Roly's Bistro

Paolo Tullio's Review

A couple of weeks ago, I listed some of the great deals available to diners around the country. The deals seem to be getting better and better. This week, I got a call from my old friend and suggested we meet for a bite to eat in the new Roly's Bistro in. Roly's, of course, is far from new; it's been going since the early 90s and I've always been a fan. What's new is that the downstairs, which has been open as a bistro only by day, is now open at night [as a café] with a brand new menu.

Before I talk about the food, let me tell you about the wines. Roly's has always been good value for wines, but the café takes value to a whole new level. What about this? The house wines are the Australian Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio and the Barton & both very decent wines. And get this -- they're both listed at €15.95 for the full bottle.

This value extends to the rest of the list. It's not very long, just a dozen wines, but the prices are hard to believe. One of my favourite winemakers is, who makes the Cono Sur wines. His Tocornal, a Merlot, is listed at €19. In fact, only one wine breaks the €20 barrier and this is what we drank -- a Chablis from Febvre that cost €25. That's a wine that's normally listed around the €40 mark. When you consider some of the cheap and nasty wines on offer elsewhere in the €20 to €25 bracket, this looks like the bargain of the century.

Now, value like this can't be given by the restaurant alone. In fact, it turns out this list is possible because the wholesalers, Gilbey's, has taken its share of the cuts. To the best of my knowledge, they're the first wholesaler to do so and I hope this marks a new way of doing business, a new paradigm for the difficult years ahead.

The menu has two novel ideas, both of which I like. The first is the Pops menu, which lists starters that come on sticks (like lollipops) and each one gives you four pieces. So, you can order the tandoori chicken, the tiger prawn wontons, the goat's cheese fritters and the crispy duck dumplings, all of which cost less than €7 and you have a load of food to share around. We were a little greedy and ordered three between the two of us, but it's a great way to pick and mix. I enjoyed the prawns and the chicken, but the goat's cheese fritters were stunningly good.

Apart from the Pops, there are other starters to choose from and all of them come in two sizes and two prices, so you could have one as a main course. There was a choice of a buffalo mozzarella salad, Caesar salad, butternut squash ravioli and grilled Mediterranean vegetables, all around €7 or €12.95 for the big plate.

Not one of the main courses breaks the €20 barrier; the most expensive is the rib-eye steak at €19.50. From the dozen dishes on offer, Paul chose the traditional fish and chips, which was €16, and I had the gourmet burger, at €12.95. These were good dishes, well above standard fare. The chips that came with both were very well done and the Béarnaise sauce accompanying the steak was delicious.

Then we came to the other really good idea on the menu, the desserts. Normally, when I reach this point in a meal, I find my appetite already sated and the thought of a large dessert is too much for me. A solution I often use is to share a dessert, but in Roly's I had another option and I liked it. The dessert menu carried a choice of 12 desserts and they were all priced at €1.95. That's no misprint -- the desserts are less than €2. They're smaller than what you'd usually be handed, but I found that they were exactly the right size for me. If you really were still hungry, you could treat yourself to two and still persuade yourself that you hadn't been greedy. I had the mango cheesecake shot and I tasted the Malteser cheesecake. Should you try this place, I'd recommend both.

The room is what you might expect from a bistro: there are simple wooden tables and chairs and the throughput of people is fast. I watched as people came, ate a dish and drank a glass of wine, then left. That's exactly what a bistro should be -- a place for a quick meal that doesn't break the bank. There are touches, though, that lift the experience, such as proper linen napkins and superb service. I suppose that when a restaurant uses the same kitchen and waiting staff for the bistro level as they do for the restaurant, you get above-average food and service.

I thought that the bistro offers a clever menu. The Pops starters are a good idea-- it's a version of tapas or mezze and it encourages people to try things they mightn't have ordered for themselves. The dessert menu with its small sizes is another good idea. People who wouldn't normally have a dessert would be tempted by the small size and the small price. For people who like desserts a lot, it gives them the opportunity to try more than one without gorging. And, lastly, the wine list, though short, is by far the best value list in the city. You can even order a small glass of the house wines for €2.95.

The wines, the Pops starters and the desserts combine to make extraordinarily good value. Three starters, two main courses, three desserts and a bottle of Chablis brought our bill to €72.75.