Dining Review: Menu relies on pub standards at Bar None

Appetizers at Bar None include a bacon-cheeseburger slider (front).

The narrow space on South Main that Circa restaurant once occupied -- squeezed between the entrances to the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art and Art Under a Hot Tin Roof -- is now occupied by Bar None Chef's Pub, like Circa, a venture of Memphis restaurant entrepreneur John Bragg.

Bar None has extravagant ambitions: Its home page motto is "The Best Food in a Pub ... Bar None!" That promise is overconfident considering there are gastropubs to the north and south of its location on Main that offer some beautifully executed fare.

When Bragg moved Circa east on Poplar, he dismantled the stylish interior he had created Downtown. While two walls of blond wood panels remain at Bar None, now TVs are mounted along the south wall, and black curtains have been strung up, possibly to dim the light from the museum entrance next door.

Photo by Demarcus Bowser, Special to The Commercial Appeal

The chicken pot pie, loaded with chunks of chicken and savory brown meat under a beautiful pastry top, was nicely done at Bar None.

Photos by Demarcus Bowser/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Carl, Ashley and Mary Nelson sit in the patio area in front of Bar None Chef's Pub in Downtown Memphis.

Fruity cocktails and a "half-yard" of beer are among the bar offerings.

A digital touch-screen jukebox squats at the end of the bar and, for better or worse, offers an encyclopedia of recorded music. At about 8 one night when there was no one else in the place, we had to raise our voices over songs the staff must have punched by Iggy Pop, R.E.M. and the Ramones. Had the room been crowded, we probably would have enjoyed the music, but in those circumstances, it just created a cold echo.

Our first visit, we asked for a "beef tenderloin slider," which looked like a bargain at $5. I expected a thick, juicy bit of meat of naturally biscuit-sized dimensions. What arrived were deli-style cuts about one-eighth of an inch thick, thoroughly browned and folded into an indifferent roll. I ordered the slider a second night, hoping our first was an off-night substitute. It came the same way both times. Why not just call it a roast beef slider? Mushrooms and a tarragon aioli made the appetizer palatable.

We tried the thin, French-style green beans twice as well, because the first time we had them, they were singed and rubbery. The second time, they were just rubbery, something flash blanching before a sauté might cure. If you pay $4 for a vegetable on the side, it should be treated with consideration in the kitchen.

A mystifying dish on the menu is the Bar None Burger, which is listed separately on the online menu because: "This burger deserves a page all its own." It is a pound of beef, which we ordered medium rare and which came thoroughly browned, along with cheddar, bacon, tomato and onions. When you're staring down a chunk of ground beef that would serve four, you already start picturing a to-go box. If there was seasoning on the meat, it was so subtle it was undetectable.

We had two accomplished dishes at Bar None, both pub standards and both done nicely in stoneware bowls with handles. The chicken pie had a lovely browned pastry top, and was loaded with chunks of chicken breast and savory brown meat, a well-knit stew with plenty of peas and some slivers of carrot.

A cottage pie is also presented in classic style, a dense base of peppery ground beef with onions and carrots, under an equally dense cap of mashed potatoes. Both were thoroughly satisfying meals in themselves.

The fish and chips brings a melting center of white fish surrounded by battered crust, but it also arrives with a heap of previously frozen french fries.

If you want to experiment with the bar drinks, try the Shandy, a fruity combination of ale and ginger ale. A novelty drink, the "half-yard" of beer, comes in an 18-inch-tall glass supported by a wooden stand. (If you break the glass, it will cost you $40.) Among the beers on draft at Bar None are Ghost River, Hoegaarden Belgian Wit and Boddingtons.

The female staff, though they wear black, are into a sort of Hooters aesthetic fit-wise. Our male server was low-key and pleasant.

-- Peggy Burch: (901) 529-2392

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Bar None

Food:

Service:

Atmosphere:

Address: 119 S. Main

Telephone: (901) 522-1488

Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Reviewer's choices: Chicken pie, $13; Cottage pie, $12. Shandy, $4.50.

Alcohol: Full bar.

Star Ratings

Poor: Zero stars

Good: One star

Very Good: Two stars

Excellent: Three stars

Extraordinary: Four stars

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