The Restaurant Review Thread

Broke my rule of going out less often but to better places. Mrs insisted we go out for my birthday. Ended up at Bon Crubeen. Dreadful.

[Tar.Aldarion]

Man restaurants these days are obsessed with foam, get over it lads.

[CountingCrows]

Agreed, best dessert I've ever had.

[elbows]

Few pics from last night...

Had the same meal there a few weeks ago. The passion fruit soufflet was off the charts.

[CountingCrows]

Few pics from last night...

[elbows]

Heading to the Greenhouse restaurant this evening. Any budding sommelier care to recommend a good red?

http://www.thegreenhouserestaurant.ie/winelist.pdf

Had the Shiraz/Voignier blend that went well with the main. The reisling was fantastic though for starters

[CountingCrows]

Heading to the Greenhouse restaurant this evening. Any budding sommelier care to recommend a good red?

http://www.thegreenhouserestaurant.ie/winelist.pdf

[Pat Mustard]

Here again last night can't stress how good it is. http://www.ballymoreinn.com/

[Denny Crane]

Yeah I read that post last night and was surprised but it's been a long time since I was there. I don't understand how the new place they opened underneath is doing so well, initially I put it down to novelty but any time I pass it it's still packed.

[Lao Lao]

Dined in the Winding Stair. Very disappointing, especially given the way the waiter talked everything up as being 'the best in Dublin'. Avoid imo.

They were client's of mine a few years ago.

They had great food about 4/5 years ago but was already going downhill the last time I went around 3 years ago.

Pretty much what Elbows said. I've only eaten there twice. Once in 2009 and the food was amazing. Next time I was there was late 2011 and there was a noteable difference in the quality of the food. Haven't been back since

[elbows]

Dined in the Winding Stair. Very disappointing, especially given the way the waiter talked everything up as being 'the best in Dublin'. Avoid imo.

They were client's of mine a few years ago.

They had great food about 4/5 years ago but was already going downhill the last time I went around 3 years ago.

[Raoul Duke III]

Where would be recommended for lunch in London tomorrow that wouldn't require booking?

if you go down to the Borough Market (basically under London Bridge), you can have a good wander around eating stuff or if you choose, there are lots of casual enough spots in the vicinity

Vinopolis worth a look too very close by. Have spent a few happy afternoons in there.

[NewApproach]

Where would be recommended for lunch in London tomorrow that wouldn't require booking?

[Raoul Duke III]

Dined in the Winding Stair. Very disappointing, especially given the way the waiter talked everything up as being 'the best in Dublin'. Avoid imo.

[elbows]

Restaurant Name: Forest Avenue

Location: 8 Sussex Terrace, D4

Website: www.forestavenuerestaurant.ie

Price Range: €€€

Review:

I booked here for our Anniversary after hearing only good things.

The restaurant's head chef is John Wyer who previously worked in L'ecrivan and also was head chef in Mulberry Garden and having experienced his work in Mulberry on numerous occasions I was pretty sure the meal was going to be very good.

We arrived a little early and we had to stand at the bar which is right by the door and is not a great place to wait as there are no seats. All the front of house staff were dressed as hipsters which made me uneasy. Despite my initial hesitancy I decided I would need to interact with these people in order to get a drink. To my surprise the young lady who took my order was very friendly and welcoming and apologised on numerous occasions for us having to wait for our table.

I ordered a white port with fevertree tonic which was very refreshing and the Mrs had a glass of prosecco. About 10 minutes passed and we were shown to our table which was right beside the open Kitchen which I thought would be interesting having experienced the chef's table in chapter one.

The menu was a five course tasting menu and I decided on getting the paired wine while the Mrs. stuck to Prosecco. She opted for the vegetarian option.

The 2 starters were set and there was a choice for both main and desert/cheese board.

I had an option of Turbot or Fillet of Beef which came medium rare I was informed. I chose the Beef but the Turbot looked good also.

The first wine was a prosecco which I got 2 glasses of to wash down the 2 snacks they brought. A comte cheese filled puff pastry bite and a chicken liver parfait crisp. Both were lovely and the prosecco was ok.

