Looking for a proper meal around the Bristol balloon festival? Go to Soukitchen!
The International balloon fiesta is a huge 4-day event in Bristol every year. I was so looking forward to it, but those typical food stalls really are not my type. So, where to eat before or after the balloon festival? Here’s my experience and suggestions.
It was estimated almost 100,000 people go to this festival every day, so many roads are blocked, you could only access by foot(or bike), or you booked a parking in advance.
For us who went by foot, there were only 2 ways to access the nearby city centre. 1) Via Clifton Bridge, 2) From the North Street in Southville. And we decided to walk back to North Street when leaving due to the closure of Clifton Bridge after 6pm.
We left for dinner after seeing a balloon being inflated. No mass ascent on the day we visited due to windy and rainy weather. 🙁
Soukitchen: A Popular Middle-Eastern Restaurant in North St.
In the vibrant North Street, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. This time we targeted Soukitchen after considering the ratings, food choices, price, and the convenience of an online reservation.
Soukitchen offers a good variety of mezze(similar to tapas in Spanish), like the meaning of Souk, representing an Arab market or a bazaar.
5 Mezze for 2 Persons
We ordered 5 items – Zatar flatbread to pair with muhammad, heritage tomato salad, broad bean falafel, pork and lamp kofta.
Once the food is ready, the staff will bring it to you, so don’t expect any order like appetiser or main course.
Za’atar flatbread £4.6 – freshly made, hot and soft, seasoned with a signature za’atar spices and sesame. It tastes really nice even without any dipping.
Muhammara £5.5 – it’s a roasted red pepper and walnut dip, burst with slow cooked pepper flavour. I like it more than hummus!
Egyptian brand bean falafel, green tahini, mango & fenugreek amba £8.5 – quite big in size! Perfect for sharing. I particularly like the mango amba on top to offer some acidity.
Marinated heritage tomatoes, sumac onions, feta, zhoug dressing £9 – A refreshing salad among other rousting dishes. I also like the thick bites of heritage tomatoes.
Chargrilled pork & lamb kofta, toum, chilli shatta £12.5 – The only non-veg dish we ordered. Under the purple and green lay 2 pieces of kofta made from pork and lamb, super rich in lamb flavour. At the bottom is toum, a Lebanese garlic sauce(like mayo, but no eggs), with a Middle-Eastern chilli sauce called shatta. Overall, it was spicy but not hot, and quite strong in flavour.
Our Drink Orders
We also ordered Moroccan mint tea £3.5 and Turkish coffee £2.5 on a chilly and windy day. They look big in the photos, but they are not, especially the Turkish coffee. It’s slightly larger than an espresso. Also, it is made by boiling the very finely ground coffee beans, not filtered. So do expect the bean particles will be sink to the bottom and thus not deliver a smooth texture.
I think I quite like Middle-Eastern mezze now. Fresh and spicy, flavourful, nothing is bland. Although from the pictures you can see loads of oil. But mostly olive oil so I told myself it’s still fine. 😛 (Their cuisine is like that!) Go there with your family and friends! Better to be a group of 4 or more, to sample more dishes. Eat more, then live happily forever after. 😉
