I’m often asked where I like to eat when I’m not working. Not that, in my professional life, I go and eat in restaurants that I don’t want to visit; far from it. And if, by the way, I end up finding fault with a restaurant that I’ve been formally commissioned to share my published opinion on, I tell the restaurant, not the readers of any given publication I work for; I believe that’s a far more constructive, honest approach to my job than trying to make a name for myself as a nasty, know-it-all snark. Anyway!
The weather was doing its traditional British early July thing (as in, pleasantly warm with a soft breeze), the restaurant I had earmarked for a commissioned review had gone all T&C weird on me (a lucky escape in more ways than one, from what I now know) and Mike and I were in the mood for a celebratory date night.
The city centre was crowded, but Bath’s elegant north-west environs always provide a genteel, far-from-the-madding-crowd escape plan. And so it came to pass that we headed for The Crescent Restaurant and Bar on Margaret’s Buildings, the pretty, pedestrianised, independent business-lined thoroughfare that grounds the iconic landmarks around it (that’ll be the Royal Crescent and The Circus, then) with a down-to-earth upmarket neighbourhood vibe.
2 Margarets Buildings has a long-standing foodie history. When I first moved to Bath it was Papillon (“the home of the perfect steak-frites!”). When Papillon flew away, Rustico thrived at the same address until circa 2021… and both remain to be much-missed.
But life moves on, and I’ve had the Crescent on my radar since Leanne and Simon – a couple with a long, impressive history in hospitality – opened the doors to their sweet little watering hole not long after Rustico closed theirs (Rustico owners Franco and Darix, by the way, continue to vibe le dolce vita at Pane e Vino on St James Street.)
The Crescent isn’t French, or Italian, or purporting to be “European”. It’s just (but definitely not ‘only’) a classic British bistro that offers a thoughtfully-balanced, broad-appeal menu from breakfast through to suppertime with a couple of daily specials keeping things lively for regulars.
Can you book a pavement table here? Yes indeed you can! And so we did, and turned up at the appointed hour more than ready to catch up on lost time.
Gosh, one could while away many hours here, appointed or otherwise; it’s a friendly, stylish little oasis of cool, calm shade clearly popular with locals, regulars and tourists alike, all of whom made me feel embarrassed for coming so late to the Crescent party.
To start, for me, a fully-loaded kilner jar packed with chunks of poached (I think?) salmon, smoked salmon and chubby prawns bound with a creamy dill dressing, topped with ribbons of pickled cucumber and accompanied by shards of baguette. For him, a chunky, funky ham hock terrine, tickled with parsley and teamed with piquant onion and tomato chutney, served with his own little tumble of bread. My starter was elegant, his was robust, and both were generous in flavour and proportion.
For the main event, I couldn’t move past the salmon burger… and I’m glad I didn’t: a sweet, tender salmon patty sharpened by ginger and chilli, topped with rocket and red onion and supported by sweet potato fries and a zinging lime mayonnaise. His hake Special, meanwhile, made its own splash: a whopping great fillet indeed, resting on a lake of smooth pea purée with sautéed potatoes adding a ‘posh chips’ vibe and samphire bringing briny, surf-evocative bling to the party.
The conversation flowed; a parade of beautiful dogs strolled past on the heels of their friendly owners; the New Zealanders at the next table to ours, picking at antipasti while waiting for their washing to dry in the launderette next door, said that if they lived in Bath they’d pretty much live at the Crescent Restaurant – again, I felt embarrassed for living up the road and only just making my own discovery.
Nicely woozy after so much grub and a surfeit of thoroughly decent rosé, I barely even touched the Milk Chocolate Mousse that he’d ordered “to share” (hah!), but I had enough of it to know that it was as good as chocolate mousse gets, as were the boozy cherries that adorned it.
Where do restaurant critics go and eat when they’re not working? The Crescent Restaurant, at long last – and, from here on in, definitely more than once every five years.
The Prandial Playground, Bath and Beyond... 