Indian food reworked for a brunch menu is an inspired idea, and one that Waseem and Rahat Saeed have interpreted in a really interesting way at their Daata restaurant in Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Waseem, who works front of house, and his wife Rahat, who is the head chef, opened the restaurant on Church Road last autumn and it is a sister restaurant to Daata in Bray, run by their relatives Mohammed and Shamim Salem and their son Fahad.
They've been offering brunch at weekends and on bank holiday Mondays since the start of the summer, from 11am to 2.30pm. They live in Greystones and saw how busy the village is for brunch at weekends, and thought people would like to try some of the traditional Pakistani and Indian foods eaten for nashta (breakfast).
Seasonal spiced fruits are cooked in a tandoor oven and served with organic oats cooked with almonds, pistachio and sultanas. Eggs are fried in saffron butter and rolled in naan bread. A Lahori omelette is made with chopped tomatoes, onion, coriander and green chilli.
Pav bhaji is a Pakistani street food of gently spiced vegetables cooked on a griddle and served in a brioche bun. The full-Irish is transformed into the full-nashta, with aloo anday (potato and egg curry), fried egg, masala beans, grilled tomatoes, achaar dip and freshly fried paratha.
Bloody Mary, bellini and mimosa cocktails are a bargain at €7/€8, and chai tea or chai latte are also available.
Wilde’s bubbly menu
The terrace at Wilde restaurant at the Westbury is one of the prettiest places to enjoy a summer lunch or dinner, and until the end of August it is adorned with an installation of peonies.
The reason for the floral fanfare is that until the end of August, diners will be able to order the Perrier-Jouët summer tasting menu of three courses, with three glasses of Champagne.
The starter of Castletownbere scallops, orange, fennel, and samphire salad with harissa dressing is paired with a glass of Grand Brut. The big guns come out for the main course of grilled Dover sole with gnocchi, asparagus and saffron aioli, which comes with a glass of the house’s Belle Epoque 2008. Strawberry and basil panna cotta comes with a glass of Blason Rosé. The menu and wines come to €95 per person.
Breakfast burger
Chef Grainne O'Keefe has added a breakfast burger to the offering at BuJo in Sandymount, where she is the menu consultant. "I was delighted to be able to source bacon and sausage from Luke Bogue's Hampshire rare breed pigs on his farm in Ballyjamesduff, in Co Cavan. Coupled with this is a Ballygarvey free-range sunny-side-up egg, molten cheese, a tomato relish from Florrie Purcell of The Scullery in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, all within a fluffy, toasted brioche bun, made to my recipe by David Coghlan of Coghlan Artisan Bakers in Co Kildare," O'Keefe says. The breakfast sandwich is available 10am to noon on Saturdays and Sundays.
Wine events
Wines from Spain are partnering with Ballyvolane House in Co Cork and The Legal Eagle in Dublin to celebrate the wines of Navarra. Irish Times columnist John Wilson will introduce the wines at the Dublin event, on Friday, July 27th. This will be a tapas evening, adhering to the Legal Eagle's "nose-to-tail, root to leaf" ethos, and tickets are €45.
At Ballyvolane on Tuesday, July 24th, food and wine writer Ernie Whalley will talk through the wines at a five-course tasting menu, with pairings. Tickets for this are €65. There are accommodation deals available too, with the tasting dinner and B&B in the house available for €350 for two people, and a glamping option for €280 for two.
