Print
E-mail
There are deals to be had everywhere these days, which is ostensibly good news for punters. Unfortunately, though, many hard-pressed restaurateurs have been caught up a in a race to the bottom, with quality and creativity under threat. The set lunch and early bird menus on offer around every corner are so formulaic as to be almost interchangeable, the same dishes cropping up all over the place with yawn-inducing ubiquity.
At Restaurant FortyOne, though, the €28 lunch menu reads as refreshingly original – with no stinting on quality ingredients. The creation of chef Graham Neville, who earned his stripes with Kevin Thornton as well as in kitchens in France and America, the short menu is as elegant as the dining room in which it is served.
Restaurant FortyOne occupies the first floor of Residence, the private members' club formerly owned and run by the Stokes brothers, Simon and Christian, who crashed and burned in spectacular fashion just over a year ago. The club has since been taken over by Monaco-based businesswoman Olivia Gaynor-Long. Marie Chawke, long associated with the Aghadoe Heights hotel in Killarney, has been installed as one of two general managers (the other is Seamus Dooley, ex-Doonbeg). Membership fees have come down and there is a push on to drive business at the restaurant, which is open to non-members. (For the record, I am not a member.)
I'd booked under an alias but, in the time that it took me and my guest, Linda Thomas of Good Food Ireland, to make it from the entrance up the flight of stairs to the dining room, we had been rumbled and Neville emerged from the kitchen to say hello. This is not something that happens very often, so someone at Residence is clearly on the ball.
The menu offers four choices of starters, mains and desserts. Linda kicked off with the Roast King Scallops, Confit Chicken Wings, Light Coral Bisque – a stunner of a dish, three caramelised scallops in a rich and complex sauce that had a whiff of truffle about it. I went for the Annagassan Smoked Salmon, Crisp Granny Smith Apple – once I'd established that the salmon was organic. I hadn't heard of Annagassan before – and our waiter thought that it was in Northern Ireland – but it turns out to be in Louth. The slices of fish were topped with a jenga-style arrangement of julienned apple and surrounded with little morsels of egg white and yolk, salmon eggs, finely chopped red onion and caper-berries. Very pretty – and as easy on the palate as on the eye.
Linda's Noisette of Wicklow Venison, Parsnip Purée, Sprouts, Pepper Sauce was cooked more than the rare she had requested but the meat was still flavoursome and juicy. It came with gnocchi – but afterwards she thought the parsnip purée may have been missing. My Irish Rose Veal, Button Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, Parsley was fantastic – I particularly liked the braised belly element of the dish and the matchsticks of pancetta in the sauce. (Again the waiter advised that the veal was organic although this wasn't stated on the menu.) A bowl of potatoes was the sole accompaniment.
I was tempted by the Warm Apple Tart Tatin, Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream but this would have involved a 20-minute wait (and might have resulted in a mood-wrecking clamp on the car), so instead I opted for the Farmhouse Cheeses – a morsel each of Vacherin Mont D'Or, Crozier Blue and Munster, all in prime condition. Linda's Classic Crème Brulée was perfection, served in one of those wide, shallow dishes to ensure maximum crunch to goo ratio.
Good coffee and petit fours – on this occasion some delectable truffles and squares of marshmallow – are included in the €28 lunch deal, making it feel positively generous.
The portions at Restaurant FortyOne are well-judged – enough to satisfy but not so much that we left feeling stuffed and unable to face into an afternoon's work.
The bill, with a bottle of water (€4.90) and two glasses of wine (Pinot Grigio, €7 and Pouilly Fuisse, €12) came to €79.90 before service. The front room was full by the time that we left, buzzing happily with the chat of people secure in the knowledge that they were onto a very good thing – and one that wasn't going to break the bank. Residence would be a good choice for business or pleasure – either way a visit is an affordable treat for the dog days of winter.
del.icio.us
digg
Facebook
Google
