We eat at the hottest new restaurant in Bristol and were just disappointed we couldn’t stay longer

The first thing you notice about Bristol’s hottest new restaurant opening is the long queue to order food. 

But then fans of Eatchu are more than used to that as there’s always a long line of hungry people waiting in all weathers outside the original site in St Nicholas Market.

Since it started life as a street food stall in 2016, Eatchu has won awards and gained a huge local following.

Run by husband and wife Guy and Victoria Siddall, Eatchu specialises in gyoza - handmade Japanese dumplings filled with seasonal ingredients and free-range meat.

And now Eatchu has opened a new restaurant and takeaway on The Triangle, Queens Road, in the former Pizza Bianchi site. Before that, it was the legendary Rocotillos diner for more than 20 years.

This is a major step forward for Eatchu as it’s essentially their first proper bricks-and-mortar site and it’s in one of the most prominent spots in the city. 

When the doors opened, co-founder Guy said: “We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to introduce our award-winning Eatchu dumplings to a new part of Bristol. It’s the perfect site for us, offering ample opportunity for takeaway and dine-in and we finally have a licensed venue so we can serve refreshing Japanese lagers with our meals.”

When we arrive early on Saturday evening, Eatchu is busy. All tables are occupied and there’s a queue spilling out onto the pavement, much to the obvious annoyance of the coat-wearing diners sitting at the table closest to the open door on a chilly evening.

We eventually grab a table at the warmer end of the red and white-painted restaurant, with its Japanese artwork and burnt orange lanterns.

As much a takeaway as dine-in affair, Eatchu has an efficient and easy to use McDonald’s-style touch-pad ordering system and then you simply wait for your number to be called. The menu is short but covers all bases in terms of meat, poultry and vegan options.

Best-sellers include free-range chicken gyoza with chilli oil, mayo and spicy sea salt (£6.65), and the triple mushroom gyoza with mayo, seaweed dust and pickled radish (£6.45). 

The gyoza dumplings can then be bolstered with additional rice or noodles. Choices include Japanese curry rice and red ginger (£4.50) and dressed noodles with chilli oil, tonkatsu sauce, crispy onion and red ginger (£3.25).

We order the award-winning and signature dish of free-range pork gyoza (£6.50) and the roasted broccoli version (£6.40), both with dressed noodles (£3.25).

The food arrives within ten minutes along with wooden chopsticks and cutlery. The enticing and spicy aromas waft across to the table before the bowls do.

We each get six of the plump but delicate dumplings, which are quickly fried before being steamed and then fried again so the bottoms get golden brown and crisp.

The minced pork filling is heady with garlic, ginger, white pepper, cabbage and soy sauce. The dumplings are drizzled with mayo, tonkatsu sauce and seaweed dust. Beneath them, the noodles are dressed generously with dashi, crispy onions and red ginger. It’s a genuine flavour explosion.

Across the table, the roasted broccoli gyoza are slipping down just as easily - the vegan filling for these also has peas and edamame in the mix, again lifted with all that ginger and garlic.

We both agree the gyoza are the tastiest things we have put in our mouths all year. Utterly delicious, completely moreish and we were just disappointed we couldn’t stay longer and order it all over again. Yes, it really is that good.

Eatchu, 1, Queens Row, Clifton Triangle, Bristol, BS8 1EZ.