Casamia

For some reason your system prevented me from posting my latest comments on this restaurant, which is a great shame as it is consistently one of the absolute toppers in Britain's fine dining world. Peter Sanchez constantly surprises with his creative combinations of familiar and sometimes unfamiliar ingredients without ever descending to the depths of the kitsch theatricality found at some places, and this, combined with the friendly expertise of the service and the excellent choice of wines, makes it a must for all foodies.

Absolutely delightful food and wine in an amazingly intimate dining room with great staff who have a deep pride in what they have achieved.

In its own way the cuisine at Casamia is just as scientific as that at The Fat Duck. The important difference is that the emphasis here is experimenting with combinations and concentrations of ingredients to arrive at the most striking balance on the palate and never losing sight of the fact that most diners actually prefer real food. Peter Sanchez and his team hit the bullseye in this worthy aim. Add to this the welcoming dining space with its properly open kitchen, the chefs presenting the dishes at table, the friendly, knowledgeable front of house staff who are willing and empowered to act in accommodating the desires and preferences of the diners, including wine choices from the excellent cellar, and you have a fine dining experience which in any other country would be rated by the tyre maker cum booking agency as highly as does the Good Food Guide. Impressive is the least you can say about the perfectly pitched sequence of dishes and it is very difficult to spotlight our favourites from the plethora of riches put before us, but for us the standouts have to be the Canary Island carabineros (crayfish) with its shell reduction and dulse meringue, the salad dish with its myriad of different elements and textures and flavours, the carnaroli rice, kept in oak for 12 months, with beetroot sauce, its richness countered by soured cream, the baby monkfish layered with a truly memorable truffle sabayon, the duck with pak choi sharp against the meat with its honey-flavoured topping and a supreme duck sauce, and the strawberry delight enhanced by Kampot pepper. Another amazing evening!

It is still a mystery how Casamia has still got just a single Michelin star, which makes it appear to be on the same level as some inferior pubs that we have eaten in and certainly one other restaurant in Bristol when it is clearly in another class. The first thing the diner will remark on is the relaxed nature of the dining experience, with every diner feeling like an old friend and being shown the kitchen in close-up, the chefs serving the dishes and describing them in great detail, and front of house staff not only willing to discuss all aspects of the meal but clearly able to do so since they are intimately involved as part of the team in all areas of the restaurant, which has the desired result of the whole thing running like clockwork. All this contrasts to a major extent with the stiff, uninterested, service by rote at so many other “fine dining” venues. Once again stunning dish followed stunning dish, right from the so-called snacks, an amazing all-in-one truffle and Cornish Gouda mousse in a light brick tartlet with a super aftertaste emanating from the truffle, and a prawn mayo and tartare in a sweet shell of seaweed meringue, to the petits fours, a superlight lemon Turkish delight, and a clever porcini mushroom fudge. The snacks gave way to a succession of delicately complex taste, texture and presentation wonders, some merely brilliant and others simply world-class and all accompanied by an exemplary choice of excellent wine. On the menu one word was allowed to give a clue as to the make-up of each dish. A full description requires a whole dictionary. “Salad” was a super mix of dark and light green winter leaves plus charred broccoli, light sweet carrot and tasty savoury juices. “Beetroot” was a masterly combination of yoghurt sorbet, pickled fennel, sweet beetroot risotto with soft and firm rice and pistachio for extra texture. “Rainbow Trout” from Mere Farm was brilliant confit fish combined with a crab bisque approaching perfection and coupled with delicate roe and loin, and some wonderful skin crisps - a real winner! “Turbot” turned out to be a more than worthy successor to the unsurpassable Casamia version of sole Véronique which we had on our last visit, combining the best fish with a classy champagne sabayon, perfect grapes, perfect leeks matching the sabayon to produce a dish that would earn three stars on its own across the English Channel. We were so far under the spell of the kitchen that we were almost ready to accept that “Duck” could be a simply cooked egg with apple cubelets, onion and a dashi sauce giving this “palate cleanser” an historic hit to the tastebuds, but it was swiftly followed by Creedy Carver duck breast from Devon, salt-brined and as tender and tasty as could be and cleverly supported by chia seed and fennel seed and a deft touch of coriander. The two desserts were “Passion fruit” done three ways, accompanied by tarragon gel and meringue and knocking one back with the way it developed on the palate in such an amazing fashion, and “Rhubarb” just another demonstration of the enjoyable complexity which seems to be the norm at Casamia with delightful rhubarb sorbet and jelly and cubes, bay leaf crisp and cream, juniper shard and cream and rose gel, shard and cream, all adding up to a staggeringly good finish to yet another staggeringly good dining experience here.

Inspirational food and witty drink. Cordial yet relaxed service Very good value for money.

