Chic newcomer
This place got a sparkling bit of puff in the Irish Times magazine a week after opening. Hence it is difficult, if not impossible, to secure reservations for the first-floor dining room above McSorleys, an upscale pub in Ranelagh. Persevere. It is worth discovering.
The menu is full of bistro classics, and while there are teething problems – the prawn, crab and avocado cocktail (€14) is flat, they had run out of several other dishes on the menu – there is also much to admire. The interior is handsome. Deep grey walls, plush banquettes, lovely new linen and tableware all encourage a sense of bonhomie. The service, under proprietor Kevin McMahon – he ran Ely wine bar for seven years – is enthusiastic, and the wine list is quite superb.
One might start with a big bowl of mussels (€10) and follow it with sea trout with crushed potatoes, baby leeks and a tomato butter (€20). Both delicious. Or else have pappardelle with mild mushrooms and great big cloves of roast garlic (€16). Good stuff. McMahon, who is 33, says he wanted “to create a nice, smart, comfortable wine bistro – more old-fashioned, perhaps, than some of the places in a village that feels increasingly slick.” He has succeeded.
Will it survive in Ranelagh? Yes. Are the prices bound to go up soon? Alas. Does the Wild Goose still represent a serious challenge to its many competitors within a couple of hundred yards? Indeed it does.
Something has to give, even in this snootiest of suburbs. We predict a rash of closures within the next few months. If this place, Eatery 120 and Mint survive the cull, all will be right in the world. (Open seven days a week, dinner only.)
The Wild Goose Grill, Sandford Road, Dublin 6. 491 2377
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