Restaurants / Reviews
RAGÙ, Wapping Wharf: ‘Choose your superlative’ – restaurant review
On a recent lunchtime at RAGÙ, I was sat at the bar within easy reach of a tub of gherkins and the whipped bottarga butter that would soon make its way onto my fantastic focaccia starter (£6) in a restaurant where every inch of space has been carefully thought about.
Four chefs working in the open kitchen were already well drilled despite this being only the second week of opening, while a trio of front of house staff glided around the space led expertly by Tallulah Small. I turned to talk to a street food chef friend who was in with his family, turned back and my empty bottle of beer had been spirited away.
RAGÙ has been opened by Mark and Karen Chapman, the capitalisation-loving Australian couple behind COR on North Street, who have brought Italian-influenced sharing plates to Wapping Wharf in what was previously Tare Bistro.
Find time for a leisurely lunch here with friends and work your way through the menu from antipasti to pudding, with prices around £10 for starters, £20 for mains and – if you want to push the boat out – £28.90 for a whole Cornish mackerel or £59.90 for a Florentine T-bone steak both from the ‘over fire’ section.
There is plenty of wine here but it was a work day so I stuck to a zero alcohol beer from Menabrea with a coffee to finish featuring beans roasted by Cirencester’s Fire & Flow.
Even though this restaurant was originally due to be called Luca after Mark and Karen’s young son before a stern legal letter from a restaurant with the same name, it seemed imperative to order the ragu.
Go to and get a ragu; that’s a new Wapping Wharf byelaw – photo: Martin Booth
From one of two ragus (the other this month is pappardelle with wild board ragu), I went for the pea ragu: the base of a shoulder of lamb (£17.90) that needed just the gentlest of touches with a knife to fall apart.
Humans have evolved to see more shades of green than any other colour and most are on display here alongside the salsa verde and pecorino.
My dessert of cannoli (£6.50), a mix of sharp Amalfi lemon curd and rich dark chocolate, was served by one of the chefs; accompanied by a small scoop of fior de latte gelato drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar – a special treat from Tallulah. She told me it was her favourite and who was I to argue?
“This is amazing,” the diner sat next to me said after polishing off a plate of frigitelli peppers. I could use a myriad of superlatives to describe RAGÙ but that one will do. I’ll see you at the bar.
Follow the signs to RAGÙ on Museum Street – photo: Martin Booth
RAGÙ, Cargo 2, Museum Street, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6ZA
www.ragurestaurant.com
Main photo: Martin Booth
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