Bianchis
Bristol
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With a warm welcome and classy cooking, this neighbourhood Italian honours the family behind Bristol’s successful and ever-growing Bianchis restaurant group. The unpretentious and relaxed dining room has a laid-back, lived-in look with a scuffed floor, low lighting, a 60s soul soundtrack and bottles of wine stacked on all available shelves. Comfy seating and damasked tables add to the sense that you are here to enjoy yourself and eat well. With a belt-busting four courses on offer, it is perhaps advisable to start with a light antipasto of, say, radicchio salad (with smoked ricotta, courgette, red onion and pumpkin seeds) ahead of, maybe, a bowl of gnocchetti nero in bisque with crab, kohlrabi and soft herbs. The pasta here is so good you may be almost reluctant to move on to a 'secondi' – grilled pork tenderloin with soft polenta and cime di rapa, for example. Be brave, it's worth it. Puddings are mercifully modest, though such is the density and richness of a chocolate and hazelnut tart served with intensely savoury crème fraîche that a little goes a long way. A fine selection of cocktails and an extensive wine offer, including ‘Aldo’s list’ of serious (and seriously expensive) vintages will lubricate your evening, while the chatty, informal but very efficient staff make you feel that you are dining among friends.
