‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ fans still flock to this Bay Area restaurant

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Deb Girard, a location manager for “Mrs. Doubtfire,” explains that her co-location manager, the late Bruce Devan, was from the East Bay and helped choose Bridges Restaurant & Bar.(Clockwise top left) Bridges dining room, Yasmin Harirchias works behind the counter, employees, and General Manager Haven Piatt. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)(Top to bottom) Bridges dining room, Yasmin Harirchias works behind the counter, employees, and General Manager Haven Piatt. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad“There was nothing in the city that was going to probably be large enough for what we needed to do,” she says of San Francisco. With a big corner lot and backlit signage, Bridges offered more space and visual interest for exterior shots. The interior layout was just as important — open, but with different sections for dining. “The restaurant worked really well because [characters] couldn’t really run into each other.” The round table is where Miranda Hillard (Sally Field), Stuart “Stu” Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan) and Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) and family sit at Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif.Twentieth Century FoxThe round table is where Miranda Hillard (Sally Field), Stu Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan) and Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) and family sit at Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif., pictured on Aug. 25, 2023. The restaurant was used in a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEA view of the seating area where Jonathan Lundy (Robert Prosky in back with menu) waits for Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) for a business meeting at Bridges Restaurant in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Twentieth Century FoxAdvertisementArticle continues below this adA view of the seating area where Jonathan Lundy waits for Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) for a business meeting at Bridges Restaurant in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” in Danville, Calif., pictured on Aug. 25, 2023. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEIn the film, which takes place amid the divorce of parents Miranda Hillard (Sally Field) and Daniel Hillard (Williams), Daniel creates the alternate identity of English nanny “Mrs. Doubtfire,” whom Miranda unwittingly hires for child care. Daniel has a business dinner at Bridges on the same night that Mrs. Doubtfire is to attend Miranda’s birthday dinner there. The dad brings his two personas and outfits to the restaurant, changing costumes throughout the evening until his act falls apart.Stuart “Stu” Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan) and Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) in a scene at Bridges Restaurant in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Twentieth Century FoxSome of Bridges’ staff stayed on as extras and cooked food for the scene. Bandleader and musician Dick Bright says Robin Williams also paid it forward by trying to “help fellow comedians and actors to get the quote-unquote small roles in the film.” Locals were required to audition. However, Bright explains, “If you were equal to the LA guy, you got the gig. But you had to earn it.” He is the waiter who assists Mrs. Doubtfire with her chair — but she’s so drunk that she ends up falling to the floor when trying to sit down.AdvertisementArticle continues below this adThe round table where Miranda Hillard (Sally Field), Stuart “Stu” Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan) and Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) and family sit at Bridges Restaurant.Twentieth Century FoxThe round table is where Miranda Hillard (Sally Field), Stu Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan) and Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) and family sit at Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif., pictured on Aug. 25, 2023. The restaurant was used in a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEOn his first day playing a waiter at Bridges, Bright noticed a director’s assistant with a pencil planning out each of the restaurant’s tables. She was carefully noting who sat where, and what they looked like. Bright told SFGATE that bored extras would “start dropping like flies,” so their replacements needed to bear some resemblance to the originals.AdvertisementArticle continues below this adA scene Jonathan Lundy (Robert Prosky) holds a business dinner with Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) at Bridges Restaurant in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Twentieth Century FoxA view of the table where Jonathan Lundy (Robert Prosky) holds a business dinner with Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) at Bridges Restaurant in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” in Danville, Calif., pictured on Aug. 25, 2023. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEBridges is recognizable from its “Doubtfire” days, although executive chef Kevin Gin says the menu has changed considerably. He arrived in 1993, shortly after the movie had been filmed. “Back then, we were California- and Asian-inspired. The original owner created the name Bridges because he wanted to bridge the East with the West, and he wanted to show the best of both cultures,” Gin tells SFGATE. The “hot jambalaya” Mrs. Doubtfire spices up with a dose of cayenne pepper for Stu (Pierce Brosnan) was not on the real menu. The kitchen at Bridges Restaurant during a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Twentieth Century FoxAdvertisementArticle continues below this adThe kitchen at Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2023, which was used in a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEA patron won’t find Doubtfire’s order of poached salmon, either, but the lunch menu does offer a pan-roasted Atlantic salmon salad. The fish is cooked to a crisp perfection, balancing sweetness with a satisfying blend of romaine hearts, baby arugula, radicchio, wonton strips, scallions, carrots and cucumbers — topped with a palm sugar-mint vinaigrette.Gin says one signature dish that has remained for many years is the prawn stir-fry with Thai red curry sauce. There’s plenty of variety for daytime dining, from chilled edamame and lettuce wraps to truffle frites for starters; then perhaps a salad, French dip au jus or lemongrass pork tenderloin banh mi. The Bridges Burger and steak are available all day, and the dinner crowd may enjoy pan-roasted harissa chicken or red wine-braised beef short rib pappardelle.(Clockwise top left) Sal Molina-Perez presents Prawn stir-fry with Thai red curry sauce, also Banh mih and Fried Chicken Sandwich. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)Sal Molina-Perez presents Prawn stir-fry with Thai red curry sauce, also Banh mih and Fried Chicken Sandwich. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)AdvertisementArticle continues below this adAccording to Gin, three decades ago, Bridges operated on more of an upscale cuisine, reservation-only model, but sales were on a downturn. Then “Mrs. Doubtfire” hit theaters, and a week later he noticed a change.“We saw sales go from, say, $11,000 a week to basically $22,000 the very next week,” Gin says. “And then $44,000, $50-something thousand, and so on. It just kept going.”The exterior of Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2023. The restaurant was used in a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEThe exterior, with its wood-shingle siding, French doors and stylish curved “Bridges” sign, still looks similar to the film. The same clear glass panels etched with a reed design hang inside the restaurant, though more red notes fill the space, including accent walls. Some visitors still hope to be seated at the circular table where Williams, Field and Brosnan sat with Mara Wilson, Lisa Jakub and Matthew Lawrence. Gin remembers a large group entering the restaurant dressed like they were in the movie.AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad“We’ve had people celebrating an occasion and have somebody dress up like Mrs. Doubtfire and actually come in and do a little skit or sing or something,” he said.A poster from the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” hangs near the bathrooms at Bridges Restaurant in Danville, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2023. Robin Williams wrote a personal message on the poster. The restaurant was used in a scene in the 1993 movie “Mrs. Doubtfire.”Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEIn the hall near the restrooms, patrons can find framed accolades and one very special memento. “Your Bridges was a joy to cross. May it last forever. All my love,” Robin Williams wrote on a movie poster, signed, “Mrs. D.”

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