They had changed the restaurant down around the kitchen area, there were booths which have been replaced with regular tables and the kitchen is now on show, which I don't remember it being before. Think a big Camden Kitchen. Looks good though.
We were shown to our tables by the maitre d' who is always very friendly and welcoming. We did notice straight away that there was a bit of a chill coming in from the window behind us and given these evenings are very cold, it's not very pleasant. The couple at the table beside us looked pretty cold as well, but were bravely smiling through it! The maitre d' did his best to tape up the window, it still felt a bit cold but warmed up after a while. Anyway, the menu in my opinion, always has a good selection, something for everyone. There were no specials though which I was surprised at, any other time I've been there there's been specials. Still it wasn't hard to pick something.
We all had different starters, I had the scotch egg, which was wrapped in crab and then deep fried, and came with a lobster sauce. I love eggs and the flavour combination although not one I would have thought of, was so tasty, I hoovered it up. My other half had 4 oysters, which came with a tomato salsa and mignonette sauce, which he devoured. L had the seared foie gras, which went down a treat and J had the gambas pil pil (prawns on tomato bread) which also disappeared pretty quickly.
So a great start with the starters. Nice amount of time then till the mains arrived. I can't stand it when your mains are brought straight after the starters have been cleared but this was perfect, around 15-20 mins. Mains were monkfish/scallops (me), the boys both had burgers and L had the venison. Mine was really good, came with a nice few crispy bits of bacon, saffron potatoes and a pea puree. Only complaint I'd have is that the bowl was full of liquid, as if something hadn't been drained properly, but it didn't take away from the taste, it was really nice and the monkfish and scallops are a lovely combination. The burgers did what they said on the tin and the venison was tender and full of flavour.
Dessert wise, again my dairy intolerance struck so I just had an americano (which was nice and strong). My husband asked for an ameretto and had a coffee as well, and J had the eton mess, which was pretty good by all accounts.
Turned out they didn't have much ameretto left but they gave my husband what there was and didn't charge us for it.
When the bill came they'd also taken off a percentage to make up for the draught which was really decent of them.
Whitefriar Grill never disappoints, the food is of a great quality, it's a friendly cosy place with a great atmosphere and you could see how popular it was last night as it was absolutely packed for the whole time we were there. We look forward to returning soon.
L
Whitefriar Grill, 16 Aungier Street, Dublin 2
www.whitefriargrill.ie
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