Tributes paid to city’s famous restaurateur

Friends and family gathered at Winchester yesterday to celebrate the life of Matthew Pruen – restaurateur, bon viveur and the host with the absolute most who was at the forefront of Bristol’s now acclaimed and thriving restaurant scene more than 30 years ago.

So many Bristolians of a certain age will remember Matthew from Rocinantes, the groundbreaking bar and restaurant that opened on Whiteladies Road in 1989.

The first tapas bar in Bristol – one of the first in the UK – it showed us a different way of dining. In those days the options were pretty much limited to Michelin-starred fanciness at the now defunct Harvey’s or Markwick’s, jolly Italian trattorias, Chinese restaurants or curry houses. Rocinantes pioneered something new – a more relaxed, democratic way of eating and drinking, proudly taking inspiration from Mediterranean cultures, and Matthew was its perfect frontman.

He was born in Beirut in 1960 to an English UN diplomat father and a half-Lebanese, half-Palestinian mother – how his heart would be breaking at the horrors unfolding in that part of the world right now.

Matthew and Eliza moved to Bristol where their children, Tom and Rosey, were born. Matthew initially worked as a graphic designer – he was a talented artist and a constant doodler – but the lure of the floor drew him back and he became the manager at 51 Park Street before joining chef Barny Haughton as a partner in Rocinantes, one of the first restaurants in the country to champion organic food. There was nowhere else like it in Bristol at the time. It felt truly cosmopolitan; people from all walks of life happily rubbed shoulders with each other at all times of day, sharing delicious small dishes while drinking delicious drinks, and Matthew was there to welcome them all with is huge open arms.

With a big, beardy stature and an even bigger heart, warm hospitality coursed through Matthew’s veins; he had a joyous sense of humour and a fantastic giggle, and made all who crossed his threshold feel immediately at home and valued whether they’d just nipped in for a morning coffee or were hunkering down for a full-blown, boozy lunch and/or dinner with or bottle (or several) of his beloved, now-famous Lebanese wines from Chateau Musar.

Music was always close to Matthew’s heart – Rocinantes’ brilliantly eclectic playlist and frequent live music events were among its many attractions – and he was a fine guitar player. Chris Wicks, who was head chef at Rocinantes before he took over Bell’s Diner in 1997, remembers him fondly. “Following a disagreement when some chairs might have been thrown, he gave me the best advice I’ve ever had, on how to listen to people and treat them well. After that we became firm friends and started a little band together based on our love of guitars – years later we discovered that we’d both eschewed our Fender Telecasters for Gibson Les Pauls at around the same time. I think of him every time I hear Van Morrison’s ‘Brown Eyed Girl’. I’ll never forget him; he was just a lovely, lovely man.” A sentiment echoed by all those who had the good fortune to know and work him in those days.

Matthew left Rocinantes in 1999 to open Severnshed, a then-derelict transit shed designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel next to River Station and the Thekla on Bristol’s harbourside. True to his Lebanese heritage, it featured middle eastern food, cooked by Raviv Hadad, an Israeli chef who’d worked at the River Café and Moro in London, at a time when Ottolenghi was a mere twinkle in the eye of the capital’s trendsetters. Matthew also had an abiding love and eye for good art and he supported many local artists by showing their work – eyebrows were raised when Severnshed hosted the first exhibition of a little-known graffiti artist known as Banksy. How many of us wish we’d snapped up those modest canvases on sale for around £100.

In 2003, Matthew moved to Brighton and then to France with his second wife, Emma, and their child, Chris. He retrained as a relationship counsellor and teacher of the Hoffman Process, something that suited so well his deeply kind and empathetic personality. He also worked in Beirut on the ‘Healing the Wounds of History’ programme, designed to promote compassion and forgiveness across all communities in that troubled land. Matthew and Emma bought an old farmhouse which they renovated to set up the French Retreat where they run creative and personal growth courses, and he found time to indulge his passions for playing guitar, stone carving and perfecting his recipe for babaghanoush.

Matthew died in France on November 12 aged only 64, leaving his adored and adoring family including his grandchildren Marley, Belle and Luna. He will be sorely missed by all those who knew and loved him, in Bristol and so far beyond.

Rocinantes was once at 85, Whiteladies Road where a Latin American restaurant – Batida – stands today – photo: Batida

Main photo: Kate Hawkings

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