Seapoint, Monkstown - Get to the point!

We were due to meet up with our friend, Aine, for a Christmas night out and she suggested we try Seapoint, the restaurant in the row of restaurants in Monkstown village. I was surprised nay shocked to discover I had never heard of this restaurant, supposedly it's had a refurb recently and the new décor makes for a really nice atmosphere.

We had a few glasses of prosecco in Aine's first, before wandering down to the restaurant on Saturday night. We were seated in a booth just inside the entrance. Not my favourite location in a restaurant but it was still warm and cosy, and I do like a booth...

Our first waiter left a bit to be desired. We ordered a bottle of wine and he had to come back to ask us again what we had ordered. When you are trying out a new restaurant, this sort of start doesn't fill you with confidence. Thankfully he was replaced by another waiter, who was much more on the ball.

The menu is varied in price, the fillet steak is pretty expensive at €29 but at the same time, the fish and chips ('fish and fries') option was around the €18 mark, so much more affordable.

Rory had the scallops to start and the duck for mains. I tried the scallops they were cooked perfectly with a lovely light sauce to the side. The duck was again beautifully cooked.



Aine had the gambas and Seapoint burger, while I had the gambas and fish and fries. The gambas were seriously tasty, and Aine really enjoyed her burger. Both our mains came with chips, which were served in a little bucket and very crispy - exactly what you want in a chip!! My fish was lemon sole, in a very light batter. I really liked the portion amounts as well, not too much but not too