Rapheal Restaurant and Bar - mouthwatering Parisian and European cuisine in the heart of Bath

THE CHRONICLE- February 2006

We don’t really do Valentine’s Day in our house. As my mother used to say about Mothering Sunday: “If you can’t be nice to me the rest of the year, I don’t want a big fuss then.”

The very professional French waiter let us choose our table – the whole place is non-smoking which makes it easer. And as it was a chilly night, we went through to the far end of the room, beyond the bar and as far away from the street entrance as we could. What was once an old Bath city pub is now fitted out like a French bistro, with small polished wooden tables and gleaming bottles racked up along the wall. The atmosphere was relaxed but an air of efficient hung over the place.

We felt welcomed as soon as we arrived at our table, where a bottle of red wine stood with a brown label tied around its neck that may have well read to m e like Alice in Wonderland ‘drink me’. It didn’t actually. This was the recommended wine of the day, a smooth, slightly fruity red Chateau Lariveau.

The menus are brought round on little clipboards – again re-inforcing the impression that there is a system in place. And, we noticed, as meals were ready to come down (or up?) from the kitchen via dumb waiter, a discreet bell was rung to the waiting staff could swoop by and pick up the dishes promptly.

A bowl of plump, juicy lemon-zested olives kept us amused until our starters came. We were also enjoying the conversion from couples around us, several of whom were clearly regulars. This is not the kind of restaurant you go if you want to tell your partner you’re pregnant, or that the clinic results are through – everyone can hear everything. There is a bit of background music, but not enough to chatter under. So we were reduced to a quiet murmur of chat, which soon stopped as we fell on our delicious starters.

His was a crab clement mousse (£5.95), while mine was a red pepper and tarragon soufflé with a warm rocket salad (£5.65. The savoury soufflé had been made with a light, deft touch to melt in the mouth against the peppery tang of the rocket leaves.

The final indulgence before our cold, cold walk to the bus stop and home was a liquor coffee each. We hadn’t had one of these for years – it’s the thing I miss most about the old Bernie Inn experience of my distant youth. The glass of coffee, topped with innocent looking cream, but laced with dangerous liquor, which seeps into your veins. Mine was an Irish, his a Parisian (with Courvoiser.)

With this final, and excellent, finale, at he bill got pushed up to £80.10. Not bad, considering the excellent service, superb food and pleasant surroundings. Like General Macarthur; we will return.

VENUE - April 2005

You can’t just spring surprises on Bathonians, particularly in restaurant world – come on, this is a city that prides itself on teashops that have been here since 1482. So, when Raphael took over where the original version of the Bath Café Rouge left off a couple of years ago, they shrewdly clad the iron first of change and vision in a lovely vintage velvet glove, thus retaining existing fans and allowing the newbies to feel as though they’d discovered this little gem for themselves.

On the night Venue revisited Raphael, it took us half an hour to make our choices. It’s not that the range is huge, but the combinations are the stuff of foodie dreams. We eventually plumped for starters of gorgonzola and watercress soufflé and roasted peppers stuffed with thyme tomatoes and goat’s cheese mousse (£4.95 / £4.45). For mains, we eventually eschewed the specials board (which boasted some imaginative fresh fish dishes), me for the guinea fowl (£13.25) with all sorts of posh confit and sauce trimmings while he-who-must-be-adored went for a sirloin steak (£13.45). That he chose this seemingly prosaic choice from a menu that soared to much more imaginative heights was a savvy move on his part: where Ramsay has his famous poached egg test for his chefs, I prefer to use steak as the indicator. The wine arrived (the French house is highly recommended), a 1980s chanteuse crooned through the speakers, and just as we embarked in the start of a good, tense fight (our fault, not Raphael’s), the starters came along to shut us both up.

It’s hard to keep on bickering in surroundings as bonhomie-laden as this. Raphael has unfolded its wings and soared to gastro-heaven. No wonder the place is named after an angel.

BATH LIFE- April 2005

We sat by an open window in Raphael's stylish ground-floor dining room, and enjoyed an unsurpassed view of the Theatre Royal. We were able to see the playbills on display outside, and a sharper pair of eyes might even have made out the cast lists. Certainly we were close enough to see the audience milling in the foyer before the curtain went up. No surprise that Raphael’s pre- and post-theatre menu is such a local favourite.

At the same time, we were treated to a surprise visit from one of Bath’s famous horse-drawn carriages, which pulled to a halt outside the restaurant. The horse put its head enquiringly through the restaurant side door; perhaps, we thought, it was touting for business.

Raphael prides itself on being a combination of Parisian charm and gourmet cooking in the centre of Bath. Its long and elegant dining room is divided into two sections, which are separated by the bar, the rear section accommodating non-smokers.

For the main course we were tempted by the Catch of the Day from the specials board, but eventually pumped for pan-roasted French trimmed breasts of chicken with spring onion and pepper basmati rice, and a basil and chorizo sausage cream sauce (£11.95); and pan-fried breasts of duck with sautéed courgettes, and potatoes in honey, lemon and caramelised onion and red wine sauce (£12.95). Both dishes combined fresh and fine ingredients that were properly cooked, clean tasting and full of flavour.

Service throughout was good humoured (very refreshing), low key, and gracious, and we were made to feel most welcome.

One of the advantages of dining out in this area of the city – apart from the traffic free zones, and the beautiful Georgian surroundings, of course – is the range of quality restaurants. Raphael, with its Parisian charm and fine cuisine, is most certainly one of them.

BATH LIFE - October 2004

From where the wine and dine duo sat, by an open window, you can see the playbills on display outside the Theatre Royal. A sharp pair of eyes could probably even make out the cast lists. Certainly at Raphael we were getting close enough to see the playgoers milling in the foyer before the curtain went up on one of Sir Peter Hall’s eagerly anticipated productions.

The starters we chose were real appetizers: grilled chilli and lemon asparagus spears on a cherry tomato and quail’s egg salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil (£4.95) and vodka and beetroot infused organic salmon gravadlax served on pesto pancakes with horseradish crème fraiche (£4.95). The gravadlax would have scored top marks had it not been a shade too salty. The wine list offers good choice at all levels but there is naturally a strong French contingent. We chose a dry and fruity appellation Chablis (£14.95) – a perfect accompaniment to the meal, and there are several wines by the glass from £3.50

We couldn’t help but notice a cheerful French family seated nearby, the youngest (probably eight or nine) tucking into a sizeable plate of moules, coping admirably with the shells. It was hard to imagine this UK counterpart, reared on fast food and takeaways, being so inclined.

Only a stage whisper from one of the country’s most beautiful theatres, this restaurant is an irresistible combination of gourmet cooking and Parisian charm.