The Restaurant Review Thread

[Lazare]

An Poitin Stil

Short and sweet review.

Had the steak on a stone in the Poitin Stil last night, it was really enjoyable if a little gimicky.

Great smell in the place because of it, the air warm with steak smoke and seafood. Has the feel of a really good steakhouse but for one issue. You're advised by the waitress on how to eat your stone steak, she told us to cut it into smaller pieces and cook them to your taste (the steak arrives blue) then eat straight away.
A good steakhouse should understand the importance of resting imo, seems a basic enough part of the process.

The layout of the stone and plate thingy it came out on didn't really allow room for it, I had to pile the pieces on the edge of a packed plate, so it wasn't like the waitress didn't know her stuff, she was actually an awesome waitress.

Pretty limited wine list, but it did include a great Malbec.

Having said all that, I'd definitely go back, the steak was outstanding, service was top notch and super friendly, and the smell in the place had me salivating.

[6starpool]

I hate steak on a stone places. If I'm ordering steak in a restaurant I want them to cook it for me and cook it perfectly to my liking and rest it, not give it to me on something that will keep cooking the bloody thing and get all spatters on my clothes too.

[Raoul Duke III]

Ludicrous to even think it but who is in for the annual January dinner in the Vintage Kitchen?

Plan on booking in next week or two. You will struggle to get a Thurs-Sat table for the remainder of 2016.

[Raoul Duke III]

Actually while I think of it, hit both the Good World and the Oar House this weekend.

Both well on form, the Oar House had some great specials. Turbot in a wild mushroom sauce, nyom nyom.

[Raoul Duke III]

Ludicrous to even think it but who is in for the annual January dinner in the Vintage Kitchen?

Plan on booking in next week or two. You will struggle to get a Thurs-Sat table for the remainder of 2016.

Yup, all Fridays in January booked out. Madness.

Are peeps happy to do a Thursday again?

[Raoul Duke III]

Yup, all Fridays in January booked out. Madness.

Are peeps happy to do a Thursday again?

Thursday 12th January, 8.30pm - 8 people.

I will be taking applications for positions at the table in December.

[ionapaul]

Anyone eaten at OX in Belfast? Heading that way in September and want to try one of the nicer restaurants in the city if possible, and the reviews online seem pretty good.

[Lao Lao]

Thursday 12th January, 8.30pm - 8 people.

I will be taking applications for positions at the table in December.

Late to this, but count me in!

[Guest]

Chef's table at Ch1 tonight. Last night before their holidays. Comical stuff to see 5 chefs tucking into vats of ice cream with spoons to finish it off before it gets fucked in the bin.
Great dinner as ever. Head chef these days seems to be max. 30.

[thechamp87]

Curious as to what people tip these days for a mid-range to upper-range meal in Dublin these days. Let's take that Amuse example above where the bill came to E143 and the service was as it should be. GAB? What % are people tipping as standard these days here?

[Raoul Duke III]

Curious as to what people tip these days for a mid-range to upper-range meal in Dublin these days. Let's take that Amuse example above where the bill came to E143 and the service was as it should be. GAB? What % are people tipping as standard these days here?

10-15% imo

I was in Nautilus last Saturday - rounded €127 up to €145. Service was good so that seemed about spot on.

If not paying the bill in cash, you should always give the tip in cash.

[ionapaul]

Relatively quick one - will include a photo that tells a 1000 words

Restaurant Name: OX

Location: Oxford Street, Belfast

Website: oxbelfast.com/

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €€€€

I had to use up some airline miles before their expiry, just enough to spring for a single night in a 3-star hotel somewhere in western Europe. We decided on Belfast and once the hotel was booked I immediately did some research on the restaurant scene there in the hopes of ensuring the trip as a whole would be a better experience than the quality of hotel might allow us to expect!

I'm a genuine sucker for trying out new Michelen-starred places so settled on OX, which is right in the city centre. On weekend nights the only option is their 5 course tasting menu (£50 a head), which was alright by us, we're relatively adventurous. In fact, the only times I really push the boat out in terms of new culinary experiences is when the ability to choose the familiar is taken away from me, so fixed menus are great!

