FOOD NEWS

FOOD & DRINK

TASTY TIDBITS FROM THE CITY’S RESTAURANTS, CHEFS AND PRODUCERS

Haveli in central Bristol is run by Amir and Shahid Farooq, previously of Rajpoot

SAVOUR THE INDIAN STREET HOLIDAY AT HOME

As many people are feeling the absence of Spanish holidays, Iberian beer brand Estrella Galicia has launched a special gastronomy month by way of delicious compensation. A celebration of the UK’s burgeoning Spanish food scene, it will take place throughout September across the nation’s most exciting Spanish restaurants, with diners journeying through the country’s cuisine, meeting great chefs and learning about food and beer pairing via Tuna tartare ajo blancotasting menus and tapas tours hosted by Estrella from Bar 44 Galicia chef ambassadors. Each event will celebrate Estrella Galicia beers, paired with the best in Spanish gastronomy, and their ability to elevate a diningOli has worked in wine for years and has now started his own business experience. Weekend tapas tours offer the chance to discover a number of the city’s best tapas bars in one day. Bristol’s Longest Lunch Tapas Tour will see guests hop from Bar 44 to Gambas on a private boat, and there will be a range of tasting menus at the best Spanish restaurants –some tapas-style and some a little more formal but all designed to send the senses all the way to Madrid –plus an at-home masterclass with Spanish restaurant Iberica. Events start at £30.

A new restaurant has opened in central Bristol –a stone’s throw from the Bristol Royal Infirmary on Upper Maudlin Street –aiming to bring a vibrant, exciting experience to its diners.

Born and bred in Bristol, owners Shahid Farooq and his 18-year-old son Amir fell in love with the central Bristol community and everything about it. Farooq, having previously run Rajpoot in Clifton and Oh! Calcutta on Cheltenham Road, wants to make Haveli a place to appreciate the beautiful, authentic, rich flavours and spices of the Indian street in a stylish lounge setting.

“We hope we fit right in and can contribute all we have to this new venture,” he says. “Bristol, we hope you can welcome us with open arms –we will not disappoint!” • havelitheyard.com • estrellagaliciabeer.co.uk/gastronomymonth

A TASTE OF TOKYO IN CLIFTON

Kibou Japanese Kitchen & Bar arrives in Bristol next month, bringing a contemporary taste of Tokyo to Clifton Village. Opening on 4 October in King’s Road, the restaurant has been developed by the team behind the award-winning Kibou Restaurant & Bar in Cheltenham, renowned for its sushi rolls, exotic cocktails and equally exotic interiors. Designed to transport guests to the eclectic streets of Japan, Kibou’s handpainted murals depictCount us in, Kibou! the country’s streetlife, while a network of vibrant Japanese acers adds to the glamour. Centring on sushi such as the popular ‘volcano roll’ –salmon, avocado and tobiko futomaki, tempura fried –the menu also features other classic and contemporary dishes, including steaming bowls of ramen, freshly prepared katsu curry, pillowy bao buns and handmade gyozas. A standalone bar will serve Japanese whisky, sake and beers, authentic highballs and Japanese-inspired cocktails.

• kibou.co.uk

WONDERFUL ONE-POT IDEA

Bristol’s vibrant food culture is wellpublicised, but for thousands of people across the city, it’s a world away. With this in mind, a new local organisation is aiming to build one central pot to tackle food inequality linked to factors such as class, ethnicity, physical ability and more. By connecting the efforts already in place, and recruiting a citizens panel to choose which new projects to support, it aims to ensure that everyone can access affordable, healthy food. Bristol has an amazing charitable and community ethos, but to make a real impact, there needs to be a way to focus resources, and give power to those who are so often disempowered by the structure of society.

Bristol Local Food Fund is being run by a small group of volunteers working in partnership with Quartet Community Foundation, Burges Salmon, Bristol City Council, Feeding Bristol and Bristol Food Network. A crowdfunder campaign will launch online this month for six weeks, with the goal of raising an initial £100,000. First on the agenda will be appointing the citizens panel – made up of people from across the city with lived experience of the issues at hand. “With something like 13,000 households experiencing food insecurity, we need to do more to support the communities being left behind due to structural racism, inequality and inadequate infrastructure,” said founder Mike Lloyd-Jones. “Covid-19 made the situation worse – new projects emerged but now we need to build on that momentum and make sure everyone’s voices are heard.” If you want to help the gang get started, take five minutes to check out their Twitter survey and help support Bristol Local Food Fund.