First outing of ‘Gourmet Club’!
Orla | March 15, 2007As someone who loves to eat new things, what is better than making it a regular event! So we got together a motley (mostly Dublin Blog) crew and trotted on down to Town Bar & Grill last night for our first night out. Firstly – there were a few ground rules: You have to pick from the early bird/pre theatre and you must only order wine from the house selection.
Righteo – starting from the start, our table for 8 was set on a table fit for 6. Which was a bit annoying as they have all the bells and whistles on the table, which leaves little room for anything else. The anything else came along as a selection of delicious breads with some fabulous olive oil for dipping. Moving onto the menu – we had to ask for the pre-theatre menu as only the a la carte was on the table when we arrived. Service was prompt, nothing too exciting, a bit lifeless at times. Everything came in good time and it was hot and fresh tasting. Even though we had been told at the time of booking that we needed the table back for 8, they left us sipping the rest of our wine until nearly 9pm.
I had the chowder with smoked haddock. It had plenty of fish, but I like my chowder a little thicker. But that is my personal preference. For some reason Foie Gras appeared on the antipasti plate. It was delicious, but it seemed a little out of place. For mains I had the risotto, which had quite an intense flavour, I would have liked something sharp to cut through the dense taste. The other mains at the table seemed nice. I managed to get my fork into them all. Colin’s chicken was just a tad overcooked, and I’m just not a fan of polenta. But they did it justice and made it palatable. Desserts were tasty & simple. The house wines came in at €22.50 a bottle (two white and two reds) and they were both decent wines.
Now to the bill! Just as Colin was totting up what each of us owed, he realised that there was a major discrepancy between the items on the bill and the final total. We brought it to the attention of one of the waiters, who took it from Colin and walked away muttering. He came back – muttering some bizarre explanation and gave us the new bill.
SO! My two cents: It was a pleasant dinner, but if I had paid any more than €29.50 for the food I think I would have most definitely felt short changed. I would give it a 3/5 for food, 3/5 service, 2/5 ambiance and 3/5 for value. Giving it a grand total of 11 out of a possible 20. I don’t think I’ll be back in the near future!
I’m really looking forward to the next outing!
P.S. Santa in Holland comes on the 5th of December!!!
Good review! And 29.50′s not bad for a three course meal with wine, so at least it was ok value for money. I HATE it when they squeeze you into tables meant for less people, cos as you pointed out there’s all the side plates and glasses and extra portions to be fit in as well, and a lack of elbow room…I HATE that!
Just one thing though, where exactly is Town Bar and Grill? Is it city centre or where? Is there a website?
Just linked the name – it’s on Kildare St btw.
It’s under one of the buildings on the opposite side of the street from the Dail, closer to St Stephens Green.
I’ve eaten there before and I have to agree, nice but nothing spectacular, but that said I’ve eaten worse food for more than €29.50
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I do agree that too many restraunts screw customers by taking bookings and then squeezing them in to small tables.
Welcome to Dublin Blog Orla – great review. I agree with pretty much all your comments. To start I had buffalo mozzarella and plum tomato brushetta which was very nice but way too much balsamic vinegar for me. For mains I had cannelloni with beef, cashew nuts and a pesto dressing (I think) which was also very nice. So stuffed was I that I couldn’t finish my tiramisu dessert. I liked the red wine – I think it was “Le Scapitozze Sangiovese”. The coffee was very good.
I thought the service was a bit hit and miss. Mostly hits but some of the misses were big – as Orla has already mentioned. Two risottos were ordered – one with meat and one without. Both plates were brought to the table by the same waitress and there was some confusion as to which had the meat! Not very reassuring for vegetarians!
The room was really hot. To the point of me feeling very uncomfortable. The toilets were spotless.
I enjoyed the experience and the pre-theatre menu is good value for money.
My ratings – 3/5 for food, 3/5 service, 2/5 ambiance and 4/5 for value which totals 12 out of a possible 20.
To top off our night we went to the newly opened Shelbourne for a drink. Being the second night of its opening it was quite busy. Its a big effort to get served at the bar and a very long wait for your change! I’ll be back again when it settles down a bit.
I’m looking forward to our next get together.
So I’ve been coerced into joining the army of bloggers and writing my first piece on our gourmet experience.
After gushing about the food at the table following the meal, I suppose the cold light of day helped in Orla and Dervla’s review of what was only slightly better than we expected from a restaurant sporting a €4000 bottle of Screaming Eagle cabernet sauvignon !
For my part, the food was served without much ado and empty plates whisked away in much the same way. My only beef would be the distance the wine-stand was placed from my grubby little hands ! Our slightly over-populated/under-sized table, while limiting real estate, certainly made it easier for Orla to get her wandering paws into eveyones dishes ;o) But since Orla herself is on track for operating Inchicores first Michelin-Star’d kitchen, all the better for a food review.
Dinner out is always good, and I’m having my best Penney’s shirt pressed and ironed for next time.
My ratings – 4/5 for food, 3/5 service, 3/5 ambiance and 4/5 for value which totals 14 out of a possible 20.
So, Housewines emply and stomachs full … on the Horse Shoe bar at the Shelbourne hotel.
I’m afraid I don’t share Derv’s optimism for it’s improving once the opening-day numbers have fallen. After shuffling in through the C-listers who missed out on their invite for the tuesday opening, we set about some bar service. There has been a lot of local opposition to the current management strategy in the Shelbourne regarding employment (or continuing employment) of Irish staff ………. and this is one debate I’m certainly not going to take sides on in a ‘Gourmet Club’ review!
So, in summary, the many and varied bar-staff at the Horse Shoe bar would be served best by timely taking of orders at the bar and choosing glasses for draught beer as they become available (and not hunting down the one shining example of Heineken’s glass-manship)
Although, after all’s said and done, they do serve premium beers on draught (Paulaner + Warsteiner) at the same price you’ll pay anywhere in Dublins fair city.
Rumours of Gourmet Club’s second outing are already doing the rounds.
Contact Dervla/Orla for your meal-ticket !!
Hi there,
sorry for my late review, but I would like to join you in most of your comments. The food was ok – could have been more exciting, but for 29.50 you could definitely do worse in Dublin.
the wine was lovely though…. Although that might have added to the experience of the room being very warm. But then again, being huddled around a too small table could definitely have added to that too.
My bruschetta was a bit balsamic too, but nice. My chicken was ok, but not extremely original. The chocolate mousse however did exactly what it needed to do: be chocolatey and moussey with a lovely biscuit on the side.
ratings: 3/5 for food, 3/5 for service, 3/5 for ambiance, 4/5 for value which makes a total 13 out of 20.
Looking forward to the next outing already!
What’s this? New Gourmet Club. Tell us more. How does one join, how often do you plan to go out. Do you penalise non drinkers by making them subsidise wine etc. How many members are there? Would love to know more. Thanks.
Hi Hilary – only the wine drinkers pay for the wine. No matter how much/how little you drink.