Review
The Bridge Bar in Chapelizod is a lovely waterside pub that has had a very sympathetic and tasteful makeover and now serves great food in a casual and comfortable setting.
Chapelizod is one of the prettiest villages in Dublin. Charming red brick houses and colourful pubs and businesses lend it a charming feel and the Bridge is a perfect addition. The bar sits on the south side of the bridge and the side wall is effectively the rivers siding.
Inside the bar has been tastefully restored and there is a rowing theme running through the art on the walls. The dining section is over by the river, and the windows that run down the wall frame the bridge and the Liffey just outside, providing a very picturesque spot for dinner.
The menu is short enough and well thought out. There are two really good vegetarian starters in the wild mushrooms on toast and the roasted cauliflower salad, while carnivores can be happy with pork belly or spicy chicken wings, and there is also a pot of mussels.
Main courses hit all the favourites including fresh fish and chips and the burger can be had three ways; beef, chicken or grilled haloumi. There’s a steak and the lamb shank as well, and the vegetable version of shepherd’s pie - minus the shepherd or his flock presumably – sits alongside another interesting vegetarian dish of roast butternut squash risotto. This is true gastro country, and there are daily specials as well to keep it interesting for the regulars.
We started with the wild mushrooms on toast, with a layer of cream cheese on a fine piece of sourdough and a nicely dressed leafy salad. The mushrooms were delicious, and the cheese added a tangy kick. Deirdre couldn’t pass the chicken wings, and they came in a bowl with an as advertised spicy coating and celery, and damn fine wings they were.
Mains saw us stick with the specials; the better prettier half had the Dover sole, perfectly cooked and with home fries while I went with the other special of roast oxtail with creamy mash. This was a serious co fort food dish.
Amazingly we had room for dessert and a blue berry fruit crumble was delicious, with large crunchy crumbs on top of the blueberries, so good it almost passed for healthy.
The Bridge Bar and eatery serves very good food in a stylish and very pretty setting. There’s nothing not to like here, and it shows what can be done in the gastro pub space with a good team in the kitchen, and a friendly and engaged staff out front who were brilliant.
