Tiddly BOX-E is housed inside a shipping container in Bristol's rather fetching Wapping Wharf. It isn't the only shipping container restaurant in the aptly named 'Cargo' development, but it's certainly one of the most ambitious - co-founders Elliott and Tess Lidstone manage to conjure some very special food from the smallest of spaces. It's doubly impressive given that they're often the only staff working.
Elliott is a chef with a pedigree - he was formerly head chef at then-Michelin-starred L'Ortolan in Reading, before leading the kitchen at The Empress in Hackney to a spot in the UK's top 50 gastropubs. At BOX-E his dishes are a little more pared-back and rustic than they would have been previously, but his cooking is still bold and emphatic. Cauliflower soup with chestnut and truffle is a simple but effective pleasure, as is rose-pink duck breast with puy lentils and cavolo nero.
BOX-E also isn't afraid to let vegetables take centre stage over traditional proteins either, as shown in a dish of charred hispi cabbage, smoked trout and lemon butter. When you're cooking in a shipping container, there isn't much room for messing around - BOX-E's menus strip away the unnecessaries, leaving you with plates of food that you just want to eat.
The a la carte changes regularly in order to make the most of seasonal produce when it's at its peak. That said, there's also a seven course unwritten tasting menu on offer at BOX-E if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, where you can sit back and relax in the knowledge that you're in capable hands.