DUBLIN – January 2012 – Restaurant & Cafe Reviews – KC Peaches Cafe, Farm Restaurant, Cornucopia Vegan Restaurant, Bewley’s Oriental Cafe, Fire Restaurant.

Posted on January 19, 2012 by konoups

DUBLIN

Well what can i say, Dublin is definitely a vibrant and cosmopolitan city. The River Liffey divides the city into two regions of very different character. The North side being the poorest and less developed than the Southside. The distinction is quiet obvious when your there. We came across quite a few feral people on the North side. I wouldn’t want to be walking alone on the North side at night. We were staying on the South side where there were allot of beautiful shop fronts, cafes and restaurants.

The River Liffey

Lovely shop front with stained glass windows

An Irish bank, note the green post box versus the red ones we have here in the UK

We visited the Dublin Castle, expecting to see some majestic building. Unfortunately this is what we saw…. what a disappointment…

I have no idea why they painted these buildings withing the castle’s structure different colours… does look quiet tacky…

We had coffee and cake at KC Peaches, wholefoods shop and cafe. They had amazing cakes in their counter as well as food for lunch. High ceilings, wood flooring, great food! www.kcpeaches.com

We had a really yummy lunch at The Farm Restaurant. This was an organic restaurant which served deliciously tasty food. If you visit Dublin, i definitely recommend lunch here. www.thefarmrestaurant.ie

I had a Potato & leek soup with a sweet spelt grain bread and a tomato & herb soft bread roll.

My partner had thick cut chips and spicy chicken wings. He said they were the best chicken wings he’s ever had. Succulent and tasty!

Below are some pictures of the Temple bar area, a poplular tourist area for drinking, eating and having a good time. Great little pubs littered all over the place.

This was one of the bars advertising signs sitting out front. Its literally an old door done up. Quiet creative.

Cafe en Seine has to be the most majestic bar Ive ever been in. It was so exquisitely decorated inside. A work of art that was outstanding. Below is a picture of the inside, but it doesn’t even capture 1/2 of what it’s like inside nor how big. A truly amazing piece of art, creative on so many levels. Found on Dawson Street. They also serve food. I highly recommend a visit.

We had coffee at Bewley’s Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street. Great service, great atmosphere. Over three stories high. Always full as you’d expect being on one of the busiest streets in Dublin city centre. I especially loved the stained glass at the back of the restaurant including all the original oil paintings littered around the walls. Opened till midnight 7 days.

When i spotted Cornucopia Restaurant, i couldnt believe my eyes! We just had to have lunch there. For those of you who dont know anything about Cornucopia, well just check out their cookbook. Full of amazing and innovative vegetarian recipes.

Amazon’s description of the cookbook:- ‘Cornucopia at Home’ contains a selection of the most popular and enduring recipes from the Cornucopia Vegetarian Wholefood Restaurant in Dublin.

At Cornucopia you go up to the counter and order, pay and pick up your food. You can choose one of the hot dishes accompanies by two of their salads. The pack the plates. All for 12,50eu.

I had leek, squash and potato gratin with cashew cream sauce, along with a barley salad and a carrot, celeriac salad.

Pete had s vegetarian lasagne with couscous and lettuce leaves as his two salads.

Tasty and delicious!

I love my Art, and Dublin has allot to offer in this area. Dublin is littered with museums, most if not all are free entry. Below are pictures I took of ceramics, sculptures and mosaics that took my interest.

superb glazing technique and colours by ‘Rossa Potter’ from Tipperary Ireland.

What an interesting sculpture…. i can sit an look it for hours. What made the artist choose this pose out of all the others!

This mosaic mural was hidden in a car park. Spectacular colours. A range of different types of art techniques were used, casting, mosaics, ceramics, carving. I loved the mosaic sign…. made us giggle

On our last night in Dublin we decided to try a restaurant called ‘Fire’ on Dawson street. We were pleasantly surprised at how lovely it was. It was more of a fine dining restaurant. Service was immaculate, friendly but not pretentious. When I advised them of my dietary requirements, the food came out accordingly. I had no stomach cramps or anything associated with having diary allergies.

Sorry about the poor picture quality, we only had our iphones with us….. and it was quiet dark in the restaurant.

The food was perfectly presented. Except for the picture just above. I’d already moved everything around so its not as beautifully presented as the first picture.

We both had the lemon sole, me with asparagus and Pete with mash and a cream sauce.

A delicious meal.

Another winner restaurant. One I’d highly recommend.

Overall, the culinary experience we had in Dublin was excellent. That may have been because we were lucky in choosing the right places. In any case, i felt Dublin was a health conscious city.

