At first glance it’s as though nothing has happened. I remember this as Bar One30, a large and low-lit sofa-stuffed room with of dining tables in niches and a nifty tapas menu. Then that closed and a bright Italian family restaurant appeared, and I was going to try it out, but before I got round to it the place went dark. Now it’s re-opened as a large and low-lit… You get the picture? The sofas may look the same but there are some differences about The Social, including a rather nice series of paintings of Stokes Croft – further proof that Turbo Island is on the way to becoming an iconic national treasure – and a menu that sticks to a solidly English set of reasonably priced all-day choices, including breakfasts, lunches and dinners and even a cream tea option.

We’d picked a quiet night to visit for review purposes – previous hectic occasions had been en route to gigs at nearby Metropolis when The Social was clearly the obvious meeting point for all concerned. Monday seemed a safe bet and so it proved, a few quiet drinkers meaning that we had a clear run at the kitchen. The downside was that the Halloween weekend had been a big one, apparently, and a massive influx of zombies had eaten all the olives and homemade pork scratchings. Both my first choice starters being off the menu, I went for bread without olives (but with balsamic dip) and they threw in some mini sausage rolls to make up for it. She Who Must Complain opted for anchovy toast – a soft paté of mashed fish that was pleasant, if a little over-embellished with vinegar. Main courses were cheering – the wedge of spinach, Somerset brie and courgette tart evincing a “really good”  from She Who and my well-charred free-range chicken joint proving to be excellent meat properly crisped without reducing to stringiness. Both dishes were propped on top of generous leaf salads with a scattering of roast potatoes – a welcome surprise (if a potential disappointment to mayonnaise addicts) as this had appeared on the menu as ‘potato salad’.

If the whole business of ordering at the bar makes pub eating more effortful than a table service eatery, it does at least give you some control over the pacing of things. We’d ordered a bottle of house wine – Argentinian Malbec Bonardo – whose reasonable price (£11.50) meant that the initial sharpness of the newly opened bottle was no real surprise. Nearly an hour later, however, it had settled to a smoother fruitiness, though whether most diners would wait that long is another question. We could have gone for a more enticing rioja at £17.50 or one of the similar range of white wines, but it served us well enough and meant that, with a shared lemon tart dessert and good espressos, the meal came to a respectably reasonable £40. (Tony Benjamin)

THE SOCIAL 130 CHELTENHAM RD, BRISTOL, BS6 5RW. TEL: 0117 944 2442.

VENUE VERDICT

A COMFORTABLE PLACE FOR A STYLISH BIT OF NOUVEAU PUB NOSH

Copyright Tony Benjamin 2010