The last time I was in Clanbrassil House, it was just before lockdown. It was a dinner with Austrian winemaker Dorli Muhr, and, sitting on stools at a high table, a group of us worked our way through a menu that included Parmesan agnolotti, 80-day whiskey aged cote de boeuf with hash brown chips, and a technically perfect tart tatin.
Like many restaurants around the country, Clanbrassil House has re-emerged with quite a few changes. The high tables and stools are gone, and so too is the former chef, Gráinne O’Keefe, who left to open Mae restaurant in Ballsbridge, taking that tart tatin with her.
In what is clearly a reflection of the high regard in which owners Barry and Claremarie FitzGerald are held, they have managed to attract an impressive team to take over in the kitchen, despite huge issues with staff shortages in the industry.
Jimmy Dobson, the new head chef, brings plenty of clout, having worked in Chapter One, Heston Blumenthal's two-Michelin star Dinner restaurant in London, and, most recently, as the sous chef in Potager in Skerries. His number two, David Bradshaw, spent three years working at Lyle's, a highly regarded, one-Michelin star restaurant in London.
The Unicorn restaurant review: Legendary Dublin hotspot returns, but does the magic?
Poulet Bonne Femme takeaway review: Delicious and succulent roast chicken with all the trimmings
Zero Zero Pizza takeaway review: Neapolitan-style pizza that takes itself seriously
100 great restaurants, cafes and places to eat in Ireland 2024
Roast onion tortellini follow, silky pasta filled with the intensity of onions that have been cooked low and slow for hours, and bathed in an onion broth with a hint of Madeira
As the evening progresses, there’s the sense that this is a tight team. Dobson brings one or two of the dishes from the €65 tasting menu to the table (the only option available at the weekend) and mentions Bradshaw’s foraging skills on more than one occasion. Not in a Nordic reverential way, more as an aside from a mate.
We start with fermented potato bread with cultured butter, the dense bread charred from cooking on the grill, and the butter bringing a lactic edge as it melts on top. A Connemara oyster follows. Dappled with the bright green of fennel oil, layers of flavour kick in as it rolls around the tongue. The fennel is restrained, and what jumps out is the freshness of fermented rhubarb, and a floral note from cherry blossom vinegar.
Like many of the better wine lists around town, there is little under €40, so we spring for a bottle of Bernhard Ott Gruner Veltliner, €48.
For our next dish, charred cuttlefish is cut into tagliatelle strips and topped with barely cooked McNally’s tomatoes. There are quite a few elements in this dish, all with a clear role – the chunky sourdough crumb adds a crunch, nasturtiums add a touch of pepper, and there is a lovely bit of acidity from a spritz of lemon. It’s a dish that eats very nicely.
Roast onion tortellini follow, silky pasta filled with the intensity of onions that have been cooked low and slow for hours, and bathed in an onion broth with a hint of Madeira. Sweet and rich, balanced with acidity, tiny girolles, tarragon oil and tarragon leaves add to the flavours.
For mains, it’s a choice between duck and cod, which are quite different in style from each other. Pan-roasted cod is paired with white coco beans, fresh from France we’re told, and tiny sprays of samphire, razor clams and McNally’s kale. The sauce, containing horseradish, and, it would appear, a touch of coconut, builds in intensity as you eat the dish, leaving us wishing that there was just a little more kale to anchor the coconut flavours in the dish.
For the Thornhill duck, it’s a classic approach. The sauce has a purity of flavour, the breast is perfectly pink, and the breadcrumbed nugget of confited leg has an earthy intensity. It’s a focused dish which shows considerable skill.
Things stay relatively savoury for dessert. Baked cream has been made with egg whites, rather than yolks, keeping it light, and is topped with a juicy blackberry granita and berries, sprinkled with toasted buckwheat to add texture and earthiness. It’s a delicious, Nordic playbook, restrained taste of autumn.
Our other dessert, a choux bun filled with whipped Velvet Cloud sheep’s yoghurt and plum jam, is again restrained, and a syrup made with rosehips that were foraged in Ringsend adds a floral note.
The calibre of the new crew in Clanbrassil House is evident, and clearly, they have been given the freedom to take the food there in their own, innovative direction. This is a kitchen that has a reputation for letting chefs blossom and build on their creativity and, once again, this approach is paying off, making for very good food and offering an exciting place to eat. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €178.
THE VERDICT: 8.5/10 Assured cooking in a relaxed room Facilities: Smart, toiletries by The Handmade Soap Company Music: Good mix at the right level, from soul to rock Food provenance: McNally vegetables, Elmhurst Farm, Castleruddery organic farm, Glenmar shellfish Vegetarian options: Vegetarian menu, vegan on request Wheelchair access: DAC cert, fully accessible, with accessible toilet