Christmas in Cornwall 2011 & Restaurant Reviews:- Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen – Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro – Seafood Cafe, St Ives

Posted on January 8, 2012 by konoups

My partner and I spent Christmas in Cornwall this year. We hired a cottage close to St Ives. Cornwall is a lovely picturesque area, littered with lovely villages, many along the water. If you have’nt been there, I definitely recommend a visit. I especially loved St Michael’s Mount. A tiny island accessible by foot only when the tide is low then inaccessible on high tide expect via a small boat. There’s a castle on the island that’s well worth the visit.

We booked Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen for lunch and had high expectations. We were genuinely very disappointed. So much went wrong and more. I’m not one to complain, so we walked away vowing to never again set foot in another Jamie Oliver restaurant. Where do I start….. Let’s start at the beginning. I’d emailed the reservation months in advance with my dietary requirements. There were aware of this thankfully. The menu was very limited in variety. And most of the menu was written in Italian with no translation offered. The waitress had to translate pretty much every single item. By the time she’d finished I’d forgotten the initial translations.

I’d ordered the Pollock dish with seasonal vegetables instead of the chickpeas it normally came with. My partner ordered the steak with a side order of chilli/garlic spinach. When the meals arrived, I had Pollock with chickpeas and my partner had the steak on a bed of seasonal veg. The spinach had no hint whatsoever of chilli or garlic. Although the best part of the meal was the spinach. How sad is that. My fish was dry and the chickpeas underdone. My fish was served with mayonnaise??? The steak did not seem to be a good cut – allot of tough bits thru it, and the squash in the vegetables was undercooked to the point that the fork wouldn’t go thru it. There was also a poor amount of sauce dotted over the meat with no knowledge of what it was. There was no salt and pepper the table nor was any offered.

To top it off, when we left we started feeling ill. My partner ended up having a mild fever and the shakes for the rest of the evening and I was nauseas, on the brink of bringing everything up.

On the plus side, the service was warm and friendly although the uniforms looked more like a washer woman’s uniform. When the bill came we couldn’t believe how expensive it was. I pay less at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant and walk away much more fulfilled. We paid £26.95 for the meat dish, £17.95 for the Pollock. Our total bill for a small bottle of water, one glass of wine and the meals came too £58.35!

What a shame that it was such a disappointment on so many levels.

Would I recommend a Jamie Oliver restaurant to anyone? Unfortunately the answer is one big fat NO.

I had also pre-booked well in advance dinner at Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro in Padstow, Cornwall. After the dismal experience we experienced at Jamie Oliver’s we were hoping for better. And we were not disappointed. St Petroc’s Bistro was everything we expected and more.

Professional, attentive and friendly service, in neat and clean attire. Our orders were taken perfectly. Our meals were presented well and they tasted even better. Portion size was excellent. Atmosphere was lovely, and best of all the price was extremely reasonable for a seafood restaurant. We had an entree each; I had the smoked salmon, my partner grilled prawns with ouzo, tomatoes, chilli and feta. Both cost £7.95 each. Main we both had the grilled whole lemon Sole which came with a side dish of potatoes layered in fresh tomato sauce and onions, really yummy and caramalised garlic. This came to £24 each. The total bill including wine, water, side order of chips and walnut / Sourdough bread came to £77! Very reasonable, and best of all we walked away feeling fulfilled and well. No inkling of being sick….. Overall, I would most certainly recommend Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro. Unfortunately i forgot to take any photos of the main dishes. We were too impressed and too eager to start. I only remembered after i was half way thru the meal.

If you do visit Cornwall, I would definitely recommend having lunch at the Seafood Cafe which is in the heart of St Ives. You can choose the fish fresh from their fish counter they have there. The price is half of what you’d pay at either Jamie Oliver’s or Rick Steins’. The atmosphere is lovely and so is the service. We had the Sea bass Fillet with veg for £12.95 each.

The View at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall.

The Pollock meal at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen – Cornwall….. dry Pollock and undercooked chickpeas

The meat dish @ Jamiee Oliver’s, Fifteen

The tacky uniforms at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Cornwall

The homey atmoshphere at Rick Stein’s, St Petroc’s Bistro, Padstow, Cornwall

Seafood Cafe, St Ives. This was the scallop entree dish. My partner said was delicious.

Our yummy Seabass from Seafood Cafe, St Ives

Part of the inside area in Seafood Cafe, St Ives. Look to the right there is the fresh fish seletion counter.

The front of Seafood Cafe, St Ives

Below are photos from our time away during Christmas in Cornwall.

The Cathedral in Truro, Cornwall.

An unexpected Christmas procession thru the streets of Truro – lamas.. who would have thought. They almost have female shaped legs, quiet funny from behind.