Restaurants / Reviews
Sonny Stores: ‘Forget the world over home-cooked food and wine’ – restaurant review
A toddler is busy raiding a box of vine tomatoes while their mum pays at the counter in Sonny Stores on a recent Wednesday lunchtime.
“Don’t worry you can take them with you,” says owner Mary with a smile as the apologetic parent frantically picks up scattered tomatoes.
Storing fresh produce at toddler height aside, this new destination on the corner of Raleigh Road and Birch Street in Southville is off to a strong start and currently in the midst of a busy flurry as customers pile in for lunch and takeaway pizzas.
is needed now More than ever
Formerly home to the widely-acclaimed Birch, which closed in July, the compact venue has been transformed into an Italian-inspired café with a restaurant-quality menu, takeaway options and a selection of deli produce displayed on rustic shelving units. Items range from oat milk to jars of olives and anchovies – as well as fresh vine tomatoes.
Sonny Stores offers sit-in meals, takeaway or deli produce
Owners Pegs and Mary already gained a loyal following during lockdown, when they were serving takeaway pizzas from their home before snapping up the Raleigh Road premises – a legacy they have maintained and expanded on with Sonny Stores.
Named after the couple’s eldest son, Sonny, the cheery flower logo of the new business stands out like a beacon of optimism amid pretty bleak times.
While many customers pop in for a quick grab-and-go pizza slice (£5-£6 a slice) or coffee, others are making the most of a rare glimpse of autumnal sun and settling in, wine in hand, for a leisurely lunch on the picnic benches outside.
Wine bottles are displayed in a vast wall-mounted rack and the selection is hand-written on a chalkboard. The lunch menu is displayed on a second chalkboard, with options including antipasti plates such as olives and prosciutto Toscana, mains of lamb ribs served with tarvido and mint salsa verde (£13.50), roasted chicken with dattorini tomatoes, lentils and mustard fruits (£14) or a mystery Sonny Stores sandwich (£10).
At first glance, there are limited options for non-meat eaters, but chef Pegs offers to adapt existing dishes to make them vegetarian. As it is, I opt for the slow-cooked tomato, pecorino and mint tagliarini (£11).
Reluctantly foregoing the wine list in favour of chilled tap water, I sit back and soak up the atmosphere in the café, which has a vaguely chaotic, relaxed vibe as people come and go for takeaways, while others linger over lunch.
On one of the few socially-distanced tables, well-known Bristol food writer Mark Taylor is tucking appreciatively into antipasti ahead of his lamb main.
The meal is a testament to the joys of a few simple, fresh ingredients skillfully put together
The pasta dish arrives promptly and steaming hot from the kitchen. Piled neatly in the centre of a large plate, the tagliarini – served slightly al dente – is coated in the rich, oily tomato sauce and drizzled generously with pecorino. Green strips of mint add a fresh tang to the dish which is a testament to the joys of a few simple, fresh ingredients skillfully put together.
A spoon is essential to get every last drop of the sauce and my only regret is that there isn’t more of it. At least there’s room for dessert. Here, options include Bramley apple tart with crème fraiche and walnut (£5.50) or Stracciatella affogato (£6.50), but due to time constraints, I opt for a takeaway cookie, which is perfectly soft and filled with vast melted chunks of dark chocolate.
Everything, except the sourdough bread and pastries, is made from scratch with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and the menu changes daily.
Pop into this cheerful new opening for a pizza, pastry or coffee – or, better still, make it a long, leisurely lunch, crack into that wine rack and forget the world outside over home-cooked food and a glass or two of red.
Sonny Stores has recently opened in the former Birch premises
Sonny Stores, 47 Raleigh Rd, Southville, Bristol BS3 1QS
www.instagram.com/sonnystores.
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