Brace & Browns

We booked without realising the menu had recently changed but we were not disappointed. Lovely flavourful menu with something for everyone. Lots of gluten free and veggie options. Empanadas were a particular highlight. Really good service and friendly staff. Will definitely be coming back soon!

I thought Brace & Browns was a lovely little place in Bristol on Whiteladies Road. It is in a good little location and was easy enough to find. I went to Brace & Browns for a Prosecco Brunch to celebrate my friend’s birthday. When I arrived I found the decor when we first came in through the bar entrance to be very simple and to be honest my first thought was that it looked a little bit empty. When we arrived we were seated at our table which was actually downstairs, when we first arrived it was just us sat in that area which was really nice as it was quiet and very low key. Due to having quite a big table we had to place our main course order in advance which was fine. For my main course I ordered the b&b Burger off of their Prosecco Brunch menu which was a Homemade Burger, Mature Cheddar & Smoked Bacon. I ordered my burger with a Gluten Free Bun but not because I have to eat Gluten Free food due to an intolerance but I knew we would be going out so I didn’t want to eat bread which I knew would bloat me. The Prosecco Brunch worked out at £34 for 3 courses plus bottomless Prosecco. I didn’t actually drink the Prosecco so I had the option of unlimited soft drinks instead. The staff were really prompt at changing the bottles of Prosecco once they were empty, I did have to keep asking for soft drinks but that was ok. When our starters came out they looked delicious, they were presented on a serving board and you just help yourself fo the starters from there. After those came out a portion of ‘Gluten Free’ ones came out and we were a bit confused as no one had ordered a gluten free starter however it turns out this was mine because I had ordered Gluten Free for the main. The starters came out and it worked out as exactly 3 small bites each. I also had a portion of 3 small bites, 2 were slightly different to the non gluten free option however they were all delicious - I wish there was more. The mains came out shortly after. The mains came out correctly and I did have a gluten free bun with my burger. Everyone on our table of 10 had ordered a burger bar 2 people. The burger was nice, and the ingredients were fresh. It was a little bit dry but it was still nice. It would have been a lot better had the main came out with a side of fries, or side salad or something which would have made it a lot better. The desserts also came out presented on a serving board and again it was one portion per person (a very small portion). Like the starters a gluten free option came out - although again I had only ordered a gluten free bun, and I was bitterly disappointed by what I had. Everyone else for their pudding had a very small slice of cake with some poached pairs and a sauce over the top and I had a 4 slices of poached pear and about 5 pieces of poached pineapple. Overall the food was nice and it was really tasty but I felt the portion sizes could be a bit bigger. I feel it would be nice to offer options for starters and desserts as well as the main course, even if it was 3 options to chose from instead of being given no choice and just finding out on the day what it was, as some people didn’t like the starters or dessert. Prior to the meal I felt the restaurant should have asked if all of the courses needed to be Gluten Free instead of just assuming as I would have eaten the normal starter and dessert. The staff were friendly and welcoming although at times I would say it was difficult to see who was staff and who was not as there wasn’t a uniform nor were any of the staff wearing badges. After our Prosecco Brunch we decided to sit outside on the terrace area and have a few more drinks. I went up to the bar to order myself a gin and tonic and chose a gin from their drinks menu. I was told upon ordering that they didn’t have that particular gin so I then decided to chose a different one and again I was told they didn’t have this one. This was extremely frustrating as it was a Saturday after all and you would have thought they would have stock of popular gins if they were offering them on the menu.