Tuk Tuck, St Stephen’s Street: Review

Tuk Tuck on St Stephen’s Street has been open for almost two years now, offering a range of Asian street food dishes at very affordable prices. The concept came about when ex-Tampopo employees Alex Slatter and Quan Cui decided to start their own venture – and it’s been a popular choice for daytime and evening diners alike ever since.

Head inside and grab a table, if you can (reservations are also available), and you’ll find yourself in a café-like environment with a homely feel. Tables are adorned with baskets filled with Sriracha, napkins and fish sauce, and food and drinks alike are ordered and paid for at the counter, where you’re given a wooden spoon with your table number to take back to your seat.

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Help yourself to drinks (and chilled glasses) from the fridge: you’ll find alcoholic options that include Asian beers like Asahi and the South Korean Hite, along with soft drinks – I tried a Korean pear juice (produced by Coca-Cola) that was lovely and refreshing, with small pieces of pear and incredibly sweet.

The food menu is short but sweet: a combination of popular side dishes like gyoza dumplings and miso soup, alongside those less commonly found in Bristol, including Korean bulgogi beef and non-fish-filled Korean sushi rolls. For your main, there’s a choice of five different options – meat or vegetarian/vegan choices available for each – from a traditional red curry to the popular fusion dish that is their kimchi fries.

After ordering, first to arrive at the table was two steaming cups of miso soup, which Chris and I had chosen as a side – it’s normally £2, but just £1.50 when added to any main dish. Packed with umami flavour, it definitely whetted our appetite for the meal to come.

Next up, a portion of edamame (£3), served hot and sprinkled with plenty of salt which added flavour when tearing the beans from their pods with our teeth.

Our eyes clearly bigger than our bellies, we ordered two portions of Japanese gyoza dumplings between the three of us – one veg (£4.80), one chicken (£5). The fillings were seasoned well and encased in beautifully delicate wrappers, each dumpling having been boiled and then grilled to give plenty of texture.

My dad and I both ordered the bibimbap with beef (£6.50): a Korean rice bowl that’s topped with meat and various veg, plus a fried egg and sauce. When ordering at Tuk Tuck, you have the choice of the spicy Korean gochujang chilli sauce or a non-spiced option…unfortunately I made the mistake of not specifying when Chris went to the counter to order, and ended up with the non-spicy version.

I have no complaints about the individual components: it was a dish that was beautifully presented, and the carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, sweetcorn and green peppers were fresh and had a lovely crunch. The beansprouts were packed full of flavour too, and the beef was fantastic: slow cooked and incredibly tender. The fried egg was cooked perfectly with a runny yolk that I was able to spread throughout the bowl as I mixed everything together, but I could have done with the spicy sauce to add more flavour – whatever the non-spiced version was, it was a little bland. Luckily, there was a huge bottle of Sriracha on our table, so after a liberal dousing, I was set.

Being a huge katsu fan, Chris was pleased to see a chicken katsu curry (£7.50) on the Tuk Tuck menu – and he wasn’t disappointed. The chicken was tender and its panko coating golden and crunchy, the rice perfectly cooked, and the inimitable katsu curry sauce thick, rich and packing a punch in terms of its heat levels, tempered by the cooling qualities of the side salad.

With its relaxed café vibe, affordable menu (with regular deals on the Wriggle app too) and good food, it’s no wonder that Tuk Tuck is a hit. If you’re looking for a quick lunchtime Asian food fix or a chilled evening meal in the city centre, it’s one we’d definitely recommend.