Queen's son heaps praise on Bristol pub's rabbit pie

He’s a restaurant critic who happens to be the Queen’s son, and now Tom Parker Bowles has given the sort of royal seal of approval to a Bristol pub and restaurant.

Queen Camilla’s son Tom has sampled the cuisine on offer at The Clifton, a pub and restaurant on Regent Street in the heart of Clifton Village, which is owned and run by Sarah and Tom Watts-Jones.

And it’s fair to say Mr Parker-Bowles was a huge fan, according to his review in the Daily Mail.

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He had ox-heart skewers, devilled lamb kidneys, soft-shell crab, deep-friend pork cheek and a Caesar salad just to start with, before a main cost of rabbit, smoked bacon and wild garlic pie - a main he said could be had with a pint for ‘just over £20 a head’.

The restaurant critic was full of praise for The Clifton, describing it as a ‘gently refurbished Bristol pub, all stripped wooden floorboards, local ales and discreet shades of green’.

“This is a place that melds the big and bold with the light and lithe: a proper pub with serious food. Generous, too, in every way,” he wrote. “A pub to be proud of, and yet another Bristol banger.”

The Clifton was named as one of the best gastropubs in the country at the start of 2024, just months after it opened. In a new list put together by Estrella, it was 65th in the UK for pub food. Back in December 2023, just months after opening, it was added to the Michelin Guide.

At the time, The Guide described The Clifton as being 'rustic', 'unpretentious' and offering 'generous' dishes and local ales. From it's point of view, the Guide says: "The trendy suburb of Clifton is home to this rustic, aptly named pub from the team behind the Hare & Hounds in Aberthin, who've crossed the border to bring the same brand of unpretentious, locally inspired cooking to England.

"The menu includes both small plates and larger sharing options – like braised short rib or Cull Yaw shepherd’s pie – which are generous in both size and flavour. Well-priced wines and local ales are on hand for extra refreshment, and midweek sees a particularly good value lunch menu."