Foodle

Bulrush is Bristol’s fourth Michelin starred restaurant to join its ranks following its award in the 2019 guide.  It has an unconventional layout and non-stuffy at the same time.  The menu options range from a la carte at an average of approx £40 for 3 courses or two tasting menus: 8 courses for £55 and 9 courses for £60 which, is very good value comparatively.  The style of the food was certainly creative but sadly this did not always triumph as much as it could have as dishes.  The design of the dishes will certainly please the eyes and whilst the hospitality was caring, the service could have done with a bit more polish.  Not a wasted journey at all, but of the four Michelin starred restaurants in Bristol, I’m more tempted to go back to Paco Tapas and sit at the counter for nibbles for all-round return when reflecting on all of them.

We opted for the tasting menu, mainly influenced by the value for money and allowing to experience more dishes on this occasion.   An array of interesting canapes arrived first in a different order from the menu but, no matter, you just need to listen carefully to what is actually being described.   In a box was pig’s trotter cake with walnut ketchup and yolk shavings which, have been placed in 50/50 salt and sugar, rinsed and then dehydrated to leave a rubbery feel.   Duck liver parfait with pink peppercorns were lovely and the hollandaise tarts with carrot ‘tartare’ were melt in the mouth and over in literally two seconds (very good contrast of sweet and richness).  Off menu were tapioca crackers with butternut squash jam and pecorino cheese as well as golden beetroot mouse port gels with mushroom powder with pumpkin seeds;  extremely enjoyable as canapes very often are.   

We opted for the tasting menu, mainly influenced by the value for money and allowing to experience more dishes on this occasion.   An array of interesting canapes arrived first in a different order from the menu but, no matter, you just need to listen carefully to what is actually being described.   In a box was pig’s trotter cake with walnut ketchup and yolk shavings which, have been placed in 50/50 salt and sugar, rinsed and then dehydrated to leave a rubbery feel.   Duck liver parfait with pink peppercorns were lovely and the hollandaise tarts with carrot ‘tartare’ were melt in the mouth and over in literally two seconds (very good contrast of sweet and richness).  Off menu were tapioca crackers with butternut squash jam and pecorino cheese as well as golden beetroot mouse port gels with mushroom powder with pumpkin seeds;  extremely enjoyable as canapes very often are.   

Purple sprouting broccoli with roasted garlic flakes and hibiscus was a good contrast of colours and textures but the hibiscus doing far more for the eyes than the palate meaning not as advanced as a dish for what it appeared as was essentially garlic influenced broccoli as the main walk away.

Next up, a colourful bowl of cured seabream, salt-baked mooli (white radish), rhubarb dashi and kohlrabi was an unusual mix of tartness and I was beginning to see at this stage why the tasting menu was such good value, owing to the portion size of this course being almost a morsel.  BBQ stone bass, king oyster mushroom puree and monkfish liver brought things back to good level with the bass being cooked well and the accompanying elements working nicely.  Again, this was over in a matter of seconds.

Badger Farce lamb, sweetbread, whey and Roscoff onions formed the meat course.  This came with wild rocket puree and whilst the lamb was cooked beautifully, it was surprisingly flat in flavour and with a huge amount of fat that was simply too much for the meat.  The pre-dessert was a carefully presented ice cream made out of gooseberries with Jerusalem artichoke custard,  little brioche croutons and apple marigold (leaves that have a potent taste of apple and citrus).  Whilst I really enjoyed the light but naughty brioche bits which would probably enhance almost any dessert, I have to say the artichoke custard really did not work for me with the rest of the parts.  I understand the concept of the crossover to have savoury and sweet and would certainly not be the first time I have had this equation, but this just wasn’t a very pleasant combination for me and I felt would have been significantly better with the artichoke custard removed.

Caramel chocolate, bay leaf ice cream and earl grey shards was another new type of dessert for me alas, with the non-sweet components being a little too powerful for a dessert which should have a dominant theme of sweetness.  So sadly, this did not work hugely for me either.  What was very good however, was off menu and a trial dessert offered to the table of apple with croissant cream and broken brandy snap bits.  These were classic flavour combinations with superb textures and a first for me having croissant cream which was a total success.  If only that were the actual dessert replacing all others, it would have completely changed the meal.

Overall, this definitely gets a prize for pushing boundaries and being innovative, but when this doesn’t all come together, it deflates the experience.  Service was a little forgetful on occasion albeit friendly, but it was also a long meal for lunch taking nearly 3 hours which, in all fairness, we probably checked on at the beginning more.  On a separate note, I wouldn’t say the chairs, acoustics and loo are the most comfortable (rickety chairs and tables with a loo you can only close the door after moving in into yoga position as it is that tight a squeeze).

On the food front (which, as a refresher, my grade is purely based on) I gather that the menu changes regularly (a good thing) and I can only keep fingers crossed that other variants of the menu are more successful based on this visit.  I can also only deduce that the Michelin inspectors clearly though they caught it at brilliant on every one of their visits when deciding whether or not to award the star.

