Dinner In The Curious Kitchen At The Aztec Hotel Near Bristol
Published On Tuesday 28 Jan 2025 by Sticky Beak
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I’ve never held much truck with the saying “Older and Wiser”, mainly because on each birthday all I seem to get is another wrinkle…whilst remaining frustratingly scatty! However, I think I might need to rethink my cynicism because, when we came to book our accommodation for The Man Birds’ day job post-Christmas party, we thought that we might as well tag an extra night away on to it and make a ‘proper’ weekend of it. Genius thinking, no?
His Nibs went on the ‘puter to do his grab-a-bargain thing and came up trumps with the Aztec Hotel and Spa (Spa being the crucial word here, especially after a party!). I won’t wang on about the split-level bedroom too much, other than to say it was huge with a marvellously comfy bed, toiletries provided, a good-sized desk to work at, and a two-seat sofa on which to chill and watch TV. I was particularly impressed by the Spa robes and slippers hanging in the wardrobe; a really nice touch, and more so that you can wear them throughout the complex – except in the restaurant. The reception team were all over our check-in, getting us sorted and explaining everything in about 5 minutes.
Having unpacked, we donned our swimwear and headed downstairs to the Spa, being greeted warmly and handed warm towels by the Spa team on the front desk. As is the case with the majority of Hotel Spas, loungers were in limited supply; we did manage to grab one to share and, to be fair, we weren’t planning on ‘lounging’, so we weren’t fussed about having to sit rather than recline. The main pool was being well used and serious swimmers will be pleased to hear that a section is roped off for lane swimming, meaning that chatters and paddlers won’t impede your lap times. The Sauna and Steam Rooms were both hot and ‘up to temperature’ and having switched into relax mode, we sauntered over to the Whirlpool to bask in the brisk bubbles. Sadly, this went faulty late into the evening session, meaning that when we went down the next morning [before breakfast], it was still out-of-action.
However, the main focus of our stay was the food – surprise, surprise! The Aztec Hotel and Spa is blessed with two excellent venues to eat and drink at: The Black Sheep pub across from the car park, and 2 AA-rosetted The Curious Kitchen. As you’d expect, The Black Sheep is a more casual site; it offers coffee, brunch dishes and sandwiches during the day, and when evening comes around you can choose from classics such as Burgers, Pizzas, and Loaded Fries. Whilst this sounded lovely, The Man and I wanted something a bit ’extra’, so we booked a table in The Curious Kitchen for dinner.
The Curious Kitchen certainly has the wow factor with its impossibly high ceiling beams and expansive fireplace as you go in. We descended the small stairs to our table, admiring the view out over the terrace which, if it had been lighter and warmer, would’ve been a beautiful place to enjoy our food. As it was, we had a view of the entire restaurant, including the space at the rear which was being used for a larger, party gathering; I think it was a school reunion. It was nice and refreshing to see that the menu wasn’t the length of a novella, and nor were the dishes overly complicated.
To start, I ordered the Salt-baked Heritage Beetroot and braised Rainbow Chard with rase l-hanout Yoghurt, confit Lemon, sumac-dusted Chickpeas, and Harissa Dressing (£8.50) – I really craved something spicy, and this dish was definitely going to deliver that! His Nibs fancied the house-smoked Corn-fed Chicken and corresponding crisped skin, confit egg yolk, Celeriac Remoulade, Watercress, Black Truffle Mani Olive Oil, and grilled Sour dough (£9.95).
Having had what I will euphemistically call a ’liquid night out’ the night before, I was most definitely not in the market for any alcohol - which made our server giggle as she poured me a large glass of chilled water; The Man, however, pushed his luck with a pint of lager. Never has good old council pop tasted so good; seriously, you could’ve handed a glass of LR Cristal and it wouldn’t have tasted any better! A short while later, our starters were placed before us and we began to tuck in – relaxing in the Spa is hungry work, y’know!
Presentation-wise, both dishes were gorgeous, with artful drizzles of this, that and the other forming swirls and patterns that pleased the eye. There were two types of Beetroot in my dish; one was dramatically dark in tone, the other paler and marbled. Both had that characteristic earthy, gently sweet taste and this flavour provided the perfect canvas on which the other elements could shine. The pale yoghurt was bursting with taste, its natural creamy mildness being lavishly pimped by multi-spice containing Ras El Hanout. My palate instantly picked out the Cinnamon and Paprika in this mix as they’re two of my favourite spices. The fieriness was left to the wickedly punchy Harissa Dressing, and it certainly delivered in this respect – thank goodness for creamy yoghurt! Crunchiness came via the wilted Chard leaves and the marvellous Chickpeas: these minxes were just glorious, and I wish there had been more of them on my plate.
