Restaurant Review: Angelina's, Percy Place Dublin 4

The growing popularity of brunch as a meal means that there appears to be no end to the amount of places cropping up that are offering it. The truth is that many people like to go out for late breakfasts at the weekend and are more than happy to let the meal roll languorously into the afternoon. It definitely beats having a piece of dry toast or a bowl of soggy cereal at home and makes the weekend seem that little bit more indulgent. Throw in a few cocktails (mandatory in my opinion) and you are on to an absolute winner.

Sazerac

Latest recruit to the Dublin Brunch Bunch is the newly opened Angelina’s, located off Baggot Street beside the Grand Canal. Sister restaurant to Sophie’s at The Dean Hotel, Angelina’s is spacious with a relaxed atmosphere, comfortable seating and a stunning bar. It is decorated in warm, muted tones which prevent the large space from appearing cavernous. The restaurant also has an outside balcony area overlooking the Canal and I expect that during the summer this will be one of Dublin’s most popular dining spots; a place to enjoy good food and have a few drinks on warm evenings.

Orange Juice

Although recently opened, the restaurant has already hit the ground running and I have heard great reports about the food on offer under Head Chef Ryan Bell. A quick online search brings up the restaurant’s menus and I am delighted to see that in addition to serving dinner seven nights a week and lunch on weekdays, Angelina’s also offers a weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 4pm. I can never understand why so many venues who offer brunch around the city only start serving at midday as this has always seemed a little late to me. In my opinion, the earlier opening is another plus in Angelina’s favour and I immediately book a table for an 11am Sunday brunch.

Accompanying me was my eldest daughter Aoife – a self-professed brunch connoisseur and buttermilk pancake devotee – someone  who is quite prepared to leave something on the plate if it fails to come up to her exacting standards… in other words; a tough customer!

Healthy Porridge

As we arrived we were greeted warmly by the front-of-house staff and shown to our table beside a large floor-to-ceiling window looking out onto the Canal. Judging by the number of tables already occupied the 10.30am opening appears to be popular with diners and the restaurant already had a lively feel.

The brunch menu is divided into different sections and includes Cocktails, Healthy, Benedict, Toasts & Pancakes, Eggs and The Rest. To kick off proceedings, we both ordered drinks – an Orange Juice (€3.95) for Aoife and a cocktail for me. Angelina’s offers a number of specific brunch cocktails but diners can also order from the main cocktail menu if they wish. Despite the fact that I am normally a fan of Bloody Marys when having brunch, I decided to order the provocatively named Best Damn Sazerac in Ireland! TM (€11). This is a boozy cocktail sometimes made with Cognac but made here with Rye Whiskey to which a sugar cube soaked in bitters is added. Finished with a spray of absinthe and garnished with a twist of lemon peel just before serving, this isn’t a drink for timid types. I loved it.

Toast & Preserves

Feeling in the need of something a little healthy but comforting at the same time, I decided to order a bowl of Healthy Porridge (€5.50). Made with almond milk, grated pear and golden raisins, this was one of the best bowls of porridge I have ever eaten, possessing a natural sweetness that was perfectly pitched. Gently flavoured with cinnamon and served with a choice of jam on the side, it was delicious.

Aoife decided to keep it simple and ordered a side serving of Toast (€1.95) to start. Toast is one of those things that we all take for granted and as a result, it is not something that tends to excite but here the thick slices of toasted brioche that we were presented with were wonderful and worthy of specific mention. Crisp on the outside but soft and still slightly fluffy on the inside, the toast was incredibly satisfying to eat. Served with Glenilen Farm butter and extremely tasty homemade preserves, I was reminded how often the simple things in life can be the most delicious.

Eggs Florentine

I love poached eggs and for me nothing beats the slightly hedonistic quality of Eggs Benedict – poached eggs served with sliced ham on a toasted muffin with rich hollandaise sauce. Angelina’s offers a number of variations on the eggs benedict theme and although tempted by the Crab Cake version, I decided to go for the Eggs Florentine (€10.95). Served with spinach, a grilled Portobello mushroom (instead of the burnt asparagus which had been listed on the menu) with Sweet Potato Fries on the side, this was a substantial dish where every element had been perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection.

The Stacked Vanilla Buttermilk Pancakes with Salted Maple Caramel & Roasted Pecans (€8.95) succeeded in eliciting a spontaneous ‘wow’ from Aoife when they were placed in front of her. A beautifully presented dish with a generous amount of caramel and pecans, this was food that was destined to please. After enjoying a few mouthfuls, she declared them to be the best she had ever eaten… which is really saying something! The small sample I was able to sneak confirmed that they were indeed rather good.

Oozing Yolk

In keeping with its general ambiance, service in Angelina’s was warm and friendly and added to our enjoyment of the meal. I was a bit worried about venturing in so soon after it had opened as some restaurants need a little time to get bedded in. Not here. The food spoke for itself. Everything we ate was delicious and it is somewhere that I will definitely visit again soon.

Angelina’s

55 Percy Place

Dublin 4

Tel: 01-6602262
Web: www.angelinas.ie

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie

Toast with Rhubarb & Ginger Jam

Restaurant Review: Drury Buildings, Drury Street, Dublin 2

I have always found the graffiti-painted, exposed stonework frontage of Drury Buildings very attractive and given that a visit was long overdue I decided to book a table there for dinner recently. Although I was looking forward to dining in this über-cool venue, I will admit that I’m always slightly wary of places that seem relentlessly hip and cool. I worry that this is merely a façade to distract from mediocre food and overpriced drinks. However, any concerns that I might have had in this regard began to fade when I arrived at Drury Buildings.

 



Mai Tai

Warmly greeted by the friendly hostess, we were led through the packed bar to the stairs leading up to the restaurant on the second floor. Whilst the downstairs bar serves a ‘Bar Bites’ menu, the upstairs restaurant offers the full à la carte experience. The dining room is large with dark wooden tables, comfortable seating and more of the exposed brickwork. There is also a balcony area which overlooks the heated walled garden. Many of the tables in the restaurant were already occupied when we arrived but the low hum of happy diners chattering away added to the overall atmosphere of conviviality.

 

Drury Buildings is known for the quality of its cocktails with an impressive selection to choose from so we both decided to order one each to sip on as we made our food choices. John, my dining companion for the evening, chose The Selector (€11.90) made with Writer’s Tears Irish Whiskey and Amaretto. This excellent, very grown-up cocktail also had lovely chocolaty background notes due to the inclusion of Crème de Cacao and chocolate. It was delicious. My Mai Tai (€10.90) was also sensational. Made with 3-year-old aged Havana Rum, Triple Sec and fresh lime juice this was a boozy but refreshing drink.

 



Cotechino

Whilst we sipped our cocktails we nibbled on fresh bread which included a Brown Treacle Soda and Ciabatta. The bread came served with a well-flavoured, fruity extra-virgin olive oil. We also demolished a Bowl of Olives (€3.95) as we waited for our starters to arrive.

 

The Italian-influenced menu is divided up into Starters covering Anitpasti and Primi, Mains encompassing Pasta and Secondi and Desserts. It has many tempting dishes on it. I was pleased to see that authentic Italian ingredients are used throughout.

 

I was immediately drawn to the Warm Traditional Cotechino, Puy Lentils, Mostarda di Frutta (€12.50) starter. Cotechino is a fresh sausage made from pork and belly or back fat and hails from Modena in Italy. Rich and hearty, it is typically slow-cooked by braising for a few hours and is commonly served, as it was here, with lentils. I have always loved the piquancy of Mostarda di Frutta, a pickle-like condiment made from candied fruit and a pungent mustard syrup and I thought it was the perfect accompaniment to the cotechino as it helped cut through the richness of this outstanding dish.

 

White Bean Soup

John’s White Bean Soup, Walnut & Parsley Pesto (€5.50) was a more mainstream dish but flavoursome none-the-less. I particularly liked the alternative take on a traditional pesto and I thought it really added something a little different to the soup which was velvety smooth. I also liked the fact that some of the cannellini beans that had been used to make it were left whole and hidden in the bottom of the bowl; they added body to the soup and were a nice little taste surprise.

 

Keen to sample at least one of the pasta dishes, I persuaded John to share a half portion of the Papardelle with Black Truffle & Truffle Pecorino (€14.00/22.50)with me. What a joy it was to eat. The silky pasta ribbons had been cooked perfectly so that they retained a slight bite. The sauce was simple but full of the heady flavours of truffle. The word ‘sublime’ is overused by restaurant reviewers and I tend to avoid it but no other description does this dish justice. It was truly spectacular. Sublime.

 

Grilled Cod Fillet

Unfortunately the Wild Wicklow Venison that I had hoped to order for my main course was off the menu so I decided on the Grilled Cod Fillet, Caponata, Rope Mussels with Lemon Gremolata (€22.50) instead. This was an attractively presented dish and, like the food we had already eaten, full of gutsy flavours. The meaty cod had been well cooked and was succulent to eat. Similarly, the mussels were also nicely cooked. However, the thing that really set this dish apart was the caponata – a traditional Sicilian vegetable stew with sweet and sour agrodolce flavours. This was a really good version and was delicious with the cod.

 

The 10oz Chargrilled Rib-Eye Steak (€29.50) came served with either Bone Marrow as John had requested or Rosemary Lardo di Colonata. The meat which had been supplied by Gilligans was tender and flawlessly cooked medium-rare as had been requested. Candied Shallots and Watercress finished off the dish and were perfect accompaniments. Both main courses came served with roast baby potatoes and a choice of mixed vegetables or salad.

 

Orange & Campari Cake

I find it impossible to resist desserts but wanted something a little refreshing so I decided on the Selection of Ice-Creams (€7.95). Supplied by the Wexford-based Natural Ice-Cream Company they were really rather special. I usually passionately dislike anything flavoured with rosewater but the Rose Petal Sorbet was fabulous. The Salted Caramel and Sour Cherry Ice-Creams were also mouth-wateringly good.

 

John’s Orange & Campari Cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream (€7.95) looked beautiful and tasted wonderful. I loved the slightly bitter flavour of the Campari against the citrusy sweetness of the orange cake. Served slightly warm with a scoop of ice-cream on the side and pistachio crumb, this was a delightful dessert.

 

The restaurant was extremely busy on the night that I visited but despite this service was good. Staff are friendly and eager to please. I was really impressed by my meal in Drury Buildings. The cocktails are exceptional and the food under Head Chef Warren Massey left me with smile on my face. I loved the lively, fun atmosphere and I will definitely be back.

 

Drury Buildings
52 – 55 Drury Street
Dublin 2

 

Tel: 01-9602095

Web: www.drurybuildings.com

 

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie

 

Ice-Cream Selection

 

 

Restaurant Review: My Thai Restaurant, The Beacon Hotel, Sandyford, Dublin 18

Dining in My Thai Restaurant in The Beacon Hotel in Sandyford is like opening a rather plain looking gift box and discovering all sorts of wonderful delights inside.

Located on the edge of Sandyford Business District in South Dublin, The Beacon has a rather unprepossessing appearance from the outside but once you enter through the doors, you feel like you have been transported to a different world.

The sumptuous décor makes good use of ambient lighting and reflective surfaces to create a feeling of spaciousness and the look is incredibly appealing. Gauzy floor-to-ceiling curtains divide the reception and bar areas into distinct sections without sacrificing the feeling of space. The overall feeling is one of welcoming comfort.

 

Chicken Satay

Thai food has become increasingly popular in recent years, probably as a result of increased travel abroad and a desire to try out new cuisines. The best Thai food manages to balance sweet, sour, hot and salty flavours perfectly so that none dominates but all work in harmony together. This can be hard to achieve and requires a deft hand and a true understanding of the ingredients involved. As a huge fan of the flavours of Thai food, I was keen to visit My Thai Restaurant in The Beacon as I had heard some very good reports about the food there.

 

I had arranged to meet Eric, a friend who lived in Thailand for a few years and knows the food of the country well. While we waited for our table to be ready we decided to have a pre-dinner drink at The Beacon’s Crystal Bar. The beautiful and dramatic looking bar specialises in cocktails and as I have always thought that they pair particularly well with Thai food, we both decided to partake. Unsure about what to order and keen to try something new, we asked our bartender, a very talented mixologist, for a recommendation and we were delighted with the Sandy Sling that she made for us. Containing Opihr Spiced Gin, Crème de Mure – a blackberry flavoured liqueur, fresh lime juice and mint, this was a heady cocktail that was not too sweet.

 

Duck Spring Rolls

Once seated at our table within a large, comfortable booth, we examined the menu. Divided into easy to navigate sections it included many familiar dishes but also a nice selection of more unusual offerings, including some street food options.

 

Satay dishes are ubiquitous in Asian restaurants but it is hard to make them memorable. It is important that the meat is marinated for as long as possible before being threaded onto bamboo sticks prior to being grilled. Here the Chicken Satay (€8.00) included tender strips of perfectly cooked chicken were presented in a spicy, aromatic sauce which had lots of texture. All too often, satay sauces are over-processed and more like a gloopy purée, but this one was lovely with enough heat to set the taste buds tingling. I especially loved the inclusion of turmeric which imparted an underlying earthiness to the flavour of the sauce.

 

Tom Yaam Soup

Eric’s Duck Spring Rolls (€7.00) were equally good and included generous chunks of duck meat. Served with a plum sauce, the spring rolls were extremely well made and wonderfully crispy. There really is nothing more disappointing than a flaccid and greasy spring roll but these were perfect.

 

We had decided to order a Thai Warm Beef Salad (€9.00) and a bowl of Tom Yaam Soup with Chicken (€8.00) to share between us before our main courses arrived. Whilst both these dishes looked innocent enough, they each had a spicy heat that developed as you ate them. I particularly liked the salad which due to the inclusion of fragrant lemongrass and sharp lemon juice had a refreshing effect on the palate. Similarly, the soup was light to eat, but was packed full of flavours that sat together in a coherent fashion. Both dishes danced on the palate.

 

Beef Salad

It is said that you can tell how good a Thai restaurant is by the quality of the Pad Thai it serves, so it was inevitable that I was going to choose it for my main course in My Thai. From my first taste, I knew that this version was first-rate. The noodles had been flawlessly cooked so that they didn’t clump together and still retained some ‘bite’ and both the chicken and prawns that were used were juicy to eat. Due to the inclusion of the sweet palm sugar, sour tamarind and hot chillies, Pad Thai is a dish that is all about the careful balancing of different flavours and this was accomplished here. The Pad Thai was garnished with chopped roasted peanuts, fresh coriander and beansprouts which added freshness and textural contrast.

 

Daging Masak Mareh

For his main course, Eric decided on the Daging Masak Mareh (€20) which he chose from the Street Food Section of the menu. Here diced beef had been slowly cooked in a sauce made from tomato paste, chilli, ginger and spring onion to create a multifaceted dish that was delicious. Another fabulous dish, I loved the way the aromatic heat of the ginger gave way to the spiciness of the chilli. Served with boiled rice, this was so comforting yet interesting to eat and I would highly recommend it.

 

Although our appetites were well satisfied at this stage, we decided to share a dessert and thoroughly enjoyed the Beacon Key Lime Pie (€7.00). Although not made on the premises, this was a delicious dessert and a lovely end to our meal.

 

To accompany our meal we drank a bottle of Eco Pinot Noir Organic from Chile (€33) which was light enough to enjoy with spicy food but with its nose of dark cherry fruits was a good pairing with the spices of the food.

 

Key Lime Pie

My meal was delicious and I think that Chef San and the team at The Beacon are serving quality Thai food in the My Thai Restaurant. A real effort has been made to replicate the authentic flavours of Thai food and this is to be applauded. The menu contains all the familiar dishes that you would expect to see but there are also some pleasant surprises along the way. Service on the night we dined was exemplary and made our meal all the more enjoyable.

 

My Thai Restaurant

The Beacon

Beacon Court

Sandyford Business District

Dublin 18

 

Telephone: 01-6437064

Website: www.thebeacon.com

 

This Review first appeared in TheTaste.ie
 

Pad Thai

Restaurant Review: Fenn's Quay, Sheare's Street, Cork

I have a real soft spot for Cork and love visiting the city and county whenever I can. Unfortunately, I don’t get the chance to do this as often as I would like so I try to pack in as much as I can when I am there. This inevitably includes dining in previously unvisited restaurants. Top of my list on a recent whistle stop tour of the Rebel County was Fenn’s Quay Restaurant which is headed up by talented Chef/Proprietor Kate Lawlor.

The restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of the city; not far from the Courthouse and Cork’s main shopping areas. As I arrived I was greeted warmly and shown to my table in the simply decorated but nonetheless comfortable dining room. Colourful paintings by Debbie Chapman provide attractive bursts of colour on the walls and add to the overall welcoming feel of the restaurant which was busy on the Saturday evening that I dined there.

 

Bread Selection

The menu, jauntily named Cork on a Fork @ Fenn’s Quay, includes a good selection of dishes with broad appeal, many of which are coeliac friendly. Where possible, ingredients have been sourced locally from the nearby English Market and from food producers in Cork. This is not a menu that is overly influenced by current food fads or fashions but instead confidently promotes foods that have the nostalgia factor.

 

A no-nonsense selection of bread was first to arrive and included a moist Brown Soda and a particularly tasty White Bread. The latter was sliced thickly and reminded me of a far superior version of the mass-produced batch loaf I used to love when I was a child. Generously spread with salty butter both the breads were delicious.

 

Spiced Beef Croquettes

Although intrigued by the Chicken Liver Brûlée with Crozier Blue Cheese Ice-Cream, I decided to go for the starter of Spiced Beef Croquettes with Celeriac Remoulade (€9.00). Spiced Beef is synonymous with Christmas in Cork and is something that I am rather partial to at any time of the year. Fenn’s Quay sources the salt beef from local craft butcher Tom Durcan and uses it in shredded form to make these moreish bread-crumbed and deep-fried croquettes. This was a filling starter, packed full of flavoursome and succulent meat and was comforting to eat. The accompanying celeriac remoulade was a successful pairing and had enough piquancy to cut through the overall richness of the dish.

 

Spiced Walnuts

In the mood for spoiling myself, I also ordered the Spiced Walnuts & Yoghurt Dip (€3.00). I’m a huge fan of walnuts and think that they are much underused so it was wonderful to see them showcased here. Walnuts can easily go rancid if stored for too long but these were perfect. I loved how the slightly sweet but hot spices mitigated the underlying tannic flavour of the nuts whilst the cooling properties of the yoghurt dip lessened their fiery heat. This was a simple but clever idea that was well executed.

 

As soon as I saw that O’Mahony’s Collar of Bacon with Savoy Cabbage, Parsnip Purée & Spiced Walnuts (€17.00) was offered as a main course on the menu, I knew that I would have to choose it. Many an Irish family was reared on bacon and cabbage and as it is a dish rarely seen on restaurant menus I felt compelled to order it. I was dying to see how it would be presented and was not disappointed when it arrived. At first glance this appeared to be a ‘rustic’ dish but it was far more nuanced than that would suggest. Presented in a large bowl with shredded savoy cabbage, peas and chunks of swede along with some parsnip purée, I loved the tenderness of the melt-in-the-mouth meat. As it sat on its serving plate, the meat released some of the juices from the cooking water/stock it had been prepared in which created a faintly salty broth that took on some of the spicy flavour of the nuts that the dish had been garnished with. Each mouthful was a joy to eat. To accompany it, I also ordered a side of Smoked Gubbeen Mash (€3.50). If nothing else persuades you to get yourself down to Fenn’s Quay, this potato dish should do so because it was sinfully good and with its smoked flavour it provided a further flavour dimension when eaten with the bacon and cabbage.
 

Collar of Bacon

Although my appetite was well sated at this stage, I decided that it would be remiss of me not to sample at least one of the desserts and I was thrilled with my choice of Mimi’s Cork Dry Gin & Tonic Dessert (€6.00) I am not quite sure who Mimi is, but this was a lovely interpretation of a classic G&T in dessert form. Made up of a gin jelly topped with a layer of lemon curd and a tonic sorbet, I enjoyed the quirkiness of the dessert.  The previous courses had been filling but this was a light and refreshing way to end the meal.

 

Gubbeen Mash

I also decided to try some of the Fenn’s Quay Luxury Dark Chocolates (€4.00) which were fabulous ganache truffles that were rich and appropriately indulgent. Each bite made me feel as if I was doing something a little forbidden and naughty as they were so incredibly delicious. Despite my best attempts I was only able to eat one immediately after my meal so my waitress packed the others up for me to bring when leaving.

 

Throughout my meal, service was friendly and attentive without being stifling which can make one feel very self-conscious especially when dining alone as I happened to be. Sometimes, you almost feel as if the staff pay you extra attention because they feel sorry for you. This was not the case here; service was perfectly pitched and complemented the general ambience of Fenn’s Quay.

 

Mimi's Cork Dry Gin & Tonic

There was something so honest and unpretentious about the food in Fenn’s Quay which I found irresistible. This is food that proudly displays its Irish heritage and celebrates the quality and variety of ingredients available in this country and specifically in Cork. For me, this was Irish soul-food; food that nourishes and pleases and makes you feel that all is right with the world.

 

Fenn’s Quay Restaurant

No. 5 Fenn’s Quay

Sheare’s Street

Cork

 

Telephone: 021-4279527

Website: www.fennsquay.net

 

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie
 

Chocolate Truffles