The Muset by Ronnie

12-16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1AF. Tel: 0800 8494411

Four years after opening the eponymous Ronnies in Thornbury, Ron Faulkner's second venture sees the South African chef resurrecting one of Bristol's best-known restaurants.

The Muset in the heart of Clifton was one of the city's most popular restaurants throughout the Eighties and Nineties.

Famous for its BYO (bring your own) wine policy, it was a Bristol stalwart for three decades until last year when it became a victim of the recession and the building was put up for sale.

The Muset's demise was timely for Ron Faulkner as he had been looking for a prime Bristol site for a while.

After four years in Thornbury, it was time to expand his business and Clifton ticked all the right boxes.

Ronnies became an overnight success when it opened in 2007. Within two years, it was named Restaurant of The Year by the Good Food Guide and it attracted national reviews.

Ronnies is still going strong and Faulkner will be splitting his time between the two sites, but for the time being he will be cooking mainly at the newly opened Muset by Ronnie.

He is joined in the kitchen by David Underwood, a young chef whose CV includes the Michelin-starred Soho restaurant Arbutus.

Front-of-house, Faulkner has also employed Biagio Iacono, who previously worked at Hotel du Vin & Bistro in Bristol and Henley-on-Thames. It is certainly a strong team and this is clearly a restaurant that already has its sights on recognition in the major food guides.

The building has been given a complete makeover and it is very different to the old Muset, which was very faded and jaded by the end.

For starters, the main entrance has been moved back to the original front of the building, next to the Lansdowne pub, and there is a smart and comfortable bar where you can enjoy aperitifs before your meal.

Climb the stairs and you find the first part of the dining room, complete with a "chef's table" with television screens transmitting live pictures of the chefs at work in the basement table.

Turn the corner and the rest of the dining area occupies an L-shaped room with exposed brick walls and fireplaces, cream leather banquettes and burnt orange lamps positioned above dark wood tables.

The fact that tables are not covered with white linen hints at a more informal, relaxed feel to what is clearly fine dining and the service is unstuffy and chatty.

Faulkner, who once worked for Anton Mosimann in London, is unashamedly old school in his approach to cooking. The food has to be seasonal and he sources predominantly local produce, but presentation is important and there is clearly a strong skills set in this kitchen.

Although a sub-£10 set lunch menu is about to kick in, the prices on the la carte menu are high end, and Faulkner is clearly trying to attract the sort of crowd that eats in places such as Bell's Diner or Casamia.

Although you could eat well from the a la carte for about £27 per person before drinks, you could also eat your way through £40 worth of food without even looking at the wine list. But then this is a restaurant located in an area where people can and will pay good money for a night out.

The food itself is modern European and refreshingly free from trendy froths and foams. Faulkner cut his culinary teeth in the Nineties and this comes through in the menu and the presentation which is pretty classic.

Dishes are complete and generous enough not to really need sides, although they are there if you want them.

A signature dish of Ronnie's is Lyme Bay scallops with garlic purée, pancetta and sage and it appears again here as a starter.

It's a great dish – the three plump scallops having a sweetness that works brilliantly with the silky garlic purée and crisp pancetta. OK, at £11, it is not the cheapest starter, but it is arguably the best way to kick-start a meal here.

The 12-hour pork belly with Clonakilty black pudding, chorizo and apple (£8) is another well-conceived dish. The small block of belly was rich and moist, although the crackling needed to be crisper. The black pudding and matchsticks of crisp, sharp apple added textural contrast and the acidity of the fruit cut through any richness.

Badminton Estate venison with swede, prune and chocolate (£20) may sound an ambitious combination, but it worked. The pink lozenges of venison were rare, as soft as velvet and snuggling up to a teardrop of sweet swede purée. The smear of dark chocolate underneath added an intense bitter cocoa hit and nuggets of prune provided a sweet, sticky edge. It was certainly a dish that had the taste buds working overtime.

A roast canon of lamb (£19.50) was beautifully cooked. Beneath the herb crust, the two thick slices of meat were tender and pink, with a pillow of buttery leeks and rosemary-flavoured Boulangere potatoes completing the package.

Although neither main course was gargantuan, they were substantial and rich enough to make desserts a bit of a struggle.

A well-made quince trifle (£6) studded with hazelnuts was overly generous and I had to wave the white flag halfway through.

A delicately spiced honey poached pear with mascarpone sorbet (£5.50) was a lighter, more refreshing end to proceedings.

This was a meal of confident cooking in a restaurant that clearly has ambitions to become one of Bristol's premier fine dining experiences. If it can deliver food this consistently after the launch period, I have little doubt that it will achieve its goal.

And, let's face it, two Ronnies have to be better than one.

Wheelchair access: Yes (and toilets)

Prices: Starters from £6.50; main courses from £15.50; desserts from £5. Set lunch of £9.75 for two courses starts March 1.

Food: 8

Atmosphere: 8

Value: 8

Service: 8

Overall: 8