The main dining space is on the ground floor, immediately in front of the kitchen, and relatively small; there is another dining space on a mezzanine above the kitchen. The decor is sparse and somewhat spartan. The welcome was enthusiastic, non-formal and seemed genuinely friendly; exactly what you'd hope for in a quality modern establishment I suppose.

The night's menu is below (and hopefully legible) so I won't go through it course by course. It was all beautifully presented and tasted wonderful; my highlights were the cured sea trout and beetroot starter, the John Dory and scallop fish main and of course the Chateaubriand and fois gras meat main. The fish course and the scallop in particular would be top of my list; I'd honestly eat two dozen of those scallops if I could and ignore all other food!

When it came to the dessert course there was a choice of two (white chocolate mousse with blackberry and pistachio or Passion fruit and chocolate); we decided to have one of each and share. I preferred the white chocolate but was very full at this stage so didn't really enjoy as much as I hoped to.

The courses were actually on the small side, which is perfect for me and the missus as we don't have massive appetites, but I could see a situation where people are left wanting something more.

We split a bottle of Austrian Gruner Veltliner, which was excellent; dry and not at all fruity, just as I like it. For an aperitif I went with some Limoncello (god knows why!) and she had a local gin with some fancy Wexford tonic. A service charge is included in OX and the total came to £161, which I felt was pretty good value.

Again, it's worth mentioning that the service was really superb, the staff are friendly and casual without being unprofessional.

Two thumbs up!



Big version of menu

[Jibzzzz]

Anyone try any of the Gaucho steak chains in London? Hoping it's similar to Fxbs.

[Jibzzzz]

Ok without being brilliant. Much prefer Goodmans to Gaucho.

Tried to book for Sat but no joy,was ambitious.

Will go with Gaucho as it's available and try this on my next visit, TY.

[Raoul Duke III]

Tried to book for Sat but no joy,was ambitious.

Will go with Gaucho as it's available and try this on my next visit, TY.

It's still 'pretty good'. I've been to about four of them and the quality did seem to vary hugely between them for some reason. The one on the river near London Bridge (close to Southwark Cathedral) was the best afair. The one in the City good too - Gracechurch St. Likely to be less busy at weekends too.

[mocata]

Hawksmoor worth consideration too

[Raoul Duke III]

Thursday 12th January, 8.30pm - 8 people.

I will be taking applications for positions at the table in December.

^^Vintage Kitchen outing

not an official HHE function

taking names....

[Dice75]

In, however, when was this event downgraded?

RD probably a bit afraid to be lording it up opposite Apollo House the day after the stay of execution ends

[Lao Lao]

^^Vintage Kitchen outing

not an official HHE function

taking names....

Dear Senior Duke III,

Please see below my application for a seat at the table on the 12th Jan 2017

1) My birthday is the 10th January
2) Last year I brought a 2004 Chateau Musar
3) I have a bottle of the 1998 vintage of this wine put aside for this outing.

SPOILER

Your Sincerely
Mr Lao Lao

[poprock]

wrong thread

[Denny Crane]

Inski

[NewApproach]

In!

[NewApproach]

Dear Senior Duke III,

Please see below my application for a seat at the table on the 12th Jan 2017

1) My birthday is the 10th January
2) Last year I brought a 2004 Chateau Musar
3) I have a bottle of the 1998 vintage of this wine put aside for this outing.

SPOILER

Your Sincerely
Mr Lao Lao

Pffff, what kinda birthday is that?!

SPOILER

Mines the 12th itself

[ionapaul]

Yep, in.

[Raoul Duke III]

Keep 'em coming, quite likely I will have to do some kind of selection process here.

Will give it a few more days to enable usual suspects to put their names down.

[The Aul Switcharoo]

In for steak, wine and drunken debauchery

[Strewelpeter]

In

[Hectorjelly]

In.

[Raoul Duke III]

8 applications thus far for 7 places. Expecting a few more applications too.

