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| Irish Times - Catherine Cleary | ||||
| Evening Herald | ||||
| Georgina Campbell's Ireland | ||||
| Irish Times - Catherine Cleary | ||||
| Alexis in Dún Laoghaire has had a revamp but its more Botox than a full face-lift, and the results are very impressive, writes CATHERINE CLEARY. Restaurants have a life cycle. The good ones are born with a bang and then steadily build a tribe. Then, fairly or unfairly, we forget about them, or get bored with them, or distracted, like magpies, by shiny new ones. If they can ride out the lull in the middle years, nostalgia will bring people back. Otherwise it's a shark-like move-or-die imperative, and never more so than at the helm of a large, mid-market restaurant. Alexis Bar and Grill in Dún Laoghaire opened nearly five years ago. The Bar and Grill bit of the name had that nonchalant mid-Atlantic build-it-big and fill-it-up confidence to it. But the feel was more brasserie than steakhouse. The Alexis in question was Alexis Soyer, the 19th-century French forefather of the campaigning celebrity chef figure. The five-year timeline is important. It's the span at which a restaurant can start to sag. But it also dates this place firmly in an era when the idea of diners guarding cash like Confirmation money seemed laughable. So the interim years have seen Alexis, like every other mid-range restaurant determined to ride things out, drop- ping prices and keeping the food reliable. And now they've done a small reinvention. It's more Botox than a full face-lift: there's a new chef; more hard- core ingredients (caramelised sweetbreads anyone?); a shift to organic and biodynamic wines; and an attempt to take the big-barn feel off the place, with softer chairs and fewer covers. Nothing to scare the horses, then. It's a first visit for me, so I'm not going to miss anything from the previous Alexis. A sign that they're doing something right was the inability to get a table the first time I rang. So instead I'm here on a quiet Tuesday night. I'm meeting my brother for a long-overdue sitdown without the band of small nephews. Generous guy that he is, he opts to try the set menu (€25 for three courses) and the à la carte is all mine. The first word that strikes me is "textures". I'm assuming this is a catchall phrase for foams, jus, purees and lumps of stuff, blend- ed, fried or otherwise transmogrified in the kitchen. The cauliflower in my scallop main (€24.50) is going to be in "texture" form. Yes, some people like menu jargon. But to get away with "textures" they better be good. The starters come out like an exercise in restaurant presentation. Gavan's whipped goats' cheese has been piped into a perfect ice-cream swirl on to a round toast. Pea shoots and peppery purple cress sit on top, alongside a Parmesan tuille. There's more goats' cheese in a croquette, and those "textures" are pyramids of beetroot with a sweet nut crumble and a little puddle of beetroot under the croquette. As I type this, I hear it in Lorraine Pilkington's voice (she's the narrator of the Irish MasterChef). This is as cheffy as things come, unapologetically so. More importantly, it's also delicious. My blue fin tuna carpaccio has been assembled in a small round tower with tiny bits of tuna and avocado, a creamy lid and orange salmon roe, which ping with bursts of briney flavour. It looks beautiful, but is a bit bland in a way that a squeeze of lemon would fix. A small mound of marinated salmon and tiny cubed fresh vegetables, including some of the smallest diced radish I've ever seen, are exquisite in a small mouthful kind of way. Gavan's duck main course is great; luscious slices of duck fanned over a small bit of spinach and two chunky rectangles described on the menu as pont neuf potatoes. I wonder will diners down tools, look at the waiter when that plate arrives and say, "Really? Just two chips?", which is how they come, balanced like Jenga blocks, one on top of the other. I think this is fine because the first two chips are always the best. But be warned. Tiny cubes of parsnip each have a doll-sized girolle balanced on top. And it's all served on a piping hot plate, with a steady hand and a tea towel. I get six scallops on a cauliflower purée alternated with deep-fried cauliflower florets where the batter tastes moreishly like prawn crackers. Around this is a pea purée and barely-blanched fresh peas. It's a lovely plate of great, competent cooking. On the waiter's recommendation, we get a glass of Syrah (€5.25) and one of Vedeau Sauvignon Blanc (€4.75) to match our main courses. Both are excellent. Desserts look a little underwhelming. A blackberry and almond tart could fit into a Mr Kipling box. But when I bite into it, the cake is so fresh and well made it's a joy to eat. A cube of tangy blackberry jelly and some heavy cream are all it needs to sing. Gavan's tangerine cheesecake is a perfect blend of dense cheese top- ping and a courageously unsweet tangerine jelly. Some crystalised tangerine skin adds a third, very grown-up dimension. So the food in the slightly-new Alexis is very good, in a very mannered, cheffy fashion. At the set-menu prices of €19 for two courses and €25 for three, it's pretty much a steal. My only quibble is the place still feels a bit big-barnish for these times. We like cosy places that give you a little hug of warmth when you walk in and offer you a nook to nest in. Apart from that, there's nothing else to fault here. Dinner for two with two glasses of wine, an orange juice, bottled water and two coffees came to €82.30. |
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| Evening Herald | top | |||
| American business psychologist Warren G Bennis, is on record as saying: "People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out." This should be committed to heart by restaurateurs, too many of whom seem content to stick to timeworn formulas until the closure sign goes up on the door. It's generally recognised that five years is about as long as a restaurant can survive before major changes have to be made and that the trick is to make such changes before they become a last resort. Alexis, a popular restaurant in Dun Laoghaire, has been in business about four-and-a-half years. Recently, Patrick O'Reilly and his brother, chef Alan, decided time for change had come and with it the chance to rem- edy criticisms that the dining room is noisy and the service sometimes a tad ragged. Acoustics Here's Patrick announcing (on my website forum) the proposed changes: "Over the next four weeks we will be renovating the restaurant, reducing the numbers and taking the food, service and wine list up a level. We will be making the room a bit softer and more intimate and have been advised by an acoustics expert to help us along. "We have recruited a new head chef and have replaced some other staff with more experienced personnel. We will be