Raising the bar
Behind the rather plain faáade of Tatu - Irish for "you are" - lies a homage to modern minimalist design. The 50-seat front bar is decked out in black and beige, with an overwhelming 40ft-high wood-panelled ceiling. This contrasts sharply with the low-ceiling, low-lighting intimacy of the 40-seat restaurant area at the back. Opposite the eating area is the 40-seat Privilege Lounge - a members-only section included to give the bar an air of exclusivity.
Not only are customers intrigued by the design, but they love the food, which, in keeping with the decor, is kept deliberately simple. The four-month-old bar, owned by local businessman Bill Wolsey, who owns four pubs outside Belfast, is averaging 70 and 80 weekday lunch and dinner covers respectively, rising to 150 on Saturday nights. Customer spend at lunch is £15, and £30 in the evening, both inclusive of drink.
Wolsey finds the figures pleasing, particularly as he had been unsure whether to offer food in the bar after menus had failed to take off in some of his other pubs. But he took the decision that Tatu, as his flagship bar, needed quality food cooked by talented chefs. And the seven-strong brigade - all aged under 27 - is suitably gifted, many having worked in Michelin-starred kitchens. Head chef Neil Bradley worked with Paul Rankin at Roscoff (now Cayenne) in Belfast, and sous chef David Harding alongside Robbie Millar in his Bangor restaurant Shanks, while other members learnt their skills at Michael Deane's eponymous Belfast restaurant.
Drawing on its combined experience in such respected establishments, the brigade at Tatu aims to implement similarly high standards while simplifying the food offering. "All our dishes have classical foundations," says Bradley. "But we wanted Tatu to appeal to everybody. The whole concept behind our food is to get the best of the ingredients out there."
The monthly changing menu, featuring six starters (also offered as main courses), six mains and seven desserts, reflects a multitude of influences. Shades of Roscoff can be detected in an Asian-slanted confit of duck leg with pak choi and spiced plum chutney, although Bradley has made the chutney more rustic than in Rankin's version by using fewer ingredients. Another Asian-influenced dish, but one which illustrates Bradley's determination to use Ulster ingredients, is a starter of seared scallops, from Strangford Lough in County Down, served with crispy, locally grown leeks and curry butter. "The sweetness of the scallops balances the bitterness of the curry spices, and the crispy leeks contrast the soft fish," he says.
Most meat comes from Coffrey's in Belfast, while Walter Ewing in Camber, County Down, and Roy Fitzpatrick of Belfast supply the majority of seafood and fish. Vegetables come from North Down & Arnott's, also in Belfast.
In contrast to the Roscoff-inspired Eastern overtones, it's back to Europe for a saffron risotto with prawns and gremolata, a dish which has its roots in Harding's time at Shanks. And a lemon-braised veal shin with courgettes is derived from a dish associated with London's River Café, originally prepared using pork. The veal is cooked for 90 minutes in milk and lemon to enhance the flavour, and served with pan-fried courgettes.
Since opening, some fundamental changes have been made to the menu's structure which, according to Bradley, are a reflection of the Belfast palate. "When we started, it was half fish, half meat, but we learnt that our customers want more meat," he explains. "Now, only two of the six main-course dishes are fish."
Both Bradley and Harding are of the opinion that the food culture in Northern Ireland is fairly static, and they are hoping the food at Tatu will be something of an education. "It is getting better but it's taking longer than Dublin or London," says Bradley. "We have kept basic Irish food, such as roast chicken and steak, on the menu but have also taken it a step beyond." Bradley cites a rhubarb crumble tart, where the standard dessert has been reinvented as a tart filled with frangipane and brown sugar, with hazelnuts in the crumble, and served with home-made rhubarb ice-cream. But he is careful not to push too far, too soon.
"We won't branch out into exotic ingredients, because it's not what we see as part of the Irish culture," explains Bradley. Of course, using local produce is also cheaper - an important consideration, given that Tatu is a bar - but cost implications are not without their frustrations: Bradley would love to use freshwater salmon, but the expense and lack of year-round availability means the price is well beyond what his customers are willing to spend; so instead it is farmed salmon from Glenarm Livestock Mart, Ballymena, County Antrim, that appears on the menu.
With time, however, Bradley and Harding hope to build up the reputation of Tatu's food and be able to put dishes with a fine-dining edge on the menu. "Cooking with foie gras would be nice; and you never know, we might be able to start using it soon," Bradley concludes.
