With floor-to-ceiling windows looking across the harbourside, The River Grille is a large hotel restaurant that’s certainly a must-visit venue for many city visitors. It’s also a fine dining restaurant that also attracts plenty of people living in the city for special occasions and on the evening we visited, there was a large family birthday meal in full swing.
From our window table, we had a view across the water of the flashing lights of Za Za Bazaar. To the left, we could see The Bristol Wheel slowly turning in Millennium Square – it was a proper Bristol view.
Large and airy, the restaurant is low-lit in the evening. Actually, the lights are turned down so much that both myself and my daughter had to move the menu closer in order to read it properly and one woman on a nearby table decided to use the torch light on her phone.
In a far corner near the hotel’s cosy bar, a pianist was tinkling the ivories. He was playing a wide repertoire, everything from Tears For Fears’ Mad World to Take That’s Rule The World. I think I also heard a rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark – perhaps inspired by the low light of the restaurant below.
There’s a new winter menu on offer and it features seasonal dishes and West Country produce. Unusually for a large hotel (it’s part of The Doyle Collection), the chefs have the freedom to use local suppliers, too, and it was good to see the excellent Buxton butchers of Winterbourne supplying the steaks.
The seafood and fish is supplied by Devon’s Kingfisher fishmongers and the high quality was evident in our starters. The pan-seared Brixham scallops (£15) were perfectly cooked and super fresh, served with a silky celeriac puree and crisp pieces of chorizo.
The garlicky tiger prawns al ajilo (£15) were still spitting and bubbling as they arrived. I mopped up the garlic butter with the spicy smoked paprika crostini.
Steaks are cooked on a Josper Grill – always a good sign – and my daughter made light work of her ‘really tender’ 6oz fillet (£33) served with a ruffle of watercress, a béarnaise sauce heady with chopped tarragon and very good triple-cooked chips (£5.50).
Also impressive was the ‘duo of duck’ (£29), a hearty winter warmer of a dish comprising half a breast and a confit leg, both beautifully cooked and served cassoulet-style with creamy butterbeans, a varnish-like sauce and a sprinkling of zesty gremolata.
Desserts were equally as comforting. A deep and burnished Basque cheesecake (£8) was a proper old school version, more savoury than sweet, with a fruity raspberry sauce. Rum baba (£8) was boozy and paired with a Christmassy spiced syrup, fluffy Chantilly cream and orange crisp.
The River Grille has just scooped a ‘Travellers Choice’ award from Tripadvisor. That places it in the top 10% of UK restaurants according to members and contributors who praised the harbourside venue for its ‘consistently high-quality dishes’ and ‘impeccable service’. They’re not wrong.
The River Grille at The Bristol Hotel, Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QF. Tel: 0117 9230333.