French, German, French, German, Slovak?!?!..we have travelled to Bratislava, Slovakia today, arriving in the early evening after a day of varied activities…but I will talk about most of them in another post…for now, I have but one thing on my mind! Food…glorious food!
Anyone who knows me, knows I like to eat…and that I am not particularly fussy…so long as it is not going to burn my oesophagus on the way down or crawl back up on it’s own, then generally I like most food. But…every now and again I have a meal which surprises me with it’s taste, texture, presentation and price…good food for a fair price, not too much to ask is it…
Well, this evening, after arriving at the ibis Bratislava Centrum, quite tired and disappointed at having been held up in traffic and a hail storm which meant we missed Courtney singing in the choir tonight, we went out to find somewhere to eat. I didn’t want to walk far…nor spend too much money, and to be honest I was not really in the mood to be going out…poor Dave, I don’t know how he puts up with me sometimes….so satisfaction was challenging from the get go…
Anyway…as we walked out the front doors of the Ibis Hotel onto Zámocka we saw a little brewery bistro across the road. We crossed over to check out the menu and saw that it was reasonably priced though we couldn’t really understand what was on offer and there were several people standing in the doorway smoking (I cannot believe how many people smoke here in Europe, do they not know that it kills you, but that is another story too)…so we decided to keep looking. We didn’t have to look far, just back across the street and up a couple of doors to see another bistro. This one also had smokers out the front, but they were seated and not in the doorway…and there was a kind looking waiter out on the street who smiled a welcome at us…and, the clincher for me, they had their specials written up on two blackboards, one each side of the door…one in Slovak and the other in English!!!
BOCK Bistro Bratislava….looked very nice inside, clean, spacious with smiling staff. We took a seat back a little from the open front windows due to the smokers, though as it started to rain a few minutes later it would not have mattered as they left then anyway. Our waiter, who I think may have been called, Smena, was very patient and thankfully, spoke quite a bit of English! As well as taking our order and serving our drinks and food, he also helped us learn a few Slovak words which will hopefully help make our few days here a little easier.
Hello: Ahoj, sounds like Ahoy
Hi and Bye: Cau, sounds like chow or caio
Thank you: Dákujen, sounds like duck we en
Beer: we cannot remember now, so will just have to try again tomorrow…
Okay, so now to the really good part, the food! Our menus were in Slovak with an English transalation as well, which helped a lot.
Dave ordered the: Dusené telácie licko, ragú zo zeleniny a madárskej klobásy, pecený zemiak (stewed veal cheek ragout from vegetables and Hungarian sausage, hot potato)
Amanda ordered the: Perkett z telácieho lýtka, zemlóvá knedlá (stewed veal calf, roll dumpling and bacon crisp)
I ordered the: Jachñacie lýtko na cervenom vine BOCK, zemiakovo -horcicové pyré, restované kuriatka (Lamb calf on red wine BOCK, mustard mashed potatoes, roasted golden chantelle)
Dave had a local draft beer: Zlatý bazant 10 and a Karpatské brandy
It was all delicious…and I can say that convincingly as I tasted each dish! The flavour was full but not overpowering, the texture…well the lamb shank had the meat falling of the bone with the slightest pressure…and the price, well I cannot tell you yet as we didn’t stop there…
For dessert, we ordered all 3 items on the menu….Creme Bruelle for Amanda; Zacapa jahody (strawberries in a vesty sauce) for Dave and finally a Muffin chocolate dream for me…with the soft molten centre oozing out onto the plate and mixing with the true vanilla cream!!!
So, now, feeling very satisfied that I have enjoyed a wonderful meal for just over €50 (that is for everything), I feel the need to acknowledge the wonderful work of the staff and chef of Bock Bistro Bratislava for their outstanding effort! I know you are just new, but hope that many, many new customers will find you and enjoy the experience of dining in your beautiful bistro!!! If you are reading this and heading to Bratislava, be sure to make note of the location….on Zámocka just up the hill from the Ibis Bratislava Centrum! You can also check them out at www.bockba.sk