The first starter was a salad of beets, smoked milk curd, bresolla salted beef, chicory, blood orange and fennel washed down with an Alsace Pinot Blanc. Both the starter and the wine were ok but not amazing but the bressola was very good. I think a nice Alsace Reising would have worked better but what do I know.

The second starter was Sprouting Broccolli, Soft Egg, Salsify, Wild Garlic, Gnocci & Field Mushroom. The wine was some white wine blend (too many grapes varieties to remember) from the Languedoc region. Every element of this dish worked and the wine suited perfectly 10/10 dish. My wife loved this dish also.

Out for a quick vape and check everything was alright back at Chez Bows and back in for the main.

The wine for the main was a listan negro from Tenerife. I had never heard of red wine from Tenerife before and was pleasently surprised. Very rich taste and perfect for the fillet of beef. The beef came out perfectly cooked accompanied by a short rib, onion, celeriac and cabbage. I took my time with this dish and enjoyed every mouthful. Mrs had some vegetarian dish which she enjoyed.

Satisfying meal so far and enough room for dessert. Didn't fancy the cheese so opted for the sweet.

There was a 10 year old port with the dessert which was good.

The dessert was a truffle custard and other things that didn't matter. The Truffle did not work in the custard. I had a couple of spoons and had some of the rest of the dessert. I wish I had gotten the cheese board now.

Then Petit Fours came with our 2 teas. The Petit Fours were more like mini desserts and one was lovely and one was not (a deconstructed rubarb crumble)

Disappointing end to what was on the whole a very good meal.

The service was excellent and all dishes and wines were explained to us in detail.

However sitting next to the kitchen we experienced the chef's frustrations at his helpers inability to perform seemingly simple tasks (in his eyes). The fucks, idiots and the odd cunce did not add to our dining experience.

The bill came to €190 including a decent tip.

I assume they change the menu every week (similar to Mulberry) and the odd gripe aside I would recommend going there.

[elbows]

Was in Forest Avenue on Saturday night.

On the whole very good. I will do a review later once I have my notes in front of me.

[ghostface]

In fairness going to E&C and deviating from the wings is amateur hour.

Was in the Rustic Stone the other week and got the wings in there for starters. I think they were the best wings I've ever had. Place was decent overall but the wings were a standout, which probably isn't the best review of a place!!

[thechamp87]

Went to the Elephant and Castle last night and it was so bad I had to write about it here. I only got out of bed at 10pm so our options were pretty limited. I ordered fillet steak and my companion got the steak sandwich. I asked for it medium rare, she for rare. They managed to get the order in reverse, which I only realised half way through the meal. The steak was fine, but it came with a stupidly large lump of inedible potato. It looked like a slab of butter and tasted uncooked. They gave us complimentary desert due to the steak mixup. Good selection of beers but other then that it was very dissapointing.

In fairness going to E&C and deviating from the wings is amateur hour.

[Hectorjelly]

Went to the Elephant and Castle last night and it was so bad I had to write about it here. I only got out of bed at 10pm so our options were pretty limited. I ordered fillet steak and my companion got the steak sandwich. I asked for it medium rare, she for rare. They managed to get the order in reverse, which I only realised half way through the meal. The steak was fine, but it came with a stupidly large lump of inedible potato. It looked like a slab of butter and tasted uncooked. They gave us complimentary desert due to the steak mixup. Good selection of beers but other then that it was very dissapointing.

Mrs turned 30 there recently by way of a present I decided to take her on a surprise trip to Monaco. Decided to do it properly and thankfully had a few quid to spend on it by virtue of the fact that we go out about 3 times a year nowadays.
Flew into Nice on Friday and I had booked a helicopter from the airport to Monaco which went down a treat. I’d never been in a helicopter before and I thought it was class. Flying along the Med with the Riviera out the left hand window is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

We were staying at the Hermitage which is the number 1 ranked hotel on Tripadvisor and was damn luxurious. I prefer contemporary hotels but she likes the classic stuff and I was pleasantly surprised. Amazingly efficient and friendly staff and the room was spotlessly clean. Everything in the hotel was extortionately expensive. We saw a half bottle of wine sitting away from the mini-bar and thought maybe it was complementary…no, no...€40. An Aussie guy I was chatting too mistakenly sent his shirt for laundry instead of ironing and the cost was more than the value of the shirt.