doing intensive training with all of those remaining to upskill them to the level we want. "We're seriously excited about the direction the food is going to take and I'm personally buzzing about the new wine list I'm in the process of putting together. "We plan to keep our pricing at about the same level and retain the accessibility and relaxed nature of the service." That's some mission statement. If Pat and Alan could pull it off, we should give them charge of Ireland's regeneration. Accordingly, Ruby, Pearl and myself navigated the challenging Dun Laoghaire one-way system intent on checking whether the Alexis revamp had ticked all the boxes. First off, the dining room, while not intimate, is certainly cosier. The new soft furnishings and the acoustic baffling have given the space a calmer, quieter demeanour. Skilled Our service requirements were amply met by a skilled and personable South African lad and by Pat himself. The timing between courses was immaculate, which makes such a difference to the enjoyment of a multi- course meal. The new wine list justified Pat's "buzz". Picpoul seems to be making an impression. To me it seems like the white wine all you Pinot Grigio drinkers have been waiting for, a wine for our times, a half-way house be- tween stingy Sauvignon Blanc and fat-cat Chardonnay. But the glory of Alexis has always been the food: impeccably sourced seasonal ingredients that are treated with love and respect. Venison, rare-breed pork, sweetbreads, pigeon and other rustic delights have featured regularly. So could this food for foodies get any better? It soon became evident that it could. Starters, even the goat cheese one, avoided the habitual clichés. The dressing that came with my sweetbreads and wild mushrooms had the perfect amount of 'zing'. The flavour bursting from my wood pigeon was incredible, putting me in mind of those sherbet things I used to enjoy as a kid. Ruby's hake glistened and the sight of Pearl's slow-cooked beef had me making preposterous promises in return for a mouthful. Presentation has been considerably sharpened up. Whereas Alexis's food previously had substance, it now has real style, too. You could have hung our desserts at the Tate Modern and charged a tenner to view. As for value for money, there is currently no better to be had within the confines of the Pale than Alexis Bar & Grill's €24 three-courser. |
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| Georgina Campbell's Ireland | top | |||
| Tucked away on Patrick Street, off Dun Laoghaire's main drag, huge glass windows allow passers-by a promising glimpse inside Alexis, the bright bistro owned by respected Dublin chef Alan O'Reilly and his brother Pat, and named after the great French chef and humanitarian Alexis Soyer, who visited Ireland in the mid-19th century and created the soup kitchens which provided wholesome food for the needy during the Famine. Having opened to considerable acclaim in 2007, Alexis has been consistently popular ever since. Well ahead of the trend towards offering 'value' menus, Alan O'Reilly's lifetime dedication to working closely with pro- ducers to ensure seasonality and impeccable provenance was also ahead of its time. Expect a warm, friendly welcome, generously spaced tables, comfy banquettes and bentwood seats - and a menu which is as notable for accessible, pricing as for its appeal to the tastebuds. An open kitchen runs along the back wall of the large open dining room and a long tongue and groove bar makes a chic focal point, dispensing drinks and coffees. Much of this Dublin restaurants cooking is rustic French and Italian in origin and, although there are several 2- and 3-course menus offered, the à la carte doesn't differentiate between starters and mains (small portions of many dishes can be ordered). Admirable pride in quality ingredients is seen first in a menu that lists the provenance of key produce and that promise follows through on the plate in flavoursome, precise cooking: food is handsomely presented with meat and seafood dishes all expertly cooked and wonderfully fresh. A keenly priced wine list offers a dozen wines by the glass. Although it is noisy, and service can sometimes let the food down, great cooking, attention to detail and great value make this one of the area's most highly regarded restaurants. |
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| Alexis: Something to shout about. | top | |||
| Alexis is a fine restaurant, the food is very good and the prices are reasonable. I was delighted to find that it has kept its standards high and I have no doubt that it will survive the hard times ahead. Paulo Tullio - Irish Independent - April 2010 Every now and then a restaurant opens that gets rave reviews from every restaurant reviewer. Not often, but a couple of times a year. It's just happened again with the newly opened Alexis is Dun Laoghaire. Paulo Tullio - Taste of Ireland- June 2007 |
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| Keen prices are no use unless the grub is good. Here it is excellent. Unbeatable value for money. | top | |||
| Alan O'Reilly has the talent and passion..And with his brother, Patrick, he has created a remarkable restaurant in Dún Laoghaire. Alexis Bar and Grill, named in honour of the great Victorian chef Alexis Soyer, is probably now the best-value restaurant in the country. Tom Doorley - Irish Times Magazine - April 2007 |
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| Bistro Best | top | |||
| Alexis is done with style..A red banquette runs the length of the room: lots of cream, sunken lighting, a bar on one side, modern pictures, and Barry White belting it out..Meeter/greeter Kim, from Germany, was absolutely fantastic – friendly, welcoming and concerned – and certainly coloured our view..She could give lessons to the new breed of whippersnappers emerging as “restaurant managers” who think they’re more important than their customers. How does this man feel he can do food at these prices, while every other restaurateur in the country is bleating about low margins and what favours they are doing feeding us at exorbitant prices? Lucinda O’Sullivan - Irish Independent Magazine - April 2007 |
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May Lobster Promotion |
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Celebrate lobster season in style... |
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New Summer Opening Hours |
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Please note that our opening times will be changing. |
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Midweek Tasting Menu |
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Our ever popular midweek tasting menu.. |
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| Biodynamics | ||
Our wines list is now exclusively organic and biodynamic wines.. |
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