Reviews

Rockfish Grill and Seafood Market in Bristol

Posted on: 2014-05-10

In Bristol, definitely, Rockfish Grill is the best place for seafood lovers, a location you can visit with your partner for a romantic eating out or with your colleagues for a business lunch. In any cases it is a place you will not easily forget!

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In the elegant Clifton, an area full of cafes, bars and restaurants, at number 128-130 of Whiteladies Road, you will find The Rockfish Grill and Seafood Market, a unique place where it is possible both to buy the freshest seafood right from the South Devon coast and to take a seat and spend some time tasting the chef's specialities.

On a Thursday afternoon, Rockfish was not too busy, just four or five tables having lunch and enjoying the relaxed and informal atmosphere. When we entered and saw the amazing variety of fresh seafood available it was a huge surprise at not something an Italian expected to find in the centre of Bristol. We immediately realized we were in the right place to eat fish!

General Manager Emma Ashworth warmly welcomed us offering our hungry stomachs a well-appreciated antipasto of pieces of focaccia bread served with a particular sauce, the Taramosalata. The menu is extensive and even if you can also have meat dishes it is the fish that rules over all.

Being a fish restaurant, based on the freshness of the product, the menu changes daily depending on the season and on the catch of the day. You can order a la carte or check out the amazing value lunch specials on each day, just £12.50 for two courses or £15 for three. We decided to start with a dish of brown shrimps with mace and butter and another of cured mackerel with fennel and orange. Two of what we think are key elements of this restaurant, delicate flavours and simple preparations, were clear since we tasted these starters. To better appreciate these qualities we ordered a dish of mixed grill seafood and a sea bass with clams and Datterino tomatoes cooked over a charcoal fire which gave it a special Mediterranean flavour. The Mediterranean aspect of this cuisine is present in almost every preparation. We noticed it in the roasted peppers with garlic and chilli and in the anchovies marinated with lemon. It is the sign that the chef, James Davidson, travelled and worked through Europe before arriving here. The fish was tremendously delicious, simply cooked with just some herbs added to exalt it all. Mixed grill seafood encompassed a large array of fish, all perfectly cooked while the sea bass was truly remarkable for the appropriate combination with clams and datterino tomatoes. We accompanied our mains with two sides of roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary gratin and cabbage with peas and celery and washed all down with two glasses of Perline Picpoul de Pinot 2011 which with a bouquet of sea air, white flowers and lime was perfect. The wine list is quite impressive and features many local winemakers but also some rarities. Unfortunately we had not enough room for dessert but, in this case too, the list is rich and include some classical Italian desserts like tiramisu and panna cotta as well as a good selection of cheese to be accompanied with a digestif, a coffee or a “sgroppino”, a traditional Italian drink of Prosecco, vodka and sorbet.

We finished this outstanding culinary experience with an espresso thinking of how surprised we were about our lunch as we have to admit that coming from Naples, Italy, we had some reservations about eating good seafood in Bristol. But we concluded that if Rockfish was in our country it would be one of our favourite restaurants. In Bristol, definitely, it is the best place for seafood lovers, a location you can visit with your partner for a romantic eating out or with your colleagues for a business lunch. In any cases it is a place you will not easily forget!

4/5 rating from Evita Sabatiello for 365Bristol

 

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