Many restaurants in Dublin and around the country are preparing their festive menus for the pre-Christmas season; expect a deluge over the next week or two.
Restaurants like the Valparaiso in Monkstown, Co Dublin, and the Fitzers group of restaurants, expect to have their detailed Christmas menus ready any day now and it should be tempting stuff - and stuffing.
In the meantime, any number of both new and well-established restaurants are all well positioned for the delights of the Christmas dining-out trade.
Among the newer but already `in' places is Browne's Brasserie at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, which has been described as offering sumptuous food in splendid surroundings. Offering the finest in Irish cuisine, Browne's is open for lunch six days a week and dinner every night. Another new and really "hot" eat ing-out location is the Jam restaurant in the Hot Press Hall of Fame in Middle Abbey Street, Dublin; it's very well geared for Christmas parties.
Two other newish and very popular places, both in the heart of the International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, are the Harbourmaster Bar and Restaurant and Wright's Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Bistro.
Many restaurants around the country that are long-established favourites also have lots of festive menus, often extremely creative. The new-look but venerable Bewleys in Grafton Street is serving all kinds of seasonal delights, including Christmas roulade of turkey and ham. It's preceded by starters that include a seasonal game terrine and is followed by desserts including Bewley's traditional Christmas pudding. The menu selection is very wide and for an all-inclusive £35 a person, customers get not only dinner in the Harry Clarke Room but also live entertainment and spot prizes. The late bar promises seasonal festivities well into the night.
Numerous other well-established and recognised Dublin restaurants will be getting into the festive mood: the likes of Beaufield Mews in Stillorgan; Dobbins, off Upper Mount Street; Ernies in Mulberry Gardens, Donnybrook; the Lord Edward, up by Christ Church cathedral; the Old Dublin in Francis Street; The Commons on St Stephen's Green; Thorntons, beside the Grand Canal at Portobello and QV2 in central Dublin.
On the north side, Howth and Malahide are special dining-out places, while the Red Bank in Skerries has an especial place in the affections of lovers of fine seafood. It also has accommodation, a very useful facility after a night's serious dining out.
The south side is equally well prepared for the big season, including the Brasserie na Mara and the Black Tulip, both in Dun Laoghaire and the Hungry Monk in Greystones. Its Sunday lunch spot should be especially popular in the weeks coming up to Christmas.
Morels in Glasthule has a private room for Christmas parties and personalised menus; it has many innovative pleasures on its menu, including fish, shellfish and game, as well as its own bread and pastries. The Olive Tree in Newtown Park, in Blackrock, beside the Wishing Well pub, cooks in an eastern Mediterranean bistro style.
Right across the country, most cities, towns and villages have excellent restaurants, such as the Wild Geese in Adare, Co Limerick.
Brannagans Bar and Restaurant in Ennis, Co Clare, has some really mouth-tingling delights on its seasonal menu, including roast turkey and Provence-style vegetable stew, while afters include hot mince pies with cinnamon ice cream. One of the best spots for dining out anywhere in the country is Kinsale, with a veritable barrage of fine restaurants. Kinsale is doing three-night breaks where guests can dine around in the town during their stay; it runs from now until December 23rd. In Cork city, with a great array of good restaurants, the new look Probys is open, specialising in Mediterranean style cooking, but also some house specialities from nearer home that include tripe and drisheen and baked Bally cotton cod.
Some restaurants however, won't be open for the festive season. Mitchell's, that delightful restaurant right in the heart of Clifden, Co Galway, expects to close for the winter in early November and won't be reopening until March.
Northern Ireland, too, has seen many improvements in its restaurants, especially in Belfast, led by such prime establishments as Nick's Warehouse and Roscoff's. Among the restaurants serving often Mediterranean-style lighter cuisine as an antidote to the traditional Christmas dishes, ethnic restaurants have expanded enormously.
In European cuisine, Italian remains a firm favourite, including Il Primo in Montague Street, Dublin, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Owner Dieter Bergman has an extensive stock of Italian wines in his cellar with which to tempt patrons. The Kapriol, Dublin, specialises in the classical northern Italian cuisine, while other Dublin Italianate favourites include the Unicorn, off Merrion Row and La Finezza in Donnybrook.
French restaurants include Guilbaud's in Upper Merrion Street and the Freres Jacques in Dame Street, while the Cafe Rouge is an agreeable repro French bistro.
Spanish-style cuisine is well represented, too, with the likes of the Senor Sassis restaurant, near Leeson Street Bridge.
In European cuisine, traditional Irish recipes have their followers and restaurants like Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar, put a strong emphasis on the Irishness of their menus.
Asian cooking has become extremely popular, especially Chinese. One of the leading exponents of Chinese cooking in Dublin is Wong's, with branches on Clontarf Road, Sandford Road, Ranelagh and Monkstown. They do Cantonese, Peking and Szechuan cooking, as well as Thai and Malaysian.
Japanese cooking has become extremely popular, including at Ayumi-Ya in Blackrock and the new Aya sushi and deli place in Clarendon Street. Thai and Malaysian cuisine have also captured the public's taste-buds. So too have Indian and Pakistani restaurants. The Indian Brasserie in Rathfarnham is very popular and it has a new concept. Every evening, there's a lavish display of what it calls delicately prepared, sumptuous dishes. Guests can try all the dishes on display and come back to the buffet as many times as they like, for £16 per head. The restaurant is pleasantly informal and ideal for groups and parties. Four chefs from India have brought with them palate-tickling recipes from all over India. In Bray's Castle shopping centre, the Sanam Tandoori restaurant has a good selection of Indian dishes, including regional specialities and vegetarian dishes.
In Pakistani cooking, the Khyber Tandoori in South William Street is already well established with a fine selection of vegetable and meat based dishes, and a calm and cool interior, just right for relaxing after the rigours of Christmas shopping. It does set meals for two people and for four people; the menu includes Tandoori specialities for beginners and Balti dishes.
Altogether, the restaurant selection promises to be most interesting in the weeks coming up to this Christmas, with a very strong emphasis on new ingredients and culinary innovation over a wide range of ethnic styles.
