The Chapel Steps Celebrate

The Chapel Steps Celebrate

Bandon’s Chapel Steps marked their first anniversary as a full blown restaurant with a special celebratory menu over the weekend. The most popular dishes of the past 12 months, created by Chef Kevin O’Regan and his team, were featured and a glass of bubbly was presented to all diners.

It was busy last Friday evening when we called but soon we were at our table with that tempting menu in front of us. Recognised quite a few of the dishes and had to think about our choices!

Our Starters:

Salt Cod Fritellas with pickled cucumber, aioli and mixed leaves.

Home smoked duck with beetroot, port and burnt butter vinaigrette.

The Fritellas were new to me and I thought it might be a bit salty. Bot not a bit of it. Just a gentle tang and overall very pleasant indeed. The duck dish was absolutely gorgeous,a great combination of flavours and texture.

Our Mains:

Roast Cod with roast peppers, chorizo, tomato and olive ragu

10 ounce black Angus sirloin with saute mushrooms and onions, handcut chips and steak sauce.

Head Chef Kevin may well be from land-locked Tipperary but he sure knows his fish, how to cook and present them and that was underlined with the Cod dish. Lots of lovely flavours to enhance the fresh fish. The steak was another winner, the mushroom and onions, not to mention the chips, all playing a part in making  it an enjoyable experience. And must mention that that steak sauce was pleasantly piquant!

Our Desserts:

Caramel and marshmallow cheesecake with crackling praline

Sticky Toffee pudding with toffee and vanilla sauce, rum and raisin ice-cream.

Both desserts lived up to expectations. Both soft and delicious and dispatched without the least bit of bother, the only delay in doing being imposed by good manners. A sweet but far from overly so conclusion.

Christmas Menus

If you did miss out on the anniversary weekend (the menu is on again this Saturday evening), you can renew acquaintance with quite a few of the dishes in the Chapel Step’s Christmas Menus. The Lunch  has four courses and, for a very reasonable €22.00, has a great choice and features the Cod Fritellas, Black Angus Steak and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The Christmas Dinner Menu also promises many good things, including value (€30.00 for four courses) and music on the 5th, 7th and 12th of December. Great choices here too including Smoked Duck and Fritellas in the starters, Pheasant Breast and Pan-fried Skate in the mains, and a delicious Warm Chocolate Cake lurking among a half dozen desserts.

And you can try them all again on Little Women’s Christmas Weekend (4th, 5th and 6th of January) with music by BIlly Crosbie.