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The
new Restaurant at the Lido brings waterside dining with a difference
to Bristol.
Key to the £2 million
redevelopment of the grade II listed Lido in Clifton was for a new
restaurant to shape the future of this historic facility and make it
socially relevant today.
The new Restaurant at the Lido is
a destination in its own right, serving fresh, rustic food, much of
it locally grown, cooked in an Italian wood-fired Valorium oven
imported from Florence. The 90 seat restaurant overlooks the pool
with a vast sliding glass wall to maximise the views.
In keeping with the leisure
setting, the restaurant is informal and the food reasonably priced,
with options to order starters or main courses, tapas or sharing
plates. Here are some samples from new head chef Freddy Bird:
Small Plates
Carrot, mint & caraway puree,
feta 3.00
Ceviche 3.50
Starters
Ravioli of wet walnuts, marjoram
& pecorino 6.50
Salad of crab, arrocina beans,
mint & lemon 7.00
Mains
Poached hake a la gallega 13.50
Wood roast pork loin, pumpkin
pisto, churrasco sauce 14.50
Sharing plate
Mixed game roast, wet polenta,
winter vegetables 65.00 (for four people)
The poolside bar will also serve
food all day with a choice of dishes from the main menu and lighter snacks.
"The food will be the
best of the West Country with influences from the hot Mediterranean
countries of Europe and North Africa," said owner Arne
Ringner, a renowned Bristol restaurateur who is also behind two of
the city's landmark floating restaurants, Glass Boat and Spyglass.
For Arne, the opportunity to open
another restaurant by water - this time in Bristol's "West
End" of Clifton - was what drew him to this most challenging
redevelopment of a grade II listed site. He says:
"The Lido has been
difficult to assemble into a venue where much happens simultaneously.
How to permit swimmers to swim next to a restaurant where the best
food in the city is served and how to sell spa experiences without
being tarred by the same brush as the luxury country hotel club echelons?"
"We have a vision of the
Lido being very accessible as a social hub for local people and as a
destination for people from further afield who are curious to see how
a 19th century Lido can be adapted to modern life."
"The Lido is fun; the
Lido is a public facility open to everyone. A Restaurant, a spa and a
Pool with the best poolside bar, what more can you want in the middle
of a city?"
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