Bell's Diner
Snapshot
- Area
-
Montpelier
Gloucester Road - Cuisine
-
Fine Dining
- Price
- £25+
- Tags
-
romantic
pricey
superb
Ratings
- Overall
- 4.8 stars
- Food
- 5 stars
- Service
- 4 stars
- Ambience
- 3.5 stars
Opening hours
- Monday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Tuesday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Wednesday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Thursday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Friday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Saturday
- Midnight - 10.30pm
- Sunday
- closed
- Alfresco dining
- Child friendly
- Cover charge
- Disable WC
- Disabled access
- Group bookings
- Open bank holidays
- Parking
- Private dining
- Quality wine cellar
- Reservation required
- Smoking area
- Special dietry
- Veggie friendly
- WiFi
Owner Chris Wicks has now established himself as Bristol's premier chef in terms of sheer inventiveness, technique and taste on the plate and this converted grocery store in boho Montpelier must rank right up there as one of the city's finest dining experiences. Unusually, customers and critics alike are in accord about how good it is and Bells has won countless accolades including being twice voted the Observer Food Monthly magazine best restaurant in the South West. There's been a veer towards the Heston Blumenthal school of cooking lately with the appearance on the menu of anchovy foam, vindaloo ice cream or quail jelly consomme. But it's not flashy form over substance. Each dish has its own inventive logic when it comes to taste combinations which are spot on and there's plenty enough options for the less adventurous.
Alongside the excellence of the cooking is the restaurant itself, which is intimate and romantic. There's a small reception area with open fire and the old shop is now the front dining room with dark oak flooring, vestiges of the old shelving and subtle lighting. The newer back dining area is not quite as intimate but still a very pleasant experience. Combine all of this with a fantastic wine list and knowledgeable, friendly waiting staff and you have all the ingredients of a superb dining experience which isn't as expensive as you might think given the quality.
AA Rosettes
Good Food Guide
Restaurant Reviews
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At its best Michelin?
Rating - Overall: 5 Food: 5 Service: 4 Ambience: 4
24 Jul 2011
Bells Diner had it been situated in mayfair or in bray would unquestionably have been included in the Michelin guide!
At its best it is outstanding, surely some of the best food in bristol. It is creative and imaginitive, beautifully presented which combines unusual but well thought out ingredients! It is a real treat to dine here and I am very proud that we have this classy retaurant in our city.
I will agree that the wine list is a bit over priced, it will also take you about an hour to read the wine list, it is more extensive than berwick lodge, harvey nics and bath priory!!!
This aside the food and the service is fantastic, tho I havent been for a while I have heard that it has slightly slipped in terms of its quality, I will gladly have to re visit to find out!
A really gem of a restaurant with the prices to match.
Visited: June 20, 2010
What I ate: salmon tartare, rabbit loinThis review has no responses yet
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If this is what you want fine
Rating - Overall: 3 Food: 2 Service: 3 Ambience: 4
14 Feb 2010
Fine if you like food with more design than satisfaction, especially the latest designer fashion of foam. Wine is greatly over priced. Not great for vegetarians.
Visited: January 12, 2010
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Great but couldn't relax!
Rating - Overall: 2 Food: 4 Service: — Ambience: 2
16 Oct 2009
Having a good reputation for food I decided to treat my friend to dinner last month. The food was great but too quick and felt like we where being rushed fo the table could be used again. I feel bells made my night clostrophobic and ended quicker than I anticipated. I took Jenny for cocktails instead. It was a shame because the food was delicious. I would hesitate to go again.
Sorry Bells
xx
Visited: September 18, 2009
What I ate: TiramisuThis review has no responses yet
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A must if you've got the money
Rating - Overall: 5 Food: 5 Service: 4 Ambience: 4
26 Jan 2009
We got some present money to go out with and had always wanted to try here. It was amazing. we spent just about £100 for two of us, including tip (which was well deserved) and had a three course meal that I’ll never forget. We got an odd but lovely amuse bouche of celeriac foam and raisin jelly, then I had the soft crab which went so well with the odd, but refreshing avocado ice cream. My partner had scallops and he loved them. We then had the Lamb and the sea bass, and I’ve never had such good sea bass. It came with fennel, which I susually find too aniseed and overpowering, but the way they did it tasted just right. The best was dessert, my partner had the selection of cheeses and said it was the best he had, whilst I had the amazing white chocolate tiramisu. Rather than a traditional one, it came with coffee ice chips on top of the white chocolate which was ace. We left full and very happy, just can’t afford to go there often!
Visited: January 24, 2009
What I ate: soft crab, Sea bass, White Chocolate TiramisuThis review has no responses yet
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Romantic Food Experience?
Rating - Overall: 4 Food: 5 Service: 3 Ambience: 3
20 Oct 2008
Bell's never fails to delight. The menu was varied and everything sounded wonderful if a little pretentious at times! The downside is that they run two sittings on busy nights and we felt going to the early one, it was a bit too early and we were rushed by the friendly, but slightly over-attentive staff, and therefore it wasn't as relaxed at it could have been. In fact we declined dessert because we hadn't had time for the main course to settle!
The two courses we did have were excellent. My soft shell crab was simply delicious and stunning visually. The duck main course was also lovely and the only fault I could find was that the skin could have been crisper, therefore removing some of the fat, but the duck meat was pink and succulent and there was plenty of it.
It's not a cheap place to eat, wines are a bit pricey, but with the amuse bouche and petit fours that came with the coffee, alongside the excellent quality of the food, we felt it was overall value for money.
Visited: October 18, 2008
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A Must Try!
Rating - Overall: 5 Food: 5 Service: 5 Ambience: 4
26 May 2008
Great Service - REALLY SUPERB SERVICE!! And some different combinations of food which are very interesting. (The 2 hour poached hen egg is so tasty) and they have a lovely selection of fresh breads. Make sure you look at the map of where it is though only downside is it's very close to a dodgy area, not that close that it should bother you. Oh yes and the price is great for the quality you receive!!
Visited: November 21, 2007
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Truly Amazing
Rating - Overall: 5 Food: 5 Service: 4 Ambience: 3
26 May 2008
We had our Christmas party in Bell's Diner last year and this has always been at the top of my list of places to try in Bristol so when the opportunity arose, saying I was excited was an understatement. I think that the sign of a good meal is when you can have three courses, you cannot eat anymore but you feel sufficiently full but not sick ! This really was my best meal of 2007 and having eaten in an awful lot of restaurants over the year, for Bell's to pip it with a week to go certainly required something spectacular, everything from the amouse-bouche, to the soft shelled crab to the turkey to my white chocolate tiramisu was fantastic and beautifully presented. I really cannot rave enough about this place and I strongly recommend that anyone who enjoys eating out goes and checks out Bell's !
Visited: December 21, 2007
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