Root — Restaurant in Bristol

I probably would give 2 or 2.5 stars as Overall, I think this place is overhyped, the meals we tried weren’t exciting and not very good.

We received a call back as we were on waiting list to have a booking on Saturday at 8:30. On Google it shows it closes at 9pm but it actually closes at 11pm.

Short rib dish was slightly dry in the middle and not moist, however it was complimented very well by barley and other elements - question to ask is how chef can retain moisture while slow cooking.

The four pieces of bread that was served for 5.5£ was definitely overpriced and heavy in oil. The dark sauce that came with two of our dishes wasn’t mentioned on the menu and it was too strong. The meal that saved our experience was the hake fish - that was really really good (for my non vegan partner).

For me as a vegan, it wasn’t very exciting experience. Charred leeks were way too salty (coming from a person that loves salty food), we couldn’t actually eat it as someone sprinkled salt heavily on top, as leeks underneath were fine, but that dark sauce wasn’t really good as mentioned.

The fried oyster mushroom and onion was alright but the batter was very very dry (using a lot of corn flour?). Again this dish has the same earthy dark reddish sauce which wasn’t to our taste.

Not sure what’s their way of serving meals is but my partner received two of his non vegan plates and I was waiting for a while for my vegan leeks which then were very disappointing.

Sadly, the food didn’t feel up to Michelin standards or match the reviews we read.

The only reason we gave a bit higher review than it deserves is that waiting staff was very helpful, and they were able to give options and cater for what wasn’t on the menu. The location is fun - reminds us about boxparks in London.

We’d recommend the hake fish meal as it was a nice combination of tomato sweetness and rich butter and flakiness and saltiness of the fish which was a great! It was a generous portion for a “small plates” dining.

Chocolate genash (vegan) and oat cappuccino was absolutely lovely. I was glad to see that it has same pricing as other desserts although it had generous amount of hazelnuts! It seems small on a photo but it’s a perfect portion as it’s very rich and filling. Coffee was amazing too.

Maybe we were just unlucky with picking vegan options but overall our tasting experience was below average compared to the expectations of the reviews and the pricing.

We spent 105£ for 4 small plates, bread, two coffee, and two alcoholic drinks.

I’ve been to Michelin star restaurant where even grilled lettuce and mustard seeds tasted amazing (as simple as that) and this didn’t feel Michelin to us although...

I've been coming to Root for a few years now and for a while it was probably my favourite restaurant in Bristol. The food is still very good, but I don't think I'd recommend it as highly as I used to.

We had some really great veg focused dishes (the smoked mushroom and egg yolk was a particular favourite and as nice as anything I've ever had at Root), but overall I didn't enjoy the experience that much. Some of the dishes were outstanding (did I mention the mushrooms? and the roscoff onions deserve a special mention too), but others (the beetroot and the leeks) felt like a bit of a miss.

Service was okay, but everything felt a bit awkward and cramped. The venue packs in a lot of tables, but adding those extra covers does come at the price. The table we were on was very small and cramped when all the plates were served. Servers were pushing past our table to serve the table next to us.

Some interactions with the servers were also a little awkward: for our example, when we paid the bill, they asked us what our favourite dish was. We effused about the smoked mushrooms and they then just looked at us awkwardly. I understand they probably don't care what we think of the food, but then why ask?

The broader setting of the cargo dock (and the toilets in particular) could do with a bit of TLC. The toilets were particularly dirty on the night we visited.

All of this contributed to an experience where we'd had some nice food, but it wasn't really a place we wanted to linger. Good food, but for £50-60pp without dessert, I don't think it's as good value an experience as it was. I'm sure I will give it another try, but I'm not sure it's still a must...

This has been my favourite restaurant for several years, I've been there about 12 times over that period and the food was always outstanding, the staff first rate and it always had an amazing warm, low key atmosphere with good background music.

I'm unsure if this has now changed owners or if there has been a complete change of staff but the last two times, especially the most recent times have been very disappointing.

It didn't get off to a fantastic start when as we had a booked a table for two, and as we were there early in the day, there were several other tables available but we were taken to a dark table in the corner and seated. I politely asked if we could move to a table for two next to the window, she checked but unfortunately we were told it was taken, which we would have assumed, but it was unknown as to why we couldn't sit there, as they could have just switched us with the yet to arrive guests from any of the other two seater tables, it was just a very odd thing, as there is no way to reserve a table near the window.

All in all it left a pretty sour taste in our mouths and I'm not talking about the rhubarb. The main issue was that the service is not what it used to be, the atmosphere is almost completely absent, and the music is far to loud. My partner and I decided that unlike previous visits, there were no dishes that we would crave more of after finishing the dish and in essence none of the dished from the past two visits did this. Its with regret that we won't be returning to Root, our once go-to restaurant. As a side note, Rob Howell is an incredible chef and it looks like I'll have to learn to make his recipes...