Supper's ready! That's the smart, enticing name for a bustling young company in Dublin which will deliver a classic, continental dinner - complete with wine - right to your door. They'll deliver just one or two servings or, if you give them more notice, they'll supply a gathering. The only thing you have to make is a phonecall.
It's as reasonable as it is reliable and folks in this office who have come to depend on it talk about it in reverential tones.
Starters cost between £1.80 (onion soup with cheesy toast) and £2.80 (fillets of fresh fish in a tarragon crust with herb mayonnaise) with pancakes, salads, vol-au-vents and chicken wings in between.
The main courses come in generous portions (sometimes one main course might feed two) and favourites include rich old-fashioned boeuf bourguignon (£5.90); navarin of lamb with spring vegetables (£5.60) and a long list of classic, meaty casserole-type dishes, including coq au vin, blanquette of pork a l'ancienne, chicken chasseur and confit of duck.
Fish also features - salmon and cod - and there are a few pasta dishes as well as a vegetarian roulade. The mashed potatoes and vegetable mash get special mention. One colleague swears by the lemon tart; there's bread and butter pudding, chocolate mousse and creme brulee.
Eric Tydtapt, a Belgian who owns the St Stephen's Green restaurant called La Mere Zou, is one of the partners, which explains the almost old-fashioned, overwhelmingly cordon bleu influence on the menu. His partner is Kildare man, Kevin Daly and they now employ six chefs, having started out with four: three of them French, three of them Irish.
It is undoubtedly an idea whose time has come - if only they'd set up branches elsewhere in the country! There are a good number of mobile food companies now - aficionados assign top marks to Supper's Ready because they are fast, efficient and, imagine, polite.
They work seven days a week and opening hours are 5-11 p.m. Monday - Saturday and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and bank holidays. The delivery service runs from 6 to 11 p.m. There is a delivery fee of 70p and the minimum order is £5. The wine list is also enticing: £2 quarter bottles abound; the full list ranges between £6.50 and £20.
Ring 01-4754556 for details. Supper's Ready is based at 51 Pleasant's Street (off Camden Street) Dublin 8. They also deliver lunch on a contract basis to corporate clients.