Matching my starter in taste and looks was His Nibs’ Chicken morsel. A thick slice of breast meat was drizzled with the Truffled Olive Oil, and perched on one end was a perfectly golden strip of super-crunchy skin. Now, I know lots of folks don’t like meat skin but the flavour it delivers is extraordinary; imagine the meat or poultry that you’re eating and multiply the intensity by 10: that’s how tasty skin is (whether it’s chicken or Pork crackling). As you may imagine, the Truffle oil was deep and rich and robust and thankfully its luxuriance was tempered by the bright, peppery notes of fresh Watercress. The julienned Celeriac provided a fab injection of crunch, and yet another (as if more were needed!) layer of flavour was provided by the tangy remoulade. As with my choice, this had been a bobby dazzler of a starter, and we were both very much looking forward to our mains.
When she came to clear away our plates [having done check-backs whilst we were munching] our lovely server saw that my water glass was not as full as it had been and swiftly went to rectify that situation – bless her. Actually, she topped my glass up and then went to fetch a fresh jug of the chilled stuff for me; an example of great customer care, I think you’ll all agree?
Although our starters hadn’t been the largest in terms of size, visually, they had certainly packed a wallop in the satiety stakes and we were both feeling happy that our initial hunger had been quelled. When our mains arrived, we both looked at each other as if to say “oh crikey, we’re going to be bursting”; the pair of us had gone for carb-heavy mains: me with Tiger prawn Linguine, Him with a meat Pie. Chef Marc Payne doesn’t hold back when it comes to his food; that much was clear as we got stuck in to our dishes.
Now, call me picky, but I was expecting the Linguine to be absolutely spot-on – like, literally cooked to within a millisecond of precisely al-dente – because, after all, this is an AA rosetted establishment. I needn’t have worried; it was total perfection, and my teeth sensed the merest resistance from the pasta strands as they bit into them. Smoky, charred Red Peppers were beautifully sweet in the mouth, partnered by mild, creamy-tasting Artichoke pieces and, combined with the sweetly fragrant flesh of the juicy Tiger prawns, made for a tremendous dish. Fine Pangratta (breadcrumbs to you and I!) and fresh Pea Shoots added a pop of texture to an otherwise ‘soft’ meal…and what a meal it had been.
They say not to judge a book by its cover, and it would’ve been easy to pooh-pooh The Man Birds’ meal; after all, an individual pie, a can of Chips, a pot of crushed Peas and a small jug of gravy on a plate don’t make for the most exciting sight, right? All I can say is that each element was precisely placed, and the Chips and Pie were a most attractive shade of gold. What the dish lacked in visual finesse, though, it more than made up for in its flavour, let me you! The pastry melted instantly in the mouth, and this was a pie with a twist: its top was flaky, its body the short variety – very unusual, and certainly delicious. Inside, the steak was crammed in and its chunks were moreishly tender and rich in flavour; partnered with a deep, ale-containing gravy, this pie was a stunner. Whilst munching through the peas, His Nibs came to a startling conclusion: he prefers crushed Peas to Mushy ones – whaaaat??!!!! Now, I love Peas in all their guises [pod-on Mange Tout or Sugar Snap, boiled, stir-fried etc.] but you’re never going to beat classic Mushies. Ever. Honestly, I could’ve smacked His Nibs round his chops with a wet kipper for his utterance: sacrilege! The extra gravy wasn’t needed for the pie, but did serve well as a dunking sauce for the magnificently chonky Chips.
To go with our mains, we ordered a side salad (£5) and there was a pleasing mix of salad leaves, Peppers, red Onion and Cucumber to chomp at, all dressed lightly in Balsamic. Colourful and flavoursome, this accompaniment was just the ticket.
Our server cleared away our used plates and enquired if we’d like pudding. Having looked at the selection, nothing was particularly grabbing our attention (sorry, Chef), so we opted to share a Knickerbocker Glory. There was no denying that the ingredients were top-class, but it was still a fairly easy dessert so, despite it being it very tasty, I’m not going to wax lyrical about it. Ice Cream, Meringue, Nuts, Sauce: all as you’d want them to be.
We declined coffee, as we had a pod machine and kettle in our room, and access to unlimited milk and water from the chiller machine on our corridor. As we sat on the sofa in our room, relaxing, we reflected on what a great experience we’d just had at The Curious Kitchen; Hot Wings happily given to this Bristol treasure.
Obviously, Bristol is a bit of a journey, but if you’re ever down that way I’d certainly recommend to pop in to The Curious Kitchen and savour their wares. To book a room at The Aztec Hotel and Spa, or to reserve a table at The Curious Kitchen, call 01454 201090 or visit www.aztechotelbristol.co.uk
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