The Restaurants
I spend most of my time in two small Bristol dining rooms. BANK is fire-led and a little louder; Lapin is French-leaning and a little softer. Same idea in both: good flavour, calm service, and rooms you want to come back to.
BANK
Seasonal food, cooked over fire, served with warmth
BANK is our neighbourhood restaurant on Wells Road in Totterdown, where everything starts with fire. We cook seasonal British produce over live wood and charcoal, taking ideas from fire-cooking traditions around the world and folding them into a straightforward menu of starters, mains and desserts. There’s usually at least one bigger plate built for sharing and a Sunday roast that leans into the flames.
The room’s a little larger than Lapin: a bit of smoke in the air, music up just enough that you don’t have to whisper. It’s good for dates, catch-ups, Sunday lunches and the kind of evenings that start with “we’ll just have a quick one” and end a few hours later with dessert and a last drink.
Lapin
Contemporary French restaurant in a shipping container
Lapin is our French restaurant in Wapping Wharf, tucked into a row of shipping containers looking out over the harbour. The menu leans on the French bistro canon – rillettes, duck, rich sauces, proper puddings – with a few modern twists and specials that change with the seasons. You can eat à la carte or take the set menu and let us steer.
Inside, it feels more like a small Parisian dining room than a metal box: sage green walls, bottles and books on the shelves, warm light, and a small semi-open kitchen at the back. It’s a softer room than BANK, built for long lunches, birthday dinners, date nights and the odd midweek evening when you just want something really well cooked and a good bottle to go with it. The wine list is all French, written in plain English, with everything available by the glass.
