RESTAURANTS:There's a new kid on the block in Monkstown, Co Dublin, writes Tom Doorley
IS IT A recession or a "correction"? In any case, it's a time when the opening of a new restaurant requires a certain degree of bravery. It's certainly an environment in which the sheep will be separated from the goats.
You can now buy an nearly-new Porsche for a fraction of what it cost when it first rolled off the forecourt. But your average Porsche or Aston Martin driver has never been terribly interested in value for money, otherwise they would probably have a Skoda RS.
The very rich tend to suffer from paralysis of the pocket. I once helped to organise a charity auction of exceptional wines. The case of Château Petrus 1982, straight from the property and signed by winemaker Christian Moueix, who was present in Dublin to hand it over, sold for the average commercial rate, which at the time was 12,500 punts. I was mortified.
Anyway, the rich don't keep restaurants going. If it's not the poor bloody infantry, it's the reasonably well-off bloody infantry. The kind of people who may not have to tighten their belts much beyond the comfort zone, but who nevertheless realise that not spending money willy-nilly is one way of holding on to what they have.
While Ailesbury and Shrewsbury Roads are full of the kind of people who have bought fabulously expensive houses without the humdrum nuisance of anything as mundane as a mortgage, the denizens of Monkstown, a seriously affluent suburb with a higher Bentley count than most, are cannier with the old moolah. And, so, they will be carefully comparing the newcomer, Seapoint, with other local eating houses such as Alexis and Hartley's which are just down the road in Dún Laoghaire.
The very experienced team behind Seapoint will have investigated the menus and the wine lists at these competing establishments very thoroughly. They seem to understand their market pretty well.
And so, the environment is very cool, calm and collected in that unfussy modern way that undoubtedly reflects the way in which the locals live (and not the way I, as a part-time local, do; I prefer a kind of genial anarchy and have yet to find a way of hiding the piles of books and newspapers which ruin any attempt at minimalism).
Lunch kicked off with an exceptionally good mushroom soup adorned with a few slices of fresh cèpe (something that always cheers me up). It was quite intense, creamy but not over-rich, and really earthy. And there was crostini of tuna Niçoise - decent canned tuna mixed with a lot of finely chopped chives and mayonnaise, presented on a slice of toasted baguette (which was fine, but not in the same league as the other breads served). This was adorned with some slices of olive and hardboiled egg. It was decent lunchtime fare, a kind of upmarket take on the healthy option in the kind of places where they do breakfast rolls.
A dish described as "spicy beef salad micro rocket beansprouts" was a new one on me, as I've never had micro rocket before. Actually, I have, but I didn't know at the time. This appears to be the new way of referring to rocket leaves that are young and tender, rather than old, tough and hirsute. The beef had been tossed in a reddish sauce of rather undefined flavour and I rather missed the gingery, garlicky, citrusy flavours that I had somehow expected. Spicy? Not even in the homeopathic sense.
Sea trout was impeccably cooked, literally just done in the centre, and full of its own flavour. It was served with crushed potato and what have you, a fine, simple, bistro-ish dish.
We shared a chocolate fondant, one of these puddings where the outside is chocolate sponge and the inside is still molten. Nigella Lawson spilled the beans on how to do this and nowadays most restaurants have abandoned the idea. And, to be honest, I think Seapoint should follow suit.
With several glasses of wine, the bill came to €101.50.
THE SMART MONEY
At lunch you could have the lamb's liver with black bacon for €16.50, a glass of Sa de Baixo (€6.50) and a coffee and come out for about €25 before service.
WINE CHOICE
The list is a rarity, being short, off-beat, keenly priced and rather cool. The only problem is the layout and not just because it's in lower case sans-serif.
Take the wine that most of us think of as Domaine Talmard Macon-Uchizy. It appears as talmard chardonnay 2007 macon uchizy france. If you concentrate hard, you will find pleasant stuff such as Endrizzi Pinot Grigio (€33); Domaine Talmard (€28); Gaisberg Kamptal Riesling (€35); Dona Maria (€29), which is lovely, elegant, quite dense red from Portugal; Sa de Baixo (€22) from the Douro; Senorio de Lazan (€34) from Sonomontano, great value at this price, and Pierre Paillard, a very serious Champagne, for €60.