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The move of Michael Wignall away from Gidleigh Park only just after two years from taking over was a huge surprise.  Barely enough time had passed for the immediate re-awarding of two stars and Mr Wignall departed to follow in Michael Caines’ footsteps to having full ownership of another location.  I look forward to visiting him at The Angel Inn at Hetton when I get the chance.  For now, Chris Simpson has taken over Gidleigh park and earned it a Michelin star in his first year of taking over.  This a la carte was £125 which is very expensive so with this comes quite a reasonable amount of expectation.  I am familiar with Gideligh Park now, but this was the first time I had been able to have a thorough look by staying over and having a dinner t’boot.  The results of this visit are mixed and like I have never had in some ways as you will see…

Gidleigh Park is an impressive 5-star hotel with wonderful grounds to walk around and a decent amount of facilities for the guests.  I have made a list of miscellaneous good and bad points for the hotel stay in general at the end of this review, but for now, dinner.  This was a slightly odd opening as I found myself in one of the three dining rooms with just one senior couple, the gentleman of which protested at me taking pictures of the dining room, thinking I had included him and his guest, which I had not.  After reassuring him of this, he then took it upon himself to order me not to take any pictures of my meal at all which was interesting as presumably, I could have told him to not wear the tie he was wearing as I didn’t approve of this.  I mention this purely because it became obvious to me that Gidleigh Park has a number of guests visiting in their senior years and those that are regular are most probably used to getting their way and this is the sort of clientele I was not fully prepared for.

Gidleigh Park is an impressive 5-star hotel with wonderful grounds to walk around and a decent amount of facilities for the guests.  I have made a list of miscellaneous good and bad points for the hotel stay in general at the end of this review, but for now, dinner.  This was a slightly odd opening as I found myself in one of the three dining rooms with just one senior couple, the gentleman of which protested at me taking pictures of the dining room, thinking I had included him and his guest, which I had not.  After reassuring him of this, he then took it upon himself to order me not to take any pictures of my meal at all which was interesting as presumably, I could have told him to not wear the tie he was wearing as I didn’t approve of this.  I mention this purely because it became obvious to me that Gidleigh Park has a number of guests visiting in their senior years and those that are regular are most probably used to getting their way and this is the sort of clientele I was not fully prepared for.

Anyway, after airing my thoughts and then removing myself from the ridiculousness of this situation (it is not the restaurant policy to forbid photos, so until it is, I will do this discretely for my own table as I wish), the staff dealt with the seating change request as quickly as can be and I thought were professional in dealing with this so quickly and smoothly.

Chris Simpson was away on sick leave on my visit and the stand in head chef was Gareth Howarth for this occasion (and possibly for the longer term).  Initial canapés were celeriac espuma with eel which was a very good combination and tartare with smoked mayonnaise, back olive, houmus with red pepper marmalade which was pleasing enough. The amuse bouche consisted of pickled apple, crispy rice, radish and buttermilk sauce included a fair flavour of mackerel, with good design of the cream being offset by the pickle but overall was a little flat.

The starter had was veal sweetbread and came with pickled mushrooms, sourdough bread croutons on a mushroom mousse base.  This was an exquisite mousse however the pickling could have been a little stronger.  The sweetbread was well cooked and generally, this was a very pleasing dish.

Halibut came from a 4kg fish and with roasted baby lettuce, smoked king oyster mushroom, Jerusalem artichoke purée and Jerusalem artichoke crisps.  The handling of the mushrooms was grand and was seen through the sauce and the smoked king oyster mushrooms.  The halibut was cooked as well as could be but I have had halibut with more flavour; this was essentially elevated by the flora.  It was good on the simplicity, good on the crisp with lovely mushroom handling but only just entered Michelin starred cooking to me at this point of the meal.

The pre-dessert was a mandarin mouse with clementine, hazelnuts and apple sorbet.  This had pleasant citrus and was a classic combination but again, was difficult to be blown away by the dish.  Dessert consisted of spiced red wine panna cotta, pear, gingerbread & yoghurt sorbet.  There was a really good chocolate tuille here with skilful pannacotta and all harmonised well enough with the poached pears good and the subtle ginger bread crumb.

Service was pleasant throughout but seemed a little less in true command from midpoint to the later stages as other 5* hotels can be at their very best and not what I was expecting for £125 for an a la carte menu (£145 for the tasting menu).  There was a little bit of rushing from the staff and one waiter didn’t wish to stop for me after seeing me trying to get his attention and it’s never brilliant to feel like an inconvenience as a guest.  There was also quite a long wait for being given the dessert above the norm, cutlery wasn’t placed on the table very well as was quite rushed and topping up for water felt stretched.  So, all in all, after what was looking promising at the beginning in terms of hospitality, became evident that this was not in the same league as other 5* hotels at the top of their game.  Still, the meal on this occasion had some good moments to enjoy. 

