BOX-E has for some time now been my default answer to the question “what’s your favourite restaurant in Bristol?”, and I think it would take an awful lot for that to change at this point - certainly this visit has only reaffirmed it. Taking Alasdair for the first time to celebrate a first full preview of his new show, I saw for the first time really just how versatile Elliott’s cooking is, as he adapted the seven course tasting menu to be fully vegan for Alasdair. A triumph, of course. For me, though, a delightful mix of the classics (the trout with brown butter croutons and asaparagus, the hake - always the hake), the new (surprised by the rum baba being dessert, when I know all too well that it’s traditionally the chocolate mousse or the panna cotta), and sometimes both at the same time (the carrot soup this time topped with Elliott’s scallops - how long it’s been since I’ve been in season for those). The wine pairings are of course perfect, the service unbeatable, the ambience to die for out on the covered terrace on a temperate June evening. How deeply satisfying it is to have a place that so unfailingly makes you happy.