It’s now almost 10 years since Goldbrick House first opened on Park Street, but a continued focus on development, regularly changing menus and a whole host of offers to entice in customers mean that the venue continues to be a success.
Those changes have continued into this year, with new head chef Martin Baker now at the helm creating an a la carte offering in the upstairs restaurant, as well as a variety of breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes in the newly rebranded downstairs room, now known as The Pantry.
It was in The Pantry where we chose to enjoy a quick drink after work on the night of our visit, before heading upstairs to The Orangery to take our table. Clad in wood with distressed white wooden framed windows looking out over Bristol, this room has a relaxed Mediterranean feel that offered a comfortable environment in which to enjoy our meal.
The a la carte menu on offer on the night of our visit offered a wide variety of flavours and inspirations, making it tricky to narrow down our options. In the end, we both opted for the same starter of beetroot gravadlax (£7.50): an attractive plate of food featuring delicately cured salmon and a creamy and herb-flecked quenelle of salmon pâté. The accompanying beetroot came in two forms – cubed red beetroot and a rich and earthy golden beetroot purée – all of which paired incredibly well with the fish. The brandy snap that sat alongside the salmon and beets, however, was a little confusing: while it added texture, the sweetness just didn’t work.
Unusually, it was a vegetarian main course that stood out to me: a polenta and halloumi ratatouille lasagne (£15), served with a basil butter sabayon and green beans. The texture of the polenta was halfway between soft and grilled, aided, no doubt, by the generous quantity of parmesan that had been included, and the flavours of the soft Mediterranean vegetables in the ratatouille were fantastic. The halloumi, though, wasn’t so great: while it was sliced beautifully thickly and was attractively presented with its grill lines, the grilling process had imparted an overly burnt flavour, destroying the natural salty flavour of the cheese.
Chris chose the lamb dish (£18.50): thinly sliced lamb rump accompanied by a shepherd’s pie-like side of slow cooked lamb shank pieces combined with peas and topped with a silky smooth garlic pomme purée. While he was a little surprised not to have been asked how he’d like the lamb cooked, he was impressed – and also loved the rich redcurrant jus with which the dish was served.
For us, the desserts were the least inspiring part of Goldbrick’s menu on the night of our visit. Originally tempted by the cheeseboard, I changed my mind when I discovered the selection was pretty standard (Applewood, Brie, Cheddar and Stilton), and instead chose the pistachio sponge with baked egg custard and raspberry foam (£6.50). Attractively presented in a Kilner jar, the dessert was a little hit and miss: the pistachio sponge was far too dense (although the caramelised pistachio pieces were great), while the vanilla-flecked baked egg custard was soft and creamy. A layer of jelly and fresh strawberry pieces provided the support for the raspberry foam, the sweetness of which was tempered by the natural tang of the fruit.
Chris’ Goldbrick Mississippi mud pie (£6.95) was served on a soil made of chocolate macaron crumbs, and served with a dense and chewy whole macaron with a sweet white chocolate filling. With a biscuit base, a fudgy centre and a ganache-like topping, this rich dessert was a winner – although it would have been handy if he’d been given a fork as well as a spoon with which to eat it…
Overall, there were good points and not so good points to our meal – the setting, as ever, was fantastic and the menu full of creativity. Some of the dishes, however, lacked a little in their execution, and the service wasn’t as good as we’ve experienced on previous visits. A mixed bag.
Please note: our meal and drinks were received free of charge, but this in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the venue did not see this review before it was put up on the site.