I mentioned the hotel stay and thought I would offer some quick thoughts on this as it is not every day one stays over at grand and luxury Manor Houses.  I can summarise this by saying that for staying over at Gidleigh Park:

Lovely touches: 

Bad points: 

To conclude, I think the quality of the food at Gidleigh Park is obviously not at the heights of when either of the Michaels were in post but this is a new chef with new outlooks.  I enjoyed the food here, but for the £125 for an ala carte menu, this almost comes across as paying more for where you are than the actual meal as this was just too expensive for fireworks that never came as the price would indicate.  I also did not realise the main clientele is seemingly of a certain privilege and age and with the few couples there enjoying a breakaway, it is difficult to feel truly comfortable in the dining room being so enclosed, waiting to hear the next pin drop on occasion.

As an observation, I believe it is overdue a bold move of knocking the walls down of the three dining areas to make one large area as there seems to be no reason for the individual rooms and all this does is prevent the acoustics to let sound carry more and causes tables to compete for quietness in risk of being overheard.  With a bigger space, this might be alleviated and improve the general atmosphere.  Purely my thoughts.

So, I’m glad I did the full works, but I discovered it is a sign of the visit if you are enjoying the fantastically done eggs benedict at breakfast and additions even more than the main meal the previous evening.  A pleasant stay with a lovely setting and bridge in the grounds, but based on this experience, this is one that feels a little too far to merit the journey.

The nibbles here are almost as grand as the wonderful drawing room one can lounge in on arrival.  A selection of crisps (sourdough and chickpea crisp and herbs) were served with an olive emulsion along with a salmon mousse with trout roe.  At the table, the amuse-bouche consisted of Thai green curry mousse with crab and coriander & chilli crab gel.  This was an ethereally light mousse but with a kick of chilli and was superb to have.  Linseed crisp with shrimp, taramasalata and flying fish roe was also really quite wonderful; bathe lance of salt, pop of roe and juicy bite of the shrimp finished off a serious level of opening mouth amusers prior to the meal.  Homemade sourdough was also very good, beautifully presented and served with lightly salted and natural kinds of butter, the latter being superb. 

First up was lightly cured and torched sardines and purée, tempura fennel from the Gidleigh garden, violet potatoes, cuttlefish.  The latter really held the rest together here as the sardines were fine as were the purées, but the tougher texture and smokiness of the fish gave the rest of the minimalist starter that which it needed. 

The main I opted for was red-legged Yorkshire partridge, broccoli, bread purée, leg rillettes, with salted popcorn and Madeira, sunflower and chestnut. The main dish was perfectly succulent, fresh and the herbs being puréed to perfection.  I enjoyed the diced and fried elements with a decent charred, sweet effect from the shallots as well as the Madeira giving the rillette very good depth and smoothness.  Altogether, this was luxurious and light at the same time – a very good dish. 

Pre-dessert was toffee custard, cinnamon butte noisette, apple pie mousse and cider snow.  This was a beautiful combination of cider and toffee, fresh, vibrant, Autumnal and over in two seconds.  Dark chocolate and coffee opera, almond cream, hazelnut marzipan, milk and ice cream formed the dessert.  This was absolutely lovely.  The coffee sponge, white chocolate, hazelnut Dacquoise and hazelnut mousse were all well balanced and light again with a punch of flavour.

There was even another bonus as the petit four came as a mini bowl of dark chocolate, lavender honey gel, peppermint cream and violet ice cream combining as a mix between a peppermint and Turkish delight blend.  Whilst not my favourite combination this was original and fun at the same time. 

All in all, this was a superb set menu lunch, which, for £49 at this level and in the surroundings that it was, was outstanding value.  This is some of the best 2 Michelin starred cooking available in the country as is not only skilful in every way, but I love the fact that beyond its obvious decoration are fantastic flavours that really work overall.   The outdoor scenery is wonderful and on a miscellaneous note, I love the seats here as well as are supremely comfortable.  The only slip of this meal was having to wait until 1pm until I was with bread at the table, but then again if you are driving into the middle of Dartmoor, you wouldn’t or shouldn’t really be planning too many other appointments for that day so I was in no rush.  I’m so pleased to see Michael Wignall retaining two stars at Gidleigh which is absolutely right and a nice change to have from the equally delightful classic cooking from the other Michael (Caines) who gave it such a staple in the UK previously.

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Vicky Lau was not always a cook, in fact she first studied Graphic Design at NYU in New York City. And it shows. For example the passion for every single detail in the dining room. The decor, the shadow the mirror plate throws to the wall when a dish gets served, the Chinoiserie trolly for mignardises surprise, nothing has been left to chance, everything is completely thought out and finished. Stunning.

The same applies to her dishes, each plating produces a piece of art the way the components are deliberately but seemingly randomly positioned. Her technique is classic French but she manages to pair it with Chinese tradition. Not being a dogmatic locavore she sources here excellent ingredients from wherever she finds them and weaves them together into well calibrated layers of flavours. Together with her flawless execution this creates not only dishes of beauty but very special flavours. I personally loved the seaweed jelly and the abalone, dishes which are easy to screw up but in this case were presented prefectly. The Kimedai, finished to perfection with glassy flakes, in grenobloise sauce where the lemons were exchanged with aged kumquat, a dish a harmonious dish.

A wonderful meal in an artsy environment which certainly enhances the environment, but give me Vicky Lau’s food on a plastic table sitting on an empty beer case I will love it as much as I did in her beautiful dining room.
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