Eating Out:'There's nothing serious about this restaurant, but the food is thoughtful and very decent', writes Tom Doorley.
It's not often I find myself needing to kill time, and when I do I rarely think of eating. Occasionally - every couple of years or so - the circumstances come together: I have a few hours with nothing to do, a good appetite from having had little or no breakfast, a good book or a few newspapers and the prospect of sitting down in a pleasant restaurant with no distractions.
This is what happened when I found myself in Waterford the other day and I ended up in Bodéga!, in the heart of the town. The restaurant, which has had its ups and downs, retains a very distinctive, slightly rubbed at the edges, friendly, informal and slightly studenty atmosphere.
It's dark - more of a night-time place, really - and looks as if it has been there for ages, but the food is very decent these days, and the prices are keen. It's certainly not haute cuisine, but you get well fed and watered in a leisurely, friendly kind of way that has a certain allure.
A starter of prawns in tempura batter that had been flavoured with oyster sauce may have seemed like a great idea when it was dreamed up, but the reality was pretty ordinary. True, the batter was crisp, and, when dipped in the usual commercial sweet chilli sauce the prawns tasted fine. An accompanying salad of lettuce and carrot strips could have been quite good if someone had
thought of perking it up with some
lime juice and a bit of roasted sesame oil. This is the kind of dish that middle-market restaurants seem to love but rarely pull off with any panache. Even commercial sweet chilli sauce can be given a bit of pizzazz.
My main course was a different affair altogether. It was very simply presented pan-fried fillets of hake served with a roasted red pepper puree and good, creamy mash. I find it so hard to buy decent seafood at home that I tend to leap on fish in restaurants with whoops of joy. This was fairly joyful; the hake a little overdone but nothing to complain about. I was sorely tempted by the Toulouse sausage with choucroute, baby potatoes and Dijon mustard, because, for some reason I can't quite explain, this is exactly the kind of dish I think of when I contemplate a solitary meal, but the lure of the fish won in the end.
Pausing for breath for a few minutes, and checking my watch and realising that I didn't have to be anywhere for several hours, I yielded fairly easily to the temptation of creme brulee, admittedly an absolute cliche at this stage, but I relished the idea of a little ramekin of sweet richness with a crunch on top. Except that it wasn't little. It was a great big creme brulee and very pleasant, but I restrained myself and didn't finish it.
This was not because I was too full - I normally would have been - but because I wanted a little cheese with which to finish off my red wine. In fact, I asked for a half-portion of cheese, but my waitress, with commendable honesty, explained that the portions were "already made up". So I larrupped into good Irish cheeses, sourced from Sheridans, which is now operating in Ardkeen Quality Food Store, not too far away, and ended up in a state of blissful satiety, probably looking a bit like the Happy Buddha.
This very self-indulgent couple of hours cost me €69.80, including a great double espresso, a large bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water, a glass of both rosé and red, and service.
There's nothing serious about Bodéga!, but the food is thoughtful and very decent, the people are friendly and the atmosphere, in the evenings certainly, has buzz. Live music in restaurants is not my bag, but I would make an exception and come to eat at Bodéga! and listen to Freddie White, who has a regular gig there.
Bodéga!, 54 John Street, Waterford, 051-844177, www.bodegawaterford.com
Wine Choice
There's plenty of interest on the short and keenly-priced list.
Some wines are available in carafes holding a third of a bottle - a very sound idea. Gaba do Xil is here (at a very keen €24); I promise not to mention it again for several weeks. I just happen to love it.
Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling (€22) is gorgeous in a limey, crisp kind of way, and Geoff Merill rosé (€20) is deep, deep pink with plenty of fruit and a bone-dry finish. Finca Las Moras Reserva Malbec (€22) is a big, brawny Argentinian red, and Muga Prado Enea Rioja Gran Reserva is a terrific buy at €55, but Vina Hermsa Crianza (€26) is a very good Rioja, too.
There's a decent Cava for €7.50 a glass or €36 a bottle.