One of my best friends Ruqia (left) and I had a LivingSocial voucher for two at Assilah Bistro, so on Thursday we went for a catch up over some (hopefully yummy) Moroccan food.
We got in and were seated down through some starry curtains in a cosy area of the restaurant where a cushioned bench ran all the way around the outside along with low tables and stools (above). The other half of the restaurant was your more conventional layout, with chairs and tables of a normal height. It was very tastefully decorated, feeling authentic and cosy. Ruqia remarked that it was the sort of place you could come to chill out with some Mint Tea, and we decided we may have to do that some time.
The owner (and waitress) of the restaurant immediately came over with tap water before we'd even asked, which is always good in my opinion. Ruqia then asked to see the Halal certificate or a receipt from the Halal butchers they source their meat from just to be extra sure of how the meat is prepared. On her return, the owner handed Ruqia a receipt but remarked that no-one has ever asked for it in the 10 years they have been open, and seemed slightly irritated that my friend had.
We got in and were seated down through some starry curtains in a cosy area of the restaurant where a cushioned bench ran all the way around the outside along with low tables and stools (above). The other half of the restaurant was your more conventional layout, with chairs and tables of a normal height. It was very tastefully decorated, feeling authentic and cosy. Ruqia remarked that it was the sort of place you could come to chill out with some Mint Tea, and we decided we may have to do that some time.
The owner (and waitress) of the restaurant immediately came over with tap water before we'd even asked, which is always good in my opinion. Ruqia then asked to see the Halal certificate or a receipt from the Halal butchers they source their meat from just to be extra sure of how the meat is prepared. On her return, the owner handed Ruqia a receipt but remarked that no-one has ever asked for it in the 10 years they have been open, and seemed slightly irritated that my friend had.
We browsed the menus and, after a while of looking, chose our starters; Falafels and Stuffed Vine Leaves (£3.90 each). For mains we both decided to go for the same thing - Chicken Meshwi (£9.95). There were other things I liked the look of as well, but those didn't come with rice and rice is a must for me and Moroccan food.
Our starters came nice and quickly, for which we were glad as we were both starving! I always seem to be ravenous when I go to restaurants - probably a good thing. Typically, my hunger took over and I forgot to take photos of our starters, but each came with a generous amount of juicy salad, and the falafels came with humous too.
I absolutely love vine leaves, and these did not let me down, but I have to say the Falafels were incredibly tasty and warm, so I decided I preferred them to the vine leaves. The vine leaves were smallish but kept us going until our mains, which I suppose is partly the job of a starter. Above is what our Chicken Meshwis looked like, with a slightly sweet dip in the middle, 3 pieces of chicken on the side, and a large heap of rice and salad accompanying it. My first thought was that the portion was quite decently sized for the price of the dish, which made me very happy. The chicken was beautifully succulent and tender, and excellently spiced with the marinated herbs it was cooked in. There was just the perfect ratio of chicken to rice, and the salad was dressed extremely lightly but effectively, and really complimented the chicken and rice. The central dip was mild but very flavoursome, though Ruqia found it too sweet. She would normally have liked Ketchup (weirdo!) with hers, but they didn't have any at the restaurant.
Our starters came nice and quickly, for which we were glad as we were both starving! I always seem to be ravenous when I go to restaurants - probably a good thing. Typically, my hunger took over and I forgot to take photos of our starters, but each came with a generous amount of juicy salad, and the falafels came with humous too.
I absolutely love vine leaves, and these did not let me down, but I have to say the Falafels were incredibly tasty and warm, so I decided I preferred them to the vine leaves. The vine leaves were smallish but kept us going until our mains, which I suppose is partly the job of a starter. Above is what our Chicken Meshwis looked like, with a slightly sweet dip in the middle, 3 pieces of chicken on the side, and a large heap of rice and salad accompanying it. My first thought was that the portion was quite decently sized for the price of the dish, which made me very happy. The chicken was beautifully succulent and tender, and excellently spiced with the marinated herbs it was cooked in. There was just the perfect ratio of chicken to rice, and the salad was dressed extremely lightly but effectively, and really complimented the chicken and rice. The central dip was mild but very flavoursome, though Ruqia found it too sweet. She would normally have liked Ketchup (weirdo!) with hers, but they didn't have any at the restaurant.
We unanimously ooh-ed and yum-ed at the food as we ate, and both thought it delicious and not too over priced at all for what it was. Ruqia said that she hadn't expected Moroccan food to be so tasty and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was.
The owner of the restaurant, who was unaware that I was compiling a review that evening, was chatty with us throughout, making friendly conversation and checking that our meals were okay. While I visited the toilet after the main course I thought to myself that the usually chatty Ruqia had probably embarked on an in-depth conversation with her while I was gone, and as I returned I found that I was correct. And despite having 4 other sets of diners to manage, the owner didn't seem to mind at all, and still managed to keep everyone else happy.
My friend couldn't resist but order some Mint Tea (above right), which was kindly given to us on the house to our surprise. I personally had actually never tried this variation of tea, and I quite liked it. It was slightly bitter, but could be sweetened if ordered with more sugar (we only asked for "a bit"). It was authentically served in a metal jug, along with two small thick patterned glasses, and the tea was nice and hot in preparation for our departure back out into the cold.
You would think, being such a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city, Bristol would have more Halal restaurants than it does. But, other than a Halal Nandos and a Halal KFC, which kind of doesn't count as a restaurant , many of the Halal places in the city are take-aways. I can name a few proper restaurants, but not near as many as you'd expect. But it was nice to find one as authentic and tasty as this, and quite central too, only about 3 bus stops up Wells Road from Temple Meads Train Station. So yes, I would definitely recommend this Moroccan restaurant, and I suggest you head up to their Halal Roast Dinner this month too ! (Find out dates by calling 07816 202827).
The owner of the restaurant, who was unaware that I was compiling a review that evening, was chatty with us throughout, making friendly conversation and checking that our meals were okay. While I visited the toilet after the main course I thought to myself that the usually chatty Ruqia had probably embarked on an in-depth conversation with her while I was gone, and as I returned I found that I was correct. And despite having 4 other sets of diners to manage, the owner didn't seem to mind at all, and still managed to keep everyone else happy.
My friend couldn't resist but order some Mint Tea (above right), which was kindly given to us on the house to our surprise. I personally had actually never tried this variation of tea, and I quite liked it. It was slightly bitter, but could be sweetened if ordered with more sugar (we only asked for "a bit"). It was authentically served in a metal jug, along with two small thick patterned glasses, and the tea was nice and hot in preparation for our departure back out into the cold.
You would think, being such a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city, Bristol would have more Halal restaurants than it does. But, other than a Halal Nandos and a Halal KFC, which kind of doesn't count as a restaurant , many of the Halal places in the city are take-aways. I can name a few proper restaurants, but not near as many as you'd expect. But it was nice to find one as authentic and tasty as this, and quite central too, only about 3 bus stops up Wells Road from Temple Meads Train Station. So yes, I would definitely recommend this Moroccan restaurant, and I suggest you head up to their Halal Roast Dinner this month too ! (Find out dates by calling 07816 202827).