No. 51 Stokes Croft in Bristol review
Posted on: 2015-04-28
Our rating:
There is some serious pizza-making talent going on in the kitchen here and it's easy to see why No.51 Stokes Croft is whipping a storm for this particular Italian speciality. Add to that their pleasant, convivial staff and a welcoming general buzz.
Stokes Croft a thriving, throbbing mecca in Bristol when it comes to eateries, cafes, sandwich shops and restaurants. In fact from Stokes Croft winding all the way through Gloucester Road, practically every other venue is some kind of pit-stop for food and beverage replenishment.
At the very bottom is No. 51 Stokes Croft, which is part of the Mr Wolf's chain and has a solid reputation for serving up some of the finest live music and DJs in the city. But when I visited I was looking for a serving of one of their pizzas, which are getting particularly excellent word of mouth.
There are two entrances - the main one on Stokes Croft and another at the back of Jamaica Street - and the downstairs bar and dining room is a decent size and filled with a charming, eclectic and quirky mix of garden, cafe and farmhouse furniture. It's got a fun, indie aesthetic and the vibe is definitely, very comfortably on the appropriately bohemian easy-going side. There's a sizeable patio at the back with plenty of benches so you can while away many a relaxed and chilled out hour when the sun's shining.
All of No.51's pizza are hand-crafted using Italian flour, slathered with their own in-house sauces, topped with the best ingredients available and cooked in their wood-fired oven.
My Posh Sausage and Rosemary pizza (£8.50) was packed full of sausage, chorizo and roasted red onions. The thin base was charred in places, perfectly crisp and blistered, and the flavoursome toppings blended and merged and melted in the mouth and got exponentially better with each successive bite. It was a disc of doughy perfection.
My friend went for the Two Much Room (£7.50), which was loaded with Portobello and chestnut mushrooms and roasted garlic. It was equally superbly cooked and sublime. An accompanying dish of sweet potato fries (£3) took chips to another level, delicious, soft, sweet and heavenly.
There is some serious pizza-making talent going on in the kitchen and it's easy to see why No. 51 Stokes Croft is whipping a storm for this particular Italian speciality. With pleasant, convivial staff and a welcoming general buzz, it's the perfect place make a bee-line for to line the stomach before, during or after a good night in town or in the Stokes Croft/Gloucester Road area.
4/5
Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for www.365Bristol.com - the Bristol events and entertainment website.
Address. No. 51 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3QP
Tel. 0117 9148048
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.
