Review: Harbor Bistro

Portrush is a funny old town, with an evergreen appeal to tourists, where families from Larne rub shoulders with mildly bewildered Japanese travellers, here for the whiskey and golf. Peak time dining can be a fraught experience, which, thankfully we just about avoid as we arrive at the Harbor Bar's Bistro, lured in by the hearty whiff of a wood burning oven.

“Two and a half“, we say, junior in tow. No problem, to our smiling host. The people behind us are less lucky, with a half hour wait on the books and the door never stops for the next two hours, with a constant turnaround of the solid, rustic tables. You're sat down, handed a menu and directed towards the bar to place your order. Handy for the business, but you're a bit stuck if, halfway through the meal you decide you need more chips. And the chips are that good that may well be the case.

There's an option to hit the gin bar for a drink, with fifty plus brands available, but we plum for the reasonably priced wine list, though the beer options are a bit pedestrian. No matter, for when there's a ribeye steak on the cards for fifteen quid you might as well order two. I'm sure there's other items on the menu, but the open fire is calling to the more Flintstone end of the dining spectrum and we order it rare.

The veggie options include a fairly average sounding Cheese and Spinach Flan, which is sold short by the description on the menu - it's been baked to order for a start, there's a generous portion of goat's cheese on top and saute potatoes embedded in the spinach. Add to this the stuffed pepper that came as a baffling side to the steak and we've one very happy vegetarian, which can often be a struggle when eating out.

The steak is the star though - while it needs to rest for a minute or two, it's cooked how we wanted, with a meaty char on the flesh and a palpable smoky flavour from the fire. French fries have been served just south of overdone - crispy and just the sort of thing you want to push around after your steak juice. The sauce is the only flat note here, very light on the blue cheese and coming across more like a sour cream. It doesn't matter though - the steak is good enough to eat unadorned.

By eight o'clock it's standing room only, but there's still no pressure from the staff for out table, which has rapidly become prime real estate. With the bill already paid at point of service we can slip off anytime, full of simple bistro grub served at café prices.

Shane Horan