Betway not cancelling my Narciso Has / Romeo double from Friday night made it
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Ps Willie not happy fire warning with Nicky. Ricci: it keeps him on his toes 
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It is lovely but wouldn’t be suitable for kids. I doubt they have chicken nuggets on the menu
The tannery in Dungarvan closing up next year. Sounds like they want to relax and enjoy life.
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I got this as a Christmas present. The best recipe book i ever had. Tremendously simple hearty grub. He seems like a thoroughly alright sort.
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TNH.
Theres zero fucking evidence in the Ravenous thread that you ever made use of it.
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I’ll fucking learn you. And show you.
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My mother and her pal were down there for a night recently and couldn’t say enough about the welcome and the service. Fair going to last 30 years and go out on own terms
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Great spot for Sunday lunch.
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Room falls into shocked silence as Michelin passes over Chapter One yet again
Summarise
Ahead of Monday night’s Michelin Guide Awards ceremony at the Convention Centre in Dublin, there had been speculation the choice of location meant Ireland would be getting its first three-star restaurant. For the past few weeks the rumour mill has been in overdrive.
Ireland’s five two-star restaurants had all been in contention, with the chefs’ WhatsApp groups hopping with expectation and tips. Bets were placed.
Chapter One’s staff on Parnell Square in Dublin 1 were saying that restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, over on Merrion Street, already had its stars, while Guilbaud staff insisted the third star was headed for Parnell Square instead.
Some were rooting for Dede in Baltimore, west Cork, others for Liath in Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Cork’s Terre was thought not to be in the running because of a very recent change of chef, with Vincent Crepel being replaced by Lewis Barker. Barker would, everyone thought, be given time to settle in.
But the appearance of Gwendal Poullennec, international director of The Michelin Guides in a recorded speech, not even a live video link, to announce the new one-star restaurants was not a good sign.
The location of the ceremony in Dublin turned out to be, as some had feared, a big tease
If Mr Poullennec wasn’t here in person, did that mean there was no good news for Ireland and he’d opted to avoid the disappointment in the room? Surely he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to announce a new third star for Ireland.
So the ceremony ended on a flat note – and almost total shocked silence – when there was no third star for Mickael Viljanen’s hotly tipped Chapter One, being passed over again for the restaurant world’s ultimate accolade. The restaurant’s co-owner, Ross Lewis, looked glum.
Michelin made Mr Viljanen wait for his second star at The Greenhouse for a long time and it is making him wait again.
The location of the ceremony in Dublin turned out to be, as some had feared, a big tease.
There was, however, better news in the form of two first stars for Irish restaurants, Forest Avenue in Dublin and The Pullman at Glenlo Abbey in Galway.
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Angelo Vagiotis of the Pullman landed the first star of the night for Ireland.
Mickael Viljanen in Chapter One
The Greek-American chef featured in a Michelin film shot at The Pullman last week, the tyre company loving a novelty location as, let’s face it, most restaurants look like … restaurants, whereas The Pullman resides in two former carriages of the Orient Express, which Michelin describes as “sumptuous”.
“We aspire to help you to forget your day, enter an era of the past and give you a show,” he said in the film. “We’re not afraid of luxury touches, but the farms dictate the menu.”
Mr Vagiotis was clearly a happy man when he came up on stage to accept the coveted white jacket with its embroidered star.
Chef John Wyer and his wife and business partner, Sandy of Forest Avenue, were pretty happy too, finally landing the Michelin star which many – perhaps including themselves – felt they should have got years ago.
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In an emotional film recorded last week, Mr Wyer said: “It’s been a long time coming, I never thought this would happen, but we are ready for it and it is magnificent that it is happening in Dublin.”
The Michelin inspectors praised Forest Avenue for continually evolving and for Mr Wyer’s “pared-back cooking, which allows superb ingredients to shine”.
You welcome guests as if you are welcoming them to your own house
Asked what kept him going, Mr Wyer said: “Passion. When you love what you do, it’s easy. We have a lovely authentic restaurant in Dublin 4, we love what we do.”
There was disappointment that Comet, a new restaurant in Dublin, run by husband and wife team Kevin O’Donnell and Laura Chabal, did not get its first star. But it’s early days for the young couple and they are not the only ones to have to practise the art of patience to please Michelin.
The Michelin Service Award went to Barbara Nealon’s lovely Saint Francis Provisions in Kinsale, Co Cork, which holds a Bib Gourmand.
“The key to great service is liking your customers,” Ms Nealon said.
“You welcome guests as if you are welcoming them to your own house, you make them feel like that,” Saint Francis’s head chef Rebeca Recarey Sanchez said. “That’s hospitality, that’s amazing.”
Clare Smyth, who is from Co Antrim, and holds three stars at the eponymous Core by Clare Smyth in London, landed a first star for her new restaurant, Cornucopia, a luxe bistro in London’s Chelsea.
The hosts of the ceremony were racing driver Amanda Stretton, who has had the role for the past few years and Dubliner Lisa Hogan, the star of Clarkson’s Farm, a good sport who threw in a few funny one-liners even if she didn’t seem to know much about food and had trouble pronouncing “tiramisu”.
