Zanky's - Sardinian Food Comes To Bristol

For the most part I have used this blog to decribe my experiences in Sardinia but last month, on our annual return to my native city of Bristol, we were keen to experience a bit of Sardinia that arrived in the city earlier this year. It was several months ago that a customer at the Post Office where my wife works in Nuoro mentioned to her that his brother was about to open a restaurant in Bristol with his partner. Obviously we were rather curious about this venture and we wanted to find out more. All we knew was that the restaurant was to be called Zanky's and that it would be opening shortly. With Bristol being a city that has a population of around half a million inhabitants I wasn't expecting to discover that the restaurant was situated within 10-15 minutes walking distance of the bed & breakfast where we usually stay. We also found out that Sara Cucca, who runs the restaurant with her partner, the cook Fabio Dindi, was the niece of Mario Cucca the proprieter of the pizzeria and restaurant La Spiaggia delle Barche in Santa Lucia near Siniscola, Sardinia where Optimistic Sound, the band with whom I was a singer, had done two or three concerts. Fabio, Sara e Mario are all from Nuoro originally.

After the restaurant opened in the winter months of 2016-17 we were eager to check on its progress and regularly read the reviews on Facebook and on Trip Advisor to see what their customers thought of it. It came as no surprise that the majority of the customers gave it a five star review because, just as the beauty of the parks and green open spaces are among the things I've missed the most about Bristol after having moved away, I've always said that I would very much miss the quality of the food if I was ever to move away from Sardinia! There was also a very good review from Mark Taylor of the Bristol Post.

So, we were very much looking forward to visiting Zankys on our annual return to Bristol at the beginning of July. In fact, we'd already booked before leaving Nuoro for an evening meal with friends there on Saturday July 1st, the day of our arrival, and for lunch the following Tuesday when some of my relatives were in town. Nobody was disappointed and everyone spoke very highly of the quality of the food and the service. For me it's a wonderful thing that Bristolians can now taste two of my favourite pasta dishes, malloreddus and culurgiones, which aren't too easy to find in the UK. Likewise, mirto is a delicious liqueur not easily obtainable outside Sardinia but it's available at Zanky's and, for me, a glass of mirto is the ideal way to end to an evening out in any Sardinian restaurant. Maria Rita and I were so taken with Zanky's that we ended up going there four times during our ten day stay in Bristol. Highly recommended to everyone!

Maria Rita and I (front) with Fabio and Sara at Zanky's in Bristol