Spit/Fire

Blythe’s Verdict

This wasn’t the first time that I’d visited Spit/Fire, nor the first time that we’ve reviewed it on the site, but it did mark the first visit where our emphasis was strongly on the food. And what’s more our inspirational founder MJ was along, so it seemed like too good and opportunity not to write something up.

We were joined by regular guest questers Gary, Susie, Mary and Tracey who have joined at more places than memory can recall.

After a quick intro drink at Fire Bar, below, we took our seats in one of the heated tiled booths. The comfort level wasn’t met with total approval, but there was general acceptance that the place was very smart and the tiling impressive neat.

Our outstandingly helpful waitress was soon stepping us through things as we ordered from their meat-tastic menu, which is strong on rotisserie dishes. Across the six of us we decided that sharing a whole chicken and a half of lamb would take care of the meat, while a selection of sides was added to bring a little greenery to proceedings. This felt like a lot to be ordering, but it proved to be just about right.

When dishes arrived our table was packed with goodies. Once plates had been assembled, we tucked in. The meats were the star of the show, with both the Peruvian spiced chicken and the roast lamb proving outstandingly good. The baked potatoes were just great, too. Salads and greenery was nicely judged and brought good balance. It was an absolutely first rate feed.

After finishing our excellent wine and tasty digestifs, we were left to ponder one of the better meals of 2015.

So overall, Spit/Fire was as good from the food perspective as Our Beer Man had found it from the beer angle. We’d strongly recommend a visit, particularly in a party of about this size (six) where sharing of dishes works so effectively. We look forward to many future visits.

MJ’s Verdict

It’s always good to catch up with friends, in this case the founders of The Bridge Awards, and its even better when we get to go somewhere where we’re fed loads of meaty meat. Enter Spit/Fire.

I made my way down the stairs into the caves of the bar below. The stone walls and low-level lighting made it really cosy (despite the high ceilings) and we were soon catching up over a bottle of wine (bought from upstairs, the bar downstairs doesn’t do wine). But, at some point near our 8pm dining time, they cranked the music up to a level that made it quite hard to hear one another; perhaps the stone walls don’t do acoustics so well.

We retreated upstairs to the heated, tiled booths, and for the first time, I was quite glad to be the one that didn’t have the heat directly on me, as I ended up on a wee cushion. While we contemplated the menu, a bowl of simple but tasty roasted nuts materialised. We opted to split a whole chicken and half lamb. Plus add sides of baked potatoes, asparagus salad, veggies, chips, and deep fried gherkins.

Though I didn’t try the gherkins, they didn’t look familiar to me. As a Southerner, we pride ourselves of frying everything, but even we usually slice up the pickle before battering and frying them. Hit or miss, I’d say.

The baked potato was good, the veggies also good, with the salad one notch up from that. But the real star of the show was the meat. The lamb was delicately flavoured and really very good while the chicken was moist and the skin spiced just right.

The whole thing – minus the coffee, which wasn’t good and we fed back to that effect – was an excellent example of how to do meaty things right. And, it was well priced. I look forward to returning.

Scores
Blythe scores Spit/Fire
4.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4.5/5 for service
giving an overall 16.5/20

Today’s questers: Mary, Miriam, Susie, Tracey, Gary, Blythe

We ate: lamb, chicken, tatties, fries, asparagus, roasted veg, seasonal greens, deep-fried pickles

We drank: white wine, red wine, water, digestifs

We wore: classic karaoke apparel

Total bill: £128