We had no dinner plans the first night and walked around for a bit but being Friday most places were full. We returned to the hotel and thankfully there was a table in the restaurant there which is called Le Vistalmar and has a Michelin star.
Started off wobbly with very poor bread and super expensive wine (in the end we got a bottle for €65 which retails for €28 so did alright!).
We got the 3 course seasonal menu for €68 and I had some sort of shrimp starter and the mrs. had a mushroom pie…overall I’d give them 5/10. We both had squab for mains which was excellent and I would give it a solid 8/10, and finally we both got the most amazing deserts I’ve ever seen/eaten. They were by far and away the best thing about the meal and came as a real shock! They were the only thing I took pictures of, see below. The bill came to €210. We finished off with a 22 euro Bombay and Tonic overlooking the harbour.

SPOILER

SPOILER

The second night we were booked into the 2 star Joel Robuchon at the Metropole. (He has the most Michelin stars of anyone) We got there at 7:30 and my hopes were elevated pretty quickly. The bread was fantastic, but it was overload as I was still browsing the menu, picking wine and the amuse bouche arrived at the same time.
The amuse bouche was a foie gras reduction with parmesan foam and it set a great tone…so buttery…I could have eaten a bucket of it.
They do a tapas kind of thing there as well as the conventional menu, so we got 3 starters. The first was seared foie gras and it was the nicest foie gras I’ve ever eaten. The second was something called Roseval, which is a cold dish consisting of potato, foie gras and a dose of black truffles…again very nice, and lastly we got quail stuffed with foie gras with truffle mash and it was great.
For main she has the fillet of beef which she said was fab and I had lamb cutlets and nearly cried when they were all gone. For desert I got something based on pears and I was very disappointed particularly given the previous night’s desert. She had some coffee and chocolate based concoction and it was reported to be good but not outstanding.
On the way out they gave us a gift of a lemon cake in a really fancy looking gift bag which was a really nice touch. Overall the bill came to something like €330 including service (we had 2 glasses of wine each). Its well worth its 2 stars and I’d be back there in a flash if I ever manage to rise to power in a small nation and oppress them all. They just need to poach the pastry chef from across the road.

[Raoul Duke III]

I was in Shanahans last night, it seems to me that each time I go in the blonde manager type woman is becoming more and more surly.

You have that effect on women alright.

[newbie2]

Restaurant in Paris

I've been forced to pay for a hoiliday for my kids to Disneyland Paris. We're heading over with another family with young kids. My mate is as impressed with the holiday destination as I am. For forking out ridiculous money for 4 nights, myself and my mate have been given a pass to get a boozy lunch in the centre of Paris one of the days.

Any recommendations?

The last restaurant we were at was L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London in November.

Something along those lines would be great.

Cheers

[Raoul Duke III]

Very underwhelming. It was pretty much just sitting on the plate on it's own. I added the sauce before Gillian took the photo. There was also a lot more fat on it than I expected. It was cooked and tasted superb, but presentation and the amount of fat was a big let down.

It's a rib-eye by the shape of it? Supposed to be fatty as that's what brings most of the flavour.

I don't know if there's much you can do to 'present' a steak: it's a lump of meat

[Flushdraw]

despite it looking pretty damn nice the steak does look a little underwhelming, not sure it stacks up alongside the meat fruit for presentation and originality?

Very underwhelming. It was pretty much just sitting on the plate on it's own. I added the sauce before Gillian took the photo. There was also a lot more fat on it than I expected. It was cooked and tasted superb, but presentation and the amount of fat was a big let down.

[MrsFlushdraw]

Dinner by Heston

Restaurant Name: Dinner by Heston

Location: Mandarin Oriental, Knightsbridge

Website: http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/

Price Range: €€€€€

After almost a month I am finally getting round to typing this up.

Tony surprised me with the London trip for the 7th anniversary of us being together and the first part was going to see Kooza (Cirque du Soleil) at the Royal Albert Hall and then on the Friday night we had a dinner reservation at Dinner by Heston. I was happy to read that it was not that formal and the dress code was relaxed.

