Mark F.
Yelp
A group of lads (ok, confession, we are 50 somethings, but feel like lads) on tour booked here as our final dinner for a two week jaunt around the region. As reputedly Ireland's top fine dining establishment, with two Michelin stars, we had high expectations indeed. And these match the prices, of course.
We are definitely The Hard Table, as we are all seasoned fine dining acolytes with experience around the world.
So, it is in this light that I award only 4 stars to this fine establishment. Seriously, it could have been 5, but you see when you have very high standards to live up to, well, you need to live up to them.
The restaurant itself is in a hotel and has a rather interesting waiting area that is essentially a lounge room. A drink is to be had while waiting and then through to the restaurant itself, which is well designed and beautifully fitted out. Each table is highlighted in a pool of light and the sound is suitably muted.
The maitre'd was very helpful and before long we have ordered food and some wine is on the way. However, it all felt a tiny bit rushed and disorganised. This came to a head when after tasting and approving of a suitably expensive white wine the server filled all of our glasses - and the tasting glass. And didn't notice. Whoops. So five glasses of an exquisite wine for 4 people - ok you say, a small enough mistake, and I agree. But nevertheless, a small strike one there - it was very expensive wine.
However, the next issue was more challenging. After some bread and an amuse bouche our first course of lobster tail arrived. It looked beautiful. It was, regrettably, very tough. In fact, almost too tough to eat. But eat it we did. Strike two.
One of our party, on a trip to the amenities, alerted the maitre'd to the fact that they needed to lift their game, explaining why. In short order the next bottle of wine we ordered turned up as a much more expensive vintage, courtesy of the house, and a course or so later Chef himself, Patrick Guilbaud, came out to apologise to us for the mistake. A great recovery, I must say, and from there on the maitre'd hovered over our table all night and indeed added some additional bits and pieces to our evening.
So, a great recovery. On the other hand, if we had not spoken up, what then? Most diners would not, in all likelihood, have done so.
On that basis I deduct one star - for a 2 Michelin star restaurant to get 5 stars, it should, indeed, be faultless.
Despite all that, the food is wonderful, I must say, and the experience generally fantastic. The maitre'd was a real sport and even joined us for some whiskys and a selfie afterwards.
Well worth a visit if you are up for dropping some serious money on a great meal.