The West Country restaurant where you can roll a dice to reduce the entire bill
Dining at Bristol's Bar 44 this month could be a bit of a gamble, but in the best possible way. The Spanish eatery, located in Clifton Village, has started the new year with an enticing offer that could see patrons enjoy up to 44% off their bill.
When you request your bill, the waiting staff will bring a custom-made dice to your table. Each side of the dice displays a different discount percentage - 5%, 10%, 22%, and 44%.
Whichever number your dice lands on, that's the amount that will be deducted from your bill.
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There are also other prizes up for grabs when you roll the dice, including a Bar 44 cookbook and a £5 voucher to use on your next visit during January. On our visit, the sound of rolling dice and victorious cheers added a fun soundtrack to our meal, with many diners enjoying substantial discounts on their bills.
Let's be honest, any reduction in bills is a welcome relief in the financially challenging month of January. It seems particularly fitting to make savings at Bar 44, which is housed in a sprawling site that was once a bank.
Bar 44 has also introduced a brand new menu, coinciding with the arrival of new head chef Alex Brownrigg. His impressive resume includes stints at high-profile restaurants such as Bristol's Casamia and Thornbury Castle.
Given the numerous challenges faced by the hospitality industry in recent years, the chefs at Bar 44 have been striving to create a menu that offers excellent value for money.
Co-owner Owen Morgan revealed that the menu features a variety of new dishes alongside many of the Bar 44 classics.
“The biggest challenge has been turning the very best produce from our suppliers in Spain and the UK into innovative but affordable dishes. But, we are very happy with the results - a menu on which every dish is a "must-have", but with the majority also priced between £3.50 and £11, so really it is an affordable treat in the current climate.”
The proof, of course, is in the eating, and we ordered several dishes to road test the new menu. This is tapas food designed for sharing and portions are generous enough to do that without leaving anybody hungry.
We kicked off with a plate of silvery Cantabrian boqueron anchovies (£8) dusted with sumac and surrounded by a pool of fruity olive oil. Next, a platter of acorn-fed pork loin coppa Ibérica (£6.50) was top drawer charcuterie, the ribbons of fat as sweet and flavoursome as the rosy pink cured meat.
From the ‘vegetables and salad’ section of the menu, a soft and sweet roasted Murcian pepper was paired with creamy goat’s curd and drizzled with aged sherry vinegar (£8). Crisp triple-cooked potatoes were served with a spicy bravas sauce and a sherry-spiked alioli (£6.80).
From the seafood section, baby squid with fino, garlic and herbs (£8.50) was a stand out dish - the squid cooked with care so it wasn’t like chewing a pair of plimsolls and an abundance of garlic and fresh parsley in the dressing.
Other highlights were the Morunos marinated chicken (£8.50) - juicy thigh cooked with lots of roast garlic and a sticky sherry glaze - and large plate sharer of slow-cooked Ibérico pork shoulder (£29). A hearty winter warmer, the ridiculously tender pork fell apart into the rich, dark sauce packed with creamy butterbeans and black pudding.
To finish, a moist and not overly sweet Valencian orange and almond cake (£8.50) was soaked with more sherry and a mousse-like chocolate dessert spiked with sea salt and olive oil was served with delicate slices of ‘toast’ for dipping.
Of course, sherry is the thing to drink, too, - there’s even a pink neon ‘sherry is sexy’ sign on the wall - but the wines are excellent too, with plenty by the glass to encourage diners to try as many different types without having to commit to buying bottles.
I particularly enjoyed the full-bodied and rich red Finca Constancia Seleccion 2019 from Castilla, and the restaurant’s own Uva 44 Tinto 2021 from Jumilla - a cherryish blend of monastrell, syrah and petit verdot grapes.
Authentic, serious Spanish food and drink at affordable prices - and even more so if the roll of the dice lands in your favour. Either way, a meal at Bar 44 is a new year gamble that pays off.
Bar 44, 18-20 Regent Street, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4HG. bar44.co.uk