by Louis Hessey-Antell. Find Louis on Instagram here.
**Please note: Cosy Club Bristol invited Breaks and Bites in, and paid for our food and drink. This in no way impacted our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and Cosy Club Bristol didn’t see this review before publication.**
We arrive at Cosy Club (the Corn Street joint) with a budget in mind. Restaurant manager Matt greets us with a smile and a level of professionalism that immediately brings the phrase ‘reassuringly expensive’ to mind. To be totally frank, we’re not in that kind of mood, as this is a review after and we’ve been invited. However, if we found ourselves smitten and willing to fork out for more food and drink ourselves, this might have been a pointless exercise for the readers who regard eating in such places as quite the special occasion. After all, that’s what we used to be, or, to put it more honestly, usually are.
Thankfully, we needn’t have worried; ‘luxury surroundings and service at affordable prices’ is how I would describe my first impressions of Cosy Club Bristol. The starters/appetisers or Small Plates (as they are called on this menu) all clock in at under £10. A beer will set you back around £7 and, if you request a Bloody Mary out of normal hours, you’re looking at £11.50. So far, so good.
I have the Pulled Beef and Smoked Bacon Croquettes (£8.50). Slowly cooked pulled beef, enfolded through thick bacony béchamel, and then fried in breadcrumbs to a golden hue, these are almost too tasty to allow to cool down. Nice and simple, and probably my favourite way of enjoying identifiable frying objects whenever I’m out and about (I’m far too lazy a home cook to attempt these myself). Better yet is Helen’s Crispy Cauliflower (£7.50). Intelligent spicing worthy of a curry-master, and presented like a painter, I secretly wished we could swap seats after tasting one meagre mouthful. This was the moment Helen decided to stay off the meat for the night. I had other ideas.
We spent a while deliberating with Matt about which dishes were worthy of writing about days later, and he suggested we go for a steak option and one of the new vegetarian dishes. This meant the 6oz Flat Iron (£23.95) for me, and the Chestnut Mushroom, Tomato & Spinach Curry (£17.50) for Helen. The service really is very good here, and we didn’t need to order any more drinks to know we were going to be sated and well-fed in time for a slightly cheaper round afterwards!
I forgot to mention that, along with our starters, we ordered a big hunk of Sharing Monkey Bread (£7.95) that came with plenty of beautifully whipped clotted cream butter. We picked away at this all evening, knowing I needed to reserve some if I wanted to taste some spicy gravy or mop up any spare mustardy meat juices from my plate.
The steak is cooked as requested; seared briefly, evenly pink through, and clearly from an animal that lived a better-than-average bovine life before meeting its maker. I made short work of all 6oz (not surprising, I suppose) before lapping up the shallot and mustard butter with the fries. Served with this was a clever little thing: a classic Caesar salad disguised as an ear of baby gem lettuce. Is it the best steak I’ve had in Bristol? No, but perfectly serviceable.
It’s a shame to leave the one negative ’til the end, but it’s not a case of me adding drama for drama’s sake, I promise. Helen simply couldn’t get on with her main. Whether that was down to a different set of hands on spice duty this time around, or an accidental collision between varying palates, we don’t quite know what happened here. I found it quite powerful, which I initially thought meant she was onto a winner. However, after persevering through seven or eight hearty mouthfuls, she gave up. Not a car-crash of a dish (we’re actually still talking about it, which is quite interesting in itself), but she would be destined to a different choice next time around for sure.
All in all, a very pleasant evening indeed. All for under £100 and a bonus point for some seriously superior service.
Cosy Club Bristol
8/10