Review: Bar + Block Steakhouse

Whether you’re a steak fan or voracious vegan, there’s a new kid on the block that’s full of delicious surprises!

When we were asked to review Bar + Block, I couldn’t think of better companions than Kane Palma-Newport, Bath Rugby prop – arguably the ultimate carnivore, and local property entrepreneur and foodie, Marcus Whittington.

We were greeted warmly by Gary and his team, who seated us on a round table nicely situated opposite the fantastic feature of the open kitchen and despite being a Monday lunchtime, there was a real buzz in the restaurant.

Gary got us settled with our drinks orders and then took the time to explain the brands ethos and menu.

As you’d expect, the emphasis is on the Steak and they go to serious lengths to make sure their meat is top quality. The cattle are from the UK (Herefordshire and Aberdeen) and then they are moved to South America to be bred and graze on their grass which is dense in nutrients resulting in tender and flavoursome meat.

What was a surprise though, was the variety on the menu. Don’t be fooled by the name; Bar + Block is not just for Steak lovers! The starters include fresh fish items including mussels and squid, the express lunch menu (more about that later) includes salads, fish and vegetarian options and the main menu includes all of the above.

As we were in a specialist steak restaurant, and after Gary’s passionate explanation of the meat, we all knew we’d be opting for Steak mains, so we mixed things up with our choice of starters.

I began with a firm favourite of mine – salt and pepper squid. The dish was mixed with chilli and parsley, served with garlic mayonnaise and a wedge of lemon. You genuinely could have been dining on this in a specialist fish restaurant. The batter was perfectly light and crispy, squid was fresh and flavoursome and the amount of seasoning was just right.

Marcus joined me on a fish starter, with the Garlic King Prawns cooked in white wine, garlic and butter topped with a wedge of lemon. There was a very generous amount of prawns which were incredible juicy and flavoursome.

Kane chose pulled pork from the special’s board which was so succulent it melted in your mouth.

The portion sizes were generous but not over-the-top – enough to get the taste-buds going!

While we waited for our mains, Gary was keen to show off the Express Lunch Menu and served us with one of the dishes to share. This really is serious value for money and was where the real surprise was. For under £10, you can have a dish of your choice from the Express menu, a glass of wine or soft drink. For deals this keen, you would expect small portions and a not particularly exciting lunch, but I would have been happy to pay over £10 just for the club sandwich alone. The dish was presented as an open sandwich with an abundance of avocado, perfectly cooked chicken, salad and seasoning. Although, this was a large serving, the flavours and ingredients were fresh and healthy enough to not finish your lunch feeling like you needed an afternoon nap!

Apart from the price and quality of food, a key USP with their Express menu, is that Bar + Block promise to deliver your lunch within 10 minutes and have a really quirky feature of leaving a large egg timer on your table as soon as you have placed your order  to visibly demonstrate the 10 minute turnaround!

The Express menu is a massive contender on the Bath lunch scene and offers, arguably, unbeatable value for money if you’re wanting a quick bite to eat whether you’re shopping, site-seeing or on a lunch-break.

To accompany our sample, Gary also generously served us a Gin Smash from their cocktail menu, which really got us in the mood for summer al fresco drinking! Cocktails, can often be too sweet and sickly but this was fresh, zingy and, rather addictive; we could have quite happily ordered another round if we hadn’t needed to get back to work after our meal!

Shortly after enjoying our cocktail and express menu sample, Gary proudly served us the main event!

We could not wait to tuck in; the visibly succulent steaks were beautifully presented with the triple cooked chips in a neat basket and a side serving of samphire which we’ve never had with steak before, but it subtly and beautifully complimented the rich beef flavour.

I went for the 8oz Ribeye, which was cooked to perfection and the marbling really gave the meat a soft texture and rich flavour.

Marcus has the 10oz Spiral cut fillet marinated in garlic and parsley for 24 hours for tenderness and flavour.

Kane, making the most of his big appetite, went for the Tira De Ancho, a 14oz* spiral cut ribeye, marinated in garlic, parsley and chilli, served with chimichurri.

The steaks were oozing with rich flavours and each were thoughtfully seasoned according to the individual cuts to really bring out the unique flavours and textures.

Priced between £16.95 and £26.95, you’d really struggle to find steak of this quality elsewhere.

Bar + Block and the team’s passion for the quality of their steak and of their dishes is highly evident. Dining here feels like a real treat but without the price tag so we will certainly be making regular visits. In fact, my guests made a return the next morning to try out Bar and Block’s breakfast menu.

Bar + Block is located at 4 James Street West, and is open 7 days a week until 11pm. Call 01225 618888 to make a table reservation or visit their website.