Set The Scene
I must admit, I came in skeptical. Another scene-y restaurant in Chinatown filled with fashionably dressed people with tastefully eccentric haircuts. Another tastefully sleek bar with fillets and wood finishes.
But my ice composure started melting as I talked to the host, and we began lightheartedly riffing about kicking out the lingering company still at the table I had reserved. He gave me updates like he was helping a plane land. There is a check at the table, I repeat, a check at the table. A serious restaurant that doesn’t take itself too seriously? I start to fall in love.
The dining room is vaguely 60s with walls that look like cement but seem to be cool-grey wallcoverings with ornate designs, mid-century modern furniture, rounded booths, and Space Age disk lighting. Compared to most restaurants in the area, it doesn’t feel cramped. Tables are spread in a way that the lights are dimmed, and the booths create an intimate atmosphere, sexy even.
When I look around the dining room, I see more than a few date night reservations between couples leaning closer and closer in the booths. Larger tables seem divided between the aforementioned cool people hanging out and the lively work dinners booked by the most “in the know” person at the company.
What's The Food Like?
The food is decadent; it leans rich but doesn’t sacrifice complexity for the sake of buttery feel-goodness. All the dishes here invite intimacy- they are the perfect size to be split and shared.
Knowing the delicacies ahead, I wanted to start light. While the sardines here are beloved, my server pointed me to her favorite, the cured tuna and dates, which arrived with thick cuts of ruby-red tuna on top of dates, a layer of slightly savory jelly, and translucent spring onions. An elegant warm-up where the slight salinity of the tuna cut through the could-be-cloying dates.
Some might feel trepidation upon ordering a sea-urchin custard, but the bowl of soy milk and uni custard topped with noodle-like fronds of cuttlefish and edamame beans created a showstopper. The delicate balance between the rich saltiness of the custard and the freshness of the beans and fish.
Before I came, I had heard many rave reviews of the comté cheese tart, and it did not disappoint. Slightly nutty, it tiptoes the line between savory and sweet and melts in your mouth. Like the dishes before it, it comes thoughtfully balanced with slightly vegetal but soft English peas and umami Chanterelle mushrooms to round out your palate.
After I thought my arteries had been sufficiently filled with cheese and butter, the pluot salad revived me. A pluot, a cross between a plum and apricot, is perfectly ripe with a slightly firm texture and just the right amount of sweetness to balance with the almost invisible lardo and crunchy greens.
For dessert, the melon sorbet tasted like candy, paired with a small dollop of savory cultured cream and caviar on the side for a sweet-and-salty delight.
Let's Talk About The Drinks
I ordered a cocktail and immediately felt order remorse when I looked around the dining room and saw almost everyone else clutching a wine glass. The wine list leans European and slightly eccentric, but there is something for everyone, from devoted natty wine drinkers to lovers of classic Bordeaux and Burgundy.
A sip of my highball tinto de verano restored my confidence- it is on the sweeter side but refreshing after coming in from the stifling New York summer. Like the food, Bridges' classic cocktails are made with complexity. You could taste the layers of brine and pepper in the pepper vesper rather than just the strength of the gin and vodka mix.
Final Thoughts
Bridges is the rare trendy restaurant that truly lives up to the hype.
Location: Chinatown
Cuisine: Basque/European
Pricing: $$$
Takes Reservations: Yes via Resy
Our Favorite Dishes on the Menu: Comté tart, Pluot salad, Soymilk custard
Hours: 5:30 - 10:00 PM Monday - Sunday
New York City, New York, United States
