Bianchis — Restaurant in Bristol

I visited Bianchi’s, maybe my sixth or seventh time there, at the end of January and provided feedback both on the night and the day after, in writing, but have heard nothing from the owners at all, despite a request for them to.

It pains me to leave a negative review but, on this occasion, the experience was poor and the non-existent follow up just baffling/insulting so here we are.

Great location and ambience and front of house staff. So that’s the good part!

I ordered scallops. Each one was £6.50 so I kept my order to two: £13 is quite enough to pay for a starter and there is nowhere to hide with a scallop but was hopeful given the standard of food I have had here in the past.

My hopes were dashed. The scallops arrived on half shells. They were a little small for the price but the big issue was that the first one I tried had become bonded to the shell which was incredibly hot for some reason. I had to excise what I could (it tore off): the morsel I managed to get onto a fork was chewy and had an acrid burnt taste so I had to eject it and put it back on the plate.

Disappointed, but still optimistic that the second one (which looked better!) would be good, I cut that into two. The first half was maybe a little over but much better and the celeriac purée delicious.

Then CRUNCH. There was was some actual shell in the second. It too was ejected from my mouth, the shell separated from the masticated remains ready to show the server when she came to chirpily ask if we’d enjoyed it.

£13, gone in a flash and with almost nothing actually edible/swallowable in return.

I pointed to the yucky detritus on my plate when plates were cleared and she nodded and said she’d talk to the kitchen.

Mains came and went (acceptable enough but you know when you’ve crunched she’ll between your teeth it takes something to get over it?!).

We were due to catch a train from Montpelier at 7.30 and, realising this, hastily ordered the bill at 7.15. It arrived and our server explained that the chef had deducted one of the scallops (£6.50) from the bill. Both were inedible. Woefully below standard.

Had we not been in a rush to get a train I’d have had the argument. I also prefer not to deduct things like that from the 12.5% tip they’d pre-added as this goes to the FOH staff. Instead, we settled, and I thought I would drop them a private note.

I did this the following morning, making a private (not public) review on ResDiary and asking them to contact me.

That was 27/1/23 and I have heard nothing in the intervening six weeks.

Things don’t always go to plan, even the best chefs have off moments. Two things are key though: the ability to know what’s acceptable and what you’re happy to send out to paying customers and the ability to be honest, admit failings (on this occasion) and also to apologise. Even when given six weeks to do so!

I am left wondering which of the two scallops they thought edible: was it the chewy charred one half of which was still bonded to the shell or the one with the piece of shell returned as a masticated mound? It’s deeply worrying they thought either acceptable to charge for.

Bianchi’s failed on this occasion: particularly sad since I’ve had good food there six times or so before. It’s not a stellar place, in my experience, compared to their Pasta Loco or Ripieni Restaurants (both of which I also frequent) but good and, I’d thought, reliable.

I would now struggle (even six weeks on) to recommend it to others or even to contemplate going back. Very sad. With the delightful Caper & Cure just a short walk away, why would I need to?

That £6.50 and subsequent lack of customer service has forfeited them a...

Booked Biancis for my husband's birthday treat, as Spiny Lobster was full. Could only get an early table at 6pm, which suited us fine. I was aware table only for 1 HR 45 minutes, when in my experience since COVID, tables usually for 2 hours, but I thought they would maybe need the extra 15 minutes to turn around the table. Atmosphere was lovely. Tables quite close together, but bistro type feel endearing. We asked how to order as the menu specified antipasti, Primi course, second course. We were informed we could order from each course and share dishes. First course we shared 3 dishes- burrata, sardines, and beef bavette. All excellent in both presentation and taste. I particularly loved the sardines. Pasta dish we had ox cheek ravioli to share. This was definitely my favourite. The sauce was delicious and the dish I've been thinking about all morning. Second courses was Poussin - which was quite difficult to navigate as you need to take the meat off yourself, but still delicious and the hake in a lovely thin sauce. The hake skin was very salty, but the meat and sauce was lovely, and I ate the tomato and basil based sauce like a soup. My husband had the house red wine , which he said was great. We went to the toilet once each. I'm specifying this as when my husband went to the toilet for the first at 19:20, the plates were cleared and I was then told at 19:22 that we only had the table for another 15 minutes if we wanted dessert and would have to order now. My calculations worked out 15 minutes would have got to 19:37 and not to 19:45. I did want to have dessert, but no menu was presented at the time of asking, and it suddenly felt very awkward and the realisation hit me that they needed us gone early, likely as the next table needed to be seated by 1945. I did explain to front of house that it felt very rushed at the end. We did not eat slowly, we did not clear all out plates, delicious as the food was, as we knew more courses were coming. We could have taken much longer than the 1 HR 20 minutes to have eaten this amount of food ( very generous portions) We could only eat as fast as the food was being brought out to us. I did suggest that perhaps 2 hours for a 2 person sitting may have been more suitable. I left feeling thoroughly disappointed about how the experience made me feel. The bill was nearly £160 ( which includes 12.5 percent) but I left feeling very unhappy due to the pressure to leave 1 HR 22 minutes into the meal. We were offered a bar seat/ window stool, but watching other people take your table while you're in the middle of your meal, with the other tables watching on, was very embarrassing to me. Essentially I would suggest this early table was given as an ' add on' and there was not enough time for a meal experience. I would really suggest 2 hour slots to avoid this with your guests in future to avoid the embarrassment from both seated guests and the next guests arriving. Apart from this , time managent from front of house was excellent. Sadly, my whole experience and thus this review has been tainted due to it leaving me feel like we were incovienent, and should have been...

This was my second time visiting this restaurant. We were sat in a cozy corner, albeit the table was slightly small, we were able to manage to fit things on it. We began with the limoncello which never goes wrong here. Cirtusy, refreshing and paired greatly with our array of starters - Arancinos (4.5/5), scallops (4.5/5), mackerel (4/5) and olives (5/5). What blew our minds was the mains (secondi). We ordered the Aubergene and the Hake. The Hake was delectable served on top of fried chickpea fritters and paired with some breathtaking caramelized onion butter/sauce and grilled artichoke. I had tried their Hake last time as well (in a different dish, they keep changing menus), and had been thinking about having it again every since. And it surely didn't disappoint this time either. It was the right amount of soft and flaky with a slightly fresh sweetness of the flesh. I could eat this dish every single day. And the other star of the show, the Aubergene - my god! We didn't realize aubergene's be cooked and presented in such a way. The texture, the mouthfeel, and the flavour (which was somewhat garlicky and red pesto - esque but not overpowering) was just unimaginable to someone who is used to eating aubergene in a completely different setting in South Asian cuisine. The chef's certainly deserved a bow, and we had to make sure to give our compliments to the chef. The custard between the breads followed as dessert which unfortunately left much to be desired (but we still finished it), but the mains were so amazing that it didn't matter at that point, I knew I'd be coming back again and again craving more. If I could I'd eat here...