I had originally intended to combine restaurants with pubs, but due to my uncontrollable verbal hemorrhaging, Pubs will rate their own posting (and eventually I promise we'll actually leave Ireland!!)
Due to the rigors and schedules of travelling, we didn’t explore this category too much. And, in fact, I thought there was quite a fuzzy line between what we would call a restaurant and the local pubs. Depending on the pub, you could get varying degrees of food, not haute, but serviceable. This distinction alone might be worth further investigation.. But we’ll tackle the out and out restaurants first..
Restaurants:
The first night in Dublin, we were all taken to a restaurant called “Fire”.
Alert readers will remember that I commented that one of the concierge folk at the hotel led (all forty of) us there through the streets of Dublin (about 5 blocks) to the restaurant. Remember at this point that most folks had been “up” for a number of hours and most of our brains were fuzzy. Fire is situated in the Mansion House that used to house (as I recall) the Lord Mayor of Ireland (or something to that effect). At any rate it dates from the 19th century and was quite a place. A huge hall with stained glass windows, you sort of felt like you were dining at Hogwarts. Our large party was seated at two “twenty top” long tables which were set for us, and already had wine on the table. In one corner of the space there was a open oven and a grill, which presumably lent it’s name to the restaurant. It was our first encounter with the prix fixe menu and, as noted previously, there were a couple of starter choices, I think three main courses and desserts. The servers were upon us almost immediately so careful consideration of the menu was difficult. I chose the pistachio encrusted fried goat cheese, a pork tenderloin, and “traditional” Apple Pie. MFO went with their tomato soup, a steak, and Tipperary Ice Cream. Other choices were (my little notebook fails me here – I was busy with the wine) were chicken and fish.
The appetizers started arriving almost before the 41st order was taken. My goat cheese was good and hot, and MFO’s soup was also tasty (we traded bits). The main courses were also good, although MFO who is a tough cookie when it comes to steak, dubbed hers as “Tasteless and Tough”. Others didn’t agree with her assessment. As a quick aside here, we found that ordering beef in Ireland (short of stews) is not usually a satisfying choice. And, we found that lamb is also not usually available, an oddity, since there seem to be sheep on every street corner.
Desserts were good, although their concept of “traditional apple pie” was more like a tart, sort of flat, but was very tasty. The ice cream was also good. It was a pretty unique venue and experience. I don’t think I would pick it for that little romantic dinner for two, but it was a great introduction to Ireland.. We found our way home unaided, but I wouldn’t want to see the breadcrumb trail…
Our next restaurant experience was for lunch in the town of Athlone, where we overnighted at the Hodson Bay hotel. For lunch we were turned loose on the city, and after wandering around a little we found the Left Bank Bistro (LINK). Oddly enough it was included in the Michelin 2010 Red Book (a bit more on that later) as a “one fork”. This was truly a restaurant, with no pretentions of a pub. A very pleasant, airy, bright room with lots of light colored wood, and tables sprinkled around.
Although there was a menu, they also had a blackboard with daily options, in fact so many crammed on the board you had to go over to read it. I ended up with a Sheppard’s pie
Which, when brought to the table I thought “Gosh, I’ll never eat all of that!” Guess what.
Lunches in Ireland tend to be substantial, maybe why the food in the pubs are lighter. This was a great place, I would return..someday
And before describing what we considered the meal of our trip, a little mention of another place and somewhat of an apology. Before we left, I asked some of my friends who had been to Ireland for some tips. One of them who is a multiple tripper, cautioned me to ‘do not eat at McDonagh's in Galway” going on to explain that you would hear it’s the best seafood in Galway, yadda, yadda, but don’t believe them. Well, after a long day of Guinness and the Oyster Festival in Galway, we joined with a little group who were going out for dinner, and part way there we asked what the destination was. “McDonagh’s!!”. Okay, what the heck. Apparently many others had heard of the reputation as we queued up and were told there was a half hour wait for a table of 6. There are two “sides” to the restaurant, one called the fish and chips bar where you step to the window and order, wait, get the food and find a table to eat it. The other side is set tables, and you order from a menu. Ultimately we were seated, and given menus. It was heavily seafood (duhhhhh) with choices like lemon and parsley crusted sole; fried cod and chips; seared scallops with black pudding; and Clarinbridge Mussels, which attracted my eye. The second line however revealed they were Thai style, with lemon grass, chilis, and coconut milk. That drove me back to the lemon sole – why mess with classics. And, due to the festival, they were “out” of draft Guinness! In deference to my friend, I thought the fish was pretty tasty, not worth a journey, but not bad either. The fish and chips around the table were also well received. Oh, I keep forgetting to mention “Mushy Peas”, a fairly common side dish in Ireland. The name describes them, basically lightly mashed (mushed) peas which provide a great bit of color. I probably would like more research on Galway restaurants before beating a repeat path to the door of McDonagh’s..
Before wrapping this up, I’ll repeat that all of the food on the trip was good (except for the mess in New Ross), but before leaving, my research turned up a restaurant in Dublin called Chapter One rating a one star from Michelin. We decided we’d take one of the free nights and see if we could get in. Upon arriving in Dublin, we asked the concierge if we could get a reservation. His call resulted in learning the place was full on the evening we wanted, so he suggested that we try L'Ecrivain also sporting a Michelin Star. Another call resulted in securing a 7:30 table.
After carefully DFD, we arrived by Taxi in a light rain, and entered a little courtyard beside a Georgian mansion. Once inside, we were treated to a (I can’t find a better word) modern, sleek restaurant. We were taken upstairs to the main dining space (the lounge/bar) was on the first floor. A high ceilinged, quiet space, with muted beige walls, and subdued lighting, tables set with gleaming crystal over white cloths, providing an invitation as to what lies ahead. My expectations were of course high, and I was not disappointed.
Soon after we were seated, an amuse bouche arrived, a little shot glass of smoked eel, diced apple and celery, held together by a perfect hollandaise. Crusty bread was of course at our elbow. We enjoyed these for a bit, and then got down to the menu. Once again, there was a choice between a la carte and a “dinner menu”. We decided to stay on the a la carte side, with several tough choices. Should I have the Wild Irish Sea Trout (Sea Trout Tartare, crayfish, Avruva Caviar Avacado, Yuzu Vinaigrette); or maybe Hereford Beef (fillet, brisket, braised shin, new season girolles, wild garlic butter), I could go on, but I won’t. Ultimately MFO chose a Scallop starter with a rack of lamb for the main course, and I (again) chose a goat cheese appetizer that included a quail egg, and had a duck breast for the main course. Perusing the extensive wine list, I settled upon a ’06 Thierry Mortet Gevery Chambartin, fully appropriate for the dishes.
The wine was brought by the sommelier, presented and offered for tasting. We ended up talking to her a bit, and sharing experiences on travelling in Burgundy. I couldn’t match her tasting session at DRC however..
Without going bite by bite, the food was just wonderful. One of those instances where everything on the plate stood on it’s own, my pickled fig compote went beautifully with the best duck breast I’ve ever had, and MFO was equally ecstatic about her lamb. We didn’t determine the country of origin. Between each course a little intermezzo arrived, a little glass of a flavored veloute, an apple basil granite, just something to clear the palate for the next experience. We finished off the meal with a little lemon curd tarte. Service remained attentive without being obtrusive, just a server quietly walking around observing the tables and replenishing anything necessary.
It’s this kind of meal that lets you explore what great ingredients carefully prepared and presented can do. It just lifts the spirits? Cost? Who cares!
A final note, I have always found that the Michelin Red Guide is a reliable source of information. I would certainly recommend it if you’re going to a new country. My “life meal” still is one of the three stars in France. And, even when in another country, you must
DFD
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