When is a bistro not a bistro? If for example, the bistro has a carpet on the floor, and not floorboards or tiles, is it still a bistro? And what if you have not just one type of tablecloth, but two, does that rule you out of bistro status, on the grounds that you should have either paper tablecloths, or wipe-down plastic, or preferably nothing at all on the tables? And what if the alleged bistro has nifty oil candles, and not wax-encrusted wine bottles with candles shoved in the top. Are we still in bistro land?
I ask these questions simply because Oscar's, the new bar and bistro at the plush Sheen Falls Lodge, just outside the delectable village of Kenmare in Co Kerry, has all of these lush decorative features. True, it does have bistro classics on the menu, devised by executive chef Fergus Moore and executed by sous chef Mark Kirby - cos salad with garlic croutons; lamb broth with coriander pesto; continental sausage with haricots; fillet steak with tomato ragout but otherwise Oscar's can be described as a bistro if its only point of comparison is the lavish La Cascade restaurant of the Sheen Falls Lodge itself, where Fergus Moore has been cooking sumptuous, expert food since the day the hotel opened.
So what? Does this matter a jot? I rather think it does. If the hotel had gone the whole bistro hog, and given us an informal room with a true bistro buzz, then it would have represented a real alternative to the high style of the restaurant. It would also have been a serious competitor to the smashing bistros in the town itself the brilliant Packie's, the superstylish Cafe Indigo, the cosy An Leith Phingin and thus acted as an attraction to locals. But because the room represents a compromise in terms of style, it seemed, on the Saturday night we visited, to be acting merely as an alternative venue for the hotel guests alone.
What you don't get in Oscar's is any of the style or atmosphere of a bistro, and while the food remains, then, as the last point of reference for bistro, our dinner proved that the cooking also makes compromises on the punchy, vivid flavours of bistro cooking.
My starter of cos salad with garlic croutons, lardons of smoked bacon and slivers of Parmesan, for example, had few notes of garlic from the croutons, and the dressing was subdued and creamy, rather than being fresh and exhilarating, which is what cos leaves need. The anchovy/egg/garlic trio which makes a salad such as this worthwhile had been largely extracted, leaving me with a decent salad which was simply unexciting.
The kitchen proved itself to be much more at home with a starter of fresh salmon, smoked at the Lodge, with young leaves and horseradish cream. The salmon was superlative and a great testament to their smoking skills, and the leaves and dressing were both right on the money. The only negative factor was a little tumble of celeriac remoulade, which had little flavour, probably due to being over-chilled. Hell-bent on trying to find true bistro flavours, we ordered grilled fillet steak with tomato ragout and garlic butter, and continental sausage with grain mustard and haricot beans flavoured with truffle oil. The steak was a cracking piece of meat, but once again the kitchen showed its timidity by cooking the meat almost to medium, when I had ordered it rare. The garlic butter on top may have once shaken hands with a clove of garlic, but it never got into any true intimacy with it. Ironically, the tomato ragout suffered from an excess of flavour, having had some pieces of smoked ham added to it an unnecessary touch. The continental sausages came balanced on top of two quenelles of mash, provoking my wife to suggest that bistro food should never be tall. The bangers themselves were excellent, almost a cross between a Toulouse sausage and a cotechino, with terrific flavour, but the rest of the dish was simply clumsy.
The scoops of mustard were too big, the mash too aerated, and the haricot beans were still crunchy, and served with onion dice infused with balsamic vinegar a concoction that completely overshadowed whatever truffle oil might have been on the plate. The unfortunate aspect of this dish was that if it had simply concentrated on the excellence of the bangers, and left everything else simple and in a supporting role, then it would have been good. But there was simply too much going on to allow it to be a success.
Our side orders of french fries and vegetable ratatouille again showed the intellectual complexities which the kitchen is creating for itself. Ratatouille should not be a delicate dice cooked to be still crunchy to the tooth. It should be a serene stew of Mediterranean vegetables. The fries seemed to have been dusted in a paprika flour, which made them too spicy, and distracted from the hit of oil and spud which a good fry offers.
Desserts were an almond frangipane tart with caramel cream, and a trio of home-made ices chocolate, strawberry and vanilla and both were respectable, but no more. The wine list only offers a pair of half bottles one white, one red from which I drank a decent Oxford Landing chardonnay.
Definitions of what constitutes a bistro are not only important in terms of creating atmosphere in an eating room, but also because they allow a kitchen to define the style of food on offer. Our meal had good details here and there, but suffered from being over-involved and confused. In fact, the food represented a compromise between restaurant cookery with its necessary innovations and its statement of the chef's personality and bistro cookery, which should be classic, straightforward, and strongly flavoured. As such, it ended up in the middle of nowhere.
Re-appraising what they want to achieve could quickly put things to rights, and I hope the kitchen can achieve this, for the staff deserve the honour of bringing more logical and rigorous food to the table. Padraig, who runs the room, is terrific - as are all the staff here, led as they are by the brilliant Adrian Bartels, who continues the distinguished line of management in the Sheen Falls.
Oscar's Bistro and Bar, Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare, Co Kerry, tel: 064-41600. Open 6p.m.- 10 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Starters £3.50£6.75, main courses £6.75- £16.00, desserts £4.75-£5.75. Major cards.