Bon Vivant dine out at The Bunch of Grapes

Bon Vivant in BoA
Aug 23, 2017 · 5 min read
Steve Carrs - partner & head chef

It’s so reassuring to eat out on a rainy, Tuesday evening and find a restaurant full and buzzing with atmosphere. You know it must be good!

With partner/head chef Steve Carss at the helm who had previously spent many years in France at the Barwicks’ prestigious Chateau Rigaud in Bordeaux as chef/gardener then head chef creating a food identity, he arrived at The Grapes with the heavy French influence & inspiration from his time spent in South West France. The idea was to bring all of their favourite parts of France back and recreate this at The Grapes. This inspiration is evident in the moules frites where chorizo & jambon are added to the dish. The inspiration came from a restaurant called Chez Hortense in Cap Ferret ran by a little old lady who cooked the most amazing mussels and Steve has emulated this dish putting his own spin on it. Steve puts the success of the restaurant down to a passionate group of people who understand and love good food, good wine and have the right approach to customer service. For somebody who ‘fell into cheffing’ Steve & his team are doing a great job, with The Bunch of Grapes receiving many accolades.

On to the food & drink…

We started off sampling one of the gins from the extensive gin collection and being offered helpful advise on the selection of craft ales. I opted for a “Daffy’s” Gin & Tonic which I was reliably informed contained 8 botanicals with notes of citrus, mint & toffee! How could I resist? The other half went for a pint of Session IPA from Castle Rock Brewery described as a mellow, grapefruity & hoppy.

The Grapes‘ selection of craft ales

There is a really good choice on the menu and as we couldn’t decide on a starter we chose to have the aperitif sharing board (£14.50 for 2) which had chef’s selection of the best small plates.

Aperitif sharing board

The board included five starters which is the perfect option if you can’t decide on just one! We had cheese beignets with créme fraiche & chives - little crunchy balls containing delicious gooey, warm cheese. Also on the board were sweet potato & red pepper fritters with smoked garlic aioli, BBQ Charentaise sausages with a super tasty sweet red pepper chutney and two types of the pissaladiérs - a wood fired flat bread made from sourdough. The toppings were the ‘Jardin’ - sweet potato, chilli, pumpkin seeds, créme fraiche & feta and the ‘Flambé’- créme fraiche & bacon lardons. This provided us with more than enough food to satisfy two indecisive, hungry customers and we had tried most of the small plates on the menu! Result!

All the bits from the sharing board!

Our main courses arrived promptly and we had chosen the quintessential french dish - moules frites (£14.75) and ribeye steak with skinny fries (£28).

Moules frites, Bayonne ham, garlic & parsley

Instead of the usual skinny fries with the moules we asked for some of the duck fat chips instead. This big bowl of juicy, fresh, succulent mussels was polished off in no time and the sauce was mopped up with the fat chips! Rich, rustic & generous!

When a steak is described on the menu as ‘the chef’s favourite’ you know it must be good - and it lived up to expectations. The steaks at The Grapes are dry aged in a Himalayan salt chamber and chargrilled in the ‘Bertha’ wood oven and my goodness it makes for a mouthwatering, juicy, tasty & tender steak experience! It was all washed down with a glass of Chateau Teyssier, ‘Pezat’ Rouge made from the grapes of Merlot & Cabernet Franc - delicious!

When it came to ordering pudding we exhibited the same indecisiveness as we had with the starter but luckily for us the Café Gourmand (£8.50) ticked all the boxes with a little bit of everything including a shot of espresso coffee.

Café Gourmand - a little bit of everything and a shot of espresso coffee

This refined pudding included a mini apple tart tatin with caramel sauce (my favourite!), créme brulee (the other half’s favourite!), a bitter chocolate & orange mousse, homemade mango sorbet, frozen grapes & an espresso. Wow! It felt pretty indulgent and definitely satisfied our sweet tooths! The only fight was who had the espresso, so we ordered a cappuccino as well!

Throughout the evening the staff were helpful, knowledgeable, friendly & efficient and we felt properly looked after.

If you’re keen to try out The Bunch of Grapes they do get busy so it is advisable to make a booking. They have great offers on which change from time to time & they host the occasional pop-up evening so check out their website for more details:

)

Bon Vivant in BoA

Written by

The #foodies guide to delicious food & drink on offer in and around #BradfordOnAvon supporting all that is #local.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade