Exciting times, as The Milk Thistle has now launched a brand new private dining experience! This is nothing new to the Colston Avenue venue – but they’re now teaming up with The Ox to craft a range of menus that can be enjoyed by those wanting to combine the atmosphere and fantastic cocktails of The Milk Thistle with the culinary delights of The Ox.
I joined a group of fellow Bristol bloggers (With Mustard, It’s Just Nice, Frugal Feeding, A Life Less Organised, Bristol Foodie, Essex Eating, Simple Lampoon, rocketandparmesan and Crumbs Magazine) for an evening of new menu sampling…
We began the night with a cocktail – a Milk Thistle Daisy to be precise (think gin, spiced pear and fizz) and a chance to chat to our fellow diners in the opulent surroundings of the first floor lounge.
Accompanying our cocktails were some fantastic canapés (you can see the Milk Thistle’s canapé menu here) – including a well-seasoned steak tartare, crostini topped with marinated mackerel and oven dried tomatoes, and skewers each starring a perfectly cooked slice of bavette alongside a tempura oyster, certainly whetting our appetites for what was to come.
And this is what was to come: a fantastic five course menu served upstairs in the private dining room…
First up, a lovely flaky brill fillet, teamed with salty bacon, charred sweetcorn, girolles and mussels. Quite a rich dish, but expertly paired with a Picpoul de Pinet by wine expert Patrick Pigny who was on hand on the evening to talk us through his choices.
This was succeeded by what was probably my favourite course of the evening: a lightly seared slice of wonderfully pink duck breast and a meltingly good tranche of confit leg, sitting alongside half a Mission fig to add a little sweetness, and the lightest of light crackling crisps. Amazing.
It would be wrong to have The Ox behind the menu and not feature a steak, wouldn’t it! The T-bone didn’t disappoint – and neither did its accompaniments. Cooked perfectly pink, the steak itself was obviously a winner. But when teamed with a silky onion puree, chips luxuriously cooked in foie gras and a sprinkling of bacon salt on the top…well, that just takes it to a whole new level.
We were then treated to not one, but two desserts, starting with a combination of both apple and blackberry sorbets, both made in house. While the consistency wasn’t necessarily perfect, the flavours were spot on, with an intensity that can sometimes be hard to find. The apple in particular was so good that I may have managed to get hold of the recipe…!
After a great meal, it’s always good to end the night on a high, and The Milk Thistle didn’t disappoint with their panna cotta. Full of flavour and with a damson jelly and spiced poached plums adding depth, it was beautifully moreish.
The Milk Thistle private dining menus are great for those looking to cater for a group, but without the fuss of cooking. The upstairs private dining room is a beautifully decorated space, and would be ideal for Christmas parties for smaller companies or for groups of friends. You can see their current private dining options on their website: choose from a £36 per head menu featuring an amuse bouche and three courses (they can seat 10-16 people for formal dining), a varied canapé menu or a choice of buffet menus, aimed at groups of between 15 and 60. Definitely somewhere worth considering as a private dining option – especially with the added bonus of great cocktails…
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.