Restaurant Review - Copper Bar
Monday 05 August 2013
Will it be third time lucky, we wondered, as we arrived at the new Copper Bar in Sandyford Industrial Estate. Certainly the signs looked good. The place was busy and had life about it, but this is a building with a story. The Sandyford Estate was the place to be, or so everybody thought, on the cusp of the Big Bang some five years ago as restaurants rushed in – and out! Ronan Ryan who at that time had the hugely successful Town Bar & Grill in Kildare Street, set up South Bar & Grill here with a ‘Fred & Ginger’ style sweeping staircase between its two floors. The timing could not have been worse and, unfortunately for Ryan, the big spenders didn’t dance down his staircase and it closed up shop. Tom Williams ex The Courtyard in Donnybrook revived it as Pinot’s with ex Harvey Nichols chef Thomas Haughton waving the pots and pans but again people tangoed at home.
With Lee Bradshaw, former ‘waiter’ from The Restaurant TV Show, designing and running the operation, the ground floor is now a big bar cum gastro pub, with a plethora of TVs and craft beers. In one area a Tex Mex style wood and red brick eatery serves casual food. Along with Pinchos and Planks, there were sections for Arancini, Ribs and Wings, Dips and Cutlets, moving through Salads, Pizzas and Sliders. Its second eatery, The Holy Cow Steak House, down the magic staircase, was not yet in action on our visit.
We ordered Breaded Langoustine Tails (€7.95) with Chipotle & Pumpkin Seed Mayonnaise, and also Chorizo Carupanero (€6.95) to kick off. The prawns arrived in a mini stainless steel milk pail – what else? It was a bit of a pig in a poke for all you could see was a section of lemon on the top. Without ceremony, Sheila upturned the bucket onto a plate revealing a big fluff of unbilled lollo rosso, skinny fries, and well-upholstered prawns. It was a mini meal in itself and, as such, fine but needs elucidation as you wouldn’t normally choose ‘fries’ to kick off a meal. Carupanero is a Latino dish – think risotto with a belting spicy pork sausage influence - peppers and rice, coriander and crème fraiche – and it certainly hit the flavour button square on the head.
Caramelized Ham Hock salad had Heirloom tomatoes, rocket, crispy onion, crème fraiche and shaved Parmesan, and at €8 was good value and tasty. A trio of Sliders (€13.50) offered fillings of sticky pulled pork, cheeseburger, fish finger, goats’ cheese, of beef fillet and crayfish Béarnaise (€2.50 supp). Unfortunately the trio had to be whichever filling you chose - you couldn’t have three varieties - as in many places. I opted for beef fillet and crayfish (€16). Served on a wooden board, in theory they looked fine, beef fine, crayfish fine, but each had a base of wet and soggy greenery. Dripping with moisture and Béarnaise, the whole lot was cold. It was only their second night so I am making excuses and hopefully by now they are down to a fine art or the cowpokes and cowgals will be firing them back across the range into the open kitchen. A side order of skinny fries (€4.50) with Chipotle Aioli was excellent as were courgette frittes with caper mayo (€4.50).
A shared Espresso Brulee (€5.50), tweaked with strips of fig hazelnut and ale cake, bounced with flavour. However, with the cheapest bottle of vino being €23, we felt there weren’t enough wines at the lower end of the price range. It, and a Pinot Grigio at €28, were both too expensive for what they were. In the event it was Argentinian Santa Ana Sauvignon Blanc at €25 otherwise it was €29 and upwards into the ‘thirties’ - which for this type of casual food is more than a tad on the rich side. Our bill with service came to €86.85
With comedy nights, live music, Skysports and weekend brunch, The Copper Bar and Holy Cow could finally hit the right note for this venue.
The Copper Bar,
8 Blackthorn Road,
Beacon South Quarter,
Sandyford Industrial Estate,
Dublin 18.
Tel: (01) 205-2033
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT AUGUST 4, 2013.