Bribery is obviously encouraged, Lao Lao ahead of the game here.

[pokerhand]

Was writing up a review of the black sheep in Launceston, and deleted since I realise the pointlessness of it given nobody here is likely to go there. Was a niche steak restaurant that was beyond amazing. Cost over AUD$100 but worth every penny. Quite possibly the best dinner I ever had in my life.

[Keane]

8 applications thus far for 7 places. Expecting a few more applications too.

Bribery is obviously encouraged, Lao Lao ahead of the game here.

I'll put my name in for this also, thanks

[Raoul Duke III]

Was writing up a review of the black sheep in Launceston, and deleted since I realise the pointlessness of it given nobody here is likely to go there. Was a niche steak restaurant that was beyond amazing. Cost over AUD$100 but worth every penny. Quite possibly the best dinner I ever had in my life.

Checked with sister (lives in Hobart) and she confirms this place is the nuts.

[LuckyLloyd]

Yes please for the Vintage Kitchen. If it makes a difference, I won't be able to follow on to SE / other after so by all means give a place to others on that account.

I'm booked into Mr.Fox on Friday and will report back.

[Tar.Aldarion]

I'm in.


Just kidding meaters pew pew. Just coming on to share dinner from Camden London recently, if you are shopping there ever pop into Campbell's canal cafe for food cheaper than it should be. Plus the waitresses for eye candy.

Chestnut, sage and mushroom Wellington served with roast rosemary potatoes, roasted carrots, brussels sprouts, seasonal greens, lentil gravy

[newbie2]

Restaurant Name: Mulberry Garden

Location: Mulberry Lane, Donnybrook, D4

Website: http://newmulberry.restaurantboomerang.com/

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €€€


Had wanted to visit this place for quite some time, but it's proximity to work prevented it. It is getting rave reviews both online and from colleagues.

Took the wife out as it was our anniversary hoping it would blow us away - alas it didn't. the place itself is tucked away down a lane beside Kiely's. It's very nice - if a little small. there's a nice garden that I suppose would be nice during the summer months. A small bar which has a limited number of gins. We waited here until our table was ready.

One of the issues about going out for dinner near Xmas, is you're nearly always treated to a 'festive' dinner. Not so with Mulberry. The offering was a menu of 3 courses for €49 each. Not bad value we thought.

To start I had the Terrine: Pheasant, Ham Hock, Black Pudding, Quince, Celeriac, Juniper Mayo, Brussel Sprouts - quite nice - I didn't think you could make Brussel sprout taste any worse, but burning it does the trick.

The wife had: Coolattin Cheese Gnocchi, Kale, Green Sauce - she was very impressed.

One thing to note is that they were small portion served on HUGE plates, which was a little arsey.

For mains we both had: Venison, Caramelised Cauliflower, Black Currant Gel, Cavolo Nero, Coffee Mayo

Pretty disappointed with this. the cut was VERY small. We had venison in Chapter 1 last xmas and the cut was substantial - almost like a 8oz steak. this portion was a tiny slice of that. Also there was no caramelised cauliflower. Again served on a HUGE plate.

For dessert, I had a very nice Bailys cheesecake. I didn't bother with the cheese plate as I was sure i would be disappointed. The wife had that and sure enough, she was disappointed. Tiny slices of 3 cheeses (normal fair - nothing unusual) and a few crackers.

All washed down with a couple of bottles of 2015 Domaine Daniel Chotard Sancerre. (€52)

Total bill (incl tip, pre dinner drinks, water etc) came to €250. A bit over the top really because we left the place hankering for a bag of chips.

6/10

[LuckyLloyd]

Talk to me about how we figure the price range $ to $$$$$ thing?

[newbie2]

€ - McDonalds
€€€€€ - Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud

I suppose it's relative to where you are eating ( ie city ) A €€€ meal in Prague might be a €€€€€ in London. maybe we could include/change it to trip advisor rating or someting.

[V for Vendetta]

Talk to me about how we figure the price range $ to $$$$$ thing?

