Tampopo

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Tampopo

• Surrounded by the blaring signage of the competition up in the Cabot Circus stratosphere, there’s something reassuringly discreet about Tampopo’s presentation. That favourable impression is supported once you’re inside the restaurant too, with its combination of hushed ambient music, soft orange lighting, neat plain furniture and a village shop-style shelf displaying noodles, sauces and beers. It’s a combination of the homely and the exotic well suited to the comfortably friendly service. It’s also nicely busy, especially for a Monday night in the middle of a recession. Bristol, it seems, has taken to the Manchester-based minichain and me ’n’ she want to find out why.

Any pan-Asian restaurant offers the choice between staying consistent to one cuisine or cherry-picking the dishes you fancy from wherever. We agree on the latter, if only by picking the mixed starter platter: a half-dozen nibbles from five countries, each with its own dipping sauce. It looks good and proves a fine selection of distinct flavours, particularly bulgogi (Korean marinated beef with kimchi pickle) and tod man khao pod (Thai corn fritters with crunchy hot peanut dip). Washed down with a glass of viognier (she) and some lao beer (me) it sets a high bar for the main event – a similarly mixed selection of our own choosing. When the order arrives it’s a table-filling spread that keeps us going for ages – chopsticks are good like that, aren’t they? – and is almost all very enjoyable. Highlights are Malayan beef rendang’s aromatic coconut gravy, and the subtle sesame taste of chap chao noodles (Korea). Both have the fresh taste and crunchy vegetables of recently prepared ingredients, as does a plate of wok-fried mixed greens slicked with tamarind sauce. The only disappointment is som tam salad – a Thai favourite of she’s - with pithy papaya seeming underdressed and listless. Desserts, however, restore good cheer: she wolfs coconut and rum ice-cream and a fair bit of the cinnamon ice-cream that comes with my Vietnamese banana fritters. Egged on by the waiter, I’m pleased to discover Vietnamese coffee, filtered into the cup over condensed milk to resemble an upside-down Guinness, as she appreciates the properly leafy mint tea. We’d pushed the boat a little – it all came to £60 – but the fresh flavours, relaxed atmosphere and tempting menu mean we’ll certainly return – even if only for the £7.50 two-course lunch before popping next door for a film. (Tony Benjamin)

TAMPOPO GLASS HOUSE, CABOT CIRCUS, BRISTOL, BS1 3BX. TEL: 0117 927 7008, WEB: WWW.TAMPOPO.CO.UK

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