Classy Continental

Click on image to enlarge

Classy Continental

Hadn’t been to Maylor Street’s Continental Restaurant with a long while but it was sure good to be back. Friday night was a bad one, with the rain bucketing down, but Continental had a fine crowd in, quite a few of them savvy tourists, including a couple from Italy and a foursome from Australia. Amazing how they pick out the better places.

Continental, celebrating five years here now, has always been excellent and the standards are still very high. Service and food were top class and we had a very enjoyable meal, starting off with the breads and delicious beetroot chutney and hummus.

My €11.95 starter was Fillet beef Carpaccio with balsamic dressing served with white bread. There was a good scattering of mixed olives also and a topping of parmesan. Beautiful dish, a delicious blend of sweetness and acidity and all ingredients were first rate. A real treat.

CL picked the Lamb kidneys with caramelised shallots. Rory O’Connell had praised these kidneys (and other unfashionable lamb parts at his recent demonstration in CIT) and he’d have been glad to see the excellent dish at the Continental, topped with a well dressed salad and straw potatoes.

My mains was the West Cork duck with red cabbage, rosemary potato and honey gravy
(23.95). This was quite a substantial plateful with both breast (cooked to the requested medium) and also “the confit of leg”. It was gorgeous, they really do duck very well here and the red cabbage was neither too sweet nor too sour, just perfect.

The other main course was also a joy: Fresh halibut with sweet pepper butter sauce,
served with vegetable and potato (€23.90). Everything was cooked perfectly and the sauce was divine.

Just about managed dessert. I think they are all priced at €6.50. We were looking for something light(ish!) and were delighted with the glass full of fresh strawberries served on a bed of crushed meringue, creamy custard and balsamic reduction. Just the job.

Both wines were from the Michael Torrino colleccion (Argentina). The white was Sauvignon Blanc (2010) while the red was a Malbec (2010) and each cost a fiver a glass.

The Continental is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For menus and details, click here.