I will put my hand up and confess that I adore Tart. It is a tea shop on the Gloucester Road styling itself as a cafe and foodstore run by a delightful mother and daughter team in the shape of Jennie and Ellen Bashforth with chef Andrew Griffin and assistant James Staunton. Normally not open in the evening, once a month or so it opens for Tart After Dark, offering a menu changing at each event, previously including Italy and Portugal. The most recent event on 26 May 2011 was a retro 70s evening, but with a modern twist promised.
I would love to be completely effusive in my praise, but I would summarise it in one word, “almost”. Don’t get me wrong, by most standards it was superb, but for me sadly just missed perfect. The event is advertised on the website and sent out to the mailing list (join on the website). The events are popular, with a relatively loyal following and with only 40 places books out fast.
Arriving at the appointed hour we received the customary warm welcome from Jennie and Ellen and once seated were treated to a complimentary aperitif, Gregg’s Pit Blackeney and Butt Herefordshire Perry (from Gregg’s Pit Cider and Perry) selected by Darren Willis of Grape and Grind to evoke Babycham. Thankfully it did not have the cloying sweetness of Babycham that I feared, although still undeniably sweet, it is only slightly sparkling with a slight acidity and fullness of flavour, making it much more enjoyable.
Tart itself was transformed by low lighting with twinkling tealights and small vases of yellow pinks on the tables, which alongside the existing décor made me imagine an evening on the terrace of a French château. Busy but not cramped when all the guests (some dressed in theme) had arrived, though the noise level definitely increased due to the open plan layout, but not unbearably so.
The appetizer was mushroom vol-au-vent (made with Tart’s own recipe puff pastry and filled with button mushrooms, ceps and a garlic cream and parsley sauce), which I still have a soft spot for as my grandmother used to turn these out in great quantities on any special occasion. Call me picky (TB does all the time), but this was where my “almost” summary started to creep in. James has an almost magical touch creating light, buttery pastry, a Tart hallmark, but In this case I felt the pastry was lightly overcooked, making it almost too crisp and dry, an effect magnified by the immensity of the vol-au-vent, and a filling that did not reach the brim, and was light on sauce. That said I would be very happy with a big dollop of the filling on a piece of toast for breakfast.
The starter was seafood cocktail (Crayfish, smoked salmon, and prawn salad with rocket, dill, lemon and avocado dressed with Tart’s own cocktail sauce ) with French onion soup (The classic soup, cooked slowly to develop the characteristic sweet onion flavour and served with Gruyère cheese croutes) for the vegetarians. TB requested having the soup instead of the seafood cocktail as he is a fan, a request that was accommodated with no problem at all. 2 days before TB and I returned from the Pacific Northwest so have been spoiled with shellfish and avocado, so have possibly unrealistic expectations.
Seafood Salad
The plate that arrived looked wonderful and mouthwatering, the prawns were succulent and the smoked salmon gave a delicious undertone. The cocktail sauce, dill and lemon added flavour and a nice surprise was small chunks of perfect asparagus adding a nice flavour. On the other hand the crayfish tasted like they came in brine and the avocado suffered from that UK blight of being under ripe due to how they are imported, making the chunks hard rather than rich and buttery. The rocket salad was slightly too peppery, distracting from the delicacy of the dish.
French Onion Soup
For the French Onion soup the slowly oven-cooked onions made a flavourful, rich broth based soup with a splash of Madeira. The croutes were crisp, though the cheese was a little stingy, and absorbed the soup wonderfully when dropped in the bowl.
Duck à l’Orange
The main course was Duck à l’Orange, (slices of grilled duck breast, confit of duck leg with Port and orange sauce made with a reduction of fresh duck stock, Ruby port and orange zest, Duchesse potatoes, peas and Chantenay carrots). The vegetarian option was a twice baked goats cheese soufflé with ratatouille and mixed leaves. This was not a dish for the faint hearted with laden plates landing on our table. The moist duck breast was slightly over cooked giving it a light pate flavour, similarly the confit duck leg was more crunchy than crispy. Perfect peas mixed with somewhat soggy carrots. In contrast the sauce was exquisite, the orange zest singing out from the rich background notes of the Port, I could have devoured a lot of it given half a chance. The Duchesse potatoes? Well done, but a recipe I am happy to leave in the 70s, dry, flavourless and time-consuming to make, though those served were as good as they could be.
Black Forest Gateau
Wanting to undo a button, dessert was upon us, Black Forest Gateau (layers of light-as-a-feather chocolate cake, whipped cream, black cherries and chocolate). I was fearful of this, but was pleasantly surprised by slices of dark chocolate swiss roll, filled with cream, stacked with layers of cherries. The cake was denser and darker than I had expected and was utterly divine, the cream filling and cherries provided delicious counterpoints. Rich, dark, delicious and like the best things just enough to leave me wanting more.
The final mouthful was provided by chef Andrew Griffin, personally delivering a petit four sized lemon meringue pie. This is by far the favourite dessert of TB and even though full his eyes lit up in anticipation. It was a perfect example of the “almost” flavour of the evening. The pastry was very light and crispy, but needed to be much thinner for the size of the mini tart and was fractionally overcooked giving a slightly nutty flavour which I love in many thing but is a slight distraction in lemon meringue. The lemon curd was sublime, zesty, sharp and delicious giving an exemplary contrast to the wonderful lightly toasted Italian meringue topping.
While not perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, much as I enjoy every visit to Tart. It feels comfortable, like being at dinner with friends, a great, happy atmosphere with plenty of food and good conversation. It is excellent value for money and totally deserves its popularity even with the small niggles.
Before finishing this, a quick comment on the wine. A succinct wine list is provided, selected by Darren at Grape and Grind to match the menu. The pricing of the wine list is remarkably good value, especially given the quality and would likely cost a lot more in other establishments. Not only that although there is no pricing by the glass, Jennie happily allowed TB to order one glass and charged accordingly. TB tells me that the wine he had was a wonderful accompaniment to his dinner and the pour was very generous.
The next theme is “A Taste of Summer” featuring delights such as chicken, lemon and basil terrine, salmon in pastry and strawberry shortcake. Of course by the time you read this it will likely be booked out, so hop over to the website and join the mailing list to have a fighting chance of being able to get a table at the next one.
Tart After Dark
Tart Café and Foodstore
16 The Promenade
Gloucester Road
Bristol
BS7 8AE
0117 924 7628
Food: 7
Décor: 8
Service: 8
Cost: £30 per head, including welcome drink
Date: 26 May 2011
Note: There is no disabled access to the toilets.
Naked Lunch 