The Lovely Lido Revisited!

We enjoyed Clifton lido so much in feb 2012 that we went back there in November.  We had lunch downstairs in the tapas bar, rather than upstairs in the restaurant. My personal favourite was the tortilla, Spanish omelette, and my partner was pleased to enjoy the scallops cooked in the wood oven, just like we had last time upstairs. The fresh bread, just still warm was incredible.


We also managed to do a few lengths in the pool, and spent a while in the sauna, steam room, shower and freezingcoldbucket area.

All exceptional!

I even met S. in the sauna who I was about to spend 48 hours with at the Penny Brohn Centre in Ham Green.  True coincidence.

The food was as yummy as I remember and the overall feel of the lido is very relaxed and quite luxurious at the same time.  I really like the new toiletries in the shower areas that are made by the Cowshed people but branded as Lido products. Nice smellies!

Bristol Lido - A Stolen Day & My New Favourite Place

My husband and I stole a day today.  With children safely at school in South Devon, we headed to Bristol primarily to visit Bristol Lido for lunch, secondarily to stroll around and buy CDs, clothes from Yumi and generally have a day to ourselves.

When you hear lots of good stuff about a place, you just don't want to be disappointed.  A couple of friends had recommended, Tripadvisor has good reviews...I used to go there as a child...we were driving nearly two hours to get there... would it live up to expectations?

The kitchen has an impressive wood-fired oven blazing away, which the chefs really make the most of. 

Our starter was Wood Roast Scallops with Sweet Herb and Garlic Butter.  Mopped up with some hunks of rustic bread - this was heavenly and infused with tarragon.

 My husband had a good dish of tagliatelli with pheasant - very pleasant pheasant, creamy and competent, but he was jealous of my choice for sure. I had Wood Roast Sole with Seville Orange Butter Sauce and Crispy Capers.

 A huge piece of beautifully cooked fish that was crispy, citrusy and had a wonderful and unusual taste - really powerful and not the usual gentle treatment of fish - I loved its boldness.  The waiter was charming and totally on-the-ball.  I asked what the green veg was and they were a form of Italian turnip tops - I had assumed they were sorrel.  They went really well with the fish and capers.  There is an artist at work in this kitchen - they don't just bung things on a plate and hope for the best - they think, taste and actually want the diner to have an 'experience'.  Yes, this is indeed what we want!  I want my tastebuds to tingle and to feel excited by a dish.

I wolfed down the homemade Chocolate and Stout Ice Cream without taking a decent photo - which shows that it was very good.  I couldn't taste the stout - but it was creamy and smooth.

I used to swim here when I was a teenager, OK, I'm not that old, but it did look something like this (only we had colour in the 80s).

The new renovation has made it a wonderful space and the fantastic food is the proverbial 'icing on the cake' - I would  have lurved to have a spa / swim / sauna / massage but that was not on the cards today.  So we had lunch in the upstairs restaurant overlooking the pool.  It's a bit of a voyeuristic experience watching the swimmers.

Now a note on pronunciation.....in Teignmouth where I live, we have an open air pool and we all call it the Lie-doe, but in Bristol it appears they use the more correct Italian Lee-doe.  Lie-doe, Lee-doe?  Who cares?  The food's amazing, it's a great relaxing space and I can't wait to return.  Very soon. Without the children.

Price-wise: lunch is £15 for two courses and £20 for three, and there is also a scrummy sounding tapas menu.  There are 'deals' that include a swim/sauna/hot tub and meal.