Takeaways / Reviews
Rebel Roll – takeaway review
Unfinished business. That is how Leon Hughes describes the long-overdue return of his khobez wraps to the streets of Bristol.
The chef was an original founder member of Magic Roll, no less than a Bristol food scene institution in its heyday before selling up in 2012.
Once described by a student friend of mine (who is now a chef, it’s worth adding) as the only acceptable place to get a daytime kebab in Bristol, the takeout on the Clifton Triangle was a hit with the uni population and later business folk as the chain branched out to Redcliff Street.
is needed now More than ever
So it all seemed so premature when it was announced it would be closing in 2012, with the Magic Roll name living on for a short while under new owners.
But now Leon is back as part of the team at Magic Roll Mark II, or Rebel Roll to use its actual name, where richly stuffed khobez Mediterranean flat bread wraps dominate the menu again.
Although this time it’s not just wraps; there are burgers, toasties, cakes, salads, breakfasts and even fine coffee from Extract on the expanded menu.
And where roasted veg and halloumi (still relatively exotic back in the early noughties) once dominated, it’s now bang-on-trend smoked meats, Cajun spices and coleslaw for lunch, and quinoa porridge or buckwheat pancakes for breakfast.
The Old York Melt (£5.75 medium, £7.25 large) was recommended by Leon himself on a recent lunchtime, and contained both a nicely seasoned beef patty and a wedge of pinky salt beef, and Monterey Jack cheese. The salt and grease were pierced by tangy shreds of pickled kimchi.
The grilled cheese toastie (£5.50) was loaded with four cheeses – ‘American’, halloumi, Italian taleggio and Perl Las from Wales – and spilling into its wrapper with generous lashings of chilli and spinach.
A salad box, which changes daily, came with falafel, hummus, halloumi, sliced gherkin, and was dressed with a few squirts of mint yogurt and aioli with a strong garlic kick.
There is a small back-bar (much like in the original Magic Roll) to sit at with your food, or it’s a short walk to the Floating Harbour to sit and watch the boats go by. There’s also a bench outside where, on our visit, one chap was seen stuffing a neatly packed burger into his mouth with alarming speed, a hit no doubt.
Much has changed in Bristol since the original Magic Roll rose to fame and then vanished before its time was really up. But with a few twists of flare in the menu, Rebel Roll is picking up pretty much where the old owners left off, a welcome reintroduction to the Bristol food scene.
24 Thomas Lane Apartments, Redcliff Street, Bristol, BS1 6JT