Very romantic interior.
Some wine crates put to good use!
It's located in a basement on Baggot Street, a space I feel wouldn't have existed if it were not for someone's ingenious eye! The walls are unashamedly bare, wine crates have been put to good use as shelves and tables while the outside yard has been covered over to give the impression of eating al fresco without the frostbite!
Practically perfect.
The menu is short. I'm hoping it's changed regularly because I'm desperate to go back and try something new! I started with the octopus and crab croquettes which came with pickled vegetables, squid and a squid ink aioli. I don't know exactly what "technically perfect" is but I imagine this dish comes very close. It was truly beautiful. Crispy on the outside, the croquettes were smooth and rich on the inside, nearly too rich if it weren't for the black aioli which had a lemony zing to it and cut right through the richness. The pickles cleansed the palate nicely too. This could be my death row dish!
Simple but delicious.
Himself went for the Iberico ham. It comes beautifully presented on black slate with parmesan, a dash of rapeseed oil and some rocket. He'd have liked a bit of balsamic vinegar (bear in mind he'd put balsamic on his Weetabix) I thought it was pretty close to perfect though. Personally I prefer olive oil but the rapeseed was an interesting distraction.
Lovely crispy skin on the sea bass and the risotto is a perfect balance of creaminess and saltiness.
While waiting for our main courses he asked if Isabel's would make it to the blog, so many places don't, I nodded enthusiastically, if the mains were anything like the starters it surely would. You've probably figured out by now that I wasn't disappointed? I'd opted for the wild sea bass with garlic risotto, black pudding and lardo. I want to rhyme off all those words they say you shouldn't use when describing food like unctuous and umami, I can't help it, this was a grown up dish and it needs sophisticated words to describe it! Saying it was yummy just undersells it but, by god, this was yummy beyond belief!
Beautifully tender oxtail.
He was equally impressed with his oxtail, bone marrow and gnocchi, one of the specials of the day. It was a slow cooked and very rich dish with the oxtail falling apart when touched. I've never really liked gnocchi before but all I can conclude is that I've been trying particularly poor examples because I could have eaten a whole plate of these; they were so light and tasty.
What the heck is sea buckthorn?
We dithered about dessert, we wanted to be wowed even further but we weren't really hungry. Curiosity got the better of me though, I spotted a chocolate mousse with sea buckthorn ice cream, chocolate soil and sea buckthorn gel. What the heck is sea buckthorn? We Googled it in the restaurant - yes we're that kind of couple - and found this. It was interesting. The chocolate mousse was fantastic and the orangey sea buckthorn was a light and fragrant accompaniment. We paired it with the recommended wine which I think was a semi dry Sauternes and it worked very well together. All in all it was a very pleasant way to end a very satisfying meal.
Homemade bread and butter.
And so for the damage... cringe... our two courses each, plus one dessert, two glasses of Sauternes and a bottle of Chardonnay came to a very hefty €134. Was it value for money? Most definitely, 100%, it was fantastic, I've been raving about this place incessantly since last week and I'd go back in a heartbeat. If you don't fancy shelling out that much why not have a look at the early bird menu which is very good value. I also happened to notice - too late for us unfortunately - they are doing a deal with the Irish Times at the moment which is an amazing agreeable price, have a look!
Isabel's Restaurant 112 Baggot Street Dublin 4Website01 619 000
Fine dining down "in the area"