Reviews
Evening with friends - Alan martin
Apr 29 2012Excellent evening, food very good, no hassle, keep up the good work.
Perhaps some whites from new Zealand.
Cheers.
Wonderful Meal - Wendy Gyles
Dec 07 2011I live quite close the RockFish Grill and have eaten there a few times now. It is always a good meal and a real delight for any shellfish lover. The last time I visited they surpassed themselves with their cuttlefish dish which was absolutely delicious!
The Rockfish Grill & Seafood Market- A review by the Clifton Times - Angelique da Silva
Aug 17 2011According to my research, Mitch Tonks, the proprietor of The RockFish in Whiteladies Road, use to be an accountant. He left this profession to open the Green Street Seafood Café in Bath in 1995. The restaurant turned out to be a major success and the brand was rolled out across the South West and London as the FishWorks. The brand grew too quickly and the business went into administration, but it must be said that Mitch had partied ways two years earlier. A sad story yes, but Mitch had already set his sights on a new project and turned this project into what is now another success story, which is The RockFish
It is evident that Mitch, who is a self- trained chef, knows his way around fish and sea food. He has obviously taken from his experiences in the past and created a grill and seafood market that stands out all on its own as an establishment that should not be missed. Here things are done simply and properly.
Having opened up in 2009, the restaurant itself is classic looking and would not be amiss in the centre of London or Cape Town for that matter. Here you will find comfortable leather seating with wall mounted boxes of wines. Framed photos (of who I presume to be family and friends) are to be found, which adds personality and character to the restaurant.
There is an obvious attention to detail. The plates are inscribed with the restaurant’s name, a through back to grand hotels from the past. Every piece of cutlery seemed to have its uniformed place with military position. The atmosphere is relaxed and fresh, something you would expect from a seafood market.
The menu is simple and clean. On your first visit you will not realise this, but the menu changes daily to reflect the catch of the day. The side attractions stay the same, but your choices for starter and mains do differ slightly. This would explain why the menu has the day and date on it. It was over lunch that I found myself seated at a table.
The scallops roasted in the shell with white port and garlic was a good place to start. As the menu suggests, served in a shell, the size of the scallops were appreciatively large, juicy with a hint of sweetness and lay in an oasis of port, garlic and butter (£10).
The wine menu is extensive and one is spoilt for choice. Prices range from £20 to £100 and I believe with such a vast selection covering many countries it would be impossible for someone not to be able to make a choice. Top marks here. I chose the Sauvignon Blanc Vecchio Scuole – Antonio Fattori – Veneto (£28), which was highly recommended.
Moving to my main, the lemon sole (£18) was an exquisite piece of fish. It was by no doubt cooked carefully and served with brown shrimps and butter. The fish was fresh and the meat light. I can’t imagine what could have made it better. I might sound over enthusiastic, but I’m not. I take my hat off to the chef, who quite obviously is an asset. The trick here is not only the ingredients that make up the meals but the fact that most of the fish is delivered daily from Brixham. The fish is grilled over a charcoal fire and this adds an added dimension to the culinary experience.
A rich and sticky date pudding (£5) was a delightful way to end my lunch. The whole experience was made even better by the impeccable service. No matter how good the food is, a bad experience with service can always ruin everything. Some might say the food is slightly on the expensive side but it’s a matter of opinion when you way it up with the quality of food and the experience you have. To the Rockfish- may you continue to swim strong.
Take note If you save your receipt and use it within 30 days, you can receive a 10% in their fishmongers next door. You can also download the first ever i-phone app dedicated to seafood techniques and cooking. My suggestion to this, is to one day add a discount coupon over certain periods.
Simply brilliant, warts and all - Bristol Evening Post - Mark Taylor
Jan 07 2011It is 16 years since Weston-super-Mare- born Mitch Tonks swapped accountancy for fishmongery. In that time he has joined Rick Stein as one of Britain's big fish when it comes to seafood.
Tonks opened the Green Street Seafood Cafe in Bath in 1995. A fishmonger with an informal restaurant upstairs, it became such a hit with locals and national food critics that he rolled it out across the South West and London under the FishWorks brand.
