Chinatown is seeing a resurgence in new restaurants.

I find it a geographically challenging area to get to.

Bridges, an innovative new restaurant, just opened downtown so we found our way with many steps involved.

The restaurant is small and nicely renovated. Before it was Bridges, the space housed iconic dim sum restaurant Hop Shing for close to 50 years.

It filled up rapidly on a Saturday night.

Bridges dining room holds 50 patrons and has a bar area that seats 12.

Our server was well informed. She was moderately attentive.

Bridges offers interesting twists on food combinations.

My husband started with Sardines. I let him indulge as sardines are not in my wheelhouse. He enjoyed the dish consisting of a very thin, charred piece of toast with an intense garlic aioli topped with a hefty, rich Cantabrian anchovy and a bullhorn pepper. The fish is marinated in a paste made with fresh Espelette pepper. The sardine is cured in salt and a bit of vinegar and marinated with oil, garlic, lemon, bay leaf, thyme and black pepper ($22).

My pick consisted of one of my favorites, Uni, which was prepared with egg custard and shrimp. The Uni was from Maine which can be bitter. This was wonderful. The dish was creamy and had a plethora of flavors and texture deriving from the uni and shrimp ($23).

One of the featured items is a Comte Tart with Chanterelles. It was fabulous with a malted barley crust and a 24-month aged soft Comte cheese tart filling. It was, in essence, a cheesecake. Topped with chanterelles cooked with Vin Jaune wine, the Comte Tart was delectable. Comte is a mainstay in the region we have a home in France and this passed the taste test ($27).

The Smoked Eel Dumplings with Horseradish were deliciously unique. The dumplings were light and fluffy and we subbed the chicken base for fish stock and it was terrific ($26).

The pre-cracked grilled King Crab with Béarnaise was fabulous. The shell of the King Crab is cut and the inside brushed with a butter made from toasted chile. The crab is grilled over the coals so it is warm and poached in its own butter. Dig in…the dish is designed to be eaten with your hands.

The King Crab is served with a tasty Béarnaise sauce prepared with salted plum, pickled daikon, peppers and onion ($44).

The Toasted Meringue, Meyer Lemon and Coffee dessert was disappointing. I dislike mocha (it was not a strictly coffee flavor) and it was a featured flavor ($13).

Bridges is European in feel and features alums from the Nomad and Estela, including Chef Sam Lawrence debuting in his first solo venture.

For an interesting dinner with unique food combinations at not outrageous prices, reserve at Bridges.

Bridges 9 Chatham Square Chinatown New York Ciry. Open Tuesday-Saturday 5:30pm-10pm. Reservations on Resy.