Grillstock Bath

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Grillstock Bath

Postby Tiny » 11 Aug 2015, 08:28

Well chaps was a stranger in an strange land and the eldest lad had deferred his birthday meal to try and find some righteous BBQ as we live in an desert in Portsmouth.

After much deliberation we settled on Grillstock in Bath, despite some hit and miss traveller reviews on trip advisor.

The look they go for is BBQ shack, tables made from planks and scaffold, a mock tin roof and the sofas made from recycled denim. A leaky aircon added to this mock southern charm, music is mostly country and pumped out too loud, no I am not old I like loud music but this seemed ill judged in an space where folk may have wanted to chat, I asked Mrs Tiny for her verdict on the aesthetics, "it just looks a bit grimy and like it could do with a real clean"

Unabashed we went for there Grand champions platter, this is offerred as a challenge but if one person could finish this then they have issues, we shared amongst 3 whilst the youngest lad ordered the smokestack burger.....he was to reject this early doors due to their fry sauce so also joined in, on the upside I think this means I got to sample the whole menu.......verdicts on all the items below in ascending order of goodness

1*
The cornbread - Not sure what this was for, a slightly salty sponge cake with almost no flavour
2*
The house slaw - err white cabbage 90%, some carrot and no dressing.....odd

3* Items
The ribs - very skinny babybacks with little meat on and dry, absolutely certain these were yesterdays ribs kept warm and reheated again. 2 of our team rated them but they favour a very dry rib.
Chicken - half a chicken came in 2 pieces, one with hot crisp skin and the insides an oozing unctuous goodness with lovely smoke flavour, the other was withered and dry no moisture left at all, again I fear this was yesterdays chicken rolled out for day 2.
The Burger - Would say the patty was unremarkable, the pulled pork and fry sauce added flavour and the bun was good but for an £10 burger I am looking for wow

4*
Brisket chilli - the small pot of this was deep and flavoursome, the brisket melty and some piquant notes therein, a big bowl of this would have seen you right
Mac and cheese - I still dont see its point in an BBQ but this offerring was just really well done and I jabbed the fork at it several times without really knowing why
The Pulled pork - Good flavour a little light on moisture and could have been hotter, but ate lovely with their own brand bbq sauce
The hot dog - Good meaty bratwurst with a good snap and moisture content, I really do love a good hot dog and this one almost tipped over on to the 5* list but I wasnt sure about the fry sauce they paired with it, think I would have been happier with mustard and ketchup

5*
Meaty BBQ beans - a good mix of beans in an tangy sauce, chunks of pp making it all rather special, again could have sat and eaten this in an bowl
The Fries - Well they were traditional skinny fries but they were crisp as you like, perfectly seasoned and an perfect example of their kind
The Brisket - Oh my golly gosh, this was sublime, the meat was soft and moist the bark moorish and the layers of fat melted in your mouth leaving you in an beef related mouthfeel nirvana.....this is to date the best brisket I have ever eaten and has secured 4th spot on my world best beef league
The burnt ends - I have never eaten burnt ends before so I counsel that these may not have been the best burnt ends, I have nothing to calibrate against........shave my tall hat! well these were cubes of the most intense beffy beef goodness I have ever come across, almost dense in texture on biting they sort of crumble but without being dry to give an intense smoky mouthful and satisfying beefy chew.......oh yes.....

So there you have it, if I look at my own experience and look at the reviews on TA then I think it becomes clear. The challenges of having all 4 of your slow cooked "party meats" ready from 11 to 11 every day just cant be managed, and the management at the pass doesnt seem to have the discipline to say "nope, that has been under the lights for too long we are not serving that" We were eating lunchtime and the brisket was the standout, if they were still serving that brisket 5 hours later I doubt I would have been so please. Interesting that the ribs and the chicken for which they have no "out" for leftovers were the main culprits in this " coming around again disappointment.

But Apart from the burger all of the above comes on the GC platter for £30 so I think this is good value and I would go back, but am not sure this would be a family meal, the wife and the youngest were pretty unimpressed but myself and the eldest lad would go back for more.

Final gripe, charging nearly £4 for an 330ml bottle of beer is just robbery, £1.50 for an diet coke is about the going rate but didnt expect to be handed a tin from the fridge. A draft beer at a fair price would perhaps add to the atmosphere that was a little flat

Cheers Tiny
Tiny
Rubbed and Ready
Rubbed and Ready
 
Posts: 662
Joined: 05 Jun 2012, 14:39
Location: Portsmouth

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