The Weaving Shed

Kingston Road, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1EJ

01225 866519

www.weaving-shed.co.uk

Parking: Available in public car parks in town centre

Disabled access: Yes

Ratings:

Food: 8/10

Choice: 8/10

Décor: 6/10

Customer service: 8/10

Main course prices: From £12.50 to £20

TripAdvisor rating: 4.5/5

EVER since The Weaving Shed opened I've wanted to try the food, and finally after a hard week's work I persuaded my husband we deserved an evening out.

I did suggest we booked, and was vindicated when we arrived to find the place busy with diners. Told we would have to wait for a table we decided a drink at the bar at the far end of the large restaurant would fill the gap nicely, and settled down with a bottle of Polish lager and an elderflower cordial spritzer to begin the evening's relaxation.

In actual fact we were shown to a table well before the 45 minutes we had expected to wait were up, and enjoyed reading through the menu, which was just the right length for us, enough choice to make us dither but not so much making a decision was impossible.

Judging by the savoury smell of sizzling meat quite a few diners that night had gone for one of the steaks, but we didn't feel quite that hungry and were glad to find there were plenty of lighter options.

Tempted by the sound of the special starter, Glenn went for the braised pigs cheeks with pickled wild mushrooms (£7) and pronounced the resulting plate 'very interesting'. The collops of meat were melt-in-the-mouth tender, and the vegetables sharp enough to give good contrast.

For his main course, having checked exactly what the dish included, he chose the parpadelle (£13), being a fan of the artichokes it contained. He said the sheets of pasta were beautifully made and cooked but the lemon sauce didn't have as much tang as he had been expecting and was quite thin, meaning he had to take care not to splash it all down his front.

I liked the sound of the lentil, chickpea and sweet potato pie, with more wild mushrooms and a rosemary

and lemon crust (£12.50). It turned out to be what the Americans call a pot pie, rather than having a pastry case, and the piped sweet potato topping didn't seem particularly lemony or crusty, though you could taste the rosemary in the filling.

It was, however, very good indeed and certainly something I will try and replicate in the Phillips kitchen, as I have been doing more imaginative vegetarian cookery in recent years as a family member is an on/off veggie.

You order your vegetables separately here, and our smoked paprika fries and spring greens sauteed with bacon (both £3.50) complemented the meals well. Both came in large enough portions for us to share - only a hungry teenager could manage a solo portion of the fries.

Having foregone a starter because I'd spotted interesting puddings, I tried the creme brulee (6.75), which came with cherry sorbet, cherries and a crunchy crumb. It was delicious and there was no chance of my sharing it.

The Weaving Shed is definitely a find, although we thought the atmosphere a little warm and noisy, due to the open plan kitchen layout, and were also not sure about the decor. The design challenge in a large former industrial space (which is where the name comes from, as the building was once a riverside mill when cloth was a booming industry in Bradford) with pillars supporting the floor above, is considerable. The spider-like light fittings cast odd shadows and we were not sure what the haybale next to the front door was doing there.

Our bill, with two rounds of drinks, came to £55.55.

Alison Phillips