Reviews

Review of Stovemonkey Smokehouse at The Love Inn in Bristol

Posted on: 2015-06-01

Stovemonkey Smokehouse in Stokes Croft will leave you contentedly - nay, bloatedly - well fed with one of the best meat-between-two-baps offerings in Bristol. Serious competition for the cornucopia of other burger venues battling it out in Bristol.

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Burgers have become something of the trendy, hip, must-eat food of recent times, and the proliferation of 'dude food' has meant practically every other week sees a new burger joint open somewhere in the city. The ones that have something exceptional to offer last, the one's that don't, well, simply don't. Stovemonkey Smokehouse in Stokes Croft will leave you contentedly - nay, bloatedly - well fed with one of the best meat-between-two-baps offerings in Bristol.

Stovemonkey Smokehouse is actually part of The Love Inn bar which was Bank in another incarnation and a real bank even earlier than that. The decor is quirkily eclectic and funky with reclaimed wood tables, hanging glitterballs, enamel factory lamps, artwork, diner-style leather booths, and a cool selection of 60s and 70s music playing in the background.  

Head chef Brendan Baker previously worked at River Cottage Canteen, and he's clearly veered the menu in the direction of other popular burger-based emporiums such as Grillstock. The menu consists of light bites, burgers, open sourdough flatbreads and sides, slaws and extras. 

When I turned up I was absolutely ravenous so made a salivating beeline for a burger from The Big Guns selection, The Ghyston. A giant double brisket burger, macaroni cheese, burnt ends, gherkin, fries, picked walnut relish, tomato and lettuce mayo (£16.30), it was the Empire State Building of burgers, a gigantic gastronomic and eye-poppingly obscene tower of all the ingredients piled on top of each other between two buns. 

You'd have needed either superhuman powers or an extendable jaw to get your mouth around it to take a bite, so I had to demolish the impeccably mounted meaty construction and tackle the ingredients on their own. The home-made burgers were faultless, perfectly cooked and retaining their juiciness and flavour. It all coagulated into one culinary, crazy, catastrophic mess - but what an unforgettably unctuous, gut-bustingly awesome culinary, crazy, catastrophic mess. Loaded with contrasting flavours and textures, this burger packed one hell of a punch and left me totally exhausted in an full-up, flabbergasted reverie of burger-addled bloatedness. The accompanying bowl of pickled red slaw (£2.50) was creamy, crunchy and intermittently piquant and fiery. 

My partner went for the equally, gigantically astounding The Goram (£15.75), which was packed with giant double pork burgers with pulled shoulder, smoked belly, cheese, fries, Stovemonkey relish, tomato and lettuce mayo. Equally spectacularly constructed, equally flavoursome, equally filling, she joined me in an almost post-coital state of mellowed meaty ecstasy a few minutes after I'd demolished mine.  We couldn't move for at least another 45 minutes and had to let it digest properly and wash it down with a well-made cappuccino.

Drinks-wise the venue serves a range of bottled craft ales and cocktails and in the night transmogrifies into a club showcasing some of the best DJ talent around. But the burgers. Oh good lord, the burgers will stay with you - and your waistline - for a very long time indeed. 

The vibe was comfortable and easy-going and the laidback, friendly staff made sure we felt at home and were well looked after. Hip, cool, chilled and totally in-keeping with the constantly-evolving eateries, vibe and aesthetic of the Stokes Croft scene, Stovemonkey Smokehouse presents serious competition for the cornucopia of other burger venues currently battling it out in Bristol.

4.5/5

Review and images by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol - reviewing the best Bristol has to offer.

Stovemonkey Smokehouse at The Love Inn, 84 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3QY

Tel: 0117 9428260

Web. www.theloveinn.com

 

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