Restaurant Review - NEDE
Monday 24 June 2013
Since departing Noma, the legendary Copenhagen restaurant, Yannick Van Aeken and Louise Bannon have caused a flutter in the foodie arena. Van Aeken, originally from Belgium, and Bannon from Greystones, met when working at Noma where, for some six years they were Sous and Pastry Chefs respectively. What would they do next has been the big question? Would they set up in Ireland, or would they move to London or Belgium, where Van Aeken also enjoys a considerable profile. Whilst considering their options and offers, Yannick and Louise, held a number of Pop Up Dinners in Ballymaloe, Galway, and Dublin, with chefs bagging seats at their table with gusto to see what was so different about their food.
Now they have opened at the legendary Eden Restaurant in Temple Bar, which has been renamed, revamped and rebranded, as NEDE. A lovely covered terrace area has been added to the restaurant which fronts on to Meeting House Square and where, on our visit on a Thursday night, there was also a public free screening of the iconic movie ‘Citizen Kane’. The atmosphere was electric, almost surreal, as we whiffed, quaffed and tasted, their very different food, to the sounds and backdrop of the big screen.
Noma is known for its foraging ethos and whilst Yannick and Louise, who forage in Co. Wicklow, describe their food as light, simple and fresh, there is a lot more skill to it than that. This is not deep fat fryer territory and, if that is what you want, you will be out the door and at a fast food joint in jig time. Neither is it about Michelin style prissy food, and yet, every element is artful and ‘new wave’ in itself.
Dishes here run from €8.50 to €24. You might try a few different dishes around the €8/€12 mark , or consider them as starters and move on to a mains size plate €13- €22 – you can play around as you wish. They recommend 3-4 of the smaller dishes per person. They also do 30 day dry aged 7oz or 14oz ribeye steaks at €24/€38, cooked on a Green Egg barbecue, and served with hay smoked potatoes, and farm green salad. The 14oz is perfect for the real trencherman or ideal for sharing - it comes sliced. They also offer a 5-course Tasting Menu at €45.
Amazing sourdough bread arrived with sublime ‘half churned’ butter resting, like snow on Mount Fuji, on a lump of rough granite, whilst a little shot glass held the most amazing ‘brown’ dried shallot leaves sitting in an anchovy crème fraiche. Dishes include oysters with horseradish and cucumber, warm salad of pulses with verbena and cod cheeks, and warm baby gem with roasted garlic and Parmesan on a bed of barley. Cured beef (€10) was pure ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ a woodland row of chopped beef entwined with shallots and pretty wood sorrel, whilst razor clams (€10) were smoked and topped with an ethereal cloud of horseradish snow and pickled swedes. Langoustines (€14) split in their shells for me were in a bath of finger licking garlic butter and served with sourdough toast, whilst my friend Mary’s cracking sliced barbecued 7oz rib-eye steak (€24), with hay smoked potatoes and a farm green salad, was rare and succulent. The flavours and aromas at Nede are just so subtle, it makes the food in many other places seem almost heavy handed and obvious.
As Orson Welles was belting it out in the background to his ‘Rosebud’, we were into rhubarb with buttermilk sorbet and pine granita, and Has Bean coffee icecream with chocolate toasted barley at €7.50 a pop.
The crowd on the square vacated their seats as we were still sipping our Rueda El Lagar de Isilla Verdejo 2012 (€32). Did we really have to go home? Service was exceptional from Sylvain and team and our bill amounted to €115.00.
NEDE also opens for lunch where they do a great value dish of the day at €15 including a glass of wine and coffee.
NEDE,
Meeting House Square,
Temple Bar,
Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 670-5372