For most of the evening they were the only two women on stage.
Gordon Ramsay was on stage too, presenting a number of awards, many to alumni of his kitchens and one to one of his own head chefs. All Irish restaurants retained their Michelin stars.
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They gave one to a train in a field in Galway.
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Lucinda O’Sullivan’s restaurant review: A serving of Japanese wagyu – four rasher-sized slivers at €92 – made me want to scream ‘Emperor’s new clothes!’
Summarise
Lucinda O’SullivanToday at 05:30
Between wafers of wagyu and a few finicky inhospitable moments, we struggled to enjoy a meal at this new restaurant in Dublin’s Docklands
We may have been in the Wolf of Wall Street territory of Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre, where billions change hands every day, but even so, a serving of the idolised Japanese wagyu, considered the Dom Pérignon of the beef world – four rasher-sized slivers at €92 – made me want to jump up and scream ‘Emperor’s new clothes!’
The new Japanese Yakiniku Matsukawa is an offshoot of chef Yu Uchida’s dinky Matsukawa Sushi in D7 Smithfield – their 16-course omakase menu at €135 seeing them listed in the Michelin Guide. They expanded last September to D1 George’s Dock with Matcha Matsukawa Café, followed recently by Yakiniku Matsukawa upstairs.
Korean-style cold udon noodles. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
It bills itself as the first Japanese ‘yakiniku’ restaurant in Ireland, with the concept do-it-yourself grilling with your chosen meats, seafood et al, at your own table-mounted BBQ – though we’ve seen this kind of thing at Korean restaurants here for years. Communal fun, perhaps, though competitive on occasion if you have one Hungry Horace grabbing the best bits! Always conscious of being on time, we arrived some 10 minutes ahead of our 7pm reservation.
Directed upstairs via a steep shallow-stepped staircase, we were greeted coldly by a girl who said they weren’t open yet and to go back downstairs. Demurring at her request, we were then seated in a booth in what is a long train-like space.
Prawns and scallop. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
The single clipboard menu of some 12 printed sheets, obviously needed some consideration, but asking for another copy we were told no. There was one menu allotted per table (for god’s sake, just print off enough for each customer).
The first page sported the wagyu omakases at €100 and €150. “We’re not having three of those,” I remarked, getting down to the nitty gritty of choosing an a la carte variety of grillables to share, also eschewing three cold and three hot appetisers (€5-€24).
Ordering Japanese A5 wagyu tenderloin (€92), the four slivers left me cold, while Irish wagyu chuck flap tail (€24) disintegrated rapidly into stringy bits. The more economical Irish pork shoulder (€11) fared better, while cocktail-sized ‘Japanese style’ pork sausages (€12) tasted a tad like frankfurters. The seafood element was excellent with two portions of delicious scallops (€18) and a trio of prawns (€9).
Lettuce leaves and slice of Japanese wagyu A5 premium tenderloin. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan.
From the sides and sauces, we had a kimchi plate (€8), plain rice (€5) and, for wrapping your meat morsels, a few slightly exhausted lettuce leaves at €4! Garlic butter rice (€21) incorporating pulled wagyu meat was delicious, while cold udon noodles (€19) with a soft egg, was also good, but arrived late to the party with apologies. Two dipping sauces, were poured with ceremony, but if you want more, it’s €2 a pop. Fresh Japanese wasabi (€5) was “not available today” – at a Japanese restaurant!?
“Do you have desserts?” I asked. “Yes,” our waitperson replied, coming back a few moments later and saying that “they would have them in the future”. “What’s that pink dessert at the next table?” Aidan asked. “Strawberry sorbet,” came the reply. “Could we order some of that?” he enquired. “No,” we were told – we weren’t on the omakase menu (although we’d had as many dishes).
Irish wagyu chuck flap tail, left, and Japanese A5 wagyu premium tenderloin at Yakiniku Matsukawa in Dublin 1. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
News in 90 seconds - Tuesday, February 10
The bill arrived showing two drinks that we didn’t have but, with two bottles of water (€5.50 each), three soft drinks (€5.50 each), and two glasses of Famille Bougrier Vouvray Chenin Blanc (€9.90 each), plus service, our total was €297.60.
Restaurants are part of the hospitality industry – hospitality being the operative word. This particular restaurant needs to have a long hard think about that. They also need to refresh their ladies room which had two washbasins held up by a tatty ‘varnished’ shelf that was, shall we say, distressed, but not in a good way.
Yakiniku Matsukawa, 3 George’s Dock, North Wall, Dublin 1: matsukawa-ie.com, Insta: @matsukawa_yakiniku.ie
Forest Avenue now a Michelen star @gilgamboa
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Well deserved. Had the grub there last year - was top notch
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I was close to going there a few years back but didn’t purely based on @flattythehurdler gripes with it
Did you end up in McDonald’s, greggs or cafe nero?
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Totally different chef, menu etc
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Was there last year - found it excellent. If I can get herself to retrieve phone photos I’ll lash up a review.
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It has been taken over about 18 months ago, and has really good reviews now. When I went the were carrying over lukewarm dry food from the kitchen in the hotel and charging central Dublin rates. It was so bad it was comical.
They cook in there now
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