Spitfire Barbecue
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If you are looking to eat the most flavoursome meat dishes in Bristol then you have to come here! Do not come here if you are in a hurry. This restaurant does not pretend to be a fast food place and states that the food is slow cooked on their website menu. We had a 35 min wait for food to arrive, which was fine because we were having a chilled out Friday afternoon. Good things come to those who wait and we were rewarded with meat dishes that would make a T-Rex smile! Next time we come back, it would be nice to have some complimentary savoury snacks (for example peanuts or crisps) to nibble on as we were chatting and waiting for the food to arrive. We were very hungry after driving a couple of hours. During the wait for our food to arrive, we watched the waiters eating at the pass. Some of them were picking up the food off the dish with their hands and some of them were using a fork. We got worried that they were sampling our food and they were going to bring it over half eaten. Luckily, our food was still cooking and their empty plate was taken back into the kitchen. It appears the chef had made a little treat for the staff! I’m glad the staff get well looked after as employees and they clearly enjoyed the food. However, when I used to work in a chip shop, we were only allowed to eat the food in the back room on a break. The best meat dishes that we tried were that amazingly tasty Spitfire sausage and the pulled pork. There was a bottle of the restaurant’s own barbecue sauce on the table and this went perfectly with the pulled pork. The beef brisket was tender and awesomely slow cooked but was served at a colder temperature compared to the other items on the tray. The portion of Cowboy Fries served in a tiny enamel bowl was small for £6.55. We wish the portion was better value for money because they were so wonderfully crispy! Also, the half chicken was very small for £10. I wondered if it was a poussin. The half chickens in Nando’s are much larger. The bones were removed from the portions of salt and pepper chicken thigh (that we ordered separately to the half chicken) which made the thighs very easy to eat. We enjoyed the bonus third thigh because we only ordered two! The thighs went perfectly with the Louisiana bottle of sauce on the table. This sauce is not for the faint hearted as it does have a strong chilli kick to it! A waiter tried to take our tray before I’d eaten all of the yummy gherkin garnish! I’m a slow eater so I’m used to this happening, unfortunately. There were more staff than customers in the restaurant so maybe he was just looking for a job to do. He came back again when I’d actually finished to take the remaining tray and plate. It was nice that he was smiley but he didn’t ask us if we’d like any desserts or the bill. We were sitting at our empty table for 7 minutes before we decided to get up and ask for dessert on the way to the toilet. The toilets were fairly clean. I appreciate that you can’t choose your customers based on their toilet etiquette but there was urine on the seat in the men’s toilet. Based on the staff to customer ratio at the time we were in the restaurant then I think the toilets should have been spotless. The peanut butter stack dessert then came out quickly within 1 minute of us asking. Think crunchy peanut caramel layered in a gooey chocolate cake. I was expecting it to be served warm but I think it was served cold to keep the layers in tact. It was divine! The bill came to £77.60 for the two of us. That included two pint of cider, a selection of bbq mains, half a chicken, two sides and one dessert (which we shared). Pricey but the meat and other ingredients were of a high quality. Overall, the superb food itself is worthy of the 5 stars I gave in this review. We really enjoyed eating and drinking everything that we ordered.
Elizabeth WongElizabeth Wong
00
We visited here for a friends Birthday and we were in a party of 8. It was VERY busy when we arrived at 9pm and The table we were seated at was a little bit of a squeeze for the 8 of us, but they were busy so we didn't mind too much. The food took over an hour and 15 mins to arrive after we ordered and they got 2 of the orders wrong. One they rectified quickly- which was the dirty fries with no BBQ sauce, even thought I said 3 or 4 times I did not want bbq sauce and I hated it, when it arrived, I said I didn't want the sauce and they quickly changed it for one that was minus the bbq sauce, but one they didn't rectify. One of our party asked for some ribs as a side, but was handed a whole ribs meal, he said it wasn't what he ordered, but the server didn't take much notice of his complaint. My friends ordered 2 pina coladas, which arrived warm, but the server sorted it straight away and changed them for fresh ones. We were waiting a long time for a server to ask if we wanted any more drinks, so in the end we went to the bar to order. One of the party also asked for a glass of water, which never arrived. The food was okay, I had the burger and I didn't think much of it, if I was to visit again I would probably go for the chicken. The food was well presented, but a bit on the pricey side. All in all, it is a nice place, very big and short staffed. They definitely need to hire more people as they were stretched for.such a big restaurant.
GemmaGemma
00
We have walked past this place so many times and the smell coming from it has been delightful. Finding ourselves back in Bristol and a special occasion we decided to book a table. Good job we did as it was very busy.. so busy you could hardly hear the music over people talking. It was very noisy. The lemon meringue cocktail was amazing and I had noticed there was Sticky Toffee pudding in the dessert menu which I was really looking forward to. The garlic type bread arrived, mine with cheese and the other half had it without. It was amazing and we were really looking forward to the rest of our meal. However, this is when things started to go wrong. An hour after ordering the waiter came over very apologetic but the belly pork I had ordered along side my dirty fries was not available. I politely said I will just have the dirty fries then (thinking about the sticky toffee pudding that was still teasing me from the dessert menu) thinking possibly would be a side plate as they came with pulled pork on. Not long after my dirty fries arrived along with my husbands wings and coleslaw … no sign of his fries or sausage he had ordered. By this time we were starving so we started eating … when we had finished the sausage turned up. We didn’t end up getting the remainder of our meal or the Sticky Toffee Pudding. A big thank you to the gentleman (possibly the manager) who had seen we were upset and just wanted to go, who spoke to the kitchens to see what had gone on and was very apologetic on the restaurants behalf. The food we had was very tasty but took so long and most of it never appeared! There were a number of larger parties there and no one else seemed to be having the issues we did. So maybe it was just bad luck. Thank you again to the gentleman that spoke to us so calmly even though I initially wasn’t the politest person in the world after being so disappointed. Maybe at some point I will return for the sticky toffee pudding.
Gaynor HartGaynor Hart
00
Had high expectations of this place looking at the menu and previous reviews. Unfortunately it falls short in a couple of places. First is value for money. Prices are about 20% to much for the quality of the food. Ribs and chips is around £26 which would be fine if they were of a higher standard. I had the Lois Rib and it was nice enough and the portion was generous, but the fat hadn't rendered as much as I like, and the meat itself lacked flavour and didnt have much bark to it. The house BBQ sauce was very average. Drinks are also very expensive. Dirty fries were disappointing and not very dirty (cubed meats sprinkled over some thick cut chips). Mentions fries on the menu but they are more like steak cut chips. The onion strings and mac and cheese were really nice though! Service... Our server was nice enough but when the food arrived there were 3 mistakes, my side was given to someone else on the table (on their plate) sides were sort of chucked anywhere. Unfortunately one party members order was misheard (it happens, but in this case could absolutely have been handled better). Our server took the plate away and another male member of staff came back and very bluntly tried to get the party member to accept what they had been given as it was 'the same but had a bun on it'. We politely declined and asked for what we ordered which was met with a loud huff as the plate was taken away. Not good, especially considering things like allergies that could have been a factor here. We finished our mains and were offered dessert, to which we declined as we were stuffed! We were sat chatting away as we hadn't seen eachother for a while and flagged a member of staff down to pay the bill. We spent a whole hour at the table not being offered another drink, refill on our water or... Anything. Pretty basic stuff. Not great when you leave a restaurant thirsty. Will not be visiting again.
Ash SharpeAsh Sharpe
50
Felt pretty mugged off frankly. They ran out of their top 3 mains meals so my friend and I went for belly burnt ends, they were absolutely delicious. However within several small bites they were gone - this can not be considered a main meal! Mearly a side especially as they come with nothing else. Just 3 small cubes of meat on a metal tray. My friends order came with raw onion and some pickles, mine did not? When there are litterally 3 components to a 'meal' how can some raw onions and pickled from one out of two meals be forgotten? The mac and cheese we were told would satisfy two people, I think most people would argue it's definately for one person. Again, very delicious and you can see a lot of time goes into preparing very tasty food here but we left still feeling very hungry. Almost £40 we paid - for two half pints, 3 pieces of meat each, some raw onion and gherkins and a singular side of mac and cheese. The menu could also do with graphic clarity as the extras are specifically just for the burgers but this is unclear, the waitress agreed. They're charging almost £7 PER sausage here! I mean come on! Such a shame. Is this a place to get a good value for money full sized delicious bbq dinner, or bbq tapas dishes?? Maybe we didn't do it right but from this experience we left in disbelief.
Mike SmithMike Smith
00
Heard about this place and came across it walking along. The menu specifies that you should expect to wait a while as its all cooked over a coal fire grill. Very casual you just show up and sit yourself down. Took about ten minutes for our order to be taken. Wait staff did not appear to be in a hurry for anything. Took a further ten minutes for drinks to arrive which we could see standing at the bar unattended. The same goes for the food too with lots of meals sitting there on the pass while hungry customers looked on. Three blokes came in and waited over thirty minutes to be served and that only happened because one of them got up and collared a waiter. Our waiter was not rude but a bit miserable. When the food arrived it was good though but due to the time we waited to order and get our food and drink we decided not to ask for dessert. You might be waiting a while to use the loo as there is one cubicle each for ladies and gents. All in all a good experience. You do have to wait for your food but i think you should not expect to wait a long time your drink or even to place your order. Will go back but it won't be a regular place to visit.
beelez 1975beelez 1975
00
Nearby Attractions Of Spitfire Barbecue
Brunel's SS Great Britain
M Shed
Bristol Aquarium
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
Brandon Hill
Bristol Cathedral
Queen Square
Cabot Tower
Arnolfini Arts
Windmill Hill City Farm

Brunel's SS Great Britain
4.8
(3.8K)Click for details

M Shed
4.4
(2.7K)Click for details

Bristol Aquarium
4.2
(2.4K)Click for details

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
4.6
(2.4K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Spitfire Barbecue
Turtle Bay Bristol Broad Quay
Za Za Bazaar
V-Shed - JD Wetherspoon
The Commercial Rooms - JD Wetherspoon
Las Iguanas - Bristol - Harbourside
Pasture
The Bristol Stable
Slug & Lettuce - Harbourside Bristol
Hole In The Wall Bristol
The Old Duke

Turtle Bay Bristol Broad Quay
4.7
(4.6K)Click for details

Za Za Bazaar
4.2
(4.3K)Click for details

V-Shed - JD Wetherspoon
3.9
(2.2K)Click for details

The Commercial Rooms - JD Wetherspoon
4.0
(1.9K)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
1 Hannover Quay, Bristol BS1 5JE, United Kingdom
Map
Phone
+44 117 925 4585
Call
Website
spitfirebarbecue.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.4
(1.2K reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Spacious casual barbecue joint creating its own rubs and sauces for a range of meat-based dishes.
attractions: Brunel's SS Great Britain, M Shed, Bristol Aquarium, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Brandon Hill, Bristol Cathedral, Queen Square, Cabot Tower, Arnolfini Arts, Windmill Hill City Farm, restaurants: Turtle Bay Bristol Broad Quay, Za Za Bazaar, V-Shed - JD Wetherspoon, The Commercial Rooms - JD Wetherspoon, Las Iguanas - Bristol - Harbourside, Pasture, The Bristol Stable, Slug & Lettuce - Harbourside Bristol, Hole In The Wall Bristol, The Old Duke
