Martine’s River House Restaurant and Bar

Once a tollbooth at Lambertville’s Ferry Landing, this congenial dining spot offers such delicacies as kaffir-lime-infused mussels and lamb marinated in espresso-brown sugar.

By: Kate and Tom O’Neill
   Martine’s, named for owner Martine Landry, was long a popular dining destination in New Hope. She began developing the River House a couple of years ago, and it has quickly established itself as an attractive, congenial dining spot with a menu that offers well conceived dishes, executed with flair. Guests dining outdoors are as close to the river as they would be on the deck of a ship, and in the warmer months, crowds are likely to swell far beyond the intimate group present when we visited in early March.

Martine’s River House

14 East Ferry St.

New Hope, Pa.

(215) 862-2966

www.martinesriverhouserestaurant.com

Food: Very good

Service: Friendly, helpful, well informed

Prices: Soup du jour: $6-$8; starters/salads: $7-$14; entrées: $22-$36; desserts: $7-$9.

Cuisine:Inventive, new-American bistro

Atmosphere: Lively, stylish dining on the Delaware

Outdoor Dining: Wooden decks overlook (and overhang) the Delaware with pleasant breezes and views.

Vegetarian and Vegan Options: Interesting options among starters and salads

Hours: Open daily. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; dinner: 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Essentials: Major credit cards except Discover; full bar; smoking permitted in bar. First floor, one outside deck and restrooms wheelchair accessible. No private parking. Parking is likely to be a challenge in summer or whenever adjacent Bucks County Playhouse lot is tied up for performances.

Directions

   The menu is brief, but its variety is impressive. The chef adds an unexpected ingredient or an extra flourish even to familiar dishes. Short ribs ($26) are served with mashed potatoes enhanced with goat cheese. Filet au poivre ($34) is served with a blue cheese demi glace; pan seared tuna ($24) is crusted with ginger and served with cold sesame soba noodles.
   Six appetizers and two specials find their inspiration from two continents. Europe inspires paté, baked brie and an antipasta of Italian meats and cheeses; from Asia come Thai mussels, Manila clams and spring rolls. The five salads include a delightful composition of pan-seared duck breast, arugula, dried blueberries, apples and goat cheese, drizzled with honey truffle vinaigrette. All salads may be supplemented with grilled chicken, shrimp or a crab cake ($4, $7, $8).
   Our meal opened with two of the restaurant’s more popular dishes, calamari ($13) and Thai mussels ($14). The sweet flavor of fresh, clean mussels harmonized with the soft heat of curry, moderated by soothing coconut milk. In addition to the expected flavors of curry, coconut and lemon grass, the dish contained chunks of lobster claw meat, roasted tomatoes, fennel and kaffir lime leaves. It was simply the best mussel preparation we’ve ever tasted.
   Jack, who served us that evening, enthusiastically endorsed the special calamari appetizer. Tender rounds of squid are crisp-fried, tossed with mango and served over greens, with a bit of delectable hot/sweet Thai Sriracha sauce decorating the plate. The sauce was so appealing that we needed a second round, which Jack delivered in a ramekin — a more realistic amount for those who love hot sauce pizzazz. He also brought the plastic squeeze bottle in which the sauce is sold and suggested a local shop where we might purchase it.
   Over these appetizers, we imagined spending a warm evening at outdoor tables that will soon occupy the restaurant’s spacious riverside deck. Our dream of a warm night, bowls of calamari and mussels beside a gently flowing river reflecting the twinkling lights of Lambertville, will have to wait a few months, but we are clearly ready for spring.
   Back to the wintry present: The chef’s flair was exhibited again in his use of scallop mousse to bind the crab cakes ($27), making them light and moist inside their crisp panko breadcrumb coating. The menu advertises "lump crabmeat," but the crab seemed to be the darker, stronger backfin meat. The crab cakes were served within an attractive border of dark red pomegranate sauce, complete with juicy seeds, and fillips of jade green basil oil.
   Rack of lamb ($36) was served medium rare and cut into six inch-thick chops, the diameter of an old silver dollar. The lamb’s characteristic, slightly gamy taste was deepened by an espresso-brown sugar marinade. It was nicely complemented by black lentils, grilled asparagus and small dollops of currant sauce around the rim of the plate.
   The wine list, like the menu, is brief but moderately priced when purchased by the bottle. The soft Little Penguin Pinot Noir ($8/glass) brought out the best of the lamb, and the off-dry Mueller Riesling ($8/glass) from Germany, with peach and honey tones, partnered well with the mussels. A Fat Bastard Sauvignon Blanc ($9/glass) from southern France was a charming companion for both the calamari appetizer and the crab cakes.
   From the recited list of a half dozen desserts, we selected a dense, rich flourless chocolate torte ($7) and a Linzer torte ($7), both accompanied by dark decaffeinated espressos. The raspberry jam in the center of the Linzer torte ($7) was thick and sweet, while the pastry had the light consistency of a butter cookie with hints of lemon and almond.
   Before its conversion last year, the River House was a yellow barn that once served as a tollbooth at the Ferry Landing. The front room features a bar along one wall with a few small tables. Upstairs, several dinner tables are tucked under a sharply slanted roof. Past the bar, the room opens up under a high ceiling, and French doors form a clear wall with a panoramic view over the river. Outside those windows is a cat walk, lined with tables for two; one level down, spreads the broad riverside deck that sparked our springtime reverie.
   Though floods have slammed New Hope three times in the past two years, plucky business owners keep finding ways to bounce back. Martine’s new location, now even closer to the river, is prepared for Mother Nature. Furniture can be quickly moved upstairs, and the bar and large kitchen appliances are on wheels, ready to roll to higher ground. The floor is stone, and rubber has replaced the sheet rock behind the wainscoting to help the building withstand immersion.