I tried new dim sum restaurant Clouds and I would go back just for one dish

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


Trying a new restaurant is a bit like a first date. There is the anticipation, the expectations, the excitement and, hopefully, the pleasure.

So, with all those feelings in mind, I visited the new dim sum restaurant from the team behind Ah-Ma's Dumplings that has recently opened in St Werburgh's. To my surprise, Clouds, located on the ever so popular and lovely Mina Road, was pretty much full when we visited early on a Sunday evening.

Like it seems to be the case in a lot of Bristol restaurants these days, Clouds has gone for a minimalistic, unpretentious deco - it is all about the food here, as it should be. When we arrive, an unusual, but lovely sight welcomes us; one of the owners, Luke, has a small child in a baby carrier at the time - this is the reality of trying to run a restaurant when you have a small child.

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The menu is not overly complicated and we are quick to decide what we want. Similarly, all the delicious looking food was equally quick to come out.

The vegan bao buns -Credit:BristolLive
The vegan bao buns -Credit:BristolLive

We start off with the Vegan Bao Buns, filled with spicy coconut butternut squash. This being my first time eating Bao Buns, I was blown away by the amount of flavour and texture packed in a small bun.

With the Bao Buns being perfectly light and fluffy, the curry filling was also amazing. We were so impressed with this dish that we decided to order a second round of it.

We also ordered the pork and prawns wontons, which were very meaty and - in my opinion - on the greasy side. This heavier dish went well with the sweet chilli sauce.

The pork and prawns wontons -Credit:BristolLive
The pork and prawns wontons -Credit:BristolLive

We enjoyed the vegan spring rolls too, filled with summer vegetables, wood ear mushrooms and vermicelli. These had a good ratio of filling to pastry and were certainly above average.

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The organic greens sauteed in soy and sesame, together with steamed Jasmine rice, were the perfect sides. These were generous portions and we were not able to finish the bowl of rice.

But the best was still to come and, for both of us, the true highlight of the meal was the dessert. We went for the Lava Baos, buns filled a molten salted duck egg yolk custard.

The Lava Baos -Credit:BristolLive
The Lava Baos -Credit:BristolLive

They were so scrumptious; I would totally come back to Clouds just for this completely outstanding dessert.

As we enjoyed our meal, some more diners arrived, and the toddler also enjoyed its dinner while having a pause from running around. With our bill for two people coming to £61 including service charge, this felt like a reasonably priced meal for the quality of food we got.

Reminding me of the well-known Bokman, Clouds is certainly another of these restaurants we seem to be able to do so well in Bristol; informal, but so tasty. We are so lucky in Bristol to have such a great food scene - this was certainly a good first date.

Clouds can be found on 107b Mina Road, St Werburgh's.