I was very surprised to see the very inconspicuous entrance with the name in white against white and not showy at all. The girls were dressed in these long black kimono type dresses. We were shown to a table to wait and given the cocktail/drinks menu and a bowl of nuts which I didn't want to eat as I didn't want to take even the edge off my hunger!
We were the first taken into the restaurant and we have a table round at the window side and looking right at the kitchen which was amazing for me but not Tony as I spent most of the night watching the chef's in action

I opted for the Meat Fruit which I found just beautiful. I wish I had asked for an extra bit of the toast as I ended up smothering it onto what I had and it was overkill and made me feel a bit ick thinking about it afterwards.
Tony went for the Salamagundy which was chicken oysters, salsify and marrow bone. It was nice too. We both tried a bit of each other's courses.

SPOILER

SPOILER

I ordered for my main the Spiced pigeon with Ale & artichokes. This was the 3rd time I have eaten pigeon and it was a class apart from the other two times. The bird was lovely and pink and was just sublime.

SPOILER

Tony went for the Hereford Ribeye with the mushroom ketchup which at first surprised me as you can get steak anywhere and I was thinking it can't be that special. When the plates arrived, my dish as I suspected looked amazing but I found the presentation of Tony's a bit lacking. The steak was the nicest I have ever tasted and I have eaten many a steak in my time. The triple cooked chips were ok but nothing special. They were served with Tony's steak.

SPOILER

I went for the Tispy cake as recommended for dessert an Tony went for the Sambocade. The thought of a goats milk cheesecake didn't do anything for me but I know Tony loves his cheesecake! My dessert was amazing and the only thing that stopped me enjoying it to the full was the fact I was pretty full at this stage and couldn't imagine finishing it. I did give it a good try though and got there in the end.

SPOILER

Tony's cheesecake was fantastic and I have never tasted one like it. The cheesecake was flavoured with Elderflower and apple and there was perry-poached pear inside.

Just when I thought I could eat no more there was a little shot glass with a chocolate ganache in it. I almost had to force it down as I didn't think I could manage another thing but it was beautiful and was not going to let it go to waste.

SPOILER

It was an amazing experience. The staff were fantastic and there was not one thing they didn't know about the food and I asked a LOT of questions. They did not mind me taking pictures of the kitchen and a couple of the chef's obliged for the photo-call

SPOILER

Tony also had a little surprise for me which was a special cake of a chocolate cake with a mandarin flavoured ganache which had a popping candy base. It was beautiful and we had it the next morning as we were both too full to even think about it on the night. Luckily we had a fridge in the hotel room.

SPOILER

Neither of us are big drinkers and I had a glass of champagne with my meal and Tony had a non alcoholic cocktail with his.The total bill came to £220 and was worth every penny.

That is us done a 1 star and a 2 star. Looking to see what 3 star we can go to next

[Tar.Aldarion]

My meal at the weekend cost 300 euro less than the above, however I loved it

Had a 4 course pop-up meal at the yoga hub up camdon street. 20 euro, bring your own wine.
I brought Lindemans Bin 65 2012. The facebook page has uploaded photos so I can add them to the description of the dishes.

First course was seaweed chowder with blanched samphire. It's been a long time that i ate something "fishy" tasting but thoroughly enjoyed, veg was soft but crunchy, which is how they should be.



Next up was courgette and pepper "boxty" with lime and chive and lime cream cheese (fake ofc, probably made from nuts, god knows, delicious anyhow). Ah this was beautiful, I wish to have it again now drool, pomegranate is my favourite food this year, just pour it onto everything please. Fennel and almond slices were nice in salad for a change.





The main dish was Irish tempeh stew with "bacon" colcannon mash (smoked tofu cubes and smoked walnuts) with braised red cabbage and raisins.




Desert was almond flummery with rasberry couli and some sort of homemade honeycomb thing.



That for 20 euro was stealing, the thievery adding to my self-satisfaction.
Pretty nice place to have a meal too, considering it is generally a yoga club.

[Lao Lao]

Restaurant Name: Dax

Location: Pembroke Street Upper, D2

Website: www.dax.ie

Price Range: €€€€

Have been meaning to put this review up for a while now but never got around to it. I was here at the end of January with herself for our anniversary.

I had devised a cunning plan with her mates to fool her into thinking that she was going to dinner with them to a different restaurant with a cheap Groupon voucher one of them had got as a present. However, when the clock struck 7:30, I was there to collect her instead of her mates. She was kept in the dark to where we were going until we were literally outside Dax and I had to ensure a bit of abuse (she hated being tricked) while we had pre dinner G&T's in O'Briens but it was well worth it.

I had booked the 7 course tasting menu or as we were later informed, they call it the 'Surprise Menu' with matching wines.

We arrived on time for our booking but our table wasn't quite ready so we sat out at the bar and had a glass of Prosecco each. After about 10-15 minutes we were brought to our table where we were given water and some bread before the food arrived.

The bread was clearly freshly made and was delicious. I always think it's a good sign of what's to come if a restaurant can churn out fresh in house cooked bread and on this occasion I wasn't disappointed

Once the bread was dispatched, we were given a small appetizer as we finished off our Prosecco - Ham hock deep fried in breadcrumbs with pickled carrot and onion. It was only the size of a bon bon but it was absolutely divine - I could have eaten a bag of them

Our first official course was Pan Fried Foie Gras, Sweet Mustard, Pickled Salsify, Cured Pork Cheek and was served with a Chenin Blanc. This was fabulous. I've never had Salsify before but apparently, it's the next big thing as I've seen it in about half a dozen other places since

2nd course was Seared Castletownbere scallops, cauliflower puree, caper and raisin, saffron and mussel sauce served with a Viognier. I know scallops tend to divide people but I love them and these were cooked to perfection. The combination of the puree and the mussel sauce was amazing. I could have eaten a plate of that on it's own

3rd course was Roasted Quail, Leg Ballotine, Carrot and Five Spice served with a Pinot Noir. This was the highlight of a list of highs. For the leg ballotine, they had shredded a confit leg of quail, mixed it five spice and carrot, molded it into a ball shape, fried it and then stuck the bone back in so it looked like an upside down lolly pop on the plate. It was heavenly. I could have eaten about a dozen of these on their own and gone away a very happy man

4th course was seared stone bass, caramelised onion, potato Lyonnaise, oyster mushroom served with a Chardonnay from Burgundy. I've never eaten stone bass before I love fish in general and this was no exception. The caramelised onions were also fantastic. I make caramelisd onions on a regular basis and mine don't come anywhere near this standard

5th course was smoked venison haunch, salsify, red cabbage, salted pear a Pickled Walnut served with a Spanish Monastrelle. The venison was was tender, perfectly pink to my liking, it was like cutting through butter with a hot knife

6th course was dark chocolate fondant, salted caramel, banana ice cream and i can't for the life of me remember the wine it was served with but I do know that the wine was drunk quite happily and I had to use all my will power to refrain from picking up the plate and licking it clean

7th course was a mature Irish & French Cheese plate served with a cold Grenache. The cheese was Epoisse, Coolea & St Nectaire and this was the only course that I had a slight problem with. I do not like cold red wine. i don't care what they do in France (well I do care what they do in France) but with cold red wine, they are just wrong, wrong, wrong! The only other complaint and it is minor is that I find cheese boards on tasting menu's to be very small. Ok, I'm a tough customer as it's the 7th of 7 courses and the chef probably thinks your about to burst but I love cheese and I want to eat it!

The service was very good and the waiters were both friendly and attentive. The maitre d' was very charming and he spent a good 5-10 minutes talking to every table. Normally, I wouldn't be into this as it's often forced chit chat but this guy was a pro, he was able to chat to you like an old friend and you were happy to chat to him and have a bit of banter with him

7 courses, wines pairings, two glasses of Presecco plus tip came to €320 and while you wouldn't do it every weekend, it was completely and utterly worth it

8.5 / 10

[Lord Sir Banter]

I have also never eaten the same thing twice there.

Not much of an accolade mate.

Dessert was some way to finish the meal with a bang, best dessert I've ever had, echoed by all as they started ordering from the vegan menu. It was a Berry and apple "crumble", oat praline, dark chocolate, vanilla spiced cashew cream, candied blood orangettes, blackberry sorbet, highbank orchard syrup.
The berry spicing along with it's warmth was perfect, people sat there with stunned faces with the food in their mouth. Most impressive chef I have to say. Some quality for a 3 course meal made up within a day.



Those three courses came to a paltry 24 euro. A nice Spanish wine, cask cider and whiskey brought that to 50ish. A steal really.

Better than banana we pretend it's chocolate mulch?
I bet they tell all the vegans that they just printed and came up with the menu.

[eamonhonda]

% of wait staff with beards = ~90.

not overly impressed, review will follow once I've eased myself back into civilisation

You're wrong.

[Tar.Aldarion]

you were warned, chef has beard.

[Raoul Duke III]

Sorry, hipster to the max.

% of wait staff with beards = ~90.

not overly impressed, review will follow once I've eased myself back into civilisation

Decided on Robuchon for Monaco...2nd foray into the two star world. Excite.

[CHDad]

Reported you all for trolling.

[eamonhonda]

Quite the coincidence there Tar. I am en route.

No hipster bullshit please.

It's class for us normal neat eaters too I've been many times

[Tar.Aldarion]

Sorry, hipster to the max.

Have you eaten there before? I'm quite local so I love that pub.
Have some Japanese whiskey.
If you really want to copy my night, go to VCC after.

[Raoul Duke III]

Quite the coincidence there Tar. I am en route.

No hipster bullshit please.

[Tar.Aldarion]

Mulligan grocers constantly gets better, my god, and so cheap for what you get imo.
I made a booking on short notice, and they made and printed a vegan menu for me.
The drink range tehre is superb btw and they have started giving out whiskey pairings included with desserts, an awesome touch. Also leads to people not liking whiskey giving me their 12yo goodies.
I have also never eaten the same thing twice there.

My menu last night consisted of:


starter of crispy sweet, red and spring onion fritters with chilli marmalade and piccalilli. Very fresh and the pairing of flavours here was great.

main was crispy potato, beetroot & mixed seed burger, lentil haggis (amazing), grilled ballyhoura shiitake mushrooms. Deliciously spiced with differing flavours.

Dessert was some way to finish the meal with a bang, best dessert I've ever had, echoed by all as they started ordering from the vegan menu. It was a Berry and apple "crumble", oat praline, dark chocolate, vanilla spiced cashew cream, candied blood orangettes, blackberry sorbet, highbank orchard syrup.
The berry spicing along with it's warmth was perfect, people sat there with stunned faces with the food in their mouth. Most impressive chef I have to say. Some quality for a 3 course meal made up within a day.



Those three courses came to a paltry 24 euro. A nice Spanish wine, cask cider and whiskey brought that to 50ish. A steal really.

[V for Vendetta]

How is Mrs V's mate?

Very well. Still only the one suprise baby!

In Waterford castle tonight for a work networking thing so we decided to go to Duncannon last night while we were at it. A good use of expenses!!

[Raoul Duke III]

Aldridge Lodge off the charts for food and value.

160 for two. An incredible 3 course dinner plus a phenomenal B&B experience.

Dinner included a scallops starter and a veal main course. Mouthwatering.


[ATTACH]2203[/ATTACH]

Scrambled duck eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast.

How is Mrs V's mate?

[Mickey Rosa]

Aldridge Lodge off the charts for food and value.

160 for two. An incredible 3 course dinner plus a phenomenal B&B experience.

Dinner included a scallops starter and a veal main course. Mouthwatering.


[ATTACH]2203[/ATTACH]

Scrambled duck eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast.

Just had a look, will defo be booking.

[V for Vendetta]

Aldridge Lodge off the charts for food and value.

160 for two. An incredible 3 course dinner plus a phenomenal B&B experience.

Dinner included a scallops starter and a veal main course. Mouthwatering.


image.jpg

Scrambled duck eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast.

[Raoul Duke III]

Looks like one, the horsehead elite index tracker will be treating it as such.

One seat remaining. You are welcome to come along and observe our secret rituals.

[Lord Sir Banter]

Roll up, roll up.
Two seats left for the IPB outing* to the Vintage Kitchen Thursday of next week. BYOW.
Confirmed so far = V, Iago, Ionapaul, Denny, GAB, myself.

Previous review below:

http://www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showpost.php?p=691056&postcount=490

*not a Horsehead Elite official function.

Looks like one, the horsehead elite index tracker will be treating it as such.

[Raoul Duke III]

Man down on this - seat available, main table.

Roll up, roll up.
Two seats left for the IPB outing* to the Vintage Kitchen Thursday of next week. BYOW.
Confirmed so far = V, Iago, Ionapaul, Denny, GAB, myself.

Previous review below:

http://www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showpost.php?p=691056&postcount=490

*not a Horsehead Elite official function.

[BennyHiFi]

Heading to Monaco in March. Any recommendations? Was thinking Robuchon's there.

I ate at the Blue Bay Hotel where the EPT is held a few years back and it was great.

Best lamb dish i've ever had and i think the price was acceptable for me at the time.

Reviews still seem pretty good and i just strolled in without a booking.

Would be interested to know if that's doable at other hot eateries there.

[careca]

NM

I'll possibly be in Nice for a week or so at the end of March also, let me know what dates you're around.

Only 20-22....just a weekend away.

[Keane]

Heading to Monaco in March. Any recommendations? Was thinking Robuchon's there.

I'll possibly be in Nice for a week or so at the end of March also, let me know what dates you're around.

Heading to Monaco in March. Any recommendations? Was thinking Robuchon's there.

[newbie2]

Any particular recommendation of a starred place in London or close my eyes and pick one? Preference is French I guess.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
/thread

[mocata]

Le gavroche would be first thought,books out months ahead though

[RoadSweeper]

Any particular recommendation of a starred place in London or close my eyes and pick one? Preference is French I guess.

[V for Vendetta]

How much was it per head?

A decent tip, teas and coffees plus rounds of various drinks and it was 65 per head. A hard place to spend money actually. The speakeasy up the road with the attractive waitress solved that problem for us though!

[Raoul Duke III]

One of the evenings highlights was me drunkenly splitting up the bill and despite the protestations of RDIII doing it equally and ignoring that Strewel and v4v don't drink. One solid piece of arbing, IMO.

virgin mojito payback!

[Raoul Duke III]

How much was it per head?

I don't know. €30 for all food I think and obviously the drinks bill was a multiple of this

[thechamp87]

How much was it per head?

[SatNav]

Very funny interesting review RD. You should deffo write a book!

[Raoul Duke III]

Restaurant Name: Rio

Location: Ranelagh, Dublin 6

Website: aqui

Price Range: €€\€€€

The Horsehead Elite Annual Christmas Dinner (established 2013) was booked for early December with Gimmeabreak taking on the role of event organiser-in-chief. The usually loquacious GAB was being uncharacteristically tight-lipped as to the location of said event, orders extending only to "Birchalls pub in Ranelagh, be there at 6.30". Speculation abounded as to the ultimate destination - was a naked supermodel festooned with sushi adorning the dining table in chez GAB? Had he arranged a steak showdown at the Butchers Grill? Were we going to Luigis for a spice burger and chips? No choice but to turn up and find out.

I hobbled out of a taxi and into the welcome warmth of Birchalls, an establishment greatly favoured during my student days in UCD. I was glad to see that little had changed, including the bar staff although I noted that the condom machine now charged €5 for 3 johnnies compared to the mid-1990s when said prophylactics could be had for the princely sum of one punt. Rampant inflation at work although compared to what happened to the price of property in Ranelagh over the same period, it probably represents a bargain. The other noteworthy item was the preponderance of Christmas jumpers on the patrons, replete with flashing lights. I'm a reasonably tolerant individual but I don't think it's at all unfair to suggest that anyone wearing such a garment should be neutered forthwith and incarcerated under very unpleasant circumstances. This '12 pubs of Christmas' thing is to blame for such behaviour amongst otherwise respectable citizens and should be banned immediately.

The Horsehead Elite, I was glad to note, rose above such common devices although a most unwelcome trend was discerned in the facial hair stakes. Indeed, V for Vendetta, Strewelpeter and I were outnumbered by the bearded band of KP, Nathy, Iago and GAB. KP at least had the decency to sport a mustachioed effort that made him resemble a 1970s porn star. Pre-prandial libations flowed freely but the one subject not broached was our dinner destination as GAB was giving nothing away. The Horsehead Elite's successful trip to the Velka Pardubice was reprised and this gave rise to an intergenerational moment as an elderly man was being helped by us at the exact moment as the phrase "always go for the bird with the red stillettos" was trotted out. The codger's eyes lit up with excited reminiscence and he nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement - life in that old dog yet.

At 7.55pm, GAB ordered the remaining beverages to be knocked back, we exited the boozer and he then began a masterly class in live trolling a hungry group of Horseheads. Ranelagh is a long strip of road, filled with many dining establishments and he paused at each one, pantomining entry and then marching on. This seemed to amuse him greatly and with Strewelpeter offering odds on each joint, we navigated the strip, crossed the triangle and fetched up outside what I dimly remembered as being McDonalds. "Well, it's not this one anyway" I ventured confidently but was instantly proved wrong as GAB led us inside to a place that was so new you could still smell the paint. This turned out to be Rios, a Brazilian place that inhabits a long and narrow space where you enter past a small bar, then pass a salad buffet and a grill section to enter into the dining room itself. This seemed to be infested by glamorous young men and and slightly less glamorous young women, all of whom appeared to having a splendid time. After some enquiries, we discerned that they were a party of hairdressers which made me wonder where the grumpy old bollocks who barbers my hair hangs out on Saturday nights.

We were seated at our table by young and, I thought, slightly nervous wait staff and the rules explained to us. Rios is all you can eat, with skewers of meat being brought to your table at regular intervals. You can add to this with self-service salads and desserts from the buffet. I wondered this crowd have any idea what they were taking on here as they were liable to be bankrupted by paleo eating machine V for Vendetta who, on previous evidence, has no problem at all packing away half a suckling pig. You get given a card that's green on one side, red on the other and this gives the waiters the nod that you are ready for action. I was anointed as wine selector and ordered a couple of bottles of valpolicella ripasso from a not particularly noteworthy selection. When I conveyed this request to my waiter, he tried, not once but twice, to change my mind to Brazilian wine as, apparently, "it's very popular". Brazil may be home to several wonderful things but wine isn't one of them and I sent him away with a flea in his ear. As a proprietor, I'd also be a bit concerned at my staff trying to downsell a customer - unusual practice to say the least.

In any case, meat started arriving - cheaper cuts of steak (flank, brisket etc), chicken, sausage, chicken hearts (suprisingly tasty), liver, pork - all nicely marinated and flavoured nicely from the grill. This cavalcade of meat continued for what felt like several hours. V for Vendetta was surprisingly outeaten by Iago who put away more meat that is probably considered medically advisable to consume in a month. An impressive performance with the remainder of the Elite not at all that far behind, ensuring value for money dining that is rarely found in Dublin and an 'all you can eat' experience that ranged far beyond the MSG-laden Chinese. We met both husband (Irish) and wife (Brazilian) behind the venture - both charming - and wished them well. I don't actually think they will need it as this place sells itself and stands out as being both value and offering something different in an area of Dublin that has more dining seats per head of population than anywhere else. An inspired choice by GAB - well played. Complimentary brandies and, for some reason Baileys, only added to the seasonal joie de vivre.

I am not really sure where we went next as it seemed to involve a trip through a private dwelling onto a roof terrace where we were supplied with cigars, drink and blankets. There was also a trip into the Sporting Aquarium for the compulsory annual charitable donation to those less fortunate. Mysterious. Roll on 2015.

8/10

[Raoul Duke III]

Vintage Kitchen has been booked for Thurs 29 Jan

5 miscreants (V, GAB, ionpaul, Denny and myself) already signed up, kindly post here or shoot me a PM if you would like to attend this evening of fine wine, neat eats and jibber-jabber.

Man down on this - seat available, main table.

[PokerPiper]

FYI - got this from diningroom.ie this morning...

For only €75, Enjoy a Michelin Star 8 Course Tasting Menu for 2 people in January or February (Normally €150).