Out To Lunch: Traditional French Cooking Is Just Magnifique

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Le Rustique

Princes’ Street

I LOVE French cuisine…but then who doesn’t?

The rich sauces, the fantastic combinations of ingredients, the decadent cakes and desserts; what’s not to love? Ok, your arteries won’t thank you for it, but indulgence every now and then can’t be bad for you.

So I was delighted when I heard a restaurant offering original French countryside food – but not fine dining – was opening in town, just up from The Brandon Hotel where Restaurant Uno once operated.

It began serving in early August, so I said I’d give it a while before I called in for a bite to eat. Last Thursday, I felt it was time enough so I called in and surprisingly found an empty restaurant with French music playing in the background waiting for me.

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I was warmly welcomed by Dagmar Schwarz – who runs the business with her chef husband Guenter – and was shown to a seat to peruse the lunch menu. Dagmar told me that they’ve just started doing lunches and hadn’t done any advertising yet – hence the lack of customers – but the night trade was going great.

True to their word, you won’t find club sandwiches, paninis or noodle salads on the menu here. It’s all French and it all looks delicious.

There’s Quiche à la lorraine, Fricassèe de poulet (chicken in white wine sauce, with carrots, peas and shallots, served in a vol au vent and side salad), Croque de choir (a baguette with a choice of toppings including French cheeses, ham, tuna etc), Croque Madame and much more.

The chef came out and suggested I try the lunch special of Beef Roulade (€9.50), promising me I would not be disappointed. With such assurances given, I decided to try it.

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While waiting, I asked to see the dinner menu and wine list. There’s five different steak dishes alone, while duck, pork, lamb, chicken and cod also feature in the mains, all cooked French-style. Dagmar also told me they only stock French wines to accompany the dishes.

It wasn’t long before the simply-presented dish arrived, with the beef roulade served with a small jug of red wine sauce on the side, three small potatoes and brussels sprouts. The portion wasn’t that big. Criticism over.

While the beef was extraordinary – cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth perfect with a delicious but subtle vegetable filling that blended as one with the meat – it wasn’t the star of the show.

That role was filled by the red wine sauce which was so good, I could have consumed a bowl of it. I ended up pouring it over the potatoes, sprouts and everything else on the plate.

Dagmar later informed me her husband was once employed at a top French restaurant solely for his expertise with making sauces. That must have been some place to eat!

I had a Cafe Crema to finish and the bill came to €12. With the quality I experienced on Thursday, it’s amazing the place isn’t full for lunch every day.  I’ll be back for an evening meal very soon.

4.5/5

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