Raising a toast to the gourmet stakes

All over Dublin and indeed all over the country, pubs are getting their Christmas food menus together - eating out in pubs has become as important an adjunct of their business as drinking.

Some notable pubs, like Ashtons in Clonskeagh, Dublin; Comans in Rathgar; Ryans in Parkgate Street and the Old Punch Bowl in Booterstown, Co Dublin, are among many that have their own restaurants, all geared up for Christmas.

Many have dared to be different, with some highly original Christmas dishes, a million miles from that often repeated seasonal stand-by, turkey and ham.

Among many pubs in the city centre, the Brazen Head in Lower Bridge Street, reckoned to be one of the oldest in the country, already has a special Christmas menu with some attractive local touches. One of its main course specialities is Wicklow lamb, while another is baked Darne of Slaney salmon.

Many other pubs in and around the city centre will be serving up Christmas specials, including Kitty O'Shea's in Upper Grand Canal Street.

Frank Cruise of Ryans restaurant, at Ryan's pub in Parkgate Street, says that they will have very extensive Christmas menus, for both lunch and dinner. The lunch menu includes such delicacies as pheasant; sea bass; entrecote steak as well as turkey, finished with a jus of cranberries and rosemary. This lunch menu is priced at £15.95, while the even more extensive Christmas dinner menu is priced at £27.50.

Going out into the suburbs can open up all sorts of gastronomic delights. On the northside, the Brian Boru at Glasnevin has an extensive seasonal menu. Current delights include a crispy bacon and crouton salad, while the pub also has an extensive breakfast menu that's served from 10.30 a.m. to noon on weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

On the southside, some of the Donnybrook pubs will be dishing up lots of Christmas specials, particularly Kielys and Madigans. Kielys will have extensive food served in the pub, while the excellent Italian-style La Finezza restaurant, upstairs, will also have plenty of Christmas fare.

Ashtons bar and restaurant in Clonskeagh is particularly well known for its food. The Christmas menu is extensive and includes such main course dishes as duckling, pheasant, turkey and ham and also for non-vegetarians, sirloin steak with shallots and honey, accompanied by a garlic and chili olive oil dressing or green peppercorn sauce. For vegetarians, there's a vegetable strudel. It's all very exotic and mouth-watering.

Above Coman's pub at the crossroads in Rathgar is Patrick's restaurant, with a big choice in seasonal dishes for both lunch and dinner. The Christmas lunch menu is priced at £10.95 and includes fillet of chicken; Darne of salmon and stuffed tortellini in a pesto cream sauce. The dinner menus, two in all, are priced at £19.95 and £22.95.

This is really exotic stuff-salmon Waterzoi and chicken marrons, lamb noisette and cod croustade. For dessert, if you want traditional Christmas pudding, it's there in all its glory, but if you want something a little different, the other choices include Bailey's mousse and a panache of fresh fruits. In Booterstown, the Old Punch Bowl, a venerable place for Christmas drinks, there's the Aljo restaurant upstairs, with fine seasonal menus. It has a Christmas lunch menu and a choice from three seasonal dinner menus, all backed up by traditional Irish music and ballads. It shouldn't take long to get the party going there!

The Queens in Dalkey is also a hot spot for private and corporate Christmas entertaining. Also on the southside, the Yellow House and the Old Orchard Inn in the Rathfarnham area are other pleasant possibilities for eating out during the next while, coming up to Christmas.

If you go outside the Dublin city area, there are many more Christmas dining possibilities at pubs, because the idea of food being served with drink is an idea that's fortunately taken hold right across the country. In Stepaside, at the foot of the Dublin mountains, the Step Inn has a daily carvery lunch as well as serving bar food all day. La Casa Italian restaurant is right beside the Step Inn.

Johnny Fox's, up on the heights of Glencullen, will be doing a choice of menus for groups, with plenty of entertainment laid on. One of the highlights on their menus is Red Nose Christmas pudding. They will also happily cater for vegetarians in any group.

The Roundwood Inn, on the Main Street in Roundwood, Co Wicklow, is also easily reached from Dublin. It may be quite close to the city, but once you're settled down in the bar, there's a wonderfully relaxing feeling that Dublin and its traffic jams and pollution are miles and miles away, all helped by the Roundwood Inn's usual bar and restaurant food, which will include some seasonal touches.

Another pub that's especially appealing is the Moone High Cross Inn in Moone, Co Kildare, just off the main road to Carlow. It's run by the Clynch family and it's a homely kind of place where you can relax in front of a log fire or spend an absorbing time looking at all the old press cuttings and photographs, including some mementoes of cookery writer, the late great Theodora FitzGibbon.

Una Clynch says that they'll be expecting lots of people from far and near, mainly for family groups and small get-togethers. They will be doing some seasonal specialities before Christmas and then a spectacular dinner on new year's eve. Home-made plum puddings and mince pies as well as servings of mulled wine, are among their house specials, guaranteed to put everyone in the best of Christmas spirits.

All over the country, but especially in larger towns and cities, pubs will be doing lots of Christmassy menus over the next few weeks. In Galway city centre, a renowned place for Christmas feasting and entertainment, two of the most renowned pubs are McSwiggans and Tigh Neachtains. The former has a big restaurant that seats about 140 and they'll be doing lots of seasonal items on their lunch and dinner menus. Tigh Neachtains has a fine restaurant. They too will be doing a set Christmas menu. In both, early booking is essential.

So, throughout the country, your friendly local pub is often a good and appetising place to start some of the Christmas dining festivities, as well as for a pint or two, now that pubs have so definitely joined the gourmet stakes.