Normally we’d take the bus to Dublin as it really is the best option but as the usual services are not running we toyed with taking the car which does have it’s advantages but also some disadvantages, so for kicks we went with the slower option and took the train….
Our train departed bang on time and with social distancing, we had a table seat normally for four just to ourselves. Once in Dublin we disembarked the train and jumped onto the local tram known as the LUAS which brought us into the city centre on Dublin’s North side.
It was surprisingly quiet but at the same time not unexpected given the current environment so we strolled along O’Connell St., then on to Henry St. With so many businesses closed for now there really was no atmosphere anywhere and a lot of the businesses may never open….
We wandered into Arnotts the large department on Henry St. and it was actually busy, so we looked around and picked up one or two bits and pieces. After, we made our way across the famous Hapenny bridge to Dublin’s South side and on into the Temple Bar area which is always busy….but not today.
We continued up towards Grafton St. and as it was coming up to lunch time, we headed towards our hotel as we had booked lunch there. Once at the Shelbourne, we followed the one way system in place to reception and check-in, thankfully our room was ready, so we were able to drop the bags and relax for a little before heading down for lunch.
They normally have several dining options in the hotel but for now, there’s one dining option and one menu. We got seated straight away and checked over the menu, it was short but had a decent choice. Normally for lunch we shy away from large meals sticking more to sambos or salads, however, as this was the only option we went all in…..
C ordered the cod and smoked salmon fishcake to start and I opted for the creamy celeriac soup with compressed apples. The fishcake came with a fennel and butter sauce with baby spinach, it was very tasty. My soup had more cream in it than anything else, it was very indulgent and tasty, however the celeriac was a tad lost given the amount of cream in the soup but I enjoyed it nonetheless and the compressed apple worked a treat.
For our mains, C stuck with fish and ordered the brill and a side of tenderstem broccoli. I went with the slow cooked beef cheek and ordered a side of truffle fries (I can rarely pass up anything with truffle). As if that was not enough, both dishes came with potatoes, potato dumplings for C and garlic mash with mine and they also served buttery boiled potatoes on the side, wow, a lot of food but we pushed through and gave it a good go.
The brill was coated in a very light breadcrumb coating and came with beurre blanc and petit pois as well as the afore-mentioned potatoes. It was cooked really well, the fish was very tasty and everything worked really well. My beef cheeks, while really tender lacked seasoning and the accompanying jus was a tad flat on flavour, it was a hearty dish but certainly not the best beef cheeks I’ve had. However, the side of broccoli was cooked and flavoured really well and my truffle fries were delicious.
Needless to say we skipped dessert although we did finish with coffee which was decent.
After lunch, it was back up to the room to relax before we headed back out for a little more window shopping. We popped into a few shops which were busier than the other side of the city but still nowhere near as busy as it should be on a late Friday evening.
With not much else to do, we headed back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We were able to book a pre-dinner drink in the Lord Mayor’s lounge in the hotel for an hour and not have to order food. This option is exclusively just for residents, which was a bit disappointing as a friend of ours was going to pop over to meet up – but that’s just the way it is.
We ordered two cocktails C went with a Bellini-style cocktail which we never had before and I went for the classic Bramble. The cocktails went down well and it was nice to have just a drink in a bar, it’s been a while….
Once our hour was up, we headed towards our restaurant, the Greenhouse on Dawson St.
Head chef at the Greenhouse is Mickael Viljanen originally from Finland. He first become noticed (as a chef to watch) when he was head chef in Gregans Castle Hotel in Clare before moving to Dublin. It was only matter of time before this very talented chef would gain a Michelin star which he did and as was expected, two Michelin stars in 2019 of which there’s only two other restaurants in Ireland with this accolade.
We had dined on two previous occasions at the restaurant, once for lunch and also for dinner – both times the food was fantastic, so we had pretty high expectations and we hoped not to be disappointed.
Once seated at our table, the menu was in a envelope for us to read over, there were two options, the short menu and the long menu, no prizes for guessing which we went for 🙂
To start, we went with our usual kir royals, on a side note, usually restaurants of this calibre offer wine pairing but they don’t seem to offer it as we weren’t asked and it wasn’t mentioned on the menu.
Our first nibble arrived, oyster with pike roe, followed by two more, wild salmon and watercress and truffle comet – all were fantastic.
Sourdough bread and butter arrived at the table, the bread was really tasty. Then it was on to a few more courses. I let the pictures do the talking…..
So did the Greenhouse meet our expectations, yes, it certainly did. The food was tasty, well presented, innovative and the staff were fantastic. The only minor criticism were the desserts, they were works of art on a plate but perhaps they pushed the boundaries a little too much, the miso and chocolate desserts, for us at least was, while not unpleasant, not as good as previous courses.
It was well past pumpkin time when we left the restaurant and thankfully our hotel was less than a two minute walk away. All that was left to do was get back to our room and despite very full stomachs, get a little shuteye. I reckon it was around 1:30am when I knocked off the TV and turned over to get some sleep, which was ok until about 4:00am in the morning when we were awoken by some sort of loud noise….
It took a few minutes to realise what was going on, it was the fire alarm. In true Irishness, we waited….probably about seven or so minutes before making our way out the door and downstairs….I was still obviously a tad groggy as I started to make my way towards the elevator before C grabbed me and pushed me towards the stairs, I did remember my face mask though….go me!
So there we were at 4:00am in the morning outside in the cold (thankfully it was not raining) waiting to see what exactly was going on. Most of the guests, myself included actually got dressed, C on the other hand along with several guests were outside in the hotel bathrobes and slippers.
Everyone pretty much figured out it was a false alarm and we were right. We still had to wait about 20 minutes or so before the staff would let us back in as they had to be sure. It turned out that someone had accidently set off against the fire alarm.
It goes without saying that it was a very restless night for the few hours before we actually had to get up – we had breakfast booked for 9:30am.
Once up, showered and dressed – again, we headed down to the Saddle Room for breakfast. They had a large notice at in the foyer apologising for any inconvenience the 4:00am fire alarm may have caused.
For breakfast, C had some fresh fruit followed by eggs benny, I had a pastry and went with the full Irish. The full Irish was actually pretty tasty and the eggs benny were also not too bad. The coffee was terrible but besides that ,we enjoyed our breakfast.
After we relaxed in the room for a bit before packing up and checking out.
Given the current climate, the Shelbourne hotel did a good job on maintaining social distancing with both guests and staff, they even had a person operating the buttons on the elevator and cleaning after each use. The room was comfortable and spotlessly clean and the staff were very polite and friendly, we’ll certainly consider staying again next time we’re in Dublin.
We had a couple of hours to pass before making our way to the station to catch our train so we did a lot of window shopping and we also picked up a few bits. We got to the station about an hour or so before our train was due to depart as our friend (who was unable to meet us the previous evening) met us for a quick coffee.
While Dublin is certainly not our favourite capital city in the world, it does offer some really good accommodation and dining options and we know we’ll be back at a later date for another night away.
Until next time,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 