Sadly, it became a victim of its own success and grew too big too fast. The bubble finally burst, FishWorks went into administration and Tonks walked away with nothing but his integrity.
But what integrity this self-trained chef and restaurateur has. What he doesn't know about fish, seafood and how to run a great restaurant probably isn't worth knowing.
His cookbooks and restaurants are a byword for doing things simply and properly. The very best ingredients are the foundations of his cooking, whether it's crab from Dartmouth, where he has his acclaimed Seahorse restaurant, or truffles from Alba.
Tonks opened The RockFish Grill and Seafood Market in 2009 on the site previously occupied by his Bristol FishWorks. After a stylish refurbishment, the fish counter was moved around to the side and the dining room expanded.
It is a classic-looking restaurant, comparable to some of the best dining rooms in London or Paris.
There is comfortable leather banquette seating, wall-mounted boxes of fine wines and framed photos of family and friends.
Tonks cares about attention to detail, from the small silver pepper pots to the plates, which are emblazoned with the restaurant's name, as they used to be in great hotels and brasseries. I wouldn't be surprised if he walked around the restaurant with a tape measure, lining up tables and chairs.
Although he cooks more in Dartmouth than in Bristol, he can often be spotted at the Clifton restaurant and even when he's only there to eat he can't resist stepping into the kitchen.
But it's not as though he doesn't have a very able head chef in Bristol. Jake Platt used to work at The Albion in Clifton Village and before that worked for Stephen Markwick. He is one of Bristol's most talented chefs in his own right and it makes for a formidable combination.
Like an MP, I had better declare something of an interest here: Tonks has been a mate of mine for 15 years and we have been known to enjoy long lunches together, many of which have spilled into dinner and sometimes beyond.
Not that I would let our friendship get in the way of my journalistic duties and he always welcomes any form of feedback, good or bad. More importantly, he always acts upon it.
I dined at Rockfish twice last month and both lunches were tickety boo.
They were both long lunches, too, but that's the secret of a great restaurant – you simply don't want to leave and the second (or third) bottle is too tempting.
The secret weapon in this kitchen isn't just the quality of the ingredients – most of the fish is delivered daily from Brixham, where Tonks lives – but the charcoal-fired Josper grill. It adds another dimension to fish and meat, with the slight smokiness of a barbecue.
There was no better example of this than the scallops roasted in the shell with white port and garlic (£10).
Served in the shell, the three scallops were the size of a baby's fist and they were sweet, juicy, slightly smoky and bathing in a Jacuzzi of butter, garlic and white port, which added a sherry like subtlety.
A starter of cuttlefish cooked in ink with polenta (£6.50) was startlingly good. Cuttlefish is a much under-used species but far more interesting than squid. The rich, thick black ink had been cooked with star anise which added a slight spiciness and the polenta had been fashioned into toast-like triangles and cooked on the griddle. I'm not the biggest fan of polenta but this was enough to change my mind.
A chargrilled single rib of Aberdeen Angus beef (£17) was a little too aged for my liking and had a gamey quality to it. It was beautifully cooked in the Josper but it would have been more enjoyable if the meat hadn't been hung for quite so long. It arrived with perfectly made béarnaise sauce flecked with tarragon.
Megrim sole (£14) was a stunning piece of fish cooked carefully and served with brown shrimps and butter. It was the essence of great ingredients cooked simply and a dish that couldn't be improved upon.
Chef Jake Platt wears his St John inspiration on his sleeve and the influential London restaurant's quince, prunes and custard (£4) popped up on the dessert menu. The quince and prunes were served warm but the custard was a cold crème Anglais, which came as a slight disappointment but made for a good contrast.
A rich and sticky date pudding with clotted cream (£5) was as good as this classic English comfort pud gets.
OK, there were a couple of minor quibbles over the course of my two lunches at Rockfish but the only really depressing thing is that even when Rockfish hits a bum notes, it is still several octaves higher than 99 per cent of Bristol restaurants.
For that reason alone, it remains one of this city's culinary benchmarks, warts and all.
Wheelchair access: Yes, but not toilets
Prices: Starters from £3.50; main courses from £13; desserts from £4. Set lunch and early evening menu £12.50 for two courses or £15 for three courses
Food: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Service: 9
Value: 8
Overall: 9
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