Has Tony Benjamin bitten off more than he can chew at this welcoming new Whiteladies Road eatery?

Walking between the glitzy Clifton Triangle and the lively delights of Whiteladies Road on a dark winter’s evening, there’s that gloomy strip. Dominated by the BBC – who have every right to be gloomy, given the impending slaughter of ‘local’ radio – it’s enough to make you pull up your collar and bustle towards the first welcoming light, the reassuring glow of Brace & Browns’ patio and the bar/restaurant behind. It’s the building formerly known as Deason’s, unused for some three years except for a brief Raymond Blanc TV excursion, and it’s great to see it back in harness.

Once inside, the warmth continues, thanks to friendly greetings, dark pink walls and softly-lit booths bedecked with plentiful candles. A wine list offering 14 reasonably priced choices by bottle or glass is cheering, too, with the latter cheeky graded as ‘drop’ (125), ‘gulp’ (175) and ‘just right’ (250). Having just watched (on telly) Ingerland beat Spain at Wemberly, we both go for a gulp of Medeivo rioja (£4.50) and it yields that final glow that says we’ve arrived.

The menu proves a challenge, being itself a game of two halves. One page is a smart uptake on classic pub fare – burgers, ham/egg/chips, ploughmans and omelettes – with healthy salads to boot. The other is an eclectic ‘tapas’ selection of some 30 plates ranging from Spain to India via Italy and England. The Duchess of Ashley Road zooms in on the tapas selection (four plates for £10) while I’m drawn to Classic Omelettes (£6, with chips and salad). You don’t get offered omelettes enough, I reckon, and they can be a good test of a kitchen. Eventually we hit on a compromise – three tapas for starters and… er … the Duchess gets the omelette while I have a burger. That’s how it is with Duchesses, I guess. At least the burger came in a promising range of choices, with optional toppings and a range of breads.

The tapas arrives nicely laid out on a plain wooden chopping board, chiming with the homely little enamel jug and jam jars for drinking water, an informality made safely ironic by smart surroundings. The food is fine – three seared scallops offset with trails of sweet potato puree, a little bowl of crisp grilled mackerel in leafy salad and a generous heap of pesto and tomato schiacciatella. The latter’s light, pizza-like bread buried under fresh herby tomato slices really gets to my taste-buds, and I wolf it down while the Duchess makes more discreet use of the fish.

She’s wise. When the big dishes arrive it’s clear that I, at least, have bitten off more than I’m likely to chew. Her goat’s cheese and red onion three-egger comes with a dish of hearty chips and a mound of salad, and my similarly garnished plate is dominated by a jaw-stretching construction that must surely hold the daily nutrition requirement for a family of four. It’s delicious, too - rare-cooked beef and oozing blue cheese, with a crisp taste of parma ham that soon stops me grudging that omelette (which is, it seems, just as well received for the light, clean texture and flavoursome filling). It’s tragic, therefore, that we both find ourselves looking sadly at our not-quite-empty plates, having failed to do proper justice to the portions.

It’s no judgement on the food – everything seemed carefully prepared and if, personally, I could have done with a more scantily clad salad, otherwise all was fine. At £44, including a couple of ‘gulps’ each, you can’t fault the value, either. No, our only mistake was to think we could have it all. Next time it’ll be one thing or the other and, looking at the attractive mini-buffets assembled on neighbouring tables, I’m thinking the tapas. Or there’s the omelette. Damn.

CONTACT

BRACE & BROWNS 43 WHITELADIES RD, BRISTOL. FFI: 0117 973 7800, WWW.BRACEANDBROWNS.CO.UK

THE VERDICT Friendly smartness and carefully prepared, unfussy food makes for great ‘smart-casual’ dining

Copyright Tony Benjamin 2011