THIS time last year it seemed a little precocious for 25 year old chef Conrad Gallagher to open up his own restaurant. His gamble paid off, however, and his self described "Mediterranean Provincial Cooking" proved to be such a success that Peacock Alley, his restaurant in a basement in Baggot Street, is now booked out three weeks in advance.
"The thing is though, I've grown out of the space," he says, and he has just signed a lease on a much larger premises on South William Street.
The building is currently occupied by Rhona Teehan's Cafe Caruso. That restaurant will close tonight and the renovations will begin on Monday. "It'll be a very modern, bright space, we'll be able to sit 60 or so in comfort, and we'll be open for business before the end of April," says the Donegal man with an optimism that will amuse anyone who's ever had the builders in.