The grander kind of club doesn't have a sign outside proclaiming its identity. The only club on Pall Mall, in London, to have a nameplate is the Institute of Directors, so you see what I mean.
In Dublin, the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club lost the plot a few years ago and put up signs, but the Kildare Street & University Club retains its external anonymity. The implication is that if you don't know where a club is, you have no business going there.
Not many restaurants can afford to behave in such a superior fashion. They are, after all, businesses. But Dublin has one very successful restaurant that doesn't take bookings and doesn't have a name outside. It does, of course, have one, and let's get one thing clear from the start: it's not L'Gueleton, it's L'Gueuleton. Not that it really matters, as it's rarely called anything other than "the French place on Fade Street".
The idea must have looked great on paper: an informal, keenly priced French brasserie with a small wine list, traditional grub, plenty of tables and no tablecloths. But you can't get such an idea to work without good staff and serious leadership.
The leadership came from Troy Maguire, who essentially created the restaurant. When he was due to go off to resurrect Locks he poached Warren Massey back from Dobbins, and the two chefs effected a seamless handover. Yet, knowing that Maguire had moved on, I wasn't so inclined to go back. Which was a major error of judgment, because L'Gueuleton is as good as ever - and perhaps even better.
The menu is much the same, and prices remain very keen indeed; the wine list has been slightly tweaked. I still get the odd report of rather high-handed service (which appears to afflict a minority of staff), but I have always found the whole experience to be charming.
It was good to kick off our lunch with my perennial favourite: duck-egg mayonnaise with celery salt and watercress (and some very good brown bread), which was extraordinary value at €5.50. But the other starter was a revelation. This was French onion soup made using vegetable stock. I thought it couldn't be done, but this soup was a stunner: rich, silky, intense, packed with flavour and loaded with stringy cheese in classic style. I would travel a long way to eat this soup, and if I were a vegetarian I would be prepared to take a flight to do so.
Then came a confit of duck leg with braised red cabbage. Can this be the only proper duck confit in Dublin - possibly Ireland? It was the real deal: moist, melting and tender within; crisp and salty without. The cabbage, earthy yet sharp, was a perfect foil to the richness of the meat. Simple and perfect, with no cheffy nonsense.
Toulouse sausage with choucroute and Lyonnaise potatoes was in the same mould: plenty of chunky, well-seasoned sausages counterpointed by the sharp, fermented flavour of the choucroute and bulked up with onion spuds. Gorgeous comfort food.
It was quite a treat to see creme caramel on the menu rather than the ubiquitous creme brulee. And it was impeccable, the consistency of firm jelly, served with biscotti and a very moreish apricot vodka compote. But our other pud, vanilla praline cheesecake with honeycomb ice cream, was truly divine.
There are several points worth making. Firstly, this is still one of the best places to eat in Dublin, and the one that offers possibly the best value. Secondly, there are two dimensions to the sensation of comfort induced by a visit there. When you walk through the door there's a smell of good cooking. The whiff of this is as good as an aperitif. And the food itself seems cunningly designed to induce a sense of well-being. There are very few restaurants of which I can truthfully say that.
Our bill, with an aperitif apiece, a bottle of red wine and a couple of ports, came to €110.11.
L'Gueuleton, 1 Fade Street, Dublin 2, 01-6753708
WINE CHOICE:We greatly enjoyed our bottle of Martinelle Côtes du Ventoux (€32), which was new to us and better than most Côtes du Rhônes. The lovely Domaine la Bouissière Vacqueyras (€43) is better than many a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Other highlights include the velvet Domaine du Cros Minervois (€34), the unusual Merlot-Carignan blend of Domaine du Poujol Proteus (€26) and the superb if rather summery Charles Joguet Chinon Rouge Cuvée Terroir (€36).
Château Court-les-Mûts Bergerac Sec (€35) is a glorious white wine with considerable ripeness and a hefty dollop of oak. Cuvée Orélie is a simple and pleasant white for €19.80.