Bordeaux Quay Restaurant

A one-stop shop for eating, drinking and cooking.

The Venue
This converted warehouse is not so large and spacious once you realise it houses a restaurant, brasserie, bar, deli, bakery and cookery school. That makes the space sound really tight but Bordeaux Quay has integrated the spaces together so that they all fit, and it’s hard to tell which ends where.

The seating arrangement seems to be a free-for-all. Whether you're ordering from the restaurant, brasserie, bar, deli or bakery, you can sit almost anywhere (with occasional direction from the staff) - under the lofty glass canopy, or outside along the water. The cookery school is located above from this mass, overlooking the scramble that is the rest of Bordeaux Quay.

The People
The flexible seating plan, lack of barriers and the housing of various functions under one roof can cause confusion. Not everyone will approach the reception, nor will the staff take the initiative to approach a lost soul – they've probably done that enough to realise it's futile. However the natural lighting, clean neutral colours and voluminous upward space prevent this chaos from getting out of hand and inducing claustrophobia.

The Food
There are two main menus offered for in-house dining: the restaurant's and the brasserie’s. While the latter is more casual, both are modern European and cost about the same (approx £30 for a three-course meal). On the brasserie menu, most main courses are available in child servings for £5.

The bakery creates traditional breads with time-honoured methods like slow overnight ferments. It has been built on the progression of the Artisan bakery at another of Bristol's all-in-one establishments, Quartier Vert.

All the above sections, plus the deli, follow Bordeaux Quay's guiding principle of sourcing the very best in local, seasonal and sustainable produce. Staple ingredients on both main menus are sourced from local and/or organic suppliers, growers, producers and farms in the West Country and the South West of England.

The Drink
The drink list is heavy on the beers, approximately ten of which are draught, and 20 bottled. The list is divided into the types of beer from plain ales and lager to organic cider and stout. If the bar staff are too busy to explain, each beer comes with a description of how it is brewed to how it tastes, some of these menu descriptions are longer than others. This overshadows the petite non-alcoholic list of drinks.

The Last Word
The all-in-one concept may get a bit confusing, but for those who like to have things at their fingertips, Bordeaux Quay is a prominent choice.

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