FOOD&DRINK

A kaleidoscope of ingredients and attention-seeking flavours at Ron Faulkner’s Clifton venture

Previous trips to eat Ronnie Faulkner’s award-winning cuisine have entailed organising a lift home from Thornbury, so the taxing cycle ride up Jacobs Wells Road to the Muset by Ronnie feels paradoxically easy. At least it’ll be a coast home, I think, and The Lovely She agrees. Inside the Muset, it’s clear that things have changed – the spruce consistency of the contemporary decor murmurs classiness, and a glance at the menu confirms the message. The original Ronnie’s ambitious cuisine was rooted in ‘British classics’ and Muset by Ronnie goes further, offering such a kaleidoscope of ingredients that it’s almost impossible to picture what will come. So we jostle a little over who gets what and then sit back with a glass of riesling (easy, crisp and available by the glass) and wait to find out.

First up, an amuse-bouche of smoked eel with samphire and ginger, doused with crab & sea kale bisque, all seaside pungency and a great pre-starter mouth-waker. She’s overwhelmed by her “indecently creamy” scallops offset by “perfect” mackerel in tart citric escabeche with julienne kohlrabi. It’s a striking confection balanced delicately on the right side of showing off. Tiny spots of caper and raisin sauce are, however, deliciously attention-seeking, as is the truffled parsnip & bacon vinaigrette adorning my succulent pigeon presse and prune choice – nicely filling with chunks of warm white bread.

Mains are a similar palette of surprises. I have a seared lump of blue fillet with a roll of crispily tasty cheek, dotted with pickled mushrooms and succulent carrot to make a solid plateful of manly eating. She gets pink-glowing canon of lamb with soft-cooked breast alongside, plus simmering leek fondue and dark tapenade of olives and anchovy. As before, it’s these dots of intense (and sometimes indefinable) flavour that make the experience, like the treacle-smoked muscavado mousse accompanying her spiced plums & mascarpone sorbet and the zesty curd underlying my lemon plate of cheesecake and crumble.

Along the way we’d had an impressively good glass of house wine – always a good sign - from the bottom of a wide-ranging list that could easily double your bill if you want it to. As it was, our meal came to £100, all in, and that felt about right for as good a fine-dining experience as a BS8 postcode can offer. It’s clear that in Muset’s new head chef David Underwood, Ronnie has found a man after his own heart, albeit with his own mind – a great combination that promises even greater things. (Tony Benjamin)

CONTACT

THE MUSET BY RONNIE 12 CLIFTON RD, BRISTOL. FFI: 0117 973 7248, WWW.RONNIES-RESTAURANT.CO.UK/MUSET

THE VERDICT

Got a boat to push out? This is the place

Copyright Tony Benjamin 2011