Spring is here and so are the new
greens from Gort na Nain farm including the "new kid on the block, cime di rapa, aka broccoli raab
amongst other aliases". That green, see picture below, was new to me
at least and not the only "surprise" during a superb weekend dinner at Cafe
Paradiso.
In this elegant, intimate and comfortable space,
the food is top notch, as is the service. Asked one of our servers about part
of the amuse bouche and got all the details, from the ingredients to the recipe
to the various possible finishes. More than just training, I think, at play
here. This lady likes her job!
And it looks as if that goes all the way from the front of house (great to meet Geraldine on her home turf) to the kitchen where Denis Cotter
has brought this cafe, founded in 1993, to a multi-award winning top
class restaurant. One of my friends, who travels widely in the hospitality
industry, tells me that it's "not alone the best vegetarian restaurant in
Ireland, it is probably the best restaurant in Ireland".
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| Tartlet of caramelized beetroot & Bluebell Falls fresh goat’s cheese, salsa verde and olive-crushed potato. |
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| Marinated Toonsbridge buffalo mozzarella with Gort na Nain leaves, roasted grapes, crushed fennel , crispbread and pomegranate syrup and pistachio dukkah |
These
were our starters. The tartlet was in a class of its own. These can be fairly
skimpy in some places but not here! Never had mozzarella served like this before!
Fantastic combination. By the way, Gort na Nain farm supplies the bulk of vegetables used by Paradiso.
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Spring cabbage dolma of spiced carrot & chickpeas with
smoked pepper-almond sauce, orange mint yoghurt, crushed saffron potato cake and broad beans
|
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| Leek & roast squash gratin with hazelnut & Hegarty’s cheddar crust, citrus rosemary cime di rape, braised borlotti beans. |
This is where I met the cime di rape for the first time! Tasted well, like broccoli
to be honest, as it played a supporting role here to the magnificent roast gratin.
Like many of the dishes served here, this is (well, was) beyond my imagination
but certainly not beyond that of Denis Cotter. Superbly executed.
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| Crozier Blue cheese, apple, Gortnanain honey, glazed pecans |
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| Cardamom set custard with poached rhubarb and pistachio shortbread |
With a visit to Cashel Blue
coming up this week, I was delighted to get the opportunity to taste their Crozier,
served in such a simple yet brilliant way. And more of the same with our other
dessert. Hasn’t the humble rhubarb come a long way from the neglected corner of
the back garden!
If the food is the main story
here, the wine list has recently claimed a mention. Better let Denis explain it
himself: "As promised, we've torn up the wine
list and put it back together in a new way. There are two major changes that
we're very excited about. Firstly, every wine is now available in four
measures. And we've radically changed the way we price wine to drag the top end
of the list down into the middle. Get the scoop here, then come in and play
with it...http://www.cafeparadiso.ie/blog/a-new-approach-to-pouring-and-pricing-wine"
The result for the customer is brilliant:
a new list, new measures, and new prices. There are about forty wines available,
all by the glass (150ml), the quartino (250), the mezzo (250) and by the
bottle. You also have a choice of aperitifs and digestifs.
We started with a quartino
of Dos Victorias ‘Jose
Pariente’ Verdejo 2011. With the mains, we each enjoyed a glass of
the Cullen Margaret River White 2011. Picked the Cullen in anticipation of
a WineGeese event in Paradiso. On Tuesday May 28th the restaurant will, in association with Liberty Wines, host a Presentation & Tasting with
winemaker Emma Cullen of Cullen Wines from Australia's Margaret River. Book direct with Paradiso.
Oh,
nearly forgot the gorgeous desert wines. One was a brilliant port, the Quinta
do Infantado Senior Tawny Port, and the other was Californian Essencia Orange
Muscat 2010. Sweet ending to a lovely evening,
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