It's very subjective!

50 a head for food is 3 but 250 total for a couple feels more like a 4!

[newbie2]

Depends on how much wine you drink also

[Tar.Aldarion]

I would consider it to be the food price range more so than the spend of a particular visit.

[Raoul Duke III]

OK, so to date we have the following:

RD111
GAB
Lao Lao
Denny Crane
New Approach
ionapaul
The Auld Switch
Strewel
Hectorious
Keane
Lucky Lloyd

i.e. 10 applications for 7 places (obviously I am going)

I will do a random draw, will put the unsuccessful on a reserve list as people always drop out for one reason or another.

[newbie2]

I would consider it to be the food price range more so than the spend of a particular visit.

Okay,

€ = €10 pp for a main course
€€ = €25 pp for a main course
€€€ = €50 pp for a main course
€€€€ = €75 pp for a main course
€€€€€ = €100+ pp for a main course

[Raoul Duke III]

I could have fixed this but decided to play it by the book.

Peeps ordered alphabetically:

we got a random draw as follows (so blame Trippie )

3,7,1,9,2,4,10,8,5,6

Giving us a table of:

and reserves of:

I would suggest usual deal of meeting in Mulligans for a pre-dinner drink from 7.30 on.

I expect at least one of the reserves will get a run.

[newbie2]

Restaurant Name: Fera at Claridge’s

Location: Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4HR

Website: http://feraatclaridges.co.uk

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €€€€


Myself and two friends visited here on a brief trip to London in October.

We were really looking forward to the meal but were somewhat disappointed. The idea that menus were created on the day using whatever was foraged appealed to us greatly, however the dishes were a tad bland.

The room itself is large and quite noisy. Out table was originally booked well in advance for 9.00pm, but this was moved on request of the restaurant a few days before arrival to 9.30pm. By the time we arrived, the atmosphere was in full swing.

Because it was a Saturday, we had to have the tasting menu - which was fine - we would have anyway. we elected to go for the matching wines also as we do like a tipple.

Without going through the whole menu and critiquing each thing, I think it will suffice to say that we weren't blown away by them. The rabbit starter was very nice. The biggest disappointment was the wines. Firstly, they weren't particularly interesting, and secondly the glasses were very small. Yes it was interesting to hear the history etc of each of them, but when they are finished after a couple of sips, you feel a little gouged.

The selection of cheeses at the end was a triumph. It's just a pity when that's the best part of the meal.

4/10

[Lao Lao]

Boo urns. I'll be standing outside repeatedly mooning the rest of ye through the window whilst necking a bottle of vino...

SPOILER

Draw is the only fair way to do it really, I blame Trippie from being crap at being random

[Lao Lao]

Is Mulberry Garden where Ernie's used to be? Not sure if I've got the right place in my head. Only ever dined in Ernie's twice but it was a class place.

[shrapnel]

Boo urns. I'll be standing outside repeatedly mooning the rest of ye through the window whilst necking a bottle of vino...

SPOILER

Draw is the only fair way to do it really, I blame Trippie from being crap at being random

i think they didn't like your wine selection

[mocata]

Where charges 100+ for a main?

[Lao Lao]

i think they didn't like your wine selection

Bunch of philistines [emoji1]

[Guest]

€: 3 courses for max 20
€€: 3 courses for max 35
€€€: 3 courses for max 60
€€€€: 3 courses for max 90
€€€€€: 3 courses for 90+

imo

[shrapnel]

Bunch of philistines [emoji1]

i'll drink it with ya if you like

[V for Vendetta]

I could have fixed this but decided to play it by the book.

Peeps ordered alphabetically:

we got a random draw as follows (so blame Trippie )



Giving us a table of:

and reserves of:

I would suggest usual deal of meeting in Mulligans for a pre-dinner drink from 7.30 on.

I expect at least one of the reserves will get a run.

HJ, LL, Denny and Strewel - the political discussion will be pretty entertaining! Sorry I couldn't throw my hat in the ring on this occasion.

