Enjoying a meal for two at the stylish surroundings of Bath’s newest pizza restaurant…
It’s not often that we get to enjoy a meal out for just the two of us, but with the children variously engaged in drum lessons, skateboarding and a part-time job, we jumped at the chance to try out Bath’s newest bar and eatery, the Bath Cider House.
Situated on the Paragon – just past the top of Broad Street and along from where Toppings used to be – you might remember the venue as the home of various nightclubs of old, including – I think – the Hub the Fez. From a relatively unassuming entrance and once you’re past the impressive copper cider vats – yes, they really do ferment their own cider on the premises – it’s down a few stairs to the large and very stylish dining room and bar.
There’s a great feel to the place, even early on a Monday evening with plenty of seats still available. Izzy the super helpful manager, explained that despite the venue only opening a week earlier, it’s already proving very popular later in the week and at the weekend, with promises of regular quizzes, comedy night and music events bound to bring in even more customers.
The menu focused on a good range of pizzas, many given musical reference names, including Notorious V.E.G., Wu-Tang Ham and Pretty Fly For A White Guy, plus the So Salad Crew choices. We went for the Get Your Greek On vegetarian option complete with red onion, green peppers, tomato sauce, mozzarella, black olives, oregano, fresh tomatoes and crumbled feta (£19), and the Can I Chick It with tomato sauce, mozzarella, Cajun marinated roast chicken, bacon and pepperoni (£20).
As for drinks, the sample of house cider offered by the barman was enough for a pint (£4.75) to be ordered, along with a mojito (£8.50) for the cocktails menu.
OK, a quick warning here… the pizzas are huge! 14in across, square and with each of us wishing we’d ordered one between us. Still, it means we won’t have to cook tomorrow… Served on metal plates within a very cool wicker tray, they looked and smelled delicious. In fact, they tasted good too – once we’d figured out how to get into them. The pizza cutter supplier – as cool as it was, in the shape of a vinyl record on a record player arm – looked great but was as sharp as a beachball, while even our knives and forks struggled to get in around the edges of the wicker tray.
Still, once the first piece was freed, the rest easily followed, and we could really enjoy the meal. And enjoy it we did. The pizza was fantastic – beautifully cooked, full of flavour, with loads of toppings and a perfectly baked and firm base. While the cider – not my normal drink – was an ideal accompaniment, unfortunately the mojito failed to hit the mark – the otherwise excellent bar team were clearly having an off day with this one.
A great feature of the Bath Cider House is a well-designed and spacious outdoors terrace area, ideal for when the warm weather returns. In fact, the size and design of the venue makes it perfect for parties and business get-togethers, particularly with Christmas work dos not too far away.
No, as it happens we didn’t manage to finish our pizzas – in fact we got barely half way through them. Still, Izzy was happy to package them up to take home, which meant no need to cook for tea the next day.
All-in-all we really enjoyed our dinner for two at the Bath Cider House – great surroundings, excellent food and very helpful staff. If they could only work on that mojito…
