Forster’s Bistro and Deli, Bradford

This city centre restaurant is run by Forster Community College which gifts all its profits back to the college and is a great addition to the City Park.

I went for the fish and chips with minted mushy peas which was very reasonably priced at £6.95.

The fish had great big chunks, was incredibly tasty. However, we were back on the skin on/skin off issue and whilst I can see that it might be tricky for a fish with such big chunks to hold together for deep frying for me it doesn’t work in terms of flavour as I can’t eat it. The batter the fish came in was light and a little too oily but was a good, no-nonsense traditional batter.

The chips were like your mam used to make them. Hand cut, with the odd tiny bit of skin on them, they were reasonably cooked but I would have given them a couple more minutes in the fryer to crisp up some more but they did have a lovely light floury flavour. They came as a side dish as yet again Forster’s had decided to move away from the traditional circular plate. This time it was a plate with a deep well in its middle which I’ve found out is called a deep plate – which is interesting. It worked OK for the fish and peas but less well when you added the chips and hence the need for these to be in a side dish. The outside edge of the well did make for a very handy circular mini-table to rest the squeezed lemon and inedible skin on but it would have looked better on a more ‘normal’ plate.

A beautiful puree of minted peas contributed enormously to the enjoyment of the meal with a subtly to the flavours which worked really well with the fish. The tartare was lemon zesty and really well balanced, the lemon was a fine size and the only problem was the vinegar. It came in a jug and needed tremendous dexterity to pour just the right amount on the chips without drowning them completely. 

To drink, I had an unremarkable bottle of Saltaire Blonde which wasn’t helped by being too cold followed by a stunning glass of Soldiers Block Shiraz.

Forster’s is a great example to other towns and cities of what colleges that have hospitality related courses can do to add to the culinary offering of a centre. The staff, many of whom are students at the college, clearly understand what high quality customer service is and delivered a quietly efficient experience even though they were rushed off their feet. A real pleasure to have visited.