Pump House

Merchants Road, Hotwells, Bristol, BS8 4PZ. Tel: 0117 927 2229

The line between restaurants and pubs has become so blurred in some gastropubs that the first question customers are asked is "have you booked a table?"

That was never the original idea of gastropubs when they first emerged in the early 1990s. They were supposed to be pubs that served great food at an affordable price, not restaurants that also happened to sell real ale.

Although the Pump House has a separate restaurant upstairs, you can order from the a la carte menu or the bar menu wherever you sit.

A popular waterfront pit stop for walkers and cyclists, the Pump House tries to cater for all, whether it's a quick bite and a pint or a three-course meal with wine.

The short A5 bar snack menu is full of temptations. There's a Butcombe beer and Barkham Blue rarebit with red onion jam and onion rings (£7), a ploughman's comprising Westcombe vintage Cheddar, pickled onions and date and tomato chutney (£7.50) and fish and chips with "bashed" peas and tartare sauce (£10.50) – all of which would go very nicely indeed with pints of the Severn Vale Session ale I ordered before my lunch.

The Pump House is a surprisingly comfortable place despite its size and it has a farmhouse or converted barn feel with its scrubbed pine tables, leather armchairs, sofas and abundant fresh flowers in brown bottles.

A tall Welsh dresser next to the bar is piled high with Kilner jars of pickles and chutneys made on the premises and there are baskets of rustic bread still warm from the oven.

Chef/owner Toby Gritten used to cook at The Albion in Clifton and Bell's Diner in Montpelier and it's this mixed background of gastropub and fine dining that forms the solid cooking foundations in the kitchen.

Gritten is as passionate about using wild and foraged ingredients as he is making use of local produce and his menus are fiercely seasonal.

We ordered from the a la carte menu to give the kitchen a proper test, starting with hot cured mackerel with pickled Yorkshire Triangle rhubarb, Serrano ham and watercress puree (£7.50) and what was described as simply "pig's head" (£8).

Served on a vast piece of slate (Gritten is one of those chefs who likes to use boards and slates as much as plates), the mackerel dish was beautifully presented.

The moist, juicy mackerel had been rolled and wrapped in a crisp overcoat of Serrano ham, which looked like a neatly shaped sushi roll.

An artful smear of vibrant green watercress puree separated the mackerel and the cluster of candy pink pickled rhubarb pieces, the vinegary edge cutting through the rich oiliness of the fish and ham.

This big, punchy flavour fest was refereed by a small pile of lamb's lettuce leaves and tiny capers. It was a dish with a lot going on but the marriage of flavours and textures was a harmonious one.

The pig's head was an even more elaborate dish and one with a considerable wow factor.

A bottom layer of red chilli- flecked dressed crab of incredible freshness was topped with a seared slice of Bath chap (an old-fashioned English dish comprising the boned and rolled cheek and jowl of a pig) and a small hockey puck-sized kromeski (a breadcrumbed, deep-fried ball) filled with brawn (more bits of the pig's head) and a final topping of crisp shards of pig's ear.

Around the piggy stack was a rich and frothy crab foam made with a good shellfish stock. This was nose-to-tail eating of the highest order.

The starters raised the bar for the main courses, but they certainly rose to the challenge. Best of all was the butter roast John Dory (£17.50) – two precisely cooked fillets of this delicious fish served with spankingly fresh Palourde clams, excellent black pudding and slices of earthy Jerusalem artichoke.

The Cornish gurnard and shrimp (£15.50) wasn't quite as memorable. The brown shrimp and walnut crust on the fish was a little bland and masked the flavour of the fish, which was a shame as it was beautifully cooked.

The roasted pink fir apple potatoes and buttered kale added a nice earthy edge but it was a dish that didn't quite live up to its billing.

Despite the lure of warm bitter chocolate fondant with Tahitian vanilla ice cream, Pedro Ximinez raisins and salt caramel (£7) and brandy and walnut tart with Devonian clotted cream, coffee and toffee (£6), we could only manage a shared dessert, so plumped for the apple and pear tart tatin with apple crumble ice cream and Poire William syrup (£7.50).

A disc of excellent pastry topped with a deep layer of soft, buttery slices of fruit bathed in syrup, it was a delicious, if knee-trembling, end to lunch.

The Pump House opened just before the recession kicked in and it has been a bumpy ride at times but by staying true to itself and by adapting slightly to what customers want, it has ridden the storm and emerged a stronger business.

This was an impressive meal by any standards and if it can keep serving food of this quality and consistency, it will be around for a very long time and certainly long after the term "gastropub" has been banished from the culinary dictionary.

Wheelchair access: Yes

Prices: Bar menu from £3.50; A la carte starters from £5.50; main courses from £15; desserts from £6

Food: 9

Atmosphere: 8

Value: 8

Service: 9

Overall: 9