The Bristol Christmas Market is again in full swing, having opened at the start of this month. Running until December 23, the market in Broadmead offers a range of food and drink options as well as unique goods to mesmerise anyone visiting for the first time.
There’s some notable foods, including the Bratwurst, and the famous foods, like the Yorkshire pudding wrap, which reviews well every year. Whilst the likes of churros and fudge form part of the sweet selection, it can become a headache regarding where to try next.
Being a frequent visitor to the Christmas market, the sight of tornado fries being on the menu did intrigue me. I’ll admit I am not a foodie, rather a simple bloke with simple tastes, so I had no idea what the fries would be like. I hoped that it wouldn’t just be a gimmick.
So within a stall right next to the Jäger Barn Bar, where smashed burgers, loaded fries and the tornado fries are on the cards, I took the chance and ordered one lot of tornado fries and a smashed cheeseburger. The cheeseburger came with two smashed patties inside.
The burgers come in two sizes and two varieties, either with cheese or without, and in a regular size and a small size. I went with the regular size and what was nice was I could add as many free toppings as I wanted, so I went with lettuce, pickles and fried onions with a dollop of mayo.
The tornado fries can be served with a range of seasoning which includes peri peri, garlic and herbs, and my choice, Cajun spice. The fries were £5 whilst the burger was a whopping £11.
It took a few minutes to prepare and cook but myself and my colleague got our food and sat down within the seating area. It’s worth noting that whilst the stall took cash and card, it does not sell drinks and you would need to go to the bar itself to obtain a soft drink or a cheeky alcoholic beverage.
I started with the burger, and I have to say that it was tasty. The smashed patties which were great and the toppings really helped bring it together. What confused me, however, was that the cheese-less burger was £9.50 – the cheese therefore was £1.50.
But honestly it was quite nice, even if a bit small. It was slightly smaller than a burger you’d expect from one of many fast food places surrounding the market and in Cabot Circus, so costing £11 it did feel a bit much – at least it did taste nice.
The tornado fries, on the other hand, I was not convinced by. Let’s get the obvious out of the way, it looked cool and the curly nature of the fries, being almost a stretched out potato along a stick, was intriguing. It was also massive.
However the gimmick soon wore off as I felt the fries, or rather slices of potato, were crunchy when it shouldn’t be, not cooked enough all the way through and was rather a disappointing experience. The Cajun spice that was added to the fries was like dust and I found that it covered more of my hands than it did the actual potato.
It’s a shame, as there were little bits of the tornado fries that tasted really great, especially in the Cajun seasoning, but it needed to be cooked twice in order for the potato to taste better. For £5 also, considering the plethora of food and drink options inside and outside the market, I am not sure that it can be recommended.
I really wanted to enjoy the tornado fries and the smashed burger, and I think if it sat on its own and the market wasn’t there, then it’d be a great option, in particular for the aesthetic of the tornado fries. It’s just with the Yorkshire pudding wraps a 30 seconds walk away, which are around the same price as the burger, and the likes of McDonalds, Five Guys and Burger King being a short distance away, it is with a heavy heart that the tornado fries are just not for me.
Have you had the tornado fries? Let me know in the comments what you thought!