HAVING taken the risk of not booking a table on a busy Friday night in Bath, my visit to Browns was something of a last minute, last gasp chance at eating out.

After finding a seat in the outside area at the front of the restaurant my girlfriend and I were quickly brought our menus and we ordered drinks, an Adnams Southwold Bitter (£4.55) and a cocktail (£7.50).

By chance we had decided to go for the meal on a bank holiday weekend and so there was a special menu offering two courses for £19.95 or three for £23.95, with a good selection of dishes to pick from.

I decided to go for the asparagus and prosciutto ham with poached egg and hollandaise to start and she went for prawn cocktail with Marie Rose sauce, brioche croutons and semi-dried cherry tomatoes with multi-seed toast.

My egg was well-cooked and the asparagus not too soggy, although in an ideal world I would have liked more than one slice of ham.

For my main I decided to go for what I felt was a risky choice with ribs. In my limited experience I’ve never really enjoyed them, often having to prise flecks of meat from a bone the size of a toothpick.

I’m glad to say that was about to change; the ribs at Browns were one of the nicest and tastiest dishes I have ever enjoyed.

There was plenty of meat on the bones, which were much larger than I was expecting and the BBQ sauce was superb. The meat effortlessly peeled away, perfectly accompanied by some seasoned fries and some coleslaw (which was the only disappointing thing about the meal as it was too creamy).

Becky decided to go for pan fried seabass fillets with risotto and mushrooms which she found tasty and filling, although I suspect not as nice as I found the ribs.

With room to spare we decided to go for desserts – salted caramel profiteroles for me and a cherry, apple and almond pie for her.

The desserts were great, not too sweet and just the right amount to round off a great evening of eating.

The food at Browns had been fantastic, the service was great, the setting brilliant and without doubt another visit won’t be far off.

The total bill came to £59.95.

Browns
Old Police Station, Orange Grove, Bath, BA1 1LP
Phone: 01225 461199
Website: www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/restaurants/southwest/bath

Parking: No
Disabled access: Yes

Gazette ratings:
Food: 9/10
Choice: 8/10
Décor: 7/10
Customer service: 9/10

Main course prices: £4.95-£23.95

Trip Advisor rating: 3.5/5