A little city centre institution

Bedlam, in Dublin 2, has one of the best locations in the city and it makes for perfect people-watching, writes CATHERINE CLEARY

THERE ARE PLACES you go to have a good time rather than a good meal, and The Bistro on Dublin’s Castle Market was one. A cheesy chicken parmigiana was its signature dish. It was a place where brunches grew into lunches, and lunches became dinners.

People went there to see and be seen at the tables outside, or to flirt discreetly in the muslin-draped interior. You could leave, go shopping and come back to find everyone still gathered around a table thronged with bottles. I had my hen lunch there. I can’t remember a single thing I ate but I know we laughed long and late into the afternoon.

It helps that Castle Market is one of Dublin’s best spots. The short, brick-paved stretch between Drury Street and South William Street is made for sitting and people-watching. Sadly, The Bistro closed and a new and short-lived entity took its place. Now the people at Pasta Fresca on Chatham Street have taken it under their awning as a sister restaurant and renamed it Bedlam.

It’s a rare warm night in Dublin and we wander along to claim a table outside. And there are plenty to choose from, although the outdoor tables at the nearby Gourmet Burger Kitchen and the newly beige-painted La Maison are both thronged. The menu looks promising, plenty of Masterchef-y dishes that sound like they should be extremely tasty. We get a slightly wobbly wooden table for two in the corner of the outdoor area, which the friendly waiter is happy to wedge into stability.

Inside, the muslin and yolk-yellow interior has been pared back and then blinged up with plastered posters, sheepskin throws on leather banquettes and spray-painted Louis XV chairs. Upstairs has a clubby feel and the gorgeous church-like windows of this space really shine. Downstairs, I glimpse zebra-patterned wallpaper.

Back outside, a bottle of Languedoc rosé, a Croix des Vents Syrah (€25), is in the wine cooler. And we get two glasses of water. No ice, and I’d like a jug of water, but the service is good so we get plenty of refills. So everything is in place for a good time. And the food? Well, it’s nice, not breath-taking or distinctive, but competent with just a couple of wobbles.

This is a place trying to mark itself out from the fierce competition in this quarter (La Maison and Coppinger Row being the two most impressive) by being similar but slightly cheaper. A rabbit terrine starter (€8) is nicely presented, with two crisp toasts and broadbeans – shelled, skinned and halved – placed artfully on blobs of tasty dressing.

The terrine itself is fine, but oddly bland. There are definitely chunks of bunny in it, along with small bits of carrot and parsley, but they don’t flex their flavour muscles in the way you would expect. Liam’s stuffed baby squid starter (€9) is similarly muted. Feta and chorizo should make for that’ll-put-hairs-on-your-chest intensity (Coppinger Row’s punchy squid and chorizo stew springs to mind) but it’s not here in any great volume.

My main is good, a simple wild mushroom risotto (€14) with plenty of crisp fresh rocket on top.

Liam has the beef ribs (€15), which looks to have the makings of a signature dish about it. He orders a glass of Emiliana Carménère Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon (€5.75). The food comes on a wooden platter with an excellent red-cabbage coleslaw. There are tasty chips with their skins still on, and just a bit too much oil. The beef ribs are tasty, but have a deep red barbecue sauce on them that tastes like the stuff you get in jars. The bits without the sauce are good, marinated and tender.

We finish with two good desserts (which at €7 apiece are on the pricey side). My lemon posset is smooth and creamy, and comes with two home-made shortbread biscuits. Liam’s crema Catalana has a good sugar lid and small pieces of rhubarb in its creamy base. An espresso and a mint tea at €2 each finish it off nicely.

Bedlam is keeping a lovely city centre venue going, but it hasn’t quite found its voice yet. As a place to go when you haven’t made plans and life just handed you a free evening, you could do much worse.

Dinner for two with a bottle of wine and an extra glass came to €94.75.

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Bedlam

4-5 Castle Market, Dublin 2, 01-6776001

Facilities: pleasant all-to-yourself cubicles upstairs

Wheelchair access? Yes, but an annoying "strictly no buggies" sign inside which needs to go

Music: None outside, some inside

Food provenance: None

Coeliac friendly: No specified dishes but lots of wheat-free options

Southside value: 161 Cafe Bistro

Just where Rathmines village peters out and becomes Dartry, you'll find 161 Café Bistro. Outside, it's minimalist and slate grey with the name in trendy lower-case blue. Inside, it's a smart, girly place with powder-blue wallpaper, white-painted floors and just the right amount of duck-egg blue scatter cushions.

The front-of-house man is New Zealander Greg Kira, who used to be with the Lennox Café in Portobello. I had a delicious creamy bowl of mushroom soup, with a swirl of cream and fresh chive, doorsteps of floury bread, a large glass of orange juice and a takeaway slice of lemon drizzle cake for €11. By the looks of a pretty scrumptious brunch menu they pack out with weekend brunchers, just like the Lennox. Open since the start of the summer, it also serves dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

161 Café Bistro, 161 Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, tel: 01-4978049