Restaurants / Reviews
La Campagnuola, Zetland Road: ‘For world-class hospitality, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better in Bristol’ – restaurant review
Great hospitality makes you feel as though you’re the centre of the universe. It’s being cared for radically; having your needs met before you even become aware of them. It leaves you warmed through and soft in the middle like a good chocolate pudding.
No one does hospitality as well as the Italians. It’s likely one of the reasons Italian food has been such a phenomenal global export success story; you can generally find a great Italian restaurant in almost every corner of the globe and usually great service along with it.
In Bristol, this sentiment is embodied by a family-run restaurant on Zetland Road. Once inside it’s clear to see that La Campagnuola has been around for a while. There’s menus in plastic wallets, an ornate specials board that is propped up for exploration next to the table and a wall-cum-portrait-gallery heavy with smiling faces of friends, family and the odd celebrity.
is needed now More than ever
The wall-cum-portrait gallery at La Campagnuola is well populated
The antipasto sharing platter (£12.50), a classic opener in the Italian dining ritual, is almost as well populated as the photo wall. It’s hard to mess up an antipasto unless you’re venturing into the realm of low-budget Lunchables, and thankfully, the offering at La Campagnuola stays true to authenticity. I was visiting with my Dad, who instantly felt right at home due to his own Italian lineage and the fact that his ideal starter is a platter full of meat.
It is just the grown-up version of a Lunchable though, isn’t it?
Most of the dishes that came weaving their way up the stairs from the kitchen were a testament to the charming team that served them. Surely the only thing you can do to improve mozzarella is to deep fry it? Mozzarella in carozza (£7.50) would suggest so. That and the fat Sicilian ribs, with ample sauce for focaccia mopping, just go to show that even the simplest of dishes can speak volumes when prepared with care.
Mozzerella in carozza with cheese oozing from it’s muppety mouth
The specials board beckoned us with its promise of truffle and ricotta tortellini (£14.50), and a sea-inspired gnocchi (£19). The tortellini avoided the overpowering crescendo that truffles often bring and was the definition of al dente. If it weren’t for the Bruce Springsteen soundtrack it might have been reminiscent of a quiet walk through a mushroom-laden forest, each forkful uncovering more of its earthy secrets.
‘Say when’ is a phrase that Dad adores
Conversely, the ricotta gnocchi, adorned with prawns and scallops, aimed for a maritime ballet but stumbled slightly with the overture. Dad was impressed, but then again Dad was impressed by Little Chef and used to take quite substantial motorway detours to eat their jubilee pancakes. The seafood was overcooked and for me such delicate flavours don’t pair particularly well with gnocchi.
Sadly the porchetta bianca pizza was not shown the same care and attention that we were. The dough’s chewy, gratifying texture was overshadowed by the imbalance of flavours, with the onion’s dominance leaving little room for the pork to showcase its potential. If it were an onionetta bianca it would be spot on, but I wouldn’t have ordered it.
Onionetta biancha, or rocketta bianchi, would have been more apt names
The staff seemed genuinely delighted by my attempts to converse in Italian, which made for a refreshing change from the daily sc(owl) from Duolingo. Dad was less pleased, for he only speaks Mancunian.
As I bid my newfound friends arrivederci I came to the conclusion that the La Campagnuola experience is rather like a serving of their tiramisu; a little stale around the edges but extremely generous and leaves you smiling like the two Cheshire cats that Dad was heading home to. For a classic Italian experience and world-class hospitality, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better in Bristol.
La Campagnuola, 9 Zetland Road, BS6 7AG
All photos: Meg Houghton-Gilmour
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