If you live in Bristol and you like food, chances are you have a list longer than your arm of eateries you want to try out. I certainly do. One of those places was Tare, so I took my boyfriend for a belated birthday treat a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve heard great things about Tare since it opened in Cargo 2, but didn’t make it down there for almost a year, for one reason or another. Similarly to Box-E, it’s a small restaurant (20 covers) situated at Wapping Wharf, with an outside terrace too – which is great when the weather behaves – I had a couple of glasses of fizz there overlooking the river before my birthday night out back in May.

Everything on the menu sounded wonderful, but we made our decisions pretty quickly. After ordering, we were given a delicious little tartlet each – lovely fresh flavours, which really got our tastebuds going and made us eager for more. Some olives and bread were also brought over while we waited for our starters.

I went for the roast red pepper soup, after seeing someone else have it and being enticed by the colour. The flavours were just as rich, and it was so smooth. I don’t often go for soups as a starter, but I’m really glad I did this time. He had Wye Valley asparagus, confit egg yolk & orange hollandaise. This is not a combination I would’ve thought of, but that orange hollandaise really worked, and made the dish something special.

For our mains, we both decided upon the Pipers Farm lamb rump, cauliflower, raisin and toasted almond. Other than the raisin element, which I found too sweet, the meal was gorgeous. The meat was pink and tender, the cauliflower had different textures, and the jus was so flavoursome. That is indeed a little samosa on the side, containing some amazing slightly spiced pulled lamb – I think this was my favourite part of the dish, although it’s hard to choose from so many delectable things.

Dessert came around and he had the white chocolate cheesecake with rhubarb compote, and I went for the lemon semifreddo with shortbread, basil and meringue. Both were so pretty, as you can see, and delicious too. The basil and lemon in mine were so zesty and fresh.

So Tare did not disappoint at all – it stood up to and exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed every single course so much, and all the food was both beautiful and full of flavour. Another wonderful place that really shows the care and passion that goes into their food, and it won’t break the bank to enjoy an evening there.