Restaurants / Reviews
Jigaraki: ‘wraps worth turning out for’ – restaurant review
The mid-lockdown days of edging past people, not making eye contact could soon be a distant memory judging by the atmosphere at Wapping Wharf one recent Sunday.
Strangers mingling outside the newly-opened Jigaraki strike up conversations – albeit while maintaining a safe social distance – while they wait out in the sunshine for their food or peruse the refreshingly limited menu.
“Which did you go for?” asks a smiling woman as she weighs up her options on the board outside the compact takeaway that opened its doors just over a week ago.
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For non-meat eaters, the choice is fennel and courgette either in a bowl (of saffron rice, shiraz salad, shredded cabbage, spinach, sumac yoghurt and dukkah) or flatbread for £7.50. There is also a saffron chicken or slow cooked lamb option (£8 each).
As she reaches the front of the queue, the woman orders one of each of the meat wraps and one bowl for her and her husband, making me instantly regret limiting myself to just one wrap.
Taking its name and inspiration from small food stalls in Iran, Jigaraki has been a regular presence on the festival circuit for several years before settling down with the permanent premises in Cargo. “It’s been good timing having this place,” admits the guy who’s been serving, pausing briefly to chat as he fastidiously sprays and wipes the long wooden picnic tables.
Basking in the sun, with the tantalising aroma of chargrilled meat filling the air and the faint sound of a string band playing on the nearby stage set up by Extinction Rebellion protesters, this may well be the closest thing we’ll get to a festival vibe this year. It feels good.
Things only get better as my name is called and a brown paper bag is handed over containing the wraps and cans of gingerella (ginger ale) for two of us. The latter is in a beautifully decorated can, the design of which distracts, at least in part, from the eye-watering £2.50 price tag for a smaller-than-average can of fizzy drink.
The fennel and courgette wrap was as tasty as it was messy
The vegetarian wrap is filled with braised fennel and courgette, served with lemon verbena, pickled celery and a preserved lemon and sour grape sauce (plus tahini sauce for an extra 50p). After hungrily ripping off greaseproof paper, the first bite consists mostly of fennel, braised to perfection, and fresh, warm bread. This leads on to an inspired medley of flavours that get tastier and messier in equal measure with each bite.
It’s a delicious, zesty and inventive combination, although I was hankering for a dollop of the blackberry and urfa chilli sauce that comes with the lamb dish – something to ask for when the takeaway is less busy.
On a site full of acclaimed independent restaurants, Jigaraki more than holds its own. Owner Ben Williams and head chef Ben O’Neil have promised to keep experimenting and bringing new flavours to an already solid menu, making a return visit a must.
Come rain or shine, these are definitely wraps worth turning out for – and next time, inspired by the woman behind me in the queue, I might just order two.
It’s a promising start for Jigaraki at Wapping Wharf
Jigaraki, 22 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 4AB
07982 839387
www.jigaraki.co.uk
All photos by Ellie Pipe
Read more: Persian and Middle Eastern restaurant to open in Wapping Wharf
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