Culinaria is closed more than it is open. It is modest in its decor, unpretentious in its outlook and so unprepossessing that my lunch partner for the day Jo has lived less than a mile away from its front door for more than ten years and not even known it was there.
Step through that front door, however, and prepare to be served some of the finest food in Bristol prepared by one of the city’s best and most well-respected chefs, Stephen Markwick.
Culinaria is a small neighbourhood bistro rather than a traditional restaurant, and is a place that Stephen and his wife Judy opened after previously running their eponymous restaurant Markwicks in Corn Street, followed by Bistro 21 in Cotham (now Juniper).
It is open for lunch and dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only. A popular sideline is also their takeaway service, which features some of the a la carte dishes for punters to take home and, perish the thought, pass off as their own at BS6 dinner parties.
Our visit to Culinaria was a treat for Jo, currently working hard on her A-level coursework, and we were joined by her sister Lucy, a teacher who also didn’t want half-term to end.
We were warmly welcomed by Judy, who sat us in the intimate 30-seat dining room next to the bookshelf, filled with cook books on every subject imaginable from simple sausage and mash to a weighty tome from Marco Pierre White. And there, amidst the battered books amassed over a lifetime’s working in kitchens, was Markwick’s own book, his first, A Very Honest Cook written with Bristol food writer Fiona Beckett, giving a small potted history of his cooking over the last three decades followed by 20 favourite winter recipes.
Inside A Very Honest Cook, available to buy from the restaurant, there are copies of some of his hand-written menus from over the years. But enough of the book, our own hand-written menus, that change every week, were waiting. We decided on the £15.50 fixed price two-course lunch, opting for a starter and main course as firstly, Jo had to get back to her books, and secondly, we had all unfortunately given up chocolate for lent. The chocolate silk dessert tested our resolve to the max, but none of us gave in to temptation.
My starter of fish cake with tomato and pomegranate salsa was heavenly, even better than the fish cakes I have eaten in RockFish Grill, the standard when it comes to fish in Bristol. Superlatives were also being uttered opposite me as Jo and Lucy tucked into their ham hock terrine and celeriac remoulade.
I have rather a soft spot for chorizo, and my main course of monkfish with chickpeas, chorizo and pimento had my mouth watering, with the chorizo beautifully setting off the fleshy monkfish. Absolutely delicious.
The other main course, fillet of pork strogonoff, was also exceptional, Jo remarking that even as a big fan of pork she had never before eaten a pork dish that good. If she hadn’t heard of Culinaria before our visit, she certain knows where it is now.
In these days of celebrity chefs, it is wholly refreshing to see a restaurant run by one of the best and most celebrated names in the business, quietly and consistently cooking seriously amazing food in his own kitchen. Stephen Markwick deserves a medal.
Culinaria, 1 Chandos Road, Redland. 0117 973 7999.
