I have spent much of the last week deliberating on whether The Cowshed on Whiteladies Road was good value for money. Yes, a whole week! There were a number of factors that made this decision a difficult one.
But lets start with the positives. From the street, The Cowshed looks a very inviting eatery. As you enter on street level the Bar immediately comes into view. Its well stocked with some interesting Beers on tap. Especially the Blue Moon beer from the US. It's probably one of the most refreshing beers around. Made with orange peel and coriander, it was a delight. The lighting made the entrance and Bar area feel warm and comfortable. We were taken to our table which is up a relatively steep staircase (watch how many Blue Moon's you have during your meal!) and into the Restaurant area. I like the fact that the Bar-ish area and the restaurant where separated but the buzz could still be heard. Even though the atmosphere was good it still feels very much like a gastro-pub but with fine dining prices! This we learnt when we opened the menus and ordered our food.
It was quite busy but most people were finishing up, and as we booked for 9pm we were the only table left to order. The waitress was really friendly but I think it was a cover up as her knowledge of the menu and ingredients was quite poor. The wine list was extensive and there were some really interesting wines however the prices, I feel, didn't correlate to other lists in the immediate area. As we were going for steaks we decided to go for a Chilean Carmenere which was delicious. We had to wait quite some time for both our starters and mains, which considering we were now the only people in the restaurant was very poor.
The food was good. However, and this has been my major deliberation, can you justify paying £18.20 for a rib eye steak, steak knife, steak board and half a tomato? The meat was cooked well and was superbly tender however we then had to order chips (an extra 2.50) and then sauces. We paid £2.95 for a 'made at the table' sauce, which consisted of the waitress transferring the contents of one pot into another pot to create a BBQ sauce. Was this necessary? Absolutely not! If I'm going to pay the best part of £20 for a steak then I would expect to get fries and a sauce within that price. The whole meal came to £60 a head, OK, yes, we did have two bottles of wine but still, £60 a head on a Thursday night in Bristol I think is a little over the top!
The Restaurant IS good, the food IS good, the prices..... aren't. It seems that the best time to go to The Cowshed in Bristol is between 6-7pm for their Early Bird Special. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think!
http://www.thecowshedbristol.com/