[Lao Lao]

Restaurant Name: La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise

Location: Hastalska 18, Prague

Website: http://www.ladegustation.cz

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €€€€

Earlier this month, I was in Prague for Mrs Lao Lao's birthday. Anytime we travel, we will always do an element of the touristy malarky but we really like to do a bit of research and eat / drink in nice places. On the Friday we managed to get a table in Red Pif and the food was very good so I was expecting good things from the Saturday night as we had booked this Michelin star restaurant several weeks ago. We were not disappointed.

The restaurant is a good size and is an L shape. The tables are nicely spread out, not too far away but not too close either. We were seated in the corner of the L which meant we had a perfect view into the kitchen. The kitchen itself was an oasis of calm. The chefs (think I counted 7 in total) glided around the kitchen with ease and everything looked to be minimal effort to them. They all seemed genuinely happy, smiling as they worked. The decor in the restaurant was modern and almost minimalist but it had a very cool feel to it, I really like it. The staff were very friendly and made you feel very welcome from the minute you entered. All good signs of what was to come

We had two options, a 6 or 11 course tasting menu. As tempting as the 11 course was, we opted for the 6 course with wine pairings, all of which were Czech except the desert Riesling (There is nothing worse imo than leaving a restaurant overly full and needing a sleep, that kind of carry on should be reserved for Christmas Day!)

Before the courses started, we were treated to several hors d'oeuvres which included a tartar burger (sublime), a quail's egg (served in an egg holder, could have eaten a half dozen of them), Artichoke shell (very good) & fermented celery served with finish toast (I have no idea how they made celery taste as good as they did) - Each of the hors d'oeuvres were brought over individually by one of the chefs which I thought was a nice touch.

Onto the courses.

1st Course - Pumpkin, Prague ham, whipped cream served with Hibernal 2014 (Petr Kocarik)

2nd Course - Beetroot, Goat Kefir, blueberries served with Creme de Rose 2015 (Dobra Vinice)

3rd Course - Catfish, radish, almonde served with Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (Jaromir Gala)

4th Course - Pork Belly, cabbage, caraway seeds served with Ryzlink Vlassky 2000 (Mikrosvin Mikulov)

5th Course - Beef Heart, Mustard, horseradish served with Cuvee Skale 2008 (Pavel Springer)

6th Course - Choice between Sheep cheese arnika, pasta, smoked stock served with a Matuska craft beer or Yogurt, apple, griotka served with Riesling Goldtropfchen auslese 2003 (Reinhold Haart) - We opted for one of each

4 out of the 6 courses were out of this world. Had I been at home, I would have picked up the plate and licked it spotlessly clean. I would then have licked it again, just to make sure I didn't miss anything the first time round. The other two courses, while not bad in any way, just didn't quite match the heights of the other four.

The beetroot dish was a tad too sweet for me, especially when accompanied with a sweet Rose - It could have been served for desert and I probably wouldn't known the difference.

The other course that failed to fully wow me was the cheese course. Maybe it is a Czech thing but I was expecting more of a cheese board type thing but this was finely grated cheese served in a bowl which the texture just didn't work for me, it tasted fine but just seemed a bit odd.

Afterwards, we had petit fours of Shortbread biscuit, a mouse and a traditional Czech apple doughnut (each one better than the next) washed down with a single malt for myself and some herbal aperitif for herself.

The staff through out were impeccable. The sommelier was a perfect mix of charm, knowledge & chat without being annoying or intrusive. Each course was brought to the table by one of the two maitre d's with a chef in tow who always finished the dish at the table, adding a sauce, some cheffy dust or the like. There was one waitress whose sole job seemed to be to replace your cutlery / napkin / top up water -She was stealth like in her efficiency and very impressive.

My only real gripe was the sizing of the wines, yes, you are having six glasses of wine with your dinner but they were just too small, they could have easily been 50% - 75% larger and I then I would have been happy

The total bill including a 20% tip came to €380 and I felt it was more than a fair price for what we got.

9/10

[shrapnel]

might as well put a London review here as was absolutely delighted to find it.

