We try the ‘hottest’ new Bristol restaurant opening where tables are already hard to get

Condesa couldn’t look less like a Mexican restaurant if it tried. Or at least, not like the stereotypical British version of a Mexican restaurant.

There are no eye-popping explosions of red and green, no Mexican rugs and no yucca plants or cacti. The restaurant is also refreshingly free from any music featuring panpipes. Phew.

With its exposed stone walls, cool slate flagstone floors and flickering church candles, it’s stripped back and minimalist. If you didn’t look at the menu, you might expect it to be serving contemporary Japanese food.

Formerly the Burger Joint restaurant opposite the cinema on Whiteladies Road, Condesa is the latest opening from the hugely successful Bristol outfit Season + Taste who have several places in the city including Bravas around the corner and Gambas in Wapping Wharf.

Condesa has been inspired by the owners’ trips to Mexico, where they have researched the country’s biodynamic farming and agriculture, not to mention its potent drinks.

Although they are importing a few specialist ingredients from Mexico and Spain, the majority of the produce used in the open kitchen is local, including venison from Ashton Court, beef and lamb from Belmont Estate and the freshest South West fish and seafood from Nailsea’s excellent Conscious Fish Company.

Much of the food is cooked over charcoal and although the drinks list features high quality wine, beer and cider, the real focus is the exhaustive list of tequila and mezcal.

With work to do that afternoon, I wimped out of the head-spinning shots and simply quenched my thirst with a pint of Chelada - a refreshing blend of lager and lime juice over ice with the rim of the glass encrusted in lip-puckering salt.

Condesa was surprisingly busy for a mid-week lunchtime - the business lunch on expenses hasn’t quite died a death in BS8 - and although there are spaces at the bar for walk-ins, reservations are already pretty much essential.

As with Season + Taste’s other venues, the food is predominantly small plates, with the dishes on the menu arranged by both size and richness.

Between the two of us, we tried a number of dishes which we shared regardless of their size, kicking off with a rich and tangy Bristol Cheddar quesadilla (£5.50) served with a fruity pineapple salsa. Next, fried chicken wings (£8) with plenty of meat on them were anointed with a fiery chilli oil and served with a slick of cooling sour cream. 

Carne asada tacos con todo (£13) arrived as two generous tacos with slices of smoky, rosy red steak, a wedge of lime and a trio of sauces of varying spiciness.

In stark contrast, chalk stream trout ceviche (£9.50) was cool, sweet and fragrant with the delicate cured fish combined with grapes, red chilli and lots of herbs. A real summer dish perfect for enjoying on Condesa’s sunny terrace.

‘Drunken Mezcal Prawns’ (£14.50) was the only below par dish. The three huge prawns had been cooked perfectly over the hot coals but the tomato and chilli sauce was a touch dry and tame. It was far more sober than its Oliver Reed-like menu description. It needed to down a few more shots of mezcal.

We didn’t have time for dessert but caramelised pineapple with coconut ice cream and pink peppercorn sherbert looked like one more reason to head back. And return we will.

Condesa is already one of the hottest new restaurants to open in Bristol this year and after this first visit, I can see why so many people are talking about it. With the warmer months ahead and its lovely terrace now open, it’s a venue that will only get hotter this summer.

Condesa, 83 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2NT. Tel: 0117 3790441.