Bristol, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“Everything here is what one would expect of The Ivy”; so say fans of its popular Clifton offshoot. “It plays it posh, in a posh part of town, and attracts a devoted clientele”, with its “lovely interior”. “The menu is standard and uninspiring, but the dishes are tasty: best for breakfast, with a good range of dishes and drinks”.

2022 Review: After 15 years, the Michelin-starred Pony & Trap gastropub in Chew Magna – owned by chef Josh Eggleton and his sister Holly – is to reopen in a new guise in 2022. The Eggleton siblings have also opened Pony Bistro, in Bedminster (see also) and this, their former HQ, will operate ‘no longer as a gastropub, but as a wedding venue, cookery school and restaurant’.

“Kind of a romantic and fantastic Scandi-Bristolian take on dining!” – “You’d have to go a long way to replicate this really original experience”, where you eat in the “special location of a marvellous Victorian walled garden with lovely views (of the Mendips)”. There’s a “very individual” menu prepared by head chef Mark McCabe with 14 courses for £150 per person: “just superbly executed, if expensive”.