We try the new dinner menu at the relaunched Bristol restaurant inside a former library

When the library in Long Ashton closed at the end of 2018, the village lost a community asset but it gained a new one six months later when the building reopened as an all-day cafe and bar.

The Old Library was opened in summer 2019 by Bristol businessman Antonio Bavetta and former Bristol City footballer Jamie McAllister and it quickly gained a loyal local following until the pandemic.

The original team moved on earlier this year and after a short period of closure, The Old Library was reopened in September by chef Moe Lister, Rob Page and Liz Allen who also run the Bird in Hand pub around the corner.

The new owners decided to expand the offering, changing it from a pizza restaurant into more of a cafe-style venue serving breakfast, lunch and then small plates in a more wine bar-like atmosphere in the evening.

It now serves breakfast six days a week (9am-11am), coffees, light bite lunches (12noon-4pm) and small plate/tapas dinners alongside the already established pizza menu.

With its squishy leather sofas, cosy booths, towering pot plants and wall of crammed bookshelves - a nod to its former life - it’s a large and relaxed venue with floor-to-ceiling windows and a small terrace for warmer days.

Early on Friday evening, there were already a few families and groups of locals eating when we arrived and our waitress said it was fully booked later in the evening, and had been busy throughout the day.

The evening menu includes seven types of 12-inch pizza, priced from £11.50 for the Margherita to £15 for Carne (spicy salami sausage, ham hock, chicken, tomato, mozzarella, chilli flakes and rocket).

But we were more interested in trying the new small plates, which are all quite generous in size and bigger than standard tapas dishes.

Six dishes were ample for two people and they arrived at the table one at a time, rather than altogether which made for more relaxed dining.

And there wasn’t a bad dish among them, each small plate cooked with care and well presented.

The patatas bravas (£4.75) was a generous portion of crisp-edged fried potatoes with a rich and spicy tomato sauce with dribbles of delicate saffron mayo.

Perfectly cooked Tenderstem broccoli with plenty of bite was topped with almond and chilli (£5). Still-sizzling halloumi was paired with roasted pineapple, nigella seeds and honey (£7), the saltiness of the hot cheese working in tandem with all that sweetness.

From the meat section, thick and sticky slices of melt-in-the-mouth belly pork (£8.50) were anointed with soy sauce and served with steamed pak choi, crushed peanut and crisp rice noodles.

A piece of rare and pink roast onglet (£11) arrived with mushrooms, tarragon, grana padano and rocket, while a skewer of tender, juicy sumac-scented chicken was served with tabbouleh and rose harissa for a fragrant Middle Eastern twist.

To finish, burnt Basque cheesecake, berries and cream (£7) was light and mousse-like with plenty of caramel notes from the burnished top.

If I lived in Long Ashton, I’d feel jolly well lucky to have an all-day venue like The Old Library on my doorstep.

The welcome is warm, the food is great and locals can walk home afterwards instead of relying on buses or expensive taxis into town. And if you don't live in Long Ashton, it's definitely worth travelling for.

The village may have lost its beloved library, but it has certainly gained a brilliant community hub in its place.

The Old Library, 6 Lovelinch Gardens, Long Ashton, Bristol, BS41 9AH.