The Maestro in top form at the Radisson Blu!

The Maestro in top form at the Radisson Blu!

Dessert terrine

After having sampled lots of food goodies at the official celebration of the Radisson Blu revamp, I was keen to try it out in depth. And we took the opportunity last week on a magnificent sunny evening. Indeed, there were quite a few families out on the sheltered terrace celebrating the local confirmations.

This time, we started in the Banks Bar and were treated to a couple of cocktails. A Cosmo (Absolut Vodka, Cointreau, Cranberry juice, lime juice) and a Bramble (Hendricks Gin, lemon Juice, Sugar syrup, Crème de Mure) pour moi. Up and running!

Starter terrine

 We took some time to go through the menu. It is a large hotel so they cater for a wide variety of tastes, for adults and kids, so it is a large menu, with everything from small plates to sandwiches, to pizzas, to salads, to fish and steaks. Starters range from €5.50 to €13.95, mains from the mid teens to the high twenties (7-ounce fillet, for instance, is 29.95).

CL started with the Chicken, duck and smoked bacon terrine, with roast baby vegetable salad, orange and chocolate balsamic syrup. This was absolutely delicious, a great mix of textures and flavours but a surprisingly mega-plateful under the menu heading of “Something Small”. Meanwhile, I was eagerly tucking into my equally delicious Pan fried confit of lamb shoulder on a bed of braised Puy lentils, morel cream sauce. Hadn’t seen this as a starter before.

Confit of lamb

 I stayed with the meat for the mains and picked the Pan fried prime Irish 8-ounce rib-eye, with chunky skin-on fries, baked Portobello mushroom, slow roasted vine tomato, green beans and onion rings, and peppercorn sauce (from choice of three). It was quite the main event indeed, full of great flavour and I enjoyed every single element on the packed plate.

The other side of the table was also doing well, happy with her Pan fried salmon, chorizo and leek risotto, with lime and green tea dressing. All done to perfection and the risotto was highly impressive, really tasty.

Salmon

 Service was efficient and friendly from start to finish and a little tempting (along with recommendations) from that quarter saw us order dessert. Lemon Meringue Pie with Crème Anglaise was CL’s pick while my cool choice was the Raspberry and chocolate terrine, with lemon curd crème fraiche, and fresh berries. Happy campers after those two sweets!

Both wines came from Mendoza in Argentina. The white was Donna Paula Sauvignon Blanc, aromatic, crisp and lively and €6.95 per glass. Same price for the red, the Paula Malbec, a lovely supple wine, fruity and with a rich finish.

Main event!

 The significant refurbishment project, completed last month, incorporated The Great Island Ballroom, the chic hotel lobby, stylish Banks Bar and over 40 bedrooms, and culminated in the complete revamp of the hotel’s restaurant. Now sophisticatedly adorned with plush carpets, mahogany furniture and brown leather booths, the restaurant is the cherry on top of the hotel’s brand new look and has been renamed the Maestro. Well worth a try, for sure.