At the Club Brasserie, Old Chum Be good. Be Bold. Be There!

At the Club Brasserie, Old Chum

Be good. Be Bold. Be There!

Relax at the Club Brasserie, one of Cork's most gorgeous dining venues. Many of us want to be “good” in January and Beth will help you there. Have you seen her inviting display of salads? 

But, if you want to be bold, with a glass of wine or two, well she’ll help you there too, all the way to a delicious dessert. And to be serious for a moment, there is a major welcome here for coeliacs as 95% of the new menu is gluten free!

In any event, you’ll get a warm welcome from Beth and her staff. Smiles and chat all the way to the bar if you enjoy a pre-meal drink or to your table if you want to get started there. Facilities, comfort and service are all excellent here and so too is the food.

Chicken

 We had lunch there at the weekend and it was superb. My main course came from the Specials Board: Organic Salmon Potato Cakes with a spinach butter sauce (€10.50). The cakes were so well cooked, beautifully crisp on the outside and a well judged mix of potato and flavoursome salmon inside, all with a lovely sauce and salad.

Roasted marinated chicken breast with Rosemary and garlic rustic potatoes, Romesco sauce, Saffron Aioli and mixed leaves (€12.00) as CL’s pick. Again, the chicken was perfectly cooked and the flavours were magic. Even the potatoes were a delight.

Perfect!

As you can see, we skipped the salads but that was just because we wanted something cooked on the day. Another day, we’d be delighted to dip into a selection that includes: Rainbow Rice, Potato Salad, Superfood Salad, Peppery Chickpea Salad, Roasted Broccoli and Feta Salad, and Asian Salad. You can have a mix of two or three.

And if time, or cash, is scarce on the day, you can still have nice lunch here. Eight euro will get you half a sandwich and soup, and for ten you'll get the full sandwich and soup. The sandwiches themselves cost €7.50 and options are: Pastrami; Honey Glazed Ham; Organic Seared Salmon; and Bang Bang Chargrilled Chicken. We had started with the soup, a lovely warming bowl of Leek and Potato.

Some of the salads.

And were we bold? Well, a little! It takes two to tango and dessert was shared. It was a beauty: Honey Parfait with a delicious drizzle and a scattering of pomegranate and pistachio nuts.

On the way out I had a quick look at the new dinner menus. Lots of temptation there also. No shortage of starters, including: Spiced Potato Fritters; Spiced West Cork Crab Spring Rolls; Sizzling Prawns and more. My pick might be the Warm Salad of Roasted Pear, Crispy Pancetta and Cashel Blue cheese, with walnuts, honey and mustard dressing.

Lots of local ingredients are used here and the mains selection illustrates that aspect: East Cork Lamb; O’Connell’s Fillet Steak; and then there’s the Tempura of Cod with a Yuzu Mayonnaise. Think I'd be looking seriously at the other fish dish here, the Baked Hake with gremolata crust, piperade, tomatoes, black olives, cream and Parmesan cheese. Oh yes and a glass or two of wine! Even in January.

Club Brasserie

City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork.

(021) 427 3987

Email: beth.theclubbrasserie@hotmail.com

Website: www.theclubbrasserie.com

Facebook: The Club Brasserie

Twitter: @clubbrasserie