One Beaufort

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One Beaufort

Almost a year has passed since One Beaufort – a scrubbed-up reincarnation of the dive formerly known as Filos – livened up the lower echelons of the Larkhall/Camden suburbs... only to swiftly fall foul of the vagaries of the flaky financial climate. But OB wasn’t destined to become a forlorn, crumbling testament to the downturn. Kevin Walters and Christophe Lacroix – head honchos of the thriving 1453 Bar and Grill – have magpied into the chic but cosy empty nest, making it by turn chicer (these guys are masters of the art of creating stylish surroundings) and even cosier (lots of candlelight, beautifully set tables to welcome diners to the rear section of a multi-ambient space). Christophe, meanwhile, has infused upper-crust British gastropub menus with Gallic flair and locally sourced, seasonal delights – a hob god approach made manifest throughout our suppertime experience.

To start, my ham hock and piccalilli salad featured flesh slow-cooked to silky, unctuous perfection but distinctly free of the over-salting that often blights this increasingly popular ‘forgotten cut’ of meat. His calamari, meanwhile, were as fresh and non-rubbery as can be and bathed in a polite Thai-style dressing that added non-invasive profundity. Already, Lacroix was proving his X-Factor credentials and already, my winning vote was cast.

To follow, my roasted black bream a la Marseillaise (think, classic bouillabaisse-style broth) came topped with a parmesan tuille and tasted of the France I’ve yet to discover, while He went on an equally authentic French excursion all of his own courtesy of rib eye steak lubricated with a complex Café de Paris butter and accompanied by magnificent chips. After such a munificent banquet we shouldn’t have considered dessert, but when there’s luxuriously rich sticky toffee pudding with plush date puree and an abundance of vanilla ice-cream and seductive dark chocolate terrine with decadent St Emilion ice-cream on offer, it would have been rude to flout their charms.

Our gamble on the numbers game (first 1453, now One Beaufort – geddit?) carried a price tag of around £70, including a classic Cote du Rhone; it would be easy to spend a third more for half the standard in far less genial surroundings closer to the city centre... which is why I’m declaring One Beaufort to be a chart-topping destination diner for all. (Melissa Blease)

ONE BEAUFORT 1 BEAUFORT WEST, BATH, BA1 6QB. TEL: 01225 334050; WEB: WWW.ONEBEAUFORT.CO.UK

VENUE VERDICT