Restaurant Review - Downstairs
Tuesday 10 May 2011
‘Downstairs’ is a new restaurant at Gilbert & Wright in Clontarf on sea, located where the old Hollybrook Hotel once stood. Gilbert & Wright have hip ‘1970’s style bars also in Malahide, Swords, and Dun Laoghaire. ‘Downstairs’, as you may gather, is a subterranean restaurant which has had a couple of previous incarnations including being a Thai eatery. It is on two levels, basement and lower basement, but all very smartly done out with chic French style paintwork, leather banquettes, brass studded tables, and nice pictures of ‘Three Musketeers’ style eating implements.We were in the ‘lower lower’ room at a nice corner table with a banquette – this area really felt like being on board ship. “Romantic” said the Russian waiter – well if you call an empty room romantic so be it - even though it was very comfortable. I remember hearing that Aristotle Onassis booked out a restaurant totally when he and Jackie came ashore from the ‘Christina’ to dine a deux so, with my own Aristotle on tow, I let me brain wander! However, being on a different budget to Ari and Jackie, the yacht wasn’t docked at the Bull Wall, it was a Thursday night and the Early Bird Menu for us! In fact the Early Bird was available all evening (Tuesday-Thursday and Sundays – up to 7pm Friday and Saturday) with 2/3 courses at €22/€26 allowing you choose from their a la carte menu which had starters €4.95/€7.95 and mains €16.95/€23.95. You could just have a main course but choose 2/3 courses and you got the ‘package’ prices.
We liked the cut of the menu’s jib with its French/Nordic undertones and classy tweaks. Pressed confit duck and ham hock terrine was with pickled onions and shallot vinaigrette, whilst beetroot and blood orange marinated salmon was with pickled beetroot salad. Dressed crab (€7.95) was togged out in a contemporary style as opposed to being classically ‘dressed’ and served in a shell, which was perhaps what Ari and Jackie would have expected in the 60’s, but it proved a very crisp tasting sizeable rondelle of white crabmeat mixed with lemon mayo, dill, and mint, adorned with copious cucumber ribbon wavy sails. My starter proved delicious - sliced wild mushrooms (€7.50) cooked in a rich Madeira cream topped with a perfectly judged ‘sticky’ poached duck egg and ribbons of smoked duck. Cracking.
Mains too were attractive. Roast chicken breast had chorizo, chickpeas and smoked paprika, whilst slow cooked pork belly with braised pork cheek, had carrot and ginger puree, choucroute and mash. Roast rack of lamb and crumbed shoulder sported mash potato, tomato, shallot, broad beans, olives, pinenuts and sauce vierge. Brendan sailed with a ‘Maurice Kettyle’ Irish dry aged rib eye of beef with Café de Paris butter (€23.95 or €5 EB supplement) accompanied by rectangular tranch of Lyonnaise potato, and ‘floating leaves’ of roast red onion. I had a Fish Special – a fine tranch of hake (€19.95) originally with peas and bacon, but I asked for the Mediterranean style accompaniment of the lamb which was broad beans, olives, tomato, shallots, pinenuts and sauce vierge, a stronger pairing which I preferred and which a chunky fish like hake can take. As a side order I had a ‘pail’ of smashing chunky lightly crumbed ‘courgette’ fries (€2.95) with basil mayo, which I absolutely loved.
A milk chocolate and praline mousse pudding (€5.95) was really the only disappointment being a bit on the light side for chocoholics.
A half a dozen or so red and white wines were available by the glass, 50cl carafes or bottles. We ordered a carafe of “dark juicy tannic Montepulciano/Sangiovese (€21)” promising to be a “flavor bomb ….a really powerful foody wine” which bombed alright as it tasted like warm ‘Parishes Food’ which we returned sans problem and replaced with a bottle of Ribera del Duero, Martin Berdugo Joven, Tempranillo 2009 (€30) - which was in fact 2008.
Our bill including optional service and house still water (€1) came to €96.95.
Park the yacht - well worth a visit!
Downstairs Restaurant & Bar,
Hollybrook Park,
Clontarf,
Dublin. 3.
Tel (01) 833-8883
www.lucindaosullivan.com
THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT ON MAY 8TH 2011.