06 SEP 2018: We were on the train from London for my second visit to Bristol in a week. My partner Tony was checking out maps to plan out a route to explore his family history in England.  I was checking out restaurants on the internet for our first Bristol dinner.  We knew where we thought we would like to dine, but asked Mariana at the front desk for her opinion. She asked what kind of food we were interested in, and smiled with our response, ‘ethnic, spicy and cutlery optional.’

Turns out Mariana suggested the place we had in mind, the Urban Tandoor, but thought we were too late to get a reservation for that night.  She promptly booked one for us for the following evening, but in the meantime she wanted to know if we would eat a meal in a shipping container?  Yes, we nodded, we believed that we would.

She sent us to the Wapping Wharf in the old docks district, just a short stroll from the hotel. This is a trendy area of shops, restaurants and spa facilities each within a repurposed storage container.

CARGO CANTINA

When we arrived, we peaked in the door of Cargo Cantina and I asked Tony, “are you thinking that we are older than this crowd by a few decades?” and he said, “ no, I was wondering how we could get the tasting platter on one of those small tables.”

Turns out that neither was a problem.

We were greeted warmly and seated at the bar, where we could watch the margaritas being poured. We wanted everything on the menu, and Cargo Cantina has a solution for that, the Tacos Todos, a tasting menu of botanas (bar snacks).

The dinner for two included organic ox tongue and ox cheek slow braised overnight, middle white pork shoulder shredded with citrus, spices and annatto, and organic chicken thigh with red onions habanero chilli and peanuts.

There was pepper, tomato, red onion and fresh Serrano chilli salad with octopus and prawns and avocado and courgette with pumpkin seeds ancho chilli and coriander.

Accompanying the tacos were eight sides, including shredded red cabbage with mint chilli and lime and smoked sweet potato salad.

The Mexican beer helped to allay the heat from the spicy dishes, and we welcomed the walk back to the hotel after the street food feast.

BRISTOL CITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

Our first full day in Bristol, we walked. We walked along Prince Street stopping at cafes and poked along the harbour.  We did a tour of M Shed, a museum dedicated to the history of Bristol. The dockside transit shed is an exhibit of film, photography and stories of the city, offering free admission.

We came upon the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, catching the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibit, a staple of Bristol’s cultural calendar.  Although we found it by chance, I know to pursue it in future visits. The largest wildlife photography competition in the world is owned by the Natural History Museum and has been in existence since 1964. The 2018 exhibit will start in October.

Our walking tour took us through Cumberland Square Park and then we wandered off to some side streets to check out some of the neighbourhoods away from the fray.  By early evening we had built up an appetite for our curry dinner.

URBAN TANDOOR

Urban Tandoor is considered one of the best curry houses in the UK, this being just one among numerous accolades for the restaurant.  We arrived a bit earlier than the posted business hours, but when a staff member saw us outside, he welcomed us in and took us to our table. The décor was fresh and modern and we welcomed the suggestion for wine from our server, who seemed to be as excited as we were about the meal ahead.

We started with spicy poppodum and enjoyed a procession of dishes including tandoori chicken, aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes) and dal makhini (lentils).

Intentionally we planned to take what was left from our dinner back to the hotel for later consumption. That plan was abandoned when we found ourselves nibbling at each dish long after we feigned that we stopped eating.  At one point Tony signalled to our server, and I thought he was asking for the bill, but he prudently asked for more basmati rice to sop up the sauces. It was a good call.

Once again we were happy that the restaurant was walking distance from our hotel. This one was a bit further than the one the night before. I figured it was about 4,000 calories further (between the two of us).

It was worth every capsicum bite.