Restaurant review: Beeses Riverside Bar & Tea Gardens

Friday 19th June 2009

This is a Crackerjack review of Beeses Riverside Bar & Tea Gardens. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

Food and drink: 8 / 10.
Service: 9 / 10.
Atmosphere: 9 / 10.
Value for money: 9 / 10.

The summer holiday season is upon us and predictions are that more and more Brits will be staying at home this year, rather than going abroad.

I’ve just spent the past week or so in Cornwall, where I rented a lovely old house overlooking the harbour at St Ives.

Although I ate out in a few of the local restaurants, I also cooked most days, often using local fish bought from the excellent fishmonger around the corner. Not only was it cheaper than the restaurants, but it was arguably better. Well, when you buy such fresh local produce, you don’t have to do much to it.

In fact, one of the best meals of the week was crab on toast comprising handpicked St Ives crab meat piled high on some fantastic bread (baked by a local baker called Vicky), with a squeeze of lemon, a twist of pepper and a chilled bottle of white wine. As I tucked in, I could see the small fishing boats returning to the bay below with the day’s catch. As a foodie moment, it doesn’t get better than that.

But then that’s what I thought the night before I left for Cornwall and had the most fantastic evening at Beeses Riverside Bar and Tea Gardens in Brislington.

Best known as a place for cream teas on the River Avon, Beeses is something of a Bristol institution. It was opened by Mr and Mrs Beese in 1846 to provide refreshments to travellers using the Conham Ferry and has been open ever since under a succession of different owners.

The current custodians are Phil and Lindy Leahy who took over in 2006. They fell in love with the place when they were customers and when they heard it was on the market, they jumped at the opportunity.

The couple still hold down day jobs (Phil in IT and Lindy as director of a housing association), but have transformed Beeses in their “spare” time.
Open from April to September, this riverside bar and tea gardens is accessible by road via Brislington or via the Conham Ferry, the oldest river ferry crossing on the River Avon. The ferry is now operated by Phil and Lindy, who take customers from the Hanham side of the river for a nominal charge during opening hours.

It’s an idyllic setting. The tea gardens sit within Eastwood Farm, which is a designated local nature reserve, and across the river is Trooper’s Hill. Sitting on the decked area overlooking the river as herons fly past, you really could be anywhere. It’s quite perfect.

Although it’s open as a bar most of the week, Beeses also has a growing reputation for food and I was there to check out the first of a series of fish suppers, to be held on the first Wednesday of each month.

Owners Phil and Lindy have recruited talented young chef Matt Fry in the kitchen and he is sourcing lots of local produce, including the meat which comes from Chef Direct, the Barrow Gurney-based company that supplies the best chefs in London.

Chef Direct also supplied the fish and seafood for the fish supper and the quality showed on the plate, although it was not necessarily reflected in the bargain basement price (£22.95 a head for three courses).

We were joined by some other foodie friends and shared a table in the dining room, close to the bar, where we made frequent trips to order tip-top pints of Butts Barbus Barbus (one of three real ales served straight from the barrel behind the bar), before moving on to some very quaffable wines.

We started with a beautifully presented dish of squid and chorizo salad – the squid being chargrilled and tender without being too Wellington boot-like. The chunks of paprika-spiced chorizo were served in a tangle of rocket leaves and a tangy dressing.

This was followed by half a lobster, which had been barbecued in its shell, served with a nest of wild garlic-flecked linguine and a cluster of roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine. The lobster had, apparently, been caught in Dorset the previous day and its freshness was proof enough. With imported or frozen lobster often attracting prices of £30 in modest restaurants, this was exceptional value.

We ended with a zesty, creamy lemon tart with a summer berry compote before returning to the decking for more wine and the last of the late summer evening sun.

Apart from the occasional ripple of water – and the sound of some diners being taken back across the river by boat – it was silent save for the low hum of conversation and the clink of wine glasses in the fading late evening light.

As somebody pointed out to me during the evening, if Beeses was in Clifton, it would be impossible to get into, but its south Bristol location makes it even more of a discovery and a genuine hidden gem.

As it is, this is one of the city’s best-kept secrets – a unique and very special place run by lovely people serving fantastic beer and great food. I can not recommend it highly enough.

The next fish supper is on July 1. Book now to avoid disappointment.

MARK TAYLOR

Wheelchair access: No
Prices: Fish supper £22.95 a head plus drinks

This is a Crackerjack review of Beeses Riverside Bar & Tea Gardens. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.