Restaurant Review - Peruke & Periwig
Wednesday 26 March 2014
Set in a compact, three-storey Georgian house on Dawson Street, Peruke & Periwig is the latest offering from the people behind Wagamama, the Vintage Cocktail Club and the Liquor Rooms in Temple Bar. Tourists, trendies and young-bucks-about-town may like the Georgian, wood-panelled, ground-floor bar in what was an 18th Century peruke or periwig-makers shop.
However, I was not quite so sure about the flowing tresses of the said wigs displayed on shelving, which looked to me like Robespierre's trophy line-up of 'scalps' from the French Revolution. Grim!
Up the narrow staircase, I went to the first floor 'salon' where dinner is served. Madame de Pompadour's Petit Trianon had nothing on the pretentious, ghastly overkill of rich, red-velvet wall coverings and seating, gold braiding, fringed lamp shades, wood panels, heavy oil paintings, Staffordshire china dogs, chandeliers and frippery, in what is but a modest-sized front room.
Dim and dark, it might well be perfectly suited to a Beau Brummell or Scarlet Pimpernel movie set for foppish lounging around, knocking back the cocktails at a not inconsequential €12/€13, but whether it was suited to the three-course dinner is another matter.
Small, marble-topped side tables, set very close together in front of a banquette, were fine for drinks and a small plate, but no more. Meanwhile, a row of armless, low chairs, which were facing the tables and banquette, left you sprawled inelegantly near the ground, with your companion holding the vantage point.
My friend was already seated on the high ground, having a Sol Mexican beer (€5.80), and I joined her with a Coke (€3.10) as we took in the menu. Very quickly, cracks began to show; they had no non-alcoholic beer, just as, later, they didn't have any decaf coffee, while a choice of only four wines in each colour "from our owner's vineyard" started at €27.50 per bottle, and bottled Dungarvan ales were €8.
"Our fridge is broken, so we cannot take any orders for a half an hour" was the next challenge, as we were sent spiced mixed nuts and chicken liver parfait to hold us over. "We're having a "soft opening," the pleasant chap in charge said, to which I replied, "It is not a soft opening if your doors are open to the public, you are promoting the restaurant and you are charging full whack." I eventually kicked off with a smoked haddock and Dublin Bay prawn gratin (€12.50) intermingled with perfectly braised leeks, melded into soft Gruyere cheese. The flavour was delicious. A quintet of wild mushroom risotto balls (€11) interspersed with four quail's eggs, lounging on a bed of spinach, also proved tasty. However, we couldn't but laugh as a request for pepper elicited a tiny supermarket drum of ground black pepper – not so hip in this Georgian "splendour".
From a half-dozen mains (€18-€24), a 7oz Irish beef burger (€18) with tomato chutney, Gruyere, green peppercorn mayo and shoestring fries, for my friend, was fine. My roasted monkfish (€24) tossed with linguini, Italian sausage, chilli and garlic, had overcooked monkfish, but that was not the real problem. There was an underlying, almost bitter taste. "Would you like to take it home with you?" asked the charming waitress, seeing my uneaten plate.
The chap in charge reappeared and enquired as to our food. On talking to him about the monkfish linguini, he refunded its cost of €24. The staff are charming, the chef can turn out good dishes, but it was damn uncomfortable and a real endurance test. With two glasses of the entry price wine, Chateau La Coste Version Nature Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (€6.80 each), and optional service for the delightful waitress, our bill before the monkfish deduction was €96.
Peruke & Periwig seemed pretentious and pricey.
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Peruke & Periwig
31 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 672-7190 www.peruke.ie
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT