FOOD&DRINK

The fixed-price buffet journey around the globe at this bustling Harbourside eatery is fantastic value

The short walk upstairs can’t prepare you for what’s on the other side of the door. Imagine a bustling funfair where all the activity is about eating - and you might come close. The enormous bustling hangar of Za Za Bazaar is ringed with dazzlingly decorated booths and eating areas, with a line of attention-seeking stalls down the middle dispensing food on all four sides. What feels like the population of a small town is thronging, fetching colourful platefuls of Indian, Far Eastern, European and Tex-Mex food, and the sense of restless activity never stops. I see a small boy looking furtively around while helping himself to sweets from the dessert bar but he needn’t worry – it really is unlimited here.

My friend the Starving Troubadour brings a lifetime of road-tour eating to the occasion, so heads off for buffalo wings and ribs while I’m drawn to a dosa, the crisp pancake individually cooked to order and the rich sambar gravy spot on. “Try the ribs,” urges the Troubadour. “Perfect!” I pick one up while my fajita is being assembled. It is, indeed, a pleasure – crisply blackened outside yet succulent and fatty within – and the tasty beef and spiky salsa make the fajita enjoyable, too. I try cottage pie and mushy peas from the ‘classic GB’ stall – again finely done, like reliable pub food. My self-assembled plate of conscience-salving salad is mocked by the Troubadour, now happily tackling a plate of “classic Chinese takeaway” food, with orange sweet-and-sour pork a glowing feature. I dither over sushi while contemplating Vietnamese pho soup but get distracted by teriyaki with deep dark sauce as the Troubadour swans by with a mini burger and chips. “You could end up never seeing the person you’re eating with,” he observes, disappearing into the crowd.

At some point it hits us that we have to say no. No to the replenished tureens of chilli con carne or beef in black bean sauce, no to alluring kebabs and pick’n’mix stirfry. As with any other fairground, the risk is going too far. There’s a difference between ‘all you can eat’ and ‘eat all you want’ and I’m thinking the latter while seduced by the former.

There’s no doubt we’ve already had fantastic value for our £12.99 (the weekday evening fixed price; £15.99 at weekends) - and for the price, the quality of food, cooking and service has been surprisingly good. While it’s probably not the best place for a romantic tête-à-tête, the sense of eating fun is already attracting families and matey groups, and as long as they keep up standards, there’s no reason Za Za Bazaar shouldn’t do very well indeed. (Tony Benjamin)

CONTACT

ZA ZA BAZAAR HARBOURSIDE, BRISTOL. FFI: 0117 922 0330, HTTP://ZAZABAZAAR.COM

THE VERDICT All the street you can eat, under one roof

Copyright Tony Benjamin 2011