Cotto, St Stephen’s Street: ‘Have they created the formula for perfection?’ – restaurant review

I’ve many happy memories of nights spent on St Stephen’s Street. Once home to the renowned Mr Wolf’s, the street has transformed since my university dancing days and is now almost a little Italy, with no less than three Italian fine dining restaurants almost in a row.

Cotto is the newest addition. The latest venture of the Bianchis group, whose other eateries include Pasta Loco, Pasta Ripiena, Bianchis and Pizza Bianchi. Given the standards I’ve come to expect from this group it is safe to say expectations and anticipation were running high. Cotto combines the old Bar Ripiena and a new restaurant space with a doorway linking the two.

Each of the Bianchis’ restaurants has its own distinct flavour and Cotto is no different. Specialising in ‘classic old school Italian cooking’ the dishes are led by what’s in season and the ethos that ‘good food and wine doesn’t have to be complicated’.

There is an art to a great restaurant. It’s a delicate craft, to balance the décor, music, ambience, seating. Cotto achieves this effortlessly. Stepping through the door is as welcoming as the warm gush of heat when you get off a plane on holiday. I could almost feel the sun on my face. It’s a space that alights all the senses; follow the occasional wafts of garlic floating from the open kitchen and you’ll see the chefs concentrating but also exchanging jokes and banter. It’s not just the customers having a good time here and the outlook of the team shines through in the food and the service.

You could easily while away an hour drinking wine and watching the chefs concoct their dishes

The menu is reassuringly brief but comprises enough interesting dishes to keep even the most adventurous of palates entertained. I will confess to a slight smirk when we were told there were no starters and mains at Cotto, only small and large dishes, which helpfully have been divided into two different sections and came out in two distinct waves – no prizes for guessing which came first.

To start, or to small perhaps I should say, sourdough and butter (£4), wild garlic crema, pine nuts and radishes (£4), fermented courgette, Calabrian hot honey & pecorino (£6) and vitello tonnato (£9).

The wild garlic crema arrives so vibrant it would give Anish Kapoor and Stuart Semple something to argue about. I’ve long been a fan of wild garlic but for me this sits head and shoulders above other dishes that incorporate the locally foraged leaves. This is a dip-defining puree of subtlety, earthy, nutty, sweet deliciousness. The humble humous has been firmly relegated. I feel genuinely sad that the wild garlic season is so short, and I urge you to go and try this before it disappears from the menu. Perfectly paired with tangy homemade sourdough, although honestly you could eat this with a spoon. The fresh radish and sweet olive oil provide a textural stage that truly allows this to shine.

The wild garlic crema has inspired me to go foraging in Leigh Woods

Fermented courgettes have me questioning why there isn’t a shelf in my fridge dedicated to Kilner jars. The crunchy and slightly bitter discs come alive with the spicy sweet honey and nutty pecorino. Like the crema, this dish is a pure celebration of simple ingredients. When combined and honed like they have been, they transcend the known possibility of their collective parts.

The fermented courgettes were drizzled in honey infused by the chefs and topped with shavings of pecorino

Vitello tonnato is thin slices of veal with a creamy tuna sauce, punchy capers, parsley. The first thing to hit you is the creaminess, then the sweetness of the olive oil followed by the saltiness of the tuna and the earthy umami of the meat. The veal is exceptionally tender. Put this in a baguette and you’d have the best sandwich of your life. The olive oil that circumnavigates the plate alone is worthy of a postcard home.

Cotto’s take on surf and turf

Next the large plates; risotto Milanese, saffron & leeks (£12) and whole mackerel, agretti, aioli and lemon (£14.5).

Mackerel can be overpowering, but this demonstrates how to deliver the perfect fishy punch without knocking you out for the count. Judging by the way it succumbs to the side of a fork it’s been treated so exceptionally well in the kitchen that might as well have swum in there willingly. Paired with crunchy agretti and lingering aioli it makes for a memorable main.

Like most dishes at Cotto, the mackerel was sat atop a puddle of olive oil so good you could drink it

The risotto arrived an amber porridge of a plate. Comfortingly creamy, and so aromatic was the saffron that you could taste it as soon as the dish hit the table. After a few enthusiastic mouthfuls though it started to feel repetitive. There wasn’t enough contrast, enough excitement to keep me coming back for more. As a small plate this would fly, but if I was with one of those disquieting dining partners who insists on keeping everything on their plate to themselves, a la Smithy with his Indian takeaway, I would be bored.

The mackerel and risotto ‘large plates’ at Cotto complemented each other very well

They hadn’t come up with an alternative word for the final course and so we ordered dessert; bay leaf panna cotta & rhubarb (£6). The panna cotta lurched on the plate with the familiar sway of someone that’s had one too many but was brought sharply back to its senses by tart rhubarb. The bay infusion gave an almost savoury edge to this creamy concoction, as far as desserts go, I found it to be a light and surprisingly refreshing end to the meal but it left my sweet tooth wanting slightly.

The wobble of the panna cotta was masterchef worthy

There’s enough variety on the menu to keep you coming back frequently, and you’ll be relieved to know the small plates can be enjoyed in the bar where tables are kept for walk-ins if you’ve neglected to book. The menu changes daily depending on the availability of the seasonal ingredients which is encouraging; I’m most wary of a year-round menu.

Now before you rush off to book a table, there are two more things we must discuss. The Cotto Community Contribution, and wine.

Community work and supporting those around them is becoming almost as synonymous with the Bianchis group as their food and Cotto builds on these foundations. On the menu you will see dishes marked with ‘CCC’ which means that a portion of the cost is dedicated to supporting the cotto community contribution. This fund to currently being used to support charities including Pride without Borders, the Square Food Foundation, Caring in Bristol and the Mazi Project. It’s affirming to see the positive shift that has happened despite, or perhaps because of, such a crushing pandemic-induced blow to the hospitality industry. The fact that supporting those less fortunate, particularly when it comes to food poverty, has become a top priority for this group and others is only more commendable given the circumstance of the past couple of years.

Now wine. The extensive wine list has been compiled by Cotto’s resident wine god, Noah Villeneuve. I’m suitably impressed that in a city where we’re getting much better at celebrating women in the beer industry but have yet to catch up in other areas, Noah is platforming the women in wine by marking the bottles as such on the menu. “Our carefully selected menu creates more representation and visibility for underrepresented people in the industry. Throughout this eclectic list of wines from around the globe, there is also a focus on sustainability, organic practices and minimal intervention in the vineyard.” Can you hear me clapping?

I can confirm that the wines don’t just sound good, but they taste excellent too, and Noah is very happy to recommend those that will best accompany each of the various sized plates. Of course, there is a generous handful of local beers and cocktails on offer too.

I’ve yet to be underwhelmed by a Bianchis restaurant. It seems they may have outdone themselves here. Have they created the formula for the perfect restaurant? If so, what is to stop them taking over the world? Quite honestly, I wouldn’t complain if they did. It’s a far cry from the dirty dancefloor of Mr Wolf’s, but the spirit of having a good time with friends lives firmly on.

I’ve also heard on the grapevine (pun intended) that there is wine tasting to be had on certain Mondays. See you there?

All photos by Meg Houghton-Gilmour

Cotto, 31 St Stephen’s Street, BS1 1JX

www.cottowinebarandkitchen.co.uk

Read more: Bristol’s pizza scene just got even better with the new Flour & Ash and Pizza Bianchi

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: