Repository Saimi Bergmann ROOM WITH A VIEW If you like watching the world go by, ask for the window table at Bridge Street Bistro in the historic Ashtabula Harbor District. Chef Nate Rockwell recommends the seafood chowder at this new eatery. Related Stories Northeast hotels vow to hold rooms for 2008 GOP convention Ashtabula: Lake Erie harbor town’s comeback is a success story Advertisement

ASHTABULA It should come as no surprise that the Bridge Street Bistro, just a skipping stone’s throw from the Ashtabula Harbor, features fish.

The ambrosial seafood chowder at this 2-month-old restaurant rivals the best I’ve had. A rich, buttery broth with a smoky hint of bacon is crowded with tender clams, fish and scallops ($4 a cup).

With its cloth-draped tables, arched doorways, exposed brick walls and an upscale menu, the bistro adds a much-needed fine-dining establishment to the restored waterfront shopping area along Bridge Street. Chef Nate Rockwell said many of the most-requested dishes are seafood.

“Our most popular appetizer is the garlic mussels, in a garlic wine sauce,” Rockwell said. “Also our Ahi Tuna plate — that’s sesame-encrusted yellowfin, seared rare, served chilled on bed of greens with wasabi.”

The Ahi Tuna is also available as a dinner, served with a tower of basmati rice. For dinner, Rockwell recommends the seared scallops, or for the meat eaters, the top sirloin.

Lunches run $6-9 and dinners are $12-28. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. For more information, call (440) 964-6964.

Reach Repository food writer Saimi Bergmann at (330) 580-8493 or e-mail saimi.bergmann@cantonrep.com