It is a mystery, if not a surprise, why Casamia has not been promoted from having just a single Michelin star, which means it remains on the same level as inferior pubs that we have eaten in, restaurants where the star has been inherited at least three times over by the sous chef and offshoots opened by “names” with no real reason for existing apart from easy money for the owner. Perhaps it is because Peter Sanchez is something of a pioneer, dreaming up dishes with unusual combinations of ingredients, designing dish-specific crockery, and melding techniques to formulate an advanced approach that could be seen as a step too far for a chef who should be still finding his feet, and is perhaps not always fully understood by judgemental inspectors with a strict agenda to adhere to. We are struck by the friendly nature of Casamia, where every diner is regarded almost as a member of the extended family, as shown by the willingness of the staff, both kitchen, with the chefs bringing up the various dishes, and front of house, to listen to and discuss things with the punters. Once again stunning dish followed stunning dish, right from the snacks, 3-year aged Parmesan mousse in a light bric tartlet with cheese sprinkles, deep-sea carabineros prawns on a seaweed meringue which gave up a sweet seafood aftertaste, and a smoking sandwich of venison tartare with cavolo nero and horseradish cream, to the petits fours, a superlight and delicious mix of damson and bay leaf Turkish delight, and a clever porcini mushroom fudge, which could almost double as a canapé. Interposed between these delights was a succession of delicately complex taste, texture and visual wonders, some merely brilliant and others simply world-class. The combination of yoghurt sorbet, pickled fennel, sweet beetroot risotto with soft and firm rice and pistachio for extra texture was superb. The duo of brown trout, loin Japanese style with coal dust, wonderful skin crisps, shiitake and a ginger dashi perfectly balanced with the fish, and roast belly in a smoked mousse with trout roe and, this time, kombu dashi, was a winner. I tend to avoid vegetarian dishes where possible, and when faced with something named autumnal salad, my defences are activated; but the scorched radicchio leaf, the concentrated taste of sweet carrot, the goat’s curd and yoghurt, the celeriac jam, the parsley dressing and the swede all made for an outstanding, complex and wonderfully satisfying dish which completely belied its simple appellation and I was fully won over. The Casamia version of sole Véronique relies, quite rightly, on the best fish with an egg emulsion sabayon, perfect grapes, amazing leeks and a roe powder condiment to produce a truly top-class dish. It’s game bird season, so a duo of grouse seemed just the thing, and the confit leg with pasta was quite astounding and beautifully supported by quail’s egg yolk on potato purée and the lovely herby touch of oregano; not to be outdone, the melt-in-the-mouth breast with a grouse jus worked really well with cold rose petal variations and an intense hit of ras el hanout on the crisp skin. Dehydrated butternut squash matched with natural caramel, from which a pleasant clove aroma emanated, and brown butter formed an historic pairing with the “orange” Ruländer (aka Pinot Gris) from Austria, just one of a series of well-considered bottles in the wine flight, and this set the scene for an intense passion fruit mousse with light tarragon meringue, and the final dish “Collection of apples” comprising multiple elements of different types of apple with varying but never clashing levels of acidity and sweetness washed down with a complement of Herefordshire apple liqueur. For us this one of the best meals of the year and, with regard to where Casamia should figure in relation to its peers, we think that The Sunday Times Top 100 list, which represents the view of the food-loving general public instead of the usual anonymous inspectors in guides such as Michelin or AA, is where one should look.

Exquisite was the word that was repeatedly used by us to describe the dishes we had at Casamia, initially when they were served and made such a wonderful visual impression, but also when our palates had been subtly assailed in such a clever combination of ways. As usual the dishes were brought to the table by the chefs, who were justifiably keen to ensure that we were properly informed. This time we started with “snacks” comprising chicory leaves topped with Bristol honey and tastily completed with truffle and slightly peppery nasturtium leaves, a tiny faux quiche Lorraine with the most delicate of pastry and a sprinkling of smoked bacon crumbs, and an amazing seaweed meringue served on a shaped rock with lovely dressed crab and a covering of slightly crispy seaweed. Two versions of mackerel followed, one a tartare, the other warm, the first strikingly red pepper coloured and the accompanying szechuan pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce and crème fraîche accentuating the freshness of the fish, the second showing how to make an exemplary bisque with the mackerel and prawns, again red pepper, this time barbecued but in no way dominating the delicate fish. We wondered whether the squid carbonara with its chorizo bits and a terrific cheesy sauce might have been inspired by Pierre Koffmann it was that good, and the next dish, heritage Isle of Wight tomatoes bringing together a real variety of different tastes in the raw, grilled, compressed, jelly and seed state and with mozzarella and basil in true Italian style was absolutely outstanding. Turbot is a favourite with us, but putting the beautifully cured fish and fish cake with Thai rice and with Thai style sauces, sea herbs and cucumber core brought a whole new dimension to our enjoyment of the king of fish. There was no let up in the quality of the ingredients as we were presented with Scottish Wagyu, braised for two days in teriyaki sauce and with a BBQ tang to it, and a gesture to the past with Jersey Royal mash, heritage carrot and a beef reduction sauce for the ultimate Sunday “roast”. One of the most unusual palate cleansers ever in the form of a deconstructed sheep’s curd cheesecake with raw peas, pea shoots, seaweed and a sharp lemony cream heralded the desserts, which on paper sounded fairly classic. They weren’t, of course, but the peach mini meringues, aerated peach purée and soft, sweet peach cubes in a thyme-flavoured juice were a modern masterpiece, as was the strawberry dish with its Cheddar Valley fruit, sorbet, cream and strawberry crisps with black pepper. We tend to draw attention to seasoning only when over or under is involved, but, with the balance required in the complex combinations here, it must be absolutely right, and Casamia has it down to a nicety. Special mention must also be made of the wonderful wine selection presented by Román, the dedicated sommelier, which not only complemented the dishes perfectly but stood in its own right as an example of the production of some top winemakers and even included a Gaja Barolo. And, to cap it all, we had the pleasure of talking to Peter Sanchez about his eloquently expressed plans for the future. This was a fine dining experience of the very highest order, and, by any standards, worthy of further recognition by the national guides.

