Moreish is no more. In its place at 6 Chandos Road is brand new venue No Man’s Grace, with an opening date of 6pm on Wednesday, June 25th.
The venue describes itself as a “dessert bar and tapas den”, serving a range of high end British small plates, designed for sharing, as well as a selection of tapas-style desserts. It is the brainchild of front of house manager Julu Irvine and head chef John Watson, both formerly of the Galli on Gloucester Road, who have taken on the old Moreish premises to do something completely different.
We attended a pre-opening evening the weekend before the opening – the place wasn’t quite ready, but it gave us a good idea of what it will be like. Diners will be seated at mis-matched chairs at natural wooden tables on the ground floor of the building, which also houses the bar (I love the wooden cabinets on the walls!) and will also be home to the dessert bar. The kitchen and toilets are both downstairs, as they were with Moreish.
A sneak peek at a sample June menu suggested savoury dishes such as “asparagus soup, potato & Keens cheddar, black olive”; “lemon sole, grapes, verjus, raisin dumplings” and “pork tenderloin, head, root vegetables, apple”, while the sample dessert list featured a raspberry souffle with white chocolate ice cream and a dark chocolate mousse with coffee, among others.
Julu let us know that food and drink pairing will be an important part of what they do at No Man’s Grace, with the six desserts that will be available at any one time all being matched with different dessert wines – as well as with six different cocktails – to give the final course more of a focus.
Speaking of drinks, it was refreshing to see a wine list that featured some new and different choices to elsewhere in Bristol, and beer fridges that contained drinks that are also more exciting than normal. Cider drinkers can enjoy a bottle of Briska Pomegranate or a Sandford Orchards number, while those of more of a beery persuasion can choose from options including Brooklyn Lager, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, and Einstök Icelandic White Ale, which is brewed with orange peel and coriander.
The draught taps weren’t yet ready on the night of our visit, but drinks on draught will include Sandford Orchards Devon Red cider, Kozel lager and Camden Pale Ale.
Opening hours at No Man’s Grace are from Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 12am. For more information, visit their website, find them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.