The Serve: Northern Git in Thornbury has a new fan

It was the name that grabbed my attention first, "northern git" being a charming sobriquet that can be hurled at an Englishman hailing from the grittier parts of Empire. But having learned that chef and owner Michael Slade was born in 'alifax ("that's with an 'H'," he explained), Yorkshire, and noting that this restaurant is in the upper reaches of High Street, Hipsterville, it all started to make sense. Northern Git is without airs and graces but with a strong sense of hospitality: you'll be well fed and watered and feel relaxed the whole time.

The large dining room is overlooked by a spray-paint mural of a brooding streetscape (Cam Scale on the cans). Slade is a meat-lover (he was head chef at Carlton's carnivorous La Luna), but Thornbury flesh-eaters tend to have vegetarian friends so there's big love for vegetables too. That's exemplified by the farro, a nutty grain cooked in vegan stock with mustard seeds and smoked paprika, which is then assembled into a pretty pile with herbed yoghurt, roasted mushrooms, watercress and cheesy crisps.

I think we're all used to shared dishes these days but steak is often a stumbling block. Slade sorts that out by offering his grass-fed, aged-here beef in 100-gram increments and serving it in deliciously pink, juicy slices with proper red wine jus.

On Sundays there's a roast dinner, served in single portions or family-style; a recent version featured Yorkshire pudding and rosemary potatoes along with the beef. I love the pork schnitzel that’s on the pubby classics section of the menu. Hot English mustard is slathered on the pork before it’s coated in a parmesan and parsley crumb and fried to a crunchy, golden crisp. English beer is another special topic, as is offal, and I reckon you've got to love a git who makes it as easy to try tripe as to feast on farro.

The large dining room is overlooked by a spray-paint mural of a brooding streetscape.

Dani Valent