Karyn M.
Yelp
"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
What is Bright Side? Is it the sparkly vibey cocktail bar and restaurant it claims to be? Or a dark and loud sports bar with pulsing electronic music? Why not both?
We made reservations for Saturday night and it was packed and crowded when we arrived. We were seated next to a column by the bar and it was very dark, could not read the menu, and extremely loud (conversations and music).
We asked for the bone marrow croquettes but it was not available. Instead, we ordered the Tiger Prawns (calabrian chili & ramp salsa, preserved lemon broth, prawn chips). My companion said the prawns had a strong fishy flavor and I thought the texture was mushy. We also thought the prawn chips were an odd accompaniment. We told our server and she said she would tell the kitchen because it was a new dish and they wanted the feedback.
I ordered the pancetta wrapped scallops (asparagus tartare, mirin & pea veloute, flying fish roe) which was overly salty. The asparagus was cooked perfectly and generally the dish was good, but a lighter hand with the salt was needed. I loved the fish roe, but because it was so dark, I didn't know it was part of my dish. My companion ordered Chicken Katsu (napa cabbage & broccoli slaw, szechuan cucumber salad, kimchi mayo, sesame, scallion) and after tasting their dish, I thought the roe was from theirs. The chicken was very crispy and its sides were flavorful.
The crowd thinned out a little, the music toned down, and the atmosphere changed to more of a supper club. On our server's recommendation we tried the Carrot Avocado cake (fluffy carrot and avocado cake, vegan golden raisin buttercream, pistachios, vanilla-coconut turmeric glaze). This was pretty good -- not overly sweet and the plump raisins and crunch of pistachios were nice textures. The cake was soft and lightly spiced.
So to look on the Bright Side: pretty setting, locally sourced ingredients, everything made from scratch, friendly staff. They also subtracted the prawn shrimp from the bill without us asking and thanked us for the feedback.