The Bridge Restaurant – Soft Opening Event

After the delightful «Spirit of the Season» performance on Sunday, a large group of us walked the short distance to The Bridge. We had reservations for drinks and appetizers and were treated royally by Kaelyn. We stayed to enjoy dinner and everyone in the group was pleased with their selection. So glad to have another good dining choice after a performance at the Pioneer.
To The Bridge staff and cooks — thank you for making us feel so welcome and for the yummy food.

For a new restaurant this place is wonderful. The owners are wonderful people and what they have done to the place has made it look 100% better. The staff is warm and does a fantastic job. Hats off to the chef, the food is amazing and I think everyone can find something they will love in the menu. The atmosphere is wonderful and I love that it’s a bridge between downtown and midtown. Definitely a new hot and upcoming spot to be. They are still working out a few kinks but overall I think this place is fabulous. I will definitely be back and bringing everyone I know in!

What a treat to be able to attend a soft opening for a new restaurant!
So I guess the idea is for the restaurant to work out all the kinks before the officially open and to let people get to see, and hopefully be positive about what they experienced.
Overall, I was impressed.
The space is very nice — a mix between comfy casual and understated elegance. I had not been in there for years when it was one of the other iterations. It has not changed a lot on the inside and has a bit of that 70’s classy steakhouse vibe.
The service was mixed — our waitress was very friendly and really worked to make us feel welcome and special. She answered questions and seem knowledgeable about the menu. It was a little uneven — it seemed to take a long time to get our drinks initially — but she handled our expanded group with a smile and did not show one hint of rolley eyes when we all asked for separate checks with merged group.
The food ran the gambit from really great to good. After gorging myself on blue chips (a pile of coronary causing deliciousness) I decided to show some restraint and have the Cajun steak salad. The salad was huge with tender slices of cooked to perfection beef, over a bed of fresh greens with Gorgonzola and onions drizzled with a vinaigrette dressing. Great taste, good balance of ingredients and flavors. I would have preferred the meat warm — it was cold. My other table companions seemed to be enjoying their food as well as I heard no complaints except that the salmon was a bit dry.
We were visited by the chef herself. I am thrilled to see her back in business as I was a big fan of the food at 775 Gastropub. I am looking forward to coming back for dinner or lunch once the new business frenzy has died down a bit.

The Bridge’s name comes from being a bridge between midtown and downtown, said one of the proprietors. I do want to see this restaurant succeed for so many reasons, one of which it is right downstairs from my office and offers wifi, a nice bar with TVs, lunches to-​go and a friendly, eager F&B team. There’s a nice private room/​cove type area too, and a center counter bar in the middle of the restuarant.
I wanted to thank Bridge for doing this soft opening. And to Unilocal!for providing their love and support. The food was very good, the chef sweet and charming and décor was comfy. We had the blue chips, mac n cheese burger, cajun steak salad, dessert and the house merlot. We could have also tried the rib eye and nachos, but that would have probably given me the meat or nacho sweats!
i look forward to what’s ahead for Bridge. I am anxious to try their lunch salads (as our options are limited for quick pick up), and see variations in their dinner menu — I know the chef will have some fun with it. I also look forward to maybe catching some sports on the weekend while enjoying a leisurely lunch.
Please give it a whirl!

5:50 — Arrived at the restaurant and checked in with the hostess. Since I was by myself, I was glad for the opportunity to seat with Donna S. and Kemp S.
We were seated in the back area. The décor is nice and I really liked the black and white photos on the wall. Some of the lights were flickering and as our server explained, they are still working on it. I hope they fix it soon, just a minor annoyance for me and as Kemp joked, something you probably won’t notice after a couple of drinks.
The menus were already on the table. I’m guessing they would have a different menu when the restaurant opens for regular business. The menu listed a bunch of items and wasn’t separated into sections — not that it wasn’t easy to guess which are appetizer, entrees, and dessert. We were also provided with an alcohol list. The one item that caught my eye on the menu was the ramen and I debated for a bit whether I’d be *that* person who complains (or who knows, raves?) about ramen from a clearly non-​Asian restaurant.
6:05 — Our drinks arrive and our orders were taken shortly after. I opted for the prosecco. I thought bringing the small bottle to the table was a nice touch as opposed to using a bigger glass to try and accommodate all that wine in on pour. For appetizer, I asked for the poutine with duck confit and got the Nevada beef burger with cajun seasoning as my entrée.
6:25 — Our appetizers arrive. This was my first time trying poutine. I had to ask my dining companions whether it was supposed to be salty because this one was definitely on the salty side. The ducked was cooked well. The potatoes still had skin on so I’m hoping that they do make fries from scratch. Definitely an interesting dish and I’d probably try it again with either the pork belly or chicken next time.
6:50 Our entrees arrive. I asked for medium well for my burger (I know, that totally lowers my Unilocal cred haha! but I really can’t stand pink, so yeah.) Happy to report that it wasn’t pink in the middle but interestingly had some crispy sides. The lettuce, tomato, and onion came on the side. And yes, I got more fries. I wonder if they offer other sides. They give you additional options for your burger:
a) smoked brisket, mac & cheese, aged sharp cheddar OR
b) blackened with cajun spices, bacon and gorgonzola with sriracha mayo
I asked our server which one she recommends and she said the cajun one so I got that one and braved the sriracha mayo. It wasn’t as spicy as I expected, which to me was a good thing.
Service was friendly and on point. Drinks were quickly refilled. We were checked on from time to time and asked if we needed anything. Considering that the customers arrived almost all at once around 6:00pm, they seem to have been able to keep up and had a nice flow.
The bar and front part of the restaurant was much busier and noisier plus they had the TVs on that side. I’m guessing I would have had a much more casual experience if I sat on that side.
Overall, a good experience. Make the bottomless mimosa brunch happen please!

What’s a soft opening? Sounds like something I shouldn’t be talking about in mixed company. But seriously, a soft opening is the opposite of a Grand Opening. So all things should be taken in that light. A business doing a soft opening is like a new toddler trying out their steps, going longer distances. Lots of stumbles and lots of bumps and bruises. That’s why they have them. So everyone participating knows that the experience wont be to the levels that everyone expects during a regular visit.
So why do I tell you this? Because this soft opening was just what I would expect. Some clear miss steps on the food. My burger was over done and not juicy, but the chicken sliders were just fine. The salmon seemed a little off. My first thought was fishy, I don’t know if it was the marinade or what. But It wasn’t «right». The carnitas nachos were pretty good though. And they had some stuff I was interested in, but didn’t try. The Ramen looked promising but maybe a larger bowl with more broth for $ 10? And of course the Blue Chips were good.
As others have said… I’ve noticed little change to the space from when it was Scampi… but I only went into Scampi twice, so, not really important either way. However the space is cool. I like the upper elevation for the dining area and how the bar spills into the lower dining area. It seemed a little loud last night, but really during normal business the sound level wont be that bad.
So yeah… it wasn’t a 5 star experience for me. But it was a nice time to get a little peek at a business on it’s way into the Reno scene.
Best part of the night had to have been the Moscow Mules. Perfectly made in my opinion and of course made properly in a copper cup.
So like most soft openings… this one has my mouth watering looking forward to coming back for more.

Soft opening event. Looking for a bar atmosphere with better than most bar food… You’re there. Looking forward to the enticement of a full menu as the Chef gas talent that was not showcased yet. Service was extremely friendly and ownership was accessible and talented. Hate reviewing any venue during an opening event. I’ll be back in a month for a better sense of the food.

Stopped in for this soft opening, flying solo as the GF was working. Unilocal connection made it easy to say hi to some folks, though I was comfortable just sitting at the bar by myself.
The space is basically the same as when it was Scampi — nothing new, though they did take out the glass bricks that were in the front. I know a lot of people think that’s a great change, but it’s just meh for me. I’m in the small minority that actually liked the bricks. .. in any case, interior’s still the same polished concrete floor, mirrors behind the bar, white marble surfaces, etc.
Beer selection was pretty standard and I had an Anchor Steam on tap.
I sat at the bar and ordered the poutine with the fried chicken and country gravy, as well as the ramen chicken noodle bowl. These were marked as $ 10 each on the menu, though they ended up comping the food tonight. The chef was previously at the now defunct 775 Gastropub, and I’d always been impressed with her ambition with the weekly rotating menu, especially for a spot in a mall. Lots of holdovers from the menu here, including the blue chips — crazy rich home made potato chips topped with blue cheese and balsamic. The poutine was good — I’m not sure if it was the same as 775 had before, but fries were good, and the fried chicken was great. Hard to screw a dish like poutine up though — deep fried potatoes, nice salty flavors from the gravy, and rounded out nicely with rich cheese.
The ramen was a little weak — bowl was too small, such that I was struggling to take the first few bites as stuff kept falling out. Size was such that if I had been paying $ 10, I’d probably be questioning the value proposition. Noodles seemed like they were from the standard instant noodles instead of from scratch, and the broth was nothing to write home about. While I’d been hoping for that rich, fatty broth you might get with traditional ramen, this was a standard chicken broth. Celery was an unusual touch to the bean sprouts and poached egg, giving the bowl a lot of crisp textures. I think of ramen as a warm, savory kind of item, and while I may have let this sit a little too long while I had the poutine, this didn’t have that rich flavor.
I had also noticed the copper cups at the end of the bar, so ordered a Moscow mule. This was well made with Gosling ginger beer giving it a nice kick. The highlight for the evening was our friendly bartender, Emil, who asked for feedback, seemed genuinely interested in the critiques about the ramen, and positive in general.
Nice event for a soft opening, and I hope to go back with the GF for the regular service. ..

Yes I am Donna S.
Unilocalers were invited to the soft opening of the new restaurant — Bridges. It has been 3 other restaurants in the 14 years I have been here. It would be great to have this one go the distance. I was glad to see they kept all the beautiful dark woodwork, it gives the space warmth and some elegance. Also wonderful to see the massive glass block wall gone and a large window put in, opened up the space and gave the needed light with the wood.
The staff was truly efficient — on a normal night patrons would trickle in, but everyone came in in a 20 minute span. We were seated immediately and given a drink list and a sample menu. First item rings all the bells, Blue Chips– thick cut potato chips tossed in a blue cheese fondue with Basalmic vinegar. I used to go to Sacramento for a similar plate. The menu had a few appetizers, sandwiches, and some dinner plates listed. A nice selection of the style of food they will be offering.
We met both the owner Cherrie and Chef Auriane as they came to the table to ask how everything was. It’s a pleasure to have someone ask you for honest feedback and truly listen to you. They even passed out comment cards to fill out.

The Bridge Restaurant Soft Opening event was a wonderful experience. The restaurant was classy, with dark wood, tablecloths, and black and white photography on the walls. The bar was inviting, and the tv had something in the sports family going.
Our table was frequented by the friendly server, and visited by the owner and the chef, as well. All were charming. Glasses were kept full.
Food was delicious. We had pulled pork nachos, fresh potato chips with blue cheese and a balsamic reduction if I am not mistaken, burgers, salmon, a Reuben sandwich, and salad with steak. My burger had brisket and macaroni and cheese on it – KrAzY. Another yummilicious treat was chorizo-​stuffed, bacon-​wrapped dates… so good. I think one of my favorites was the blue chips… mmm. Friends gave the poutine rave reviews.
I asked other members of our group if the location was considered midtown, and a debate began as to whether it was downtown or midtown. Never receiving a satisfactory answer, I was pleased to hear from Bridge’s Chad who explained that it bridged both. Hence their catch phrase «…bridging the gap between the Downtown Reno District and MidTown District — delicious food with craft libations.» Bridge is local owned, and uses local farmers and foods.
Free WiFi available.
To everyone at Bridge, thank you so much for a lovely evening! I look forward to returning soon.