La Bohème Waterford
Home Of The Celtic Chef |
| Salmon (left) and cod |
We dined at ease under the white arched ceilings of Waterford’s La Bohème last week, forgetting in the romantic lighting that we were in a basement (a rather elegant one, it must be said) of the impressive Georgian building that is the headquarters of the Port of Waterford Company.
Christine and Eric Thèze are your hosts here. Breton Eric is the chef. You are in good hands. He is the 2014 winner of the Celtic Cook-off, a huge supporter of local produce (even if France wins on the cheese plate!) as he showed in recent weeks. He played a big role in EAT Waterford’s input into the excellent Harvest Fest* in the city, Ireland’s oldest, and at the same time cooked a sell-out dinner in the West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen as part of A Taste of West Cork.
The restaurant, in George’s Street, has a wine bar (here you can also get nibbles and small plates, even platters) and offers an Early Bird (€24 for two course, 29 for three), a Market Menu (3 course for €35.00) and A La Carte. And there is also a 7 Course Surprise Tasting Menu (€70 per person) available for entire tables only. It is open Monday through Saturday from 5:30pm until late; open Friday for lunch; open Bank Holiday Sundays.
Our meal came from the A La Carte. Some great choices including a Summer Risotto, Terrine of Foie Gras, and Citrus Crab Salad on the starter list. Our picks were the Slow cooked Fenor Farm pork belly, poached pear, tomato and vanilla jam, seasonal greens (8.95) and the Carpaccio of Hereford beef filet, black peppercorn crust, white truffle oil, lemon juice, rocket leaves, parmesan cheese shavings (10.95). Quality all the way.
And the high standard continued. Both mains came from the De La Mer section and both were top notch. We were wondering a bit about the gazpacho but our confidence in the chef was well founded and the salmon turned out to be a gem. Full description: Baked Irish salmon, basil, lemon and breadcrumb crust, gazpacho and cucumber. And I was totally happy with every little bit of the Steamed filet of Dunmore East cod, leeks, garden herbs, beurre blanc.
Both dishes came in at 21.95 and both were washed down with a carafe of a Vermentino from the Languedoc. As you might expect, La Bohème has an excellent fine wine list. But did you know their Craft Beer and Cider List is an award winner? Some tempting cocktails and aperitifs there too.
When it came to dessert, we passed up on all the sweet stuff, even the Classic Crème Brulée with a Brittany Financier (sorry, Eric!), and went for the cheese plate. We had many to choose from and our picks included the creamy Bleu d’Auvergne, the Comté and the Reblochon. So it was France all the way on that plate, even if the drink was a Dows LBV.
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