A fine dining bistro with comfortable seating and exquisite décor located in the lovely town of…read moreMaynooth. Came here during my Sunday walk of Royal Canal Way, but the lunch seating was full at around 2:00 pm so the staff told me to come back at around 5-6 pm for dinner. Came back at around 5:20 pm and was instantly offered a table. Service was friendly and attentive.
Starter: foie gras. Came with two slices of intact foie gras with berry sauce, veggies, and sliced apples. Rich, gamey, savory flavor of goose liver, no foul taste at all, literally melting in the mouth, perfect to be enjoyed both stand-alone and with the crispy bread. The berry sauce and the sliced apples helped offset the fattiness of the foie gras and added succulent refreshing and fruity taste to the dish. One of the best foie gras dishes I've ever had.
Entrée: 10 oz dry-aged rib eye steak, medium, with mash potato, green beans, and a bit of house green sauce. Steak came with beautiful grill marks, temperature was spot-on, packed with beefy flavor, and the beef fat part were kept intact to add more flavor and texture to the steak. The house green sauce had pleasant spiciness and rich grassy flavor, a great companion for both the rich flavor of the steak and the creamy mash. This steak dish was probably better than many of the steakhouses out there.
Drink: I am more of a whiskey guy, but I asked the staff to recommend a house red wine to go with my steak. A bit less sweet than I had desired, but very complex flavor of toasted oak, leather, pepper, pear, orange peel, and a bit of subtle sweetness of ripe red grapes or grape juice. Very nice.
Dessert: house tiramisu. A bit on the sweet side, but the texture was silky smooth, and the melted black chocolate on plate provided yet another layer of appetizing flavor.
Overall
5 stars. Worth every cent of the money, and the high rating on Yelp is well deserved.