EATING OUT:SOME BRIDGES ARE beautiful. The one at the start of Dublin's Grand Canal Quay isn't. It's a dank and dripping railway underpass with trains rumbling over the top.
You have to dip your head or lean at an angle to walk on the footpath under it. At one side of it is the start of the Docklands, at the other the office strip of Clanwilliam Place. This is central casting back street with nothing but offices for a good stretch of damp cobblestones.
A restaurant with candles flickering in storm lanterns set just under the bridge is a bright sight on a wet Friday evening. I’ve passed by the Bridge Bar and Bistro before and spotted hydrangea on the outside tables in pink water, so they look like they’re sitting in carafes of rosé.
It’s a quiet spot with its own turbulent recent history, housed at the bottom of the Malting Tower, a Treasury Holdings building. Treasury sold the restaurant licence last year for what was reported to be a nominal amount (guesses on the back of a bank statement). The new owner is Martina Fox, wife of nightclub owner Robbie Fox.
So the Bridge sits in a distressed asset with little or no passing trade. In all honesty, I’m not expecting to be impressed. Lines about zombie restaurants being laid decently to rest may even be rattling around my head along with a set of preconceptions about empty boom trinkets.
But things look up as soon as we step inside. It’s been a long day and this snug place is instantly welcoming. Warmth is the theme here. There’s a horseshoe-shaped bar in the centre and the iron girders holding up the tall brick building above us are painted black and claret. Around the bar are generous tables with leather banquettes.
The rest of the seating is under the railway bridge arch, the curved roof of which has been upholstered in a soft blue velvet. The effect is a little like sitting inside an expensive quilted handbag. Candlelight, exposed old brickwork and mirrors do their thing to great effect.
It all has the clubby feel of a New York restaurant in one of the swankier neighbourhoods. The old-fashioned feeling also has something to do with the invisibility of the kitchen. It’s tucked away at the back somewhere rather than being on display.
There’s a general air of a hard-working kind of place. The barman who gets us pre-dinner drinks steps out and becomes the waiter as the night goes on.
Textbook breads start us off. Has a memo gone round to all mid-range restaurants specifying three kinds of bread: tomato and fennel, Guinness and some class of soft white? If so, they got it at the Bridge. The black-stuff bread is just out of the oven and has a delicious damp sugary heat to it.
Starter portions are small but excellent. I have two large mouthfuls of Clogherhead crab on crisp garlicky toasts with splodges of yolk-yellow saffron mayo alongside them. The ingredient not listed on the menu description is a circle of fiery chillies in oil circling the crab and laced through the white crabmeat. The heat works well, setting off the freshness of the other ingredients. Liam gets a deep bowl of manly robust flavours (there are plenty of ‘his-n-hers’ contrasts on this menu) with a large chunk of good fried black pudding, a crispy hens egg and spiced cauliflower.
On the waiter’s advice that it’s “famous” he’s gone for a medium rare rib eye steak (€26) for main and it may be one of the few celebrities on the circuit to have earned their fame. Not only is it perfectly cooked, fresh off the griddle seared just brown with almost an inch of luscious pinkness inside, it’s also brilliantly seasoned with just the right amount of cracked pepper and flakes of salt. The chips come in those mini Champagne buckets that are also on the mid-range restaurant memo list (they’re everywhere) and a creamy Bearnaise sauce on the side with loads of fresh tarragon.
I have a delightful bowl of smoked haddock and pea risotto (€18). A touch of the fork prong to the poached egg on top releases a spill of yolk into the creamy risotto, which has had truffle oil drizzled on it to add another deeper note of umami. The peas are bite-perfect, added at the last minute. And a tangle of rocket in a mustardy honey dressing adds a light tangy finish to it all.
We share a dessert of grilled peaches, which are more poached than grilled but delicious nonetheless and topped with toasted almonds. A cranberry juice, a pint of Guinness and a glass of the house white, Lombeline, a Loire Sauvignon Blanc (€7) are forgotten on the initial bill and we get heartfelt thanks from the charming waiters for pointing out the omission. Dinner for two, with drinks, came to €85.20.
Despite my prejudices, I’m very impressed by the Bridge Bar and Bistro. It’s not reinventing the wheel as much as oiling it and making it spin smoothly. Time was mid-range restaurants got away with laziness. Not any more and this standard of excellent cooking in a cosy romantic location has just what it takes.
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Don’t rain on our parade
It's interesting to imagine a possible pitch to the bank manager. “Yes we want to start a small business . . . ice-cream . . . in Dublin . . . yes, we know it’s been raining a lot, but . . .” In a gesture of defiance towards the damp, chef Ian Kehoe and editor Emily Furlong have done just that on Dublin’s Thomas Street. Furlong and Keogh is a cheerful pastel-striped shop beside Cafe Notto, near the Francis Street junction with Thomas Street. Their custard-based ice-cream is delicious and definitely different. I had a gorgeous and generous scoop of rhubarb and custard (€2.40) and the boys sampled salt caramel, pronouncing it delicious. There are 14 flavours, including beetroot and chocolate, lemon meringue and balsamic strawberry. Two scoops brings you to €3.50, three to €4.50. The elderflower and blueberry frozen yoghurt is on my wish list for another visit. And there’s even a bacon and maple ice-cream. For the chillier months they’re promising “chocolate soup” with a choice of flavours.
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Bridge Bar and Bistro
The Malting Tower, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2, tel: 01-639 4941
Music: Background pop
Facilities: Not for bean poles, teeny and tucked in under the copper-lined curve of the bridge's underside.
Food provenance:A commitment to "Irish" beef and poultry, daily fish delivery and house-baked bread
Wheelchair accessible:Yes