Location: London East End

website: tayyabs

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €

Had a very good friend come over from Dublin, and although he's been here a good few times, he's never experienced a good curry house in the east end. I'd booked somewhere but by the time we got there, there was no way we were eating in said establishment so we headed off in search of a good curry house in brick lane. Now if you want a good curry in brick lane, then book! there are a couple of very good ones and all the others are the same basic boring curry houses and as a rule to be avoided.

We walked and walked and walked and arrived at the gunpowder but unfortunately were told there was a 3 hour waiting list. it looked awesome so one for another day.

my Irish friend was getting more than cranky at that stage. He's a very big man built like a shit brick house who enjoys rag dolling people and lifting the equivalent of small cars on a daily basis. He'd mentioned he hadn't eaten since 6am and I'd already poured 3 pints down him so he was now in dire need of food. At that stage we had walked from Moorgate to Shoreditch and then zig zagged down to whitechapel, so definitely time for food!

We walked some more and finally found what we’d been looking for. A Punjabi curry house, just off whitechapel road in a side street just by the east London mosque by the name of Tayyabs. It easily seats about 350 people and there’s always a massive queue, but we got a little lucky, finally, and found a table within 5 minutes. The place is heaving, bustling, overcrowded, tables for 2 were too tight, but to be fair we were happy to be sitting down for our meal. I quickly ask if we can order a couple of beers only to be told they don’t serve alcohol, and the fact they had booze on every table was pretty clear it was BYOB. Not a fucking chance I wasn’t having a drink so once we’d gone over the menu and decided to order most of it, I decided to leg it to the local tescos, 200 metres away and buy a few bottles of tiger beer.

Now the menu is quite small 6 or 7 starters and 5 or 6 curries. We ordered most of them only to be told we’d likely ordered too much. We backed down to about 5 starters and 3 curries plus rice and naans.

I won’t go through every dish. Everything was good to great. Starters were nothing fancy but delicious, and the curries were incredible, with phenomenal spice, and every single one was completely different to the next which made for a really incredible meal. there was no mention of heat anywhere, just curries with incredible balance. We should’ve stuck to our original plan and ordered two more tbh. We were by no means hungry, but would’ve found the room!

This is by no means a beautiful restaurant, there were loud assholes, overflowing toilets, tight tables, big queues, but I tell you want I can’t wait to go back there. The food was awesome! So if you’re in the City and looking for a curry house jump in to an Uber and get yourselves to Tayyabs.

Oh and forgot to mention the bill, well for all that the total bill came to £35.

[newbie2]

Where charges 100+ for a main?

In Pierre Gagnaire's on Paris, the mains were between €250-€360 each

[newbie2]

Is Mulberry Garden where Ernie's used to be? Not sure if I've got the right place in my head. Only ever dined in Ernie's twice but it was a class place.

Yeah exactly the place

[Lao Lao]

might as well put a London review here as was absolutely delighted to find it.

Location: London East End

website: tayyabs

Price Range: (from 1 to 5 €€€€€) €

I first went to Brick lane about 12 years ago and found it bizarre. The amount of people on the street trying to get you into the restaurant with offers - free glass of wine, free starter, free bottle of wine between 4, etc. It was like each one would try outdo the other.

Food was pretty savage though!!

[Tar.Aldarion]

In Pierre Gagnaire's on Paris, the mains were between €250-€360 each

In Paris near the Eiffel tower I looked at a menu outside an establishment and soup was fifty something euro. This was like 10 years ago. No thanks!

[LuckyLloyd]

Lads, unfortunately I'm out, much to my disappointment. I'm in the UK for work Wed to Fri. Fuck it, really wanted to try the Vintage Kitchen

[Raoul Duke III]

Confirmed:
RD3
HJ
GAB
Strewel
Denny
ionapaul

LL out and seat offered to New Approach.

Awaiting word from The Auld Switcheroo who is suspiciously quiet. If I don't hear from him by tomorrow afternooon, I'll offer his seat to the next reserve. i.e. Keane