As part of our anniversary
weekend away, now re-branded as a romantic –mini-break (Twenty twelve fans…) we
decided to start as we meant to continue. Ev had finished work in Killiney so
we headed down to Dalkey village on Sunday afternoon. Matt had timed parking in
the church car park perfectly to coincide with a communion/mass exodus. After
10 minutes of waiting ‘patiently’ in the car for the OAPs to get their dinted Jaguars
out of the spots (Dalkey) we parked up and began our stroll.
We came across Ouzo’s on the main
street. We had been advised to check them out previously in Blackrock but hadn’t
had a chance.
2 Course lunch for €18 seemed
agreeable and the environs were lovely.
We were greeted at the door and
shown to our own booth- which is great because I hate those dinky 2-seater
tables that mean you get ass-bumped by the waitress every 5 minutes. Live
lobster cages on the way in – for some reason always gives me a good feeling
about ordering seafood.
Ev ordered:
Appetiser
Chicken Liver & Brandy
Parfait
“Our rich and smooth parfait
served with a red onion, apricot & pecan compote”
Fun Food fact: The difference
between Pate and Parfait, Parfait is sieved pate which makes is smooth (parfait
is French for perfect… don’t ya know!)
Comments: Very tasty and smooth
parfait with crisp delicate melba toast. Tangy flavoursome relish (compote)
topped it off. What was nice about it was the individual portion of parfait
served in its own bowl. I like it like this (same with lasagne... none of this ‘cut
it from the bigger one’)
Entrée
Chicken Ballotine
"Breast of chicken stuffed with
spinach and goat’s cheese, served on mixed vegetables and potato rosti in a
tarragon cream sauce"
Comments: Overall lovely. The cabbage/lettuce
throughout was quite stringy and didn’t quite lend to the dish: would’ve preferred
pureed carrots (think Roly’s)
Matt ordered:
Potted Crab & Shrimp
“Fresh Irish Crab meat with
Boston shrimp in a creamy dill and mussel sauce topped with a Parmesan crumb”
Comments: very tasy, well
presented. The Crumb had a crunch and was Parmesan-y and the crab was light and
fresh. Lemon squeezed on top was all it needed.
Ouzos Fish“n”Chips.
“Fresh Haddock coated with a
light tasty tempura batter seasoned with a hint of chili and fresh parsley and
deep-fried. Served with sweet pea puree and Ouzos homemade fries”
Comments: Delish. Batter was spot
on, really crisp and not gluey on the inside and you didn’t have to go looking
for the fish inside it either. Mushy pea puree was very good (almost luminous
green) although I think I prefer the texture of the mushy peas rather than a
puree form… anyway the tartar sauce was very good and zingy and it all went
down a treat.
Nice addition: waitress asked
whether I wanted skinny or fat chips. Great to have the choice, but I like them
big. (chips J)
Overall: Service was exceptional. Can’t fault
the ladies who attended to us, we also got a ½ litre carafe of Sauvigon blanc
for €15 which made the lunch even nicer. #boozylunch
Forgot to mention the breads that
we were served were delicious (homemade brown x2 and cheesy doughy ones x2). Ev
as you may have gathered from previous posts loves her carbs J
Appreciate that it was an
expensive lunch 2 x €18 (food) + €15 for vino, but for the weekend that was in
it, well worth it.
As always - happy to get feedback and mail us with any recommendations of places to review!
The Early Birds.
