Berwick Lodge Hotel

Wednesday 7th October 2009

This is a Crackerjack review of Berwick Lodge Hotel. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

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

Nothing quite prepares you for the sheer luxury of Berwick Lodge, the opulent new boutique hotel and restaurant close to Cribbs Causeway.

It may not be the easiest place to find – it’s tucked away down a private lane behind Clifton Rugby Club a stone’s throw from the motorway – but once you are there, you enter another world altogether.

And, let’s face it, in these depressing times, we all deserve a little bit of luxury and pampering in our lives even if it’s just for a couple of hours.

An imposing, red-brick building standing in 15 acres of mature woodland and rolling lawns, Berwick Lodge has been Sarah and Fevzi Arikan’s project for the past five years.

Originally a private residence, the house was bought by the NHS in the 1970s and used as a home for people with mental health problems.
It was later used by a charitable trust as a home for children with learning difficulties.

Berwick Lodge was empty when the Arikans bought it – after seeing it advertised for sale in the property pages of the Evening Post. The couple identified the property’s enormous potential as a hotel and set about painstakingly restoring it to its former grandeur, with Turkish journalist Fevzi doing most of work himself, including the mosaic floors which he did by hand.

Five years on and Berwick Lodge is a luxury 10-bedroom boutique hotel and restaurant trying to tap into the exclusive market dominated by hotels such as Whatley Manor, Gidleigh Park and The Bath Priory.

A luxurious hotel needs a similarly top-end restaurant and the owners have enlisted the help of Bristol chef Chris Wicks to head up the kitchen.

Wicks is best known as the owner and chef of Bell’s Diner, one of Bristol’s best restaurants, and he has brought experienced members of his team to 
Berwick Lodge.

He is joined by head sommelier and restaurant manager Jerome Pidoux, who has worked in several leading restaurants in the UK, France and the USA. Most notably, he worked for several years for legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, including three years in his three Michelin star restaurant near Lyon

Pidoux has compiled a phenomenal wine list featuring many classics from Bordeaux and Burgundy, with plenty of interesting wines available by the glass and half-bottle. I tried a number of wines by the glass and they were all exceptional and full of character.

It’s fairly obvious from the outset that this team has stars in its eyes. By that, I mean Michelin stars.

The service is as slick and professional as I have seen in Bristol since Michelin-starred Harveys. Waiting staff are dressed in black suits, white shirts and black bow ties, plates are brought to the table on trays by a battalion of waiters and each wine is described in detail as if the staff have visited every vineyard.

My meal kicked off with a glass of Champagne accompanied by excellent nibbles – crisp puff pastry twists with a layer of tapenade, glossy marinated olives and hot balls of musky mushroom risotto.

The dining room, which overlooks the tree-lined garden and sun-dappled lawn, is divided into three rooms with no music and just the sounds of chinking glasses and plates being scraped clean in appreciation of the food.

The wooden floor is highly polished, the furniture is antique and elegant, tables are covered with crisp linen and laid with heavy cutlery and crystal glasses.
There are huge chandeliers, marble and mosaic fireplaces and even an ornate stone pulpit doubling up as the reception desk.

Dinner costs £35 for three courses (lunch is cheaper) and this includes pre-starters and pre-desserts.

A pre-starter of diver-caught scallop topped with a slice of black truffle on a disc of pink fir apple potato was exquisite, as was the freshly baked demi-baguette of such a high quality that it would make a French baker blush.

A starter of quail – a whole bird jointed and beautifully arranged on the plate – had been steamed to retain its juiciness and then coated with a honey marinade before being caramelised and roasted to order. It was scattered with chopped pistachios and accompanied by cubes of pink ‘Turkish delight’ jelly fragrant with rose water, a cluster of half moons of Asian pear and a warm compote of saffron-flavoured aubergine. It was a dish of enormous contrasts in flavour and texture.

A main course of loin of lamb was served on a piece of black slate and presented as six slices of rosy pink meat with a cumin-heavy African spice crust. Alongside, there were plump, sweet pomegranate seeds, tiny glazed shallots, teardrops of soothing yoghurt and a pile of warm cous cous bejewelled with lemon zest, apricots and flecks of mint. It was essentially a rustic North African dish elevated to fine dining status but one that retained its character and big flavours.

After a refreshing pre-dessert of lime jelly topped with an airy, frothy lemon mousse, a chocolate fondant was a perfectly formed dome of intense, bitter sponge oozing a slick of molten chocolate lava and served with a scoop of silky chocolate ice cream.

Much as I was tempted by the local and French cheeses wheeled to the table on a squeaking, creaking trolley, my taxi was waiting to transport me kicking and screaming back to the harsh realities of life after two hours of pure indulgence and escapism.

Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym is the only restaurant in Bristol to currently hold a coveted Michelin star.

On this showing, Berwick Lodge will be the next so I suggest you eat there now while you can still get a table. It’s a very special place – once you’ve found it, that is.

Mark Taylor 

Prices: Three course dinner £35 plus wine; lunch £28 for three courses plus wine
Wheelchair access: Yes

This is a Crackerjack review of Berwick Lodge Hotel. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.