‘The most enjoyable meal of the year’ - we try the new menu at a tiny Bristol wine bar with a big name chef

I was in two minds as to whether I should even write about the food at Cave. It’s just that some ‘best kept secrets’ are occasionally too good to share.

Since wine expert Martin Hagen opened this small wine shop on Gloucester Road, they’ve served a few bits of food, mostly charcuterie and cheese to accompany the wines, but things have moved up several gears recently.

That’s because Charlie Hearn has just taken over the small open kitchen as ‘resident chef’ at the back of the shop, where there are a few low stools at the counter and a handful of high-top tables.

Hearn was previously head chef at The Spiny Lobster seafood restaurant in Clifton and he also ran the kitchen at The Kensington Arms in Redland. Before that, we worked in some notable London restaurants and pubs.

Without sounding like a weird stalker with a restraining order, I’ve always followed Hearn’s movements closely. He’s a gifted chef, one of the best Bristol has, and his intelligent, robust food has always been worth a detour.

And so the news that he has taken over the food from Wednesday to Saturday evenings at Cave had me dropping everything and heading straight to Gloucester Road.

Low-lit and compact, it’s a modest, cavernous space flanked by shelves of wines, many of them natural and biodynamic, predominantly from small producers.

The shop part remains open during the times food is served so locals are constantly popping in with their tote bags, stocking up on bottles for home consumption.

For diners, the wine list is accessed via a QR code on a postcard with the words ‘properly sourced wines’.

On a balmy, airless June evening, I stuck to chilled glasses of Eric Nicolas Domaine de Bellivieres Jasnieres Premices - a crisp Loire white with bags of tropical fruit flavours. It was dangerously drinkable.

There are also plenty of interesting wines by the glass and bottle, with well-drilled staff able to give in-depth advice and knowledge on all wines listed.

With just Hearn in the simply equipped galley kitchen, the menu has to be concise and easy to execute.

The food is broadly European with a French and Italian leaning, which adds to the wine bar vibe. You could easily be in the backstreets of Paris or Venice, not downtown Horfield.

After a bowl of meaty Nocellara olives (£4) and really good bread and butter (£4), we enjoyed a generous plate of Jambon de Pays French ham (£9.50) topped with a mustardy celeriac remoulade with plenty of punch.

We also shared a plate of silky-smooth smoked cod’s roe with soft-boiled eggs and cold and crunchy radishes (£8.50).

Next, a cricket ball-sized burratina (£11) with courgettes, crumbled black olives and mint was a perfect summer dish, the coolness of the milky, wobbly cheese working well with the warm courgette and the freshness of the mint.

And then there were five large salt-baked prawns (£15) with a garlicky aioli as thick and glossy as emulsion paint.

To finish, a made-to-order Eton mess (£8) was the perfect tumble of sweet, ripe strawberries, thick cream and crunchy meringue, and a glass of coffee ice cream (£6) as intensely flavoured as it was rich.

This was the most enjoyable meal I’ve had in Bristol so far this year. Excellent wine, big-flavoured and generous food and a buzzy vibe - when it comes to authentic wine bar dining, Cave is the real deal. Just don’t spread the word until you’ve booked.

The Cave shop is open seven days a week but the kitchen is only open Wed-Sat 6pm-9pm.

Cave, 286 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8PD. Tel: 0117 9232358.