A Visit to The Old Bookshop

Rich and I are big fans of tapas.  Experiencing eating only tapas on a mini break to Madrid in the famous tapas quarter, La Latina, only fueled the fire further.  We have hosted a few tapas nights, and so far my chorizo baked in wine and herbs is my signature tapas dish.

Last night Rich and I and our friend Phil went to try out The Old Bookshop on North Street in Bedminster. The Cathy Jones Trio were playing and being partial to a spot of Bossa Nova as well, this seemed like the perfect night out...and so it was.

A small, yet perfectly formed venue complete with wall to wall bunting, typewriters on the walls and instruments as lamps. As a fan of the 50s both the decor and atmosphere were slightly twee and totally up my street! As a former DJ I would love to host a Rock n Roll night there and really make the most of this fantastic venue.

The three of us each decided to go for 3 tapas for £10 deal so chose 9 off the 16 long tapas list and nursed a bottle of rioja whilst we eagerly awaited the tasty mini delights. Mini was not the word to describe what was delivered to our table. Nine generous sized dishes, and their sauce accompaniments, rocked up and I suddenly realised just how hungry I was.

Each one of these dishes was a taste sensation, all served on beautiful mismatched vintage china, I had a lovely peacock on mine. Most of the ingredients used were common to tapas menus but each one had a slight twist on the traditional dishes. Although I could not fault any of the dishes, some I favoured slightly more than others. The root vegetable bravas with turmeric aioli was gorgeous the vegetables were soft and roasted just enough to make them wonderful with the earthy turmeric dip. The huge bowl of fried salt and pepper cuttle fish with sweet chilli dip was cooked perfectly and totally addictive.

My final favourite, I think, was the hot and spicy jerk chicken drumsticks, they were sweet but with a slight kick. The chicken just fell off the bone and the flavour had infused through out and melted in the mouth. I was slightly disappointed not to have room left to try the deep fried Mars bar in vanilla batter, but hoping this curiosity will stay on the menu for a bit til the next time I can make it down for another visit.

They also do Pieminister and mash for £5 and such scrumptious looking cakes. I cannot urge people strongly enough to check this place out. The atmosphere was relaxed and happy, helped along but the lilting Brazilian melodies from Cathy Jones. You can tell that it will be a great success with such fantastic food I cannot wait to go again it was everything I could have hoped for and more. With El Rincon, Bristol's only other truly fantastic tapas bar, at the other end of North Street I am now planning on doing a mini tapas crawl from one end to the other and very soon! Visit their website for more info.

Also for a bonus here is my pretty peacock plate, that I would pay good money to have a copy of, if anyone has any tip offs let me know.