Freddy and Nessa Bird open Clifton Village restaurant

Freddy and Nessa Bird's new restaurant, 1 York Place, has opened on the outskirts of Clifton Village in Bristol. 

The 46-cover neighbourhood bistro spotlights top-quality European produce. It offers an informal yet impeccable approach to food, wine and ambience, a style of hospitality for which the couple is well-known. 

The crew at 1 York Place have worked closely in and around Bristol, as well as in the Bird's restaurant Little French and at their café-bakery Littleshop. 

1 York Place offers a classic à la carte menu alongside an affordable wine list curated by Freddy himself. The menu draws inspiration from Freddy's culinary career, from his training at Ballymaloe Cookery School to working at the prestigious two Michelin-starred The Square with Phil Howard, and at Moro with Sam  Clark. 

 The menu will visit all corners of Europe, executed in Freddy's distinctive style. Bar snacks include Sicilian winter tomatoes with smoked pork belly; poached oyster, English vermouth, trout roe and dill. Starters include surf clams, confit tomato and chilli; and potato soup with black truffle and chanterelles. Launch mains include ricotta gnudi; whole squid stuffed with pork rib and trotter rice; and hake with caramelised fennel, saffron, anis and clams. 

The chef has also devised several dishes made for sharing. These include platters of hot roast shellfish with tarragon garlic and parsley butter; whole wood-grilled monkfish tail and rosemary mateca; and roast suckling pig shoulder and fabada. Sides include potato purée with whipped bone marrow and beef gravy. 

The lunchtime menu offers several daily plates, including truffle tagliatelle; migas - butifarra; cotechino, Umbrian lentils and salsa verde; schnitzel holstein, rocket, artichoke, Parmesan and more. 

The restaurant's ethos centres on building a community with other small, independent and family-led businesses, including the food and drink producers it works with, both on the continent and closer to home in Bristol. 

The space has been designed and conceived by Nessa Bird, inspired by a recent trip to Copenhagen. It is stylish and comfortable, drawing on Scandi influences with a boho Bristol twist. 

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