Restaurant Review - The Kitchen Restaurant Mount Falcon
Monday 09 April 2012
Waking up to breakfast in bed on an Easter Sunday morning, or indeed any other morning, overlooking the magnificent parklands of the Mount Falcon Estate, in Ballina, Co Mayo, has to be one of the nicest treats ever.
It's is one of those wonderful places: a slightly understated country-house hotel that not everybody knows about, but they should. Not only is it a magnificent Gothic house, it has some of the best food in the country by French chef, Philippe Farineau.
Mount Falcon was the home of Connie Aldridge, who ran it as a country-house guesthouse until she died in her 90s. The estate was then bought six years ago by the Maloneys, who are rumoured to have spent in the order of €32m on it, including the building of courtyard, lakeside and woodland houses for self-catering. What is mesmerising about Mount Falcon is the subtlety, restraint, and attention to detail, from the amazing floral-emblazoned antique sanitaryware in the bathrooms, to the beautiful drawing rooms and the decorative pieces around the house. You never feel it is anything but a wonderful country house, with great, friendly service from long-standing retainers. Indeed, a row of old-style service bells high on the passageway to the Kitchen Restaurant is pure Upstairs Downstairs.
Farineau came from his native Paris to work in the K Club, Ashford Castle, Dromoland Castle and Hayfield Manor in Cork, before moving to Mount Falcon. We were on a two-night weekend break at €219 per person, which included a five-course dinner on one evening -- dinner is €55 for non-residents. Farineau's food is classy, classical, contemporary and chic; he manages to imbue skill, flair and flavour, into each element with a natural Gallic ease. Starters included roast quail with potato Anna, buttered salsify and carrot mousseline, while seared marinated pigeon was paired with a barley and mushroom risotto. An amuse bouche had a lamb-filled ravioli sitting in an aromatic essence of cumin. I followed up with Le Boudin Noir, La Pomme et La Saint-Jacques and this is where "Irish produce, French heart" really comes into play. A triangular piece of 24-hour, slow-cooked pork belly was sandwiched, in three layers, with Kelly's of Newport black pudding, resulting in a double mouthful of succulent, moist flavour. Two seared silky scallops contrasted with the richness of the pork, along with caramelised apple segments, apple puree, warm apple-y jelly, and a cider and marjoram sauce. Brendan's Fromage de Chevre Panna Cotta looked amazing: fresh and pretty, with ribbons of courgette defining domes of goat's cheese panna cotta, pickled vegetables, beetroot jelly, marinated red onion, all sprinkled with a honey and thyme crumble.
For mains, Farineau serves Le Poulet as an apple-smoked chicken breast, the leg served coq au vin style, with a lavender jus; while La Lotte, Atlantic monkfish tail and marinated cheek, was cooked sous vide with saffron crushed potato, grilled fennel, and mussel and lemon balm sauce. Slow-roast loin of veal, with divine chorizo and sage-topped fondant sweet potato, fine beans, girolles, and foie gras sauce was superb, while Brendan's turbot sat on a bed of spinach, with smears of artichoke mousseline and a vanilla jus -- as good as it gets. To the side, fabulous herbed and sauteed new potatoes came in a copper pot.
Puds included warm plum and almond tart, baked Alaska, and bread-and-butter pudding with raisin. I had a divine gluten-free dark chocolate fondant and Brendan had cheese. This was followed by coffees and an array of eight varieties of petit fours, all washed down with a superb Heartland Langhorne Creek Directors' Cut Shiraz 2009 (€32).
Irish produce, French heart, to quote Farineau himself. The West is awake.
L
The Kitchen Restaurant,
Mount Falcon Country House Hotel,
Foxford Road,
Ballina,
County Mayo.
Tel: (096) 74472
www.lucindaosullivan.com
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT