Muscat: 64 South William St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6797699. Early evening menu: Mon-Sat 6 p.m.7.30 p.m.
Just under a year ago Brian Cornish and Bernadette Doherty decided, after 16 years and 14 years service respectively in Lock's Restaurant, to make the big leap. They took over the lease on what had been Girolles Restaurant, on South William Street, re-named it Muscat and set up shop on their own.
As you might expect from people with so much experience, they run an expert and efficient restaurant and create a calm, welcoming ambience. Their service is knowing and assured. Thanks to the skills of Seamus Commons in the kitchen, they have a culinary talent to match their own confident manner. What is also pleasing and perhaps somewhat unexpected from people who have been in the business so long, is the wisely modern look of the menu. There are lots of playful, attractive touches which enliven straightforward ingredients: a ragout of chick peas with salmon; black pudding potato with rack of lamb; onion and orange marmalade with confit of duck; lemon mayonnaise with pan-seared scallops.
This sort of accessible, expressive cooking and the good service make Muscat an attractive destination. But what is also valuable about the restaurant is the fact that, like a number of other Dublin city-centre restaurants, it is open from 6 p.m., so one has plenty of time to knock off work, meet a friend for an early dinner and then get to the theatre or cinema or concert in plenty of time.
I met a friend recently at 6 p.m., for dinner, before we headed off to the National Concert Hall for a concert (delightful Elgar, so-so Prokofiev, electrifying Beethoven). Eighty to 90 minutes of dinner time is quite sufficient for a couple of courses, a few glasses of wine and lots of chat, and the cooking perfectly matched our ambitions for a good pre-concert meal - the food was enlivening and delicious.
Prices are very keen for the city centre and u4.25 £4.25 for the broth up to u7.95 £7.95 for the ravioli; , and main courses range from £8.95 u8.95 for sauted sauted Chinese noodles up to £17.95 u17.95 for scallops or medallions of ostrich. Thethe service perfectly judged the fact that we had a limited time for dinner which meant that nothing was rushed. e brule with a toffee and pecan nut ice cream. But if the service and the food in Muscat are slick and ultra-professional, what is perhaps the nicest feature of nicest about the restaurant is that it has a charming, neighborhood-style atmosphere. I suspect the clientele are is mainly regulars, who enjoy being looked after by Brian and Bernie, just as much as we did. , and Muscat is a place one looks forward returning to, whether before or after a concert.
Other Dublin pre-theatre destinations:
La Cave, 28 South Anne St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6794409. Margaret Beskri's bistro serves an early evening menu until 7.30 p.m., with main courses at £6.95 - u6.95: lamb Provencal; warm salad of duck confit with orange balsamic dressing; classic fillet of salmon with dill sauce. Starter prices range from £2.25 to £5.95. u2.25 to u5.95.
The Chameleon, Fownes Street Lower, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6710362. Vincent Vis and Carol Walsh open between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for early eating, and offer bami goreng - a large bowl of wok-fried noodles with any combination of meat or fish; nasi goreng, spiced fried rice with meat or fish, topped with strips of omelette and fried onions; and sate, made with chicken, beef, pork or vegetables, served with rice and gado gado. Prices are terrifically keen, with the bami and nasi goreng at £6.50 u6.50 and the sate at £7. u7. You can also order the rijstafel, with prices ranging from £12.50 to £25. u12.50 to u25.
Cooke's Cafe, 14 South William Street, Dublin 2, Tel: 01- 6790536. You can pop upstairs to the Rhino Room of Cooke's at any time of the day - they serve food between noon and midnight - but the ever-popular and fashionable cafe is also open for pre-theatre meals between 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. - serving melted brie crostini with baby greens, peppers, aubergines and a balsamic dressing; brill with tomato concasse and a preserved lemon butter sauce; sauteed veal liver with sage, pancetta butter and a fondant potato. Upstairs, the brill may be cooked with piquillo peppers, asparagus and olive oil; rare sirloin of beef will have a Thai-style dressing; scallopine of veal will have a salsa verde to accompany. The Rhino also offers lots of wines by the glass.
Dish, 9 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6711248. The Temple Bar hotshot of the moment offers some of the most seductive cooking in the city, not to mention the classiest tunes and superb service. You can choose anything you fancy from an assortment of appetisers, salads, sandwiches, pastas and mains, and Ger Foote's summer menus have really smart food - warm salad of mussels and new potatoes with fire-roasted red pepper and salsa verde; organic beef carpaccio salad with roast aubergine, rocket salad and parmesan; squid ink spaghettini with Atlantic prawns, chilli, coriander and ginger cream sauce; char-grilled loin of lamb with chilli-mashed potato and a mint jus; pan-roasted salmon with jasmine rice stirfry and red curry cream.
Eden, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Tel: 01- 6705372. The city's most discussed and argued-about restaurant opens at 6 p.m., though you can also have snacks and coffees on the terrace between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eleanor Walsh's confident cooking is simplicity itself - smoked bacon and savoy cabbage risotto; duck tartare; black pudding in puff pastry; three onion tart; grilled vegetable stack; organic lamb's liver with champ and a sage pancetta butter; sirloin of organic beef with bearnaise. Prices are very keen for such expertise.
Elephant & Castle, 18 Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Tel: 01- 6793121. Temple Bar's great icon restaurant serves food all day, and the buzz and bustle of Liz Mee and John Hayes's restaurant is as irresistible as the cooking - corn tortilla sandwich with lime chicken and pineapple coriander salsa; elephant-burger with curried sour cream, bacon, scallions, cheddar and tomato; poor woman's omelette with croutons; grilled salmon with marinated fennel, French beans and tarragon cream; chilli-salt calamari salad with bell peppers and lime vinaigrette. And there is always one of the city's most popular dish: E&C spicy chicken wings in a basket.
Jacob's Ladder, 4-5 Nassau St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6703865. A little bit of a walk away from the cinemas and theatres, but perfect for chilling out after a visit to the museums and galleries. Adrian and Bernie Roche serve dinner from 6 p.m., and have a new early bird menu which has just been introduced - mussel and clam stew, hinted with saffron and orange; celeriac soup with herbed dumplings (dumplings are coming back!); breast of chicken with smoked cheese risotto, roasted leeks, wild mushrooms and tarragon; braised shoulder of lamb with potato and a cobbler of vegetables; marquise of chocolate with burnt orange custard. Any two courses cost just £12.50 u12,50, which is a steal. The menu is served between 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.
Morels, 14-17 Lower Leeson St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-6622480. Just around the corner from the National Concert Hall, Alan O'Reilly's Morels offers utter assurance with service, design and, above all, cooking. Recent meals eaten here have demonstrated a dazzling confidence - pan-fried polenta cake with tomato and chilli salsa; black and white pudding feuillette; pan-seared salmon on a bed of marinated red peppers with spinach-mashed potatoes and basil oil; open vegetable lasagne with fresh herbs and sauce vierge (the sauce of the moment, see In Season, right). Again, value is excellent, with three courses costing £13.50, u13.50 including coffee. There is only a service charge only for groups of eight or more. The menu is available from 5.30 p.m. to 7.15 p.m. Monday to Friday.
101 Talbot, 100-102 Talbot St, Dublin 1, Tel: 01-8745011. Its proximity to the Gate and the Abbey makes 101 a blessing for theatre-goers as well as those heading to the cinema on O'Connell street. You can drop in at any time of the day and enjoy soups, sandwiches and pasta dishes, while the dinner menu opens out the choices - warm Tandoori chicken salad with raita; supreme of chicken with a chestnut stuffing; aubergine rolls filled with ricotta cheese, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts; Cajun black-eyed beans with a coriander salsa on baked spicy polenta. Great value, great service, very vegetarian-friendly, a great address.
Roly's Bistro, 7 Ballsbridge Terrace, Dublin 4, Tel: 01- 6682611. Roly's is a good location if you are going to a concert at the RDS as well as the Point Theatre, and it is used by many folk heading down to the toll bridge. Paul Cartwright's menus run from 6 p.m. - Toulouse sausage and smoked bacon stew; confit of duck parcels with onion and garlic; Kerry lamb pie; braised sweetbreads and pork knuckle wrapped in filo pastry; souffle of mandarin and cardamom; warm cider and Granny Smith soup with clove-scented creme fraiche. A 10 per cent service charge goes entirely to the staff.
Saagar, 16 Harcourt St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01-4755060. A brisk walk from the NCH is where you find the best Indian cooking in the city, in Sunil Kumar's basement restaurant. The Saagar opens every evening at 6 p.m., with the full menu available. It is very extensive and quite splendid; this is a confident kitchen. Don't miss out on specials such as chicken dumphukt, or the fiery Colombo fish curry. Prices are very keen.