The Chef's Table — Restaurant in Bristol

The 2 star is purely comparing this to its competitors.

I was a little apprehensive and mentioned to my wife on the way that it was very easy to book a table with plenty of space last minute, why is somewhere like that so quiet.

Whilst there, there were a fair few empty tables.

I'm going to start by saying it is massively disappointing giving what was expected. Incredible how it's kept 2 rosette if I'm honest.

Our bill came to just over £300

Parking - spot on, plenty just accross the road.

Accessible- perfect, disabled people will have no issue here.

The atmosphere is nice, it was warm, relaxed, clean, good lighting and the smells coming from the kitchen were great.

Greeted with a smile and very friendly lady who couldn't have been more welcoming.

Offered drinks straight off the bat, I mentioned about having a wine flight and from that moment everything seems to feel a bit fractured, it's like I disturbed the routine by not wanting another drink before the wine started and then it felt very un easy.

When the first glass of wine came she asked me "would you like me to go through the explanation of the wine or shall I just pour it ?" This was awkward, i think she could tell so gave a very loose description. The wine was nice, descriptions were very loose and I asked questions with a "i don't know" so I think some more training on the wine would be good.

The food. . . Don't get me wrong the food was ok, I always look for that thing that stands out, that's item that makes me smile but unfortunately that did not exist here, i would put most of the courses as something I would expect to have at marriot hotel wedding function if I'm honest. There was not a massive amount of flavours going on. I'm being very harsh due to where this placing is trying to set itself and the money it's charging it a well under par and nowhere near it's competitors.

The entries were nice.

The purree on the dishes were pointless as there was hardly any on there and just for presentation however the purree was also like glue to the plate after being left under the lights for too long.

Veal was cooked really nice, the jus was very intense and tasted like marmite.

Squab was over and dry.

The john dory was slightly over cooked but I'm picking hairs with that one. (Which I'm going to do with the prices if I'm honest)

The Scallops... well .... Huxley disappointed. It was tasteless and the sushi was well over done. This just didn't fit at all on the menu to start with but was just a really poor executed plate. I didn't eat it all.

The first dessert was really nice, reminded me of what my grandmother used to make us when we were kids.

The second dessert (i didnt take a pucture) seemed to be very lost. Each individual item tasted fine but it was like a chef thought oh I'm good at these let's put them on one plate and see what happens, weird.

Overall it's like this place was coming out of the 80s but kind of got stuck getting out of it didn't really see anything modern there, still garnished with green leaf for a start. Food was very medium, I'd still be giving it a low rating if the price was lower.

Every other table got asked if they wanted to talk to the chef after appart from us I promised my wife that I would kindly refuse the chef as she knows I'd have said something and she hates that, he came over any way and took the feedback great, had a chat also and was a friendly guy.

For a tasting menu experience there are far better places to go in Bristol for the money, Wilsons for example.

For a Dinning experience again the food is dated and not fantastic, little french walks all over the food here.

It is just not up to par and punching well above its weight. We won't be back unfortunately but thank you.

Just to finish off I've come back to this review after uploading pictures. The food was that far under parr that there were dishes served to me less than 10 hours ago and I completely forgot about them. . . .the pictures reminded me. . . So yea £300 well spent...

Bristol is blessed with many delightful restaurants for high end dining. Unfortunately Chef’s Table is not one of those restaurants.

I made this booking as a treat for my foodie partner for his birthday. For me the value in fine dining is in its service and finest details. For the price of more than £100 per person, I’d expect these two things to be top notch.

Unfortunately: no one welcomed us upon entering, and the entry room is also a small cramped room with tables which is quite disruptive to those who want to have a quality meal my drink glass was empty for more than 15 min twice during the meal. When I was finally asked if I wanted a drink, it was during one of the courses was being served. I’ve had a menu brought to me as I was eating the course, and then the drink was delivered after I had finished. I could hear everyone’s conversations in the tiny entry room we have been placed in. This included how much two tables around me did or did not enjoy their meals. There was no privacy nor intimate atmosphere. some of the dishes were lovely, but some rather questionable the music was from a playlist that was reminiscent of a cruise ship holiday it seems customary here that the chef comes to discuss the meal. They came to the couple next to us first. We could hear everything about their experience. The couple next to us told them „no dish stood out”. Then the chef came to us. I have told the chef that the service was lacking the fine dining attention to detail, to which they replied „awesome, alright”. When I asked „is it really?”, only then they began to actually listen. They heard to our concerns about the service and then they brought a bill with a full service charge included. What’s the point of checking in on the customers if the chefs have no ability to listen? the waiter came with a card reader and I have politely asked to have the service charge removed. They got incredibly awkward and asked if there’s anything they could have done to make it better. All staff seemed very tense throughout and as if they are under a lot of pressure from the management. I told them I just fed back my views in detail to the chef who came and asked about them, but then I felt I had to do it again as the server seemed very stressed (possibly because of the said pressure). If there was anyone in that room who was having a nice time, they by then had no choice but to experience the staff get very awkward about my feedback. Then the staff asked me what would I have done differently if it was my restaurant. I replied it was my job as a customer to enjoy it, not to manage it.

All of this would have been fine in a regular restaurant, but let us remember the bill for this experience came to £230 alone without the service charge, for two tasting menus and a couple of drinks.

As we tried to pay for the meal, we then had to move across the restaurant rooms due to lack of reception, which made things even more awkward (if such thing was still possible) after the two exchanges we have had.

Never before in Bristol have we paid that much to feel that unsatisfied with a fine dining experience.

I would strongly advise the team involved in Chef’s Table to go visit some other high-end restaurants in Bristol to understand that what they offer unfortunately is not good enough to...

We came for dinner last night and went for the signature tasting menu. The food was imaginative and beautifully presented, with moments of real creativity. The Brill, Cep Mousse and Ballotine was a standout with lovely balance and delicate flavours, and the Blackcurrant Soufflé ended the meal with a real burst of flavour and technical skill.

However, the overall experience fell short in several ways. Some of the food choices felt confusing, like the filet steak which was plated with great care but arrived with a side of dauphinoise potatoes that looked and tasted like they had come from a Tesco Ready Meal. It was such a strange contrast to have on the same table.

The biggest disappointment was the atmosphere . We were seated right by the door, less than three feet from the next table, and the space lacked any sense of intimacy or atmosphere. For the price you are paying, it felt more like a café at lunchtime than a fine dining experience. It made it hard to relax and enjoy the food in the way you can at other top end restaurants in Bristol.

The staff were genuinely lovely and perfectly attentive, but the service was quite slow. From arrival to leaving, the meal took over two hours. One of the chefs came to speak to us about the food, which was a thoughtful touch, but the cramped layout made it difficult to enjoy the interaction as every conversation could be heard by everyone else.

Someone sat very nearby from me was enjoying the wine pairings, which did look excellent, and I imagine if you are there for that full wine experience you might have a better time.

But for me, our experience didn’t justify the cost at all. There is real skill in the kitchen, but when compared with other high-end restaurants in Bristol, the overall experience lacks the same care and attention to detail and at this price point, that really is...