At times, meeting in Dundee for lunch can be a bit of a palaver, especially with a small child. The parking, the lunch hour crowds and the temptation of just popping into a couple of shops can sometimes make it a bit of an outing.
It is great, therefore, to have options of independent eateries near town to meet during the week and the Bridgeview Station is one of those places. And that’s without even mentioning the cracking view.
The building itself is quirky and attractive and has been nominated for two architectural awards. The addition of an actual train carriage transformed into the take-away venture just adds to the character of the place.
The outlook from inside the cafe is pretty hard to beat. Sitting gazing at the Tay bridges is a lovely way to spend time and no doubt many seals have been spotted over the years.
The convenience of the adjacent car park makes this a really attractive place to meet for lunch and the family-friendly attitude was the icing on the cake. During our time at the restaurant, we saw many people approach the carriage out the front and walk away with armfuls of take-away boxes of delights. Clearly this place is as convenient for a drive-by pit stop as it is to go in and eat.
The interiors are simple and practical yet stylish with some lovely additions of old photographs and rail images. There are no bad tables as the Tay can be seen from all of them, so we settled in at ours to peruse the menu.
The website describes the food as unpretentious and the lunch menu is certainly that. There is a lovely selection of bloomers on offer, such as Thai chicken with roasted pea, but all in all I did find the menu to be fairly carb-heavy. There were three platters on offer – Ploughman’s, fish or veggie for those still sticking to their New Year’s resolutions.
We decided to order a few things for the table and the first was the fishcake. It is clear from the price tag of just £5 that this is a small portion, but when positioned as it is between the pasta dish and and the venison casserole on the menu itself, customers would be forgiven for expecting a larger size.
The patty itself was crunchy-crumbed and tasty, especially when accompanied by the red onion jam, and was a lovely dish. I would actually like to order this again with perhaps a salad on the side to make it more substantial. I have no doubt we could have requested this be made a main course size portion as the staff were helpful and friendly but actually, we had ordered enough food on this occasion and the price tag was very reasonable for a home-made fishcake of this calibre.
I wasn’t in the mood for fish and chips despite its great reputation at the Bridgeview. Instead I ordered the spaghetti with kale and walnut pesto as I was intrigued by it. Basil pesto usually packs a real punch so I was really looking forward to the taste of this variety. Actually, although there was a hint of nuttiness, I found it to be fairly bland. The rocket and ricotta added a much needed bite and creaminess to an otherwise disappointing dish.
Our other larger dish was the venison casserole which was deep in colour and flavour, attractively presented with a dainty puff pastry circle and mash and containing plenty of tender meat. This was a real comfort food dish and suited the atmosphere outside as we gazed out at the turbulent water.
As we weren’t overly stuffed, we pushed the January boat out and also ordered dessert. The delicate rectangle of treacle sponge cake was delightfully treacly but definitely needed the subtly flavoured marmalade ice cream for moisture. The caramelised satsuma was certainly an adult flavour as my one year old made the funniest faces when she tried it – which obviously only encouraged us to give her more. The dish was really nicely presented and I got a hint of the styling of the evening menu.
Our other dessert was the sticky toffee pudding. With accompaniments such as caramel ice cream and butterscotch sauce, we didn’t expect this to be anything other than sticky, very sweet and rich and it didn’t disappoint.
I really liked the Bridgeview Station Restaurant. I loved the actual structure of the place and the fact that it is independent and family owned. The lunchtime menu is great for a gourmet sarnie or some fish and chips but I get the feeling the real flair comes out in the evening. Items such as squid ink risotto and Dundee gin creme fraîche (not part of the same dish) feature in the evening and this is when the chef can really spread his wings. I can also imagine the setting to be pretty romantic with the juxtaposition of the dark stormy seas and a warm, glass-fronted restaurant with cosy diners gazing out into the night.
I intend to stop imagining these things though and actually take Mr Kerry there on a good old-fashioned date.
Info
Price: Lunch: sandwiches: £5.50 – £7.95; other: £5.00 – £10.50; dinner: 2 courses for £18, 3 courses for £23
Value: 8/10
Menu: 6/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Food: 7/10
Total: 36/50
Info: The Bridgeview Station Restaurant
Address: Riverside Drive, Dundee
Tel: 01382 660066
Web: www.bridgeviewstation.com