Nobody goes to Casamia for meat and two veg and protein junkies would certainly not get their fix on the 10 course winter tasting menu here. What you do get, though, is a carefully constructed, beautifully designed, technically skilful and, above all, thoroughly flavoursome journey through a series of seasonal ingredients, and 10 courses are actually expanded to 12 with the excellent canapés and petits fours without the diner ever feeling stretched. Having seen the photos of the interior of the new premises on social media, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they were rather unflattering, and we judged the interesting layout to be quite warm, especially with most tables enjoying a good view of the open kitchen, and blissfully free from muzak. Front-of-house staff proved to be courteously friendly, and the excellent sommelier, Ramón, expertly guided us through the singular wine flight accompanying the menu and, in the surprising absence of any Cava, started us off with with an attractive fizz from Seville made from a grape which was completely new to us. Another novelty, at least in the UK, was the dishes being brought to table and detailed by the chefs themselves, something we had only previously experienced in a top-class restaurant in Belgium with some other similarities, namely in the kind of imaginative food on offer and the serving sequence. The lovely hors d’oeuvres of broccoli cream on a Colston Bassett base, romanesco cauliflower with 3-year old parmesan and Jerusalem artichoke and truffle heralded the clever combination of hen’s egg mousse, cardamom foam and confit duck making up the amuse-bouche. The melding of ingredients in perfect balance with each other to produce impressive end results turned out to be a major feature of our enjoyment of the meal as a whole. We then moved on to a stunning seaside dish with a difference, shredded white crabmeat with inoki mushrooms and dashi jelly topped with a seaweed salad, the mushroom theme being continued in the following course comprising properly creamy rice, merlot vinegar pearls and dehydrated inoki giving the risotto an intensely mushroomy flavour. Delicious and surprisingly light! The winter root vegetable salad was a work of art: an almost seductive cheese mousse adding texture to the turnip and carrot with moulis crisps all dressed with dots of carrot mousse and nasturtium leaves. We found it utterly appropriate for the home-baked bread to be served at this unusual juncture. Winter brassica figured large in the fish dish as the delicate rainbow trout with hint of smokiness was topped with a cabbage crisp and escorted by red cabbage powder and a bed of super cabbage cream. Possibly the stand-out dish for us was the Hampshire fallow deer, as tender and tasty as could be and beautifully matched with parsnip in the form of snappy crisps and an epic parsnip purée (this description could be regarded as an oxymoron, but on the plate and on the palate it is entirely appropriate). A cheese course of Yorkshire rhubarb crisply cutting into the creamy yet relatively firm Cornish “camembert” was followed by the sweet contrast of celeriac rice pudding, which set up the taste buds perfectly for the two brilliant desserts: firstly a tricksy delight balancing passion fruit seeds against tarragon custard and soft passion fruit mousse against crunchy tarragon mini meringues, and second up what appears to be becoming a video favourite, and with good reason, the “variation of mandarin” in the forms of a quenelle of ice cream, a crisp and a refined mousse. Very good coffee was enjoyed with mignardises - carrot cake and an amusing chocolate fruit and nut lollipop. An all-round top-notch dining experience with one final reason for adding Casamia to our top 20 list of restaurants to return to - the amazing value for money factor.

I liked this restaurant and the service was excellent, but the privilege of the chef's table doesn't come cheap, but I suppose we didn't exactly skimp on drinks. Four of us were at the bench/pass on bar stools so it is geared for those who want to watch staff and interact with one of the chefs. One brother was tasked with serving us and describing the dishes/processes which was great for me because I am so interested in food per se, but the disadvantage was that the four of us couldn't converse easily being seated in a line. Therefore, I wouldn't opt for the chef's table again purely for this reason, but I'd definitely re-visit. The kitchen was run in a calm atmosphere and with military precision. Saturday evening was full to capacity so the buzz and the fresh decor suited me, not to mention the spotless kitchen, at least the section in view. The lamb was a slight let down (fatty and slightly chewy – a little unwanted surprise) and perhaps not served quite warm enough. The John Dory with cider and greens was good but not ideal for my palate. But to put into perspective, enjoyment level has to be praised and there were a couple of foodie moments to note. Apart from the outstanding goats cheese beetroot tartlets with wafer thin, crisp base which we all adored, the dishes that won the day for me unusually were both sweet, one of which was carrot and thyme – different, not too sweet kind of cake-like and moreish, followed by blood orange which gave a rush of orange fragrance, was delicate in texture, and ooh…