Bleu specialises in goldfish-bowl dining, and great bistro cooking, writes Tom Doorley
Bleu is the only restaurant in Ireland into which I regularly peer, usually to see a handful of familiar faces putting on the nosebag. This is because Bleu - a "bistro moderne" according to its own strapline - is the restaurant most resembling a goldfish bowl. Anyone strolling along the west side of Dawson Street gets a clear view of who is inside.
I suspect that this is a draw for some of the clientele; I have no doubt a good proportion of them are not shrinking violets. Perhaps it's the location, perhaps it's the fashionable simplicity of the food, perhaps it makes a change from Peploe's, but Bleu seems to attract a large slice of the moving and shaking classes.
Now, I must stress, this is a non sequitur, but I have noticed that Bleu is a female restaurant. Most women I have asked about it really rather like Bleu; most men either have not been there or think that there's something not quite right about it.
If the men are right about this, then the problem does not lie in the kitchen. You may not go to Bleu for radical reinterpretations of the classics or the subtle alchemy of great cooking, but there's no doubt at all that the kitchen is exceptionally competent. And that's what people tend to forget when it comes to bistro cooking; it's merciless in how it reveals weaknesses in the engine room. Fancy-pants, farting-about food is much more forgiving.
Fish and chips were as good as they get. The cod was as fresh as possible, just cooked, encased in a shatteringly crisp batter which had been spiked with a touch of vinegar. Nice element, that. The chips were, in fact, a kind of Rubik cube built of hefty potato batons - for several years now the cool way to serve chips. Interestingly, the variety of spud had been chosen with deep-frying in mind - you would be surprised how often this elementary consideration is overlooked - and the resulting chips were not only big, but satisfyingly crisp, too. A very finely blended, smooth purée of peas was strongly flavoured with mint, and there was also a good tartare sauce of the sort that does not generally come out of a jar. As a simple main course to enjoy as a filler-upper, this was very good grub.
Sea bass is the new sundried tomato. It's all over the bloody place, most of it farmed, imported and complete with enough airmiles to get a transatlantic upgrade. I'm sick of it. However, to be fair, the sea bass at Bleu was good. It was meaty, cooked absolutely à point and served on crushed potatoes which were liberally doused with olive oil and studded with slivers of black olive and tomato. This was a resolutely simple dish where others would have tarted it up. It delivered a touch of the Med on a cold winter night in Dublin.
There was a chocolate tart so rich that it we couldn't quite finish it and it was served - this was the coup de grace - with chocolate/orange ice cream that was a reminder of why Terry's has made a fortune out of this combination of flavours. A lemon tart was a bit crude, but it was pleasantly sharp all the same.
With a decent double espresso, a green tea, two glasses of white and a bottle of modest pink wine, the bill came to €111.05 excluding service. The food was good, the service was attentive, the room is pleasant. But there seems to be something indefinable that's missing. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's all down to my being a male.
WINE CHOICE: Our dull Sauvignon de Touraine was not worth €6.50 a glass or €27 a bottle, while the Bergerie de l'Hortus Rose (€29) was, as always, a treat. Domaine Clavel (€29) is a very sound Languedoc red at a fair price, while the Californian Barefoot Chardonnay is elegant enough at €36. Chianti Classico La Loggia (€32) is a proper Tuscan red. There is not much excuse for "Mersault" considering so many of staff are French, and while having five dessert wines available by the glass is great, I'm not sure that Muscat de Beaumes de Venise should have made the final cut. The lovely Charpentier Champagne is a decent buy at €59.
Bleu Bistro, Joshua House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 (01-6767015)