The Roast House
Denny Street
LET’S, for a moment, talk about quality.
The recession, for all its misery and hardship, did us favour by weeding out stylish-looking cafes, serving up over-priced, mediocre meals, so mangy they wouldn’t choke a duck.
But hey, once Zero 7 was playing in the background we were cool. Starving, but cool. Right?
The backlash over the past few years was almost as bad. Parsimony was the special of the day and the cheaper and more cheerful the lunch, the more people liked to brag about getting a bargain – despite the lack of flavour in the meal.
Thankfully, there are a number of places in town, still flying the flag for quality food in stylish surroundings.
Darcy’s in Barrack Lane is the best of these establishments in town for evening meals (more on them in another review) but The Roast House has been growing its reputation for great flavours and inventive menus since it opened last year.
When you enter, the interior is initially bright but as you go into the main seating area, the natural light diminishes. Thankfully, it’s so tastefully decorated, it makes it a cosy and stylish place to meet.
The menu is full of goodies like ‘pea, spring onion and herb risotto with Desmond cheese crisp’, ‘Moroccan spiced lamb tagine, served with couscous, mint yoghurt and toasted almonds’, and ‘homemade beef burger, smoked gubbeen cheese, tomato relish and onion with red cabbage coleslaw, salad and chunky chips’ to name but a few lunch options.
I went for the salad of free range chicken, chorizo, potato and garlic croutons, mixed leaves and a honey and mustard dressing.
The salad was dressed tastefully with the flavours of honey and mustard coming through just enough – too many salads are almost drowned in dressing these days.
The chicken was fresh and not dry, the chorizo spicy, but not enough of it for my liking and the croutons were delicious – the diced potato is a nice addition. Two slices of delicious sweet-tasting bread on the side made sure you wouldn’t leave hungry.
A really good cappuccino rounded off the meal which cost €14.20 in all.
That may seem a bit steep for coffee and a salad, but if the food is this good in such comfortable surroundings, it’s worth it.
Style, substance and quality.
4/5
