Bang Cafe, Modern Irish, Merrion Row, Dublin 2.

This cosmopolitan restaurant located on Merrion Row was recently re-opend by a consortium which includes brother and sister, Anne and Joe Barrett and businessman and RTE Dragon's Den investor Bobby Kerr. It's looking good for the new style Bang, with a dramatic interior and great head chef in Philip Yeung.

Bang Café was around for 10 years, always full and a Mecca for the bright young things of Celtic Tiger Ireland. A perfect storm of events sent it spiralling into receivership last year, but it has now re-opened by a consortium which includes brother and sister, Anne and Joe Barrett and businessman and Dragon's Den investor Bobby Kerr. Bang was always a very good restaurant, in addition to being a cool spot to hang, and the new team had a certain standard to live up to, so there was a certain expectation involved in returning. The end of the Leaving Cert proved a good reason to treat my daughter Abigail to lunch and on one of the warm days in June we made our way to Merion Row.

From the outside it is pretty much the same, but inside its all change with a dramatic blue colour scheme on the walls and ceiling, which is broken up by an eclectic - and quite good - collection of contemporary art. The restaurant runs over three floors, with wooden floors and stylish table settings, so the initial impression is good. We are slightly behind lunch service, arriving about 2.30, but there is a fair crowd in and we get one of the remaining tables along the side wall.

The lunch menu is a simple affair, offering half a dozen starters and slightly more main courses. The price is fixed, so you can choose 2 courses for €22 or three for €25. Each dish is also individually priced, so if you only fancy a main course, that’s an option as well. We decided on two courses each, with the possibility of a shared dessert and set about choosing.

The menu offered very seasonal choices, and starters included char grilled calamari with rocket and roast red pepper, a Caesar salad, proper Buffalo mozzarella with basil and tomato, cured salmon and a bowl of mussels. Main courses offered a choice of fresh mackerel, slow cooked lamb shoulder, a broad bean, and pea and courgette risotto with shaved parmesan, home made burger or an open crab sandwich. There were some specials as well, a butternut soup and home made sausages and mash, were options. In the end Abigail chose the char grilled calamari and the Bang Bang chicken salad, while I contented myself with the cured salmon and a char grilled 8oz strip loin with fries and béarnaise sauce. Sparkling water and a glass of Pinot Grigio for the young lady completed the order.

While we waited, our drinks arrived with some very nice bread, while I tried to elicit information on the exams, with it has to be said, little actual concrete information at the end, so Abi was happy to see our food arrive quickly and end my, no doubt annoying, interrogation. The starters well nicely presented, and the char grilled calamari was especially good, fresh and nicely flavoured, The Clare Island cured salmon was served with some very nice, oft overlooked fennel, with coriander and orange dressing and again was weather perfect – light and refreshing. Main courses continued the successful meal – Abi’s Bang Bang chicken was a large salad bowl with a tropical salad of mango, lime vinaigrette and peanut sauce and was different and very tasty. My steak was served perfectly medium rare, the chips were good and the béarnaise as it should be. All good, and we managed to fit in a shared chocolate and hazelnut brownie and coffee.

Its early days, but the new Bang seems to have kept most of the bits that made it successful in the first place, and added some pleasing new touches. The chef is one Philip Yeung, who until recently cooked in Town Bar and Grill, and he seems to have brought a confident touch to the menu and everything was very good. If there was anything I’d change - the chocolate brownie was too rich for us but, hey, that’s just us being picky.