Bridges
Bridges opened in the late fall last year, and is headed by chef Sam Lawrence who came from Estela, which is on our list to hit. Lately, this restaurant has been getting some notoriety for having good food and a good ambiance. It’s a bit difficult to get to since you have to walk a bit from the subway entrance. I was able to book a reservation for 2 for the bar about a few days in advance for 5:45 PM.
Ambiance & Service
The interior is a bit no-frills, as we sat at the bar, which had diner stools with convenient hooks under to hang our bags. The bar counter was spacious enough such that we did not feel we were cramped on space. The dining room area had a mix of booths and square tables, similar to what you’d see in a diner. The lighting was dark in the dining area, but because we sat at the bar, a lot of natural light came in from the outside.
The service was very quick and good. They recommended we order 3 appetizers, 2 salad, and 1 entree. This left us some room for dessert. The appetizers came out within 5 minutes, and the only thing we had to wait just a little longer was our main entree. All the courses here were meant to be shareable.
Food
The glass of Les Justices, “Guerriere” ($19) came from Loire, France 2022. This has a combination of 40% Chenin, 20% Cab Franc, and 40% Grolleau Gris grapes. The wine is very fresh, crispy, and fragrant with some very lively peach aromas. It also comes across a bit bolder than other straight chenins that I have, which I really appreciate.
The Tete de cochon ($22) came with capers and mustard. The head meats were pretty good, albeit thinly sliced. The mustard was very subtle.
The complimentary bread came with 3 slices and butter on the side. The bread was warm, and the crust was perfectly crispy. The butter was nicely rich and delicious.
The Sardines ($25) came with summer squash and basil. This came on a crostini, and there was summer squash in the middle of the sardines and bread. The sardines were pretty good, though my partner mentioned that they felt the one at Pastis was much better.
The Sea urchin custard ($25) came with shrimp. The flavors of the sea urchin are fairly subtle, and the minced raw shrimp was very delectable. There was some noticeable kick to this that resembled chili oil, though it wasn’t very significant.
The glass of Amevive, “Ravie” ($21) came from Santa Barbara, US 2023. This was a grenache blend of demeter certified biodynamic Grenache and Mourvedre grapes and certified organic Syrah grapes. This reminded me of a red punch with some very aromatic flavors of cherries. It drinks very smooth, dry, with moderate tannins.
The Stonefruit ($27) came with green almond and arugula. This was a mixture of different stone fruits, e.g. peaches, nectarines, and plums, dressed with some oil and arugula.
The Roast pork ($52) came with pistachio and leek gratin. The leek gratin came on the side in a hot pan, and it was good. The pork came thinly sliced, and it was cooked perfectly with very good flavors.
The Chocolate and hazelnut tart ($15) was very delicious. It was not superfluously sweet, and the flavors of the chocolate were a nice balance between bold, bitter, and sweet.
Overall Impression
The food at Bridges is pretty good for a night out, though I can sense that some people may mention that the portions are on the lighter side. The food generally was cooked very delicately, and the flavors were very well balanced. The wines that they serve here are atypical, so it was nice to try different wines that other restaurants tend to shy away from.
Yelp Jabs
The sardines: I felt this to be too rich/buttery of a fish without the cracker/vegetable doing much to counterbalance it. Wish it had more going on than these 3 ingredients.
I definitely disagree with this Elitist. The sardines were very delicate, but you definitely want to taste the flavors of the sardines, instead of having it masked by other flavors. I suppose you could have a medley of ingredients to blend the flavors, but when I order sardines, I want to taste the sardines. Either this Elitist doesn’t really enjoy sardines, or is trying to fake it that he knows how to enjoy sardines.
Service was attentive but I also felt rushed. They were quick to offer to take away dishes when we haven’t finished and also with the ordering
I was observing some of the service around us, and it definitely looked like they are trying to push people to be on a good pace to finish their dinner for an allotted time for their party. For example for a table of 2, they usually allocate 1.5 hours. In NYC, an important desire for restaurants is to also turn over tables quickly due to the high rents. For our meal for 2, we finished way under 1.5 hours, and they did not try to really push us out.
Revisions
- Jun 12, 2025 - Initial revision.