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San Carlo Restaurant in Bristol is Now Open | First Meal After Lockdown in UK

I just have to blog about my first meal after lockdown in San Carlo restaurant in Bristol because it’s a bit of a milestone (and the only one remotely to do with travelling in this half of 2020).

The UK slowly emerged out of isolated homes after 4 months of lockdown and although things weren’t how they once were, a flicker of normality was on the horizon. During the lockdown though, the 4 countries of the UK followed their respective governments’ rules so in Wales we had different rules to England.

In England, restaurants were re-opening and bars were serving indoor pints while in Wales, nowhere indoors were allowed to serve at all and we had a travel ban of more than 5 miles. But once the 5-mile rule was lifted and we were allowed to travel to England, my friend and I were lured to a famed Italian restaurant in Bristol for our first meal after lockdown. San Carlo it is!

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Me at San Carlo Enjoying Food in Bristol

Why Choose San Carlo?

I chose San Carlo restaurant in Bristol for my first meal after lockdown in the UK for a few reasons:

  1. San Carlo has a grand indoor design and because I haven’t sat down in a restaurant for 4 months, I needed nice surroundings.
  2. I’ve heard rave reviews about the Italian food served at the San Carlo restaurants found in major UK cities and I wasn’t settling for any ol’ place to eat.
  3. Bristol is only an hour’s drive from Cardiff so it made sense to visit one of Bristol’s best restaurants.
  4. They have a huge selection of seafood dishes on offer and well I’m just a little bit obsessed with things you can eat from the sea!

Where is Bristol’s San Carlo?

Bristol’s San Carlo is located close enough to the river that you walk a few minutes to see it but not too close that you’re bombarded with river-view prices. The restaurant is tucked away in a side street but easy to find using google maps. It’s in close proximity to the theatre (for whenever they will open) and we parked in Cabot Circus which was a pleasant walk away from San Carlo.

Book online to avoid disappointment on their website linked below. We were so lucky we managed to get a table for 2 without reservation and they were so lovely (how could we forget to book?!)

Address: San Carlo, 44 Corn Street, Bristol, BS1 1HQ

Opening Info: Monday – Sunday, 12:00 – 22:00

Website: https://sancarlo.co.uk/restaurants/san-carlo-bristol/

Lovely Afternoon in Bristol

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Coronavirus Measures in San Carlo, Bristol

On arrival, there was someone at the door ensuring (if there were a queue) that people were keeping 2m distant, not allowing too many people in at once and hand sanitiser was available at the front door.

At our table, we were on a 2-seated table which had transparent separators in between our table and the adjacent 2-seated table. This gave a sense of safety in terms of Coronavirus measures but it was almost as if we were on a table of four because although we had a divider between us and the people next to us, it still felt close because it was transparent. Other tables surrounding us were at a distant.

The toilets were okay but of course, this is where hygiene should be of utmost importance. There is soap and water and hand sanitiser available and thankfully, hand sanitiser outside of the toilet which is ideal after touching door handles.

The best things to take for eating out after Covid-19 is personal hand sanitiser, a mask (as mandatory outside in England as of 24/07/2020), throwaway gloves or a washable handkerchief for touching door handles/toilet, personal cutlery and metal straws.

My First Meal After Lockdown – What I Had

San Carlo’s menu was fun to read with all the usual components of an Italian restaurant but with the addition of some facts about regions in Italy, information on eating large plates of pasta in Italy and thorough descriptions of the dishes.

To Start With

My sharing starter was called Frittura di Pesce Portofino and included calamari, prawns, scampi and scallops with dips. They came on a large sharing plate in the centre of the table for us to share. The scallops were my personal favourite being juicy on the inside and crispy on the out.

Starter at San Carlo

Price – £11.50 per person (minimum 2 people to share).

For Mains

The main course was shared between the two of us as well (we are both seafood lovers) under the ‘Gran Pasta’ section and was called Spaghetti Frutti di Mare. It was a tomato-based shellfish pasta including clams, mussels and prawns with a pizza-dough covering. It sounded so intriguing and definitely something I wouldn’t cook for myself at home.

Before the main was served, a foldable table was set-up next to us for the sharing pasta to be placed on. The server then brought out the main that was in a large dish and he began cutting the pizza dough topping away.

  • San Carlo Shared Main
  • San Carlo restaurant Service

Then he cut the pizza in half and put on two plates before serving the contents on top of each portion. It was delicious food with a bit of a show too!

  • San Carlo Gran Pasta Dish
  • Serving Pasta in San Carlo Bristol
San Carlo Shellfish Pasta

Price – £16.95 per person (minimum 2 people to share).

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Things I Loved About San Carlo Restaurant in Bristol

I had a splendid experience at San Carlo that I know has been enjoyed by the rich and famous (in sister places around the UK) yet it remains humble and far from the pretentious places made purely for the gram. These are all the things I loved about San Carlo:

  • Nevertheless, I loved looking at the pictures on the wall of all the celebrities’ visits from Sir Tom Jones to Cristiano Ronaldo.
  • The marble bar and oysters on ice as you walk in sets the scene for an enjoyable location with an impressive menu.
  • The personal table service was on point. The servers were prompt, service was the right pace between starter and main and the plating on the main was almost like a show!
  • The food of course, like my enthusiasm wasn’t enough in the above paragraph.
  • The random lemon on the table made us laugh. Anyone know why it’s there?
  • The amount of seafood on the menu was perfect for my choosing and the combination of seafood and pasta was right up my street.

Thanks for reading about my San Carlo food experience.

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