Dine With I Pop Up: Review

On Friday, October 11th we were lucky enough to be invited to The Galley on Hotwell Road for an evening of great food courtesy of Tim Owen of Dine With I.

Dine With I is all about serving the very best local and seasonal ingredients, cooked by a chef with a wealth of talent. With a career including stints in the kitchen at The Oxford and The Star and Dove, Tim now runs fantastic pop ups and supper clubs, along with sharing his talents by offering private catering.

The evening that we attended included nibbles and three courses for the bargain price of just £25 per head. Ordering our drinks at the bar (and impressed to see Bundaberg ginger beer on offer), we began our evening with a slate of nibbles. Sourdough from Mark’s bread (the best sourdough in Bristol…?) was accompanied by Tim’s homemade chipotle chilli butter: a generous portion that offered a lovely rich smokiness but – mercifully, for me – not a great deal of heat.

The bread and chilli butter were joined on the slate by crostini slathered with Tim’s olive tapenade: less salty than most commercial tapenades and thoroughly enjoyed.

For our starter, a haddock, saffron and potato broth, otherwise known as “Tim’s take on Cullen Skink”. Hearty and delicious and flecked with fresh dill, this was a soup that was filled with meaty chunks of tender haddock and a generous amount of potato – the perfect warming starter for a cool October evening.

We were seriously impressed with our main. Tim doesn’t do small portions, as the two steaming plates of meltingly tender 24 hour braised shoulder of Nailsea lamb that were brought over to our table proved. The lamb itself was topped with a traditional salsa verde, the vinegar and capers adding a lovely acidity, and accompanied by a less traditional squash and roast garlic puree which added a lovely caramelised sweetness to the dish.

Finished off with the most amazing potatoes with leeks and lemon zest, a scattering of winter greens and a jus that was perfect for mopping up with the potatoes, this was a truly beautiful main course.

I’ve been lucky enough to try Tim’s chocolate orange and chestnut mousse cake at one of his previous events, and this time it didn’t disappoint either. Again, not one for small appetites: a generous wedge of the rich, gooey cake, with added texture from the chestnuts, was accompanied by a delightfully boozy Grand Marnier cream and a salted orange caramel that took away some of the richness of the chocolate. Beautiful.

If you’ve not yet been to one of Tim’s pop ups, you’re missing out. To find out more about upcoming events and menus, visit the website or follow Tim on Twitter. Local and seasonal food with no fuss and plenty of flavour. You’d be a fool not to go.

Please note: this meal was received free of charge, but 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.