Irish Restaurant Awards 2010
10 June
Congratulations to Graham, Jamie and all of the FortyOne staff on receiving an award for Best Club Restaurant in Ireland. All of their hard work and dedication was rewarded at a ceremony by the Restaurant Association of Ireland on Wednesday, June 10th.
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Reviews
We had the pre theatre menu for 36 euro each, after two enormous gins and tonic in the very cosy garden. We met friends and fell to chatting and nearly missed the show altogether but the staff were most helpful, serving us swiftly but unobtrusively. The food was better than I had anticipated. The dishes were immaculately presented and I have never had better duck. Their a la carte menu isn’t cheap and they certainly weren’t busy early on but, for a taste of the good life at reasonable prices, we couldn’t fault the meal we had. You could safely recommend it to anyone.
The dining room, overlooking the Green, is one of the most attractive in Dublin, and according to my lunch companion, who would be a sound judge of such things, the staff are even better dressed than the members. “That’s the kind of thing I usually notice only in London or New York,” she added.
Actually, the customers (let’s face it, that’s what they are) look pretty smart, too. There is much money here and private education. All very under-40.
The food is elegant and disciplined, something that is reflected in the economical descriptions on the menu. “Warm white asparagus, soft boiled egg” was actually more than that. True, we got the distinctive, minerally character of white asparagus, but also a few spears of the very different green one, and a subtle morel sauce.
Blue-fin tuna with Vietnamese vegetables was gloriously simple, the vegetables just a few julienne strips, the fish rare (but should, I think, have been virtually raw) and the delicate broth warm and spicy.
John Dory, smoked pea puree, wet garlic and potato gnocchi was simply splendid: the fish impeccably cooked, the puree just sweet enough and mildly smoky, the gnocchi tiny and delicate, the garlic full of that distinctive taste and texture that goes with the start of the season. Wild sea bass was suitably meaty, cooked perfectly à point, its fleshiness complemented by sweet braised onion and the whole lot infused with the subtle herbiness of Noilly Prat vermouth in the sauce.
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Heading up the kitchen is one of Dublin’s most talented younger chefs, Graham Neville, who trained in France and America and spent seven years working with Michelin-starred chef Kevin Thornton – and it shows. His food is perfectly crafted, replete with seasonal flavours that sing off the plate.
Menus are based on carefully sourced seasonal ingredients and offer many treats. In autumn, for example, you might begin with a luxurious starter such as warm foie gras, caramelised onion and plums then follow with seared king scallops, Irish rose veal, celeriac and coral Madeira sauce, before cleansing your palette with an exquisite mini mint crème brulée, or trying the chef’s signature praline soufflé.
The amuse bouche, mid-courses and petits fours are all real highlights, and the whole experience is enhanced by the care taken with sourcing ingredients – it is good to see a kitchen of this calibre opting for Irish rose veal in preference to the traditional white continental meat, for example.
Seamlessly smooth service is provided by Restaurant Manager Jamie Belton and his team, and Sommelier Julie Dupouy guides guests through a pleasingly concise and carefully chosen wine list, which favours France but also offers choice from the new world; a wide range is also offered by the glass, including the speciality wines suggested for each dessert and the farmhouse cheese selection.
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