Monday, November 26, 2018

Sizzling Dishes At Quinlan’s Fish in Princes Street


Sizzling Dishes At Quinlan’s Fish in Princes Street


Sizzling deep-water Atlantic prawns, in olive oil, chilli and garlic served with a mixed leaf salad and sourdough bread, were the star of the show when we visited the busy Quinlan’s Seafood Bar in Cork recently.

It was a Monday and I didn’t expect it to be so busy - but it was abuzz, people were being turned away. Just as well we had booked a table. We got a nice welcome and service was pretty good too throughout.

Fish direct from tide to table, they say, claiming to be “unique in Ireland as we source all our Fresh Fish and Shellfish from our own boats and fish factory at Renard Point, Caherciveen”. Fresh Hake, Cod, Haddock, Whiting and Plaice, from Dingle Bay are available throughout the year. The mussels come from Oysterhaven.

But back to those sweet and delicate prawns. CL had them as starter (12.00) while I enjoyed them as mains (19.00). The “soup” of oil, chilli and garlic was nicely judged so that the texture and flavour of the fish came through. The well dressed salad was excellent while the average sourdough was put to good use in mopping up! No Picpoul de Pinet or Muscadet on the white wine list but the listed Albarino would be a good match.
Salmon

Quinlan’s always have a list of specials and it was a tempting one the other night with Black Sole and Lobster included. I went for one of the special starters, the Prawn and Smoked Salmon croquettes, served with salad and Asian Aioli (12.95). Quite a substantial dish and very tasty too!

It wouldn’t be a fish bar if you couldn’t get Fish and Chips. And here you have a choice of fish: whiting, plaice, haddock, cod, hake or fish goujons. And those fish and chips are served with a batter they “have developed to complement our super fresh fish”. For a healthier option you can have the fresh fish pan-fried in olive oil. And you can also choose salad instead of chips. In any event, those Fish and Chips seemed to be flying on the night as were those sizzling prawns.

Along with the specials, you have a fine choice of main dishes here including Dingle Bay Wild Squid and Portmagee Crab Claws, even a Portmagee Crab Bake. Also simpler dishes with Hake and Salmon. CL went for the Pan-fried fillet of Salmon served with Lyonnaise potatoes, asparagus, carrot purée and basil pesto (19.50). Quantity yes but quality too.

The Kerry family are well known too for their award winning smoked salmon and we had that as a lunch dish in their Killarney restaurant earlier in the year served as an Open Sandwich on brown bread and it came with a straightforward salad and lemon wedge. The amount of “smoking” was nicely judged and the flavour of the salmon itself is not diminished but rather enhanced by its engagement with Irish oak. So watch out for that too.

And what did I have at that lunch in Killarney? Yes, you’ve guessed it, those prawns again but this time served in a light tempura batter. A different dress then but still beautiful!
Smoked Salmon lunch dish, Killarney in March.

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