The Hotel Le Bristol in Paris is the five star hotel where David Beckham stayed in a £15,000-a-night suite with antique furniture, a Michelin star chef and a personal chauffeur when he signed for Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year.
The Bristol Hotel in Bristol has a self-contained meetings and events centre, with executive boardrooms and large breakout rooms.
It may not quite be quite as luxurious as its Parisian namesake, but The Bristol Hotel still has one of the best locations in the city.
Its concrete frontage on Prince Street might not be too elegant, but at the back its restaurant The River Grille occupies a prime position overlooking the Floating Harbour next to Pero’s Bridge.
New executive head chef Matt Lord worked at the former City Inn Hotel for three years.
There, the City Cafe used to be among the best restaurants in Bristol, and Lord may make his new restaurant somewhere not solely populated by solo diners with business accounts and tourists unwilling to step outside their hotel for dinner.
First signs are promising, with an emphasis on local produce. All the lamb and beef is supplied by Ruby & White on Whiteladies Road, the pork comes from West End Farm in Devizes and the fish from Brixham.
From the £24.95 three-course “market menu”, my smoked haddock fishcakes with dill crème fraiche and lemon oil were rather dainty but beautifully presented with delicate flavours.
The sirloin steak was terrific although a bit too chewy for my liking, but the best was saved until last with a treacle tart served with toffee sauce and clotted cream.
The Bristol Hotel might not be quite suitable yet for global superstars, but its restaurant is slowly becoming almost as good as its location.
River Grille, The Bristol Hotel, Prince Street, Bristol BS1 4QF. 0117 923 0333.
