; I strongly encourage you to try it for yourself and construct your own word bank…
We began with a starter drink of Harveys Bristol Cream served with ice and orange peel. I have always liked sherry, (perhaps fond childhood memories of being allowed to drink it at Christmas!) but this was a very new twist (if you'll excuse the pun) on a classic flavour. Serving the sherry like this really gave it a new character. It was really refreshing and fresh; simultaneously both summery and warming. I could imagine drinking this by either the fire or the pool, and it working beautifully in both places.
Our first plate was toasted bread with roasted vegetables. The onions and peppers were delicious and sweet, but the aubergines were a little too slimy for me. I think this was perhaps because they were too cold. This dish was tasty, but would have benefited from being at room temperature.
Up next was a selection of cured meats, and a chilled soup. The meats were all extremely tasty. My favourite was the ham. I’m not usually a big fan of cold soups, but this one was excellent. It was creamy without being too rich. I initially thought that it was perhaps a little under seasoned, but I quickly realised that this was actually a very clever foil to the saltiness of the cured meats. Alternating between the two enhanced both and this was a wonderful course. The sherry accompanying this course was a Fino. Its dry, crisp flavour added a great third dimension.
I was very much looking forward to this next course as I’m a huge fan of Jamaican and Caribbean food. This dish comprised of slow cooked beef in a ‘Jamaican-style’, served with mash and ackee. The beef was a textbook example of great slow-cooked beef. The Jamaican flavours were quite subtle but interesting. The mash was excellent, but it felt slightly incongruous paired with the Jamaican flavours of the beef. Slow-cooked meat served with mash is another one of my favourites, so this course did not disappoint in the slightest! Finally, onto the ackee. If you’ve never tried it, ackee is a vegetable with the texture of scrambled egg. It’s very much an acquired taste, and one that I must admit that I have yet to come round to. However, to give this dish its due, the added flavour of the salt fish was delicious.
In addition to all the above, we had two generous slices of Spanish omlette, and our choice of mushroom croquettes. The croquettes were absolutely perfect. They were as good as any we had in Madrid, and we had made it our mission to try a lot of croquettes! The sherry pairing was an Amontillado which went beautifully with this course, especially the beef, because of its sharp, fresh flavours.
The pre-dessert plate of cheeses was certainly interesting! We weren’t told what the cheeses were, but there was a great mix of styles. There was a creamy blue, a soft cheese, and two hard cheeses of varying maturity. I loved all except the blue cheese which was far too musky for me, but by contrast the blue was my dining companion’s favourite! The plate was served with a quince jelly. The flavour of the quince was quite subtle against such powerful cheeses, but the sweetness was lovely. The Palo Cortado sherry was crisp, with a distinct citrus flavour which I loved.
Last, but by no means least, was a slice of dense, moist almond cake. Its texture was very much like marzipan. Prior to the cake arriving, I would have been certain that I couldn’t manage another course, but this was so delicious that it won me over! The final sherry of the night was a small, cold glass of Pedro Ximenez. If you’ve never had PX it tastes very much like alcohol steeped raisins and is reminiscent of fruit cake.
Our meal was really delicious. At £45 for the sherry tasting, £35 for wine tasting and just £20 for food only, it is absolutely fantastic value. I will definitely go back to Harveys Cellars for food (having only previously been for drinks) and I’m kicking myself for waiting this long to try it!
4.5 out of 5
Reviewed by Sarah Millington for 365Bristol
Contact Harveys Cellars at: 12 Denmark Street, Bristol, BS1 5DQ
Tel: 0117 929 4812
Email: info@harveyscellars.co.uk
Article by:
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.
