Sunday Roast at The Cowshed in Bristol
Posted on: 2015-10-04
Our rating:
The Cowshed on Whiteladies Road can proudly add a cracking Sunday roast to its already impressive culinary oeuvre. Lively but laid back and teeming with vibrant, contemporary fine dining charm.
The Cowshed on Whiteladies Road in Bristol has already established itself as one of the preeminent steakhouses in the city, but it can proudly add a superlative Sunday roast to its impressive culinary crown.
The site on which The Cowshed sits has housed a variety of incumbents including the Dog & Duck pub, the old ABC cinema and a slew of short-lived restaurants. Having doubled in size as the result of taking over the aforementioned pub it has now firmly cemented its reputation as one of the premiere dining and drinking venues in Bristol.
When we popped in for a roast on a fine, sunny Sunday afternoon the place was already alive and buzzing with a throng of enthusiastic diners and there was a consistent, frequent queue of hungry new arrivals during the entire time we were there.
The Cowshed is exactly the kind of restaurant you'd expect to find in Clifton - upmarket, sophisticated and catering for its fine dining, affluent masses. It's not at all alienating though, and is chilled out, warm and refreshingly unpretentious with an upmarket, chic feel but none of the attitude. Immediately inviting and comfortable, it skillfully combines rustic farmhouse with gastropub styles and is furnished with flagstone floors, sturdy pine tables, stone walls and a sporadic selection of appropriately bovine-themed pictures.
The Sunday lunch menu is admirably succinct consisting of four starters, a selection of roasts and five desserts.
To kick off proceedings, my girlfriend's tempura soft shell crabs with chilli, ginger and garlic dressing (£7.10) arrived as the entire crustacean - claws akimbo as if he had been resisting its inevitable deep-fried dipping - and the crab was rich in flavour with plenty of thick, white meat, the batter light and crispy, while the dressing was subtly effective.
I went for the roasted tomato soup served with homemade bread (£4.50), the soup being nicely thick but silkily smooth and infused with a pleasantly peppery kick.
But to the main attraction - the roasts themselves. You can choose from roasted Texel lamb saddle, dry aged West Country sirloin, confit Hampshire boar pork belly and roasted spring chicken (all £15.50). Served on wooden board - I know, a current bone of culinary contention for many of the city's gastronauts (myself included) - it nevertheless looked a positively, lip-smackingly good smorgasbord of Sunday roast sensationalism. And it absolutely was.
The other half's lamb was splendidly slow-cooked, tender, moist and melt in the mouth, while my pork was equally well cooked and flavoursome. The only minor quibble is that there was a significant amount of fat on both servings of meat and the crackling-topped pork would have benefited from some extra cooking time for that essential golden, satisfying crunch.
The dripping-roasted potatoes were a dream, sprinkled with rosemary, ecstatically crispy on the outside, reassuringly fluffy on the inside, while the accompanying sides of savoy cabbage, carrot and swede mash and cauliflower cheese were cooked to perfection. An impressively gargantuan Yorkshire pudding and a pot of thin, marvellously rich, tangy homemade meat gravy completed the meal with a indisputable display of confident flair and finesse.
Did we have enough room for pudding? Of course we did, and it wasn't long before we'd made our choice to round off this deliriously tasty triptych.
I opted for the treacle tart with whiskey ice cream (£6.50), a thin strip of tart, moreishly dense and rich, topped with crunchy, caramelised pecans and a scoop of ice cream imbued with a tantalisingly subtle hint of whiskey and a splodge of lemony, zesty curd. My girlfriend's chose the lemon and raspberry parfait with white chocolate and meringue (£6.50) - presented like an artistic masterwork - the pyramid of white chocolate cracking open to reveal the raspberry parfait, sharp, tangy and giddily refreshing.
Served by friendly, enthusiastic and efficient staff, The Cowshed can proudly add a cracking Sunday roast to its already impressive culinary oeuvre. Lively but laid back and teeming with vibrant, contemporary fine dining charm, The Cowshed should be next on your list for one of the best Sunday roasts in the city.
4.5/5
Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for www.365Bristol.com where local information matters.
The Cowshed, 44-46 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2NH
Tel. 0117 9733550
Web: www.cowshedrestaurants.com
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.
