The Bristol Yard

With no real signage other than a Union Jack and a small sign on the door, you may miss this tiny British-style cafe called The Bristol Yard. Located at the corner of Christie and Pendrith The Bristol Yard opened late April of last year and aims to serve classic, no-frills British cuisine. I've actually been to The Bristol Yard when they first opened but only for dessert, specifically their Banoffee Pie, which was absolutely decadent and so luscious (for those of you who may not know, Banoffee Pie is an English dessert pie made of layers of bananas, cream, chocolate and toffee all on top of a pastry base). Anyway, after that short but lovely visit to The Bristol Yard (Twitter: @BristolYardie, Facebook: The Bristol Yard), I was determined to go back and try their brunch and/or their Sunday roast dinner. Well, I finally made it back last Sunday! Yeah, I know it took several months but definitely better late than never.

This small and quaint restaurant is adorned with black and white portraits of famous British and Scottish actors, chefs, musicians, authors and artists. The wooden ceiling and and floor give The Bristol Yard a warm and intimate ambience.

Even when all the tables were occupied later that night, I never once felt crammed or uncomfortable at The Bristol Yard. Great use of space.

Here's the low down on The Bristol Yard's 3-course Sunday Roast.

For $25, your roast dinner includes: 

Fresh baked bread, soup, prime rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast seasonal vegetables, garlic mash, gravy, and dessert.

BREAD

CHOICE OF SOUP

Cullen Skink

Scotch Broth

MAIN

Yorkshire pudding, prime rib of beef, garlic mash, and roast seasonal vegetables with gravy and horseradish

DESSERT

House-made deep fried Irn-Bru ice cream

Seriously. $25. For ALL OF THE ABOVE. And it wasn't just about quantity at the roast dinner, the quality of food was also excellent. Both soups were really tasty, but the cullen skink, a traditional Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions, was especially delicious; it was thick, hearthy and slightly smokey. Yum. The ginormous plate of food after the soup was a bit daunting (even for me lol) but nevertheless, the prime rib was pink and tender (and so good with the creamy gravy and spicy horseradish!) and the Yorkshire pudding was a nice golden brown with crispy edges and a soft middle. Just perfect. The roasted carrots and turnips were delicious, and so were the peas (I left most of the garlic mash untouched, too full) Basically, this was ONE BIG PLATE OF COMFORT. For dessert, we had deep fried Irn-Bru ice cream (I had to ask what Irn-Bru was, turns out it is a popular Scottish carbonated soft drink). Really great roast dinner and so extremely satisfying!

From The Bristol Yard's Facebook update today, it seems like they are now opening for breakfast / brunch during the week too from 8:30am to 2pm, Tuesday to Friday! Awesome alternative to the the weekend brunch crowd / line-up / madness :D