Everything about Brasserie Le Pont is elegant, polished and chic. From the cool bar that wouldn’t be out of place in a five-star hotel to the swanky dining room in cool neutrals, there’s something reassuringly smart and a sense of professionalism about this basement brasserie.
Head chef James Doyle has an impressive CV, and his cooking style is informed by French traditions and (sometimes name checked) Irish ingredients.
This Dublin restaurants lunch and dinner menus both offer a good balance of dishes, ranging from lighter salads to confident seafood dishes and steaks. The latter are showcased at the table, raw on a board, to help inspire your order.
Appealing starters based on classic combinations and featuring speciality Irish ingredients may include a pretty marinated beetroot and Crozier blue cheese salad with caramelised walnuts and a vanilla orange dressing; also seared king scallops, artichoke purée, Clonakilty black pudding with caramelised apple - pricey (at about €14.50), but perfectly executed and delicious.
Particular dedication to serving good seafood is seen in signature dishes like Le Pont Dublin Bay prawn cocktail, Le Pont fish pie and Le Pont Bouillabaisse, and you may expect great renditions of these classics.
Meat lovers, however, should equally enjoy the 28 day dry-aged Hereford beef, typically a 10oz rib-eye steak (about €24.95), thoughtfully garnished with watercress and tomato salad with pommes frites, garlic butter or sauce au poivre
Attention to detail manifests itself everywhere, from the pretty white table lanterns to the house-baked bread and the watercress salad complete with paper-thin slices of zingy oven-roasted cherry tomatoes.
Any visit here is sure to be a special treat thanks to the impeccably trained staff working under the direction of manager Siegfried (‘Ziggy’) Poullain, who deliver wonderful service whether you’re taking morning coffee and a scone on the terrace, hosting a business lunch, snacking at the bar or enjoying a romantic occasion.
The wine list features plenty of choice for glasses, carafes and bottles and the new cocktail menu means you can simply pop in for drinks and nibbles on a night out, perhaps on one of their live jazz nights.
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