Chandos Road is certainly slowly becoming a true foodie hotspot in Bristol. Home to Michelin Green Star restaurant Wilson’s and stunning restaurant Little Hollows Pasta, among others, Dongnae is the latest opening on the street.
Run by the same people who own popular Korean Bokman, just off Stokes Croft, I was very excited to try Bristol’s newest restaurant as Bokman has never disappointed me the few times I have eaten there. We ate there less than a week after opening their doors and, especially being mid-week, I was surprised to see how busy the restaurant was; by the time we left the restaurant at about 9pm, the restaurant was pretty much full.
The first thing I was struck by is how different the atmosphere at Dongnae felt. A much-more spacious restaurant than the one off Stokes Croft, it has a sophisticated and smart vibe; a more done up Bokman. However, as it seems to be the theme with restaurants along Chandos Road, the atmosphere felt relaxed and unpretentious.
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We were sat at the bar, which felt like a welcome change to the usual table, and reminded me of my trip to Japan. With my friend being vegan, we were given a separate menu for her with all the different options and, not having eaten lunch that day, she decided to order pretty much everything on the vegan menu.
After enjoying a couple of delicious cocktails – the G & T was spot on – we started our meal with ‘Yachae Twigim’ (£4.5), fried vegetable tempura. This was the perfect first dish, with the batter being crispy and light, and set the tone for the rest of the meal.
We were also particularly impressed by the ‘Nabak kimchi, spicy water kimchi’ (£3), with the water being full of flavour and refreshing. For me, the true highlight of the meal was the Eonyang bulgogi (£18), thinly sliced beef grilled on charcoal.
Despite not being a big meat eater, I decided to try this dish following the waitresses’ recommendation and I was blown away. The beef was truly outstanding, so tender it melted in your mouth and leaving a delicious smoky aftertaste.
My friend also had the grilled mushrooms (£16), which she was very impressed by too. “I don’t think I’ve ever had mushrooms taste this good” and “I can’t get over this grill” were some of examples of what she was saying as she enjoyed the dish.
We also enjoyed the mushroom dolsotbap (£9.8) and the clam and mussel bibimbap (£10.5). Having enjoyed similar dishes at Bokman in the past, I was looking forward to these but I have to admit I was a bit sceptical when I saw the bibimbap arrive.
I was worried it would be too fishy but I was wrong; it was well-balanced and had a generous amount of crispy rice. Definitely having overordered, we barely touched the Janchi noodles (£8.5) – but we found this to be the most disappointing of all dishes, tasting fairly bland even after adding the seasoning.
We finished our meal with the only dessert available, the delica squash with black sesame injeolmi (£4.5), which wasn’t overly sweet and had a mixture of textures. Having had a really lovely meal, I left feeling like this team truly know how to run a restaurant.
Despite having been open for less than a week, Dongnae felt like it had been part of Chandos Road for a long time already; what are you waiting to try it?
Our meal came to £122.96, including a 12.50% service charge.