Steak Review | Yurt Lush
I’m sick to the back teeth of sitting in restaurants and pubs, with their high ceilings, their cornices, their curtains to stop the glare. How I long for some sort of alternative dining experience, one ideally with a pun-tastic name. Luckily for me, I walk past the delightful Yurt Lush everyday on my way to work. This venue is very aptly named, for not only is it a yurt in the very literal sense, but it is also very lush, especially on a sunny day when you can sit outside on their wooden benches and admire their tea garden, or perhaps indulge in a game of ping pong to work up an appetite.
Run by the team behind Eat Drink Bristol Fashion,Yurt Lush has become a permanent fixture in Temple Quay, unlike its tepee cousins in Queen Square. All year round you can pop in for breakfast,lunch, or join them for their famous Sunday roast. Their meat and vegetables are organic and sourced from their community farms on the outskirts of Bristol. The aim of this place is to be as sustainable as possible, so you can feel good about your food whilst you happily munch away.
The reason for my visit on this occasion was to sample their Steak Night deal – every Wednesday evening the yurt is given over to celebrating meat, with the bargain offering of steak, chips, salad, mushrooms and a glass of wine for £12.50. On the night I visited there was also the option of beef brisket instead of rump steak, but I decided to stay focused, like a true pro and not-risk-it-on-the-brisket.
My rare steak was full of flavour and had a great texture, it’s hard to know if the heart-warming back story to the meat enhanced its flavour in a real sense or just influenced me into *thinking* that, but in any case, it tasted good, and that’s what you want to hear, no? The triple cooked chips were also gorgeous – nice and crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.
I opted for a lemon and tarragon butter with my steak, but immediately regretted that once I saw my companion’s peppercorn sauce; it was rich and creamy and one of the finest specimens of pepper sauce that I’ve tried – that may seem like a trivial statement, but anyone who knows me knows how much I like a well-made condiment or sauce, and so this is an accolade of the highest degree.
Overall, the food was tasty, well presented and filling, and the fact that you’re only shelling out just over ten pound for this and a glass of wine is quite a comforting fact in itself, without the cosy surroundings of the yurt around you. It may be a little off the beaten track if you don’t live or work around Temple Meads, but I reckon Yurt Lush is worth the diversion, whether you’re after quality food in a casual setting, or just something a bit different.
