River Cottage Canteen

Great ingredients ruined by poor execution.
Avoid the ox cheeks! Complete lack of seasoning. The dish doesn’t work — dry ox checks with beetroot risotto is a terrible combination — it’s crying out for a sauce to marry everything together!
I had been anticipating going to The River Cottage Canteen ever since it opened. So when the time eventually came around I was über excited.
I booked a table for two over the phone for a Friday night (booked that afternoon). No problems there.
We were greeted in the restaurant and directed to the bar — the 6pm booking meant the staff were still going through their briefing and prep. No big deal, we enjoyed a really nice (local) G&T.
We sat at a table by the window which was perfect. Although I found the chairs really uncomfortable — wooden, single board at the back and no cushions — I’ve had more comfortable school chairs back in the day.
Starters were superb — we opted for three smaller plates to share. These were good value too!
Then the mains arrived. I chose ox cheeks while she had the muscles. At £17 and the most expensive main on the menu that day I was expecting something hearty and tasty. To say that I was disappointed was an under statement! The ox cheeks were paired with a beetroot risotto (made from barley and other grains) and some cabbage (Savoy I think). It didn’t work: it was dry, not seasoned (took two attempts with s&p to lift the meat), lacking in sauce to marry anything together. Very disappointing. The other half enjoyed her muscles, the muscles themselves were plump but to be honest the sauce was nothing special.
Both mains were badly executed in my opinion, and my one in particular was terrible!
Desert made up some ground — we shared a slice of chocolate cake — although I can make an equally decadent flour less chocolate cake at home!
Did I mention that the service was great (even if the waiter didn’t have a clue about the menu — first week).
I wouldn’t be inclined to go back any time soon — there are better places in close proximity (all a lot cheaper too) who don’t Molly-​coddle their ingredients.

Online reservation was painless & smooth. Welcome at reception was prompt & charming. Table was cosy & appropriate — for a birthday meal for 4. Service was attentive, warm, delightful and knowledgeable — such a pleasure. Delicious complimentary bread basket was fresh and tasty.
Fish mezze starters out of this world — a feast — a rustic mackerel pâté, a potato/​fish purée and gorgeous rollmops with an original salad mix including grain sprouts. Meat mezzo starters — tasty but sharing between 4 was trickier. Veggie daughter ventured into fish and had plaice — a triumph of creamy delicate tastes — she will return for more! The lamb was tender and melted in your mouth — but sauce a tad spicy. Beef was equally delicate. White Pinot Grigio was good and good value. 4^th visit and never managed room for dessert! Bowled over with consistently wonderful experience.

We have stopped here a handful of times, usually for coffee, so decided to come for breakfast and review our experience. I ordered pancakes with fruit, requesting just strawberries rather than the full ‘seasonal berries’ option. This was the first thing they got wrong, as it came with what looked like cranberries too. The pancake (no plural) was such a let-​down, being thin, cold and small. For the money, this is incredibly disappointing. My partner’s pancake was also cold and sparse, and our cappuccinos were terrible.
We left, walked down the road and bought ourselves a better breakfast from somewhere else. We won’t return to the River Cottage Canteen.

River Cottage Canteen is a cool space (a converted church) and is a nice place to have dinner… but actually the food didn’t quite live up to the environment. The fish board to start was pretty good (although I was surprised it featured pollack seeing as pollack was also one of the mains) and I like that they have cocktails featuring rhubarb and elderflower (two of my favourite quintessentially English flavours) but the main course was pretty underwhelming. We tried the pork belly, lamb and pollack. My favourite was the lamb which had a nice depth of flavour although my friend wasn’t so keen on the white bean accompaniment which did have a somewhat sloppy texture. The pollack I found pretty bland; it came with couscous which I’m veer really that keen on — it always sounds good in theory but then has that slightly rubbish bitter aftertaste, it’s hard not to make it meh. The pork belly had a surprisingly lack of fat, also it was beat and broke up into darker stringy meat — it was a strange cut, perhaps we got the end or something. So overall there was no main that was a clear winner, and for the price they should be doing better on the flavour front. For dessert we had parfait with biscuit which actually tasted pretty nice although how far is it really from a mini milk with a digestive? Perhaps something I shall recreate at home…
Side note the ethically sourced wine which had a long name I can’t remember (it’s the second cheapest i.e. the one you have to buy so you don’t look cheap even though you know actually it has the biggest mark up so really the joke’s on you) tasted like delicious flowers and I would definitely drink it again.

River Cottage Canteen, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s venture into Bristol, food all sourced locally, opened in February in a converted chapel.
Table for 4 booked for 8.15, arrived a bit early so decided on drinks in bar area, good choice of drinks including unusual cocktails such as rhubarb Bellini and apple and elderflower champagne!
Told when table ready but not pressured to go to table even though very busy. Table in nice position on mezzanine level.
Server knowledgable of menu and specials.
I ordered cuttlefish and chorizo stew followed by beef brisket on polenta with sprouting broccoli and for pud vanilla panacotta with rhubarb compote — all delicious.
Service top class — food choice and quality A1.
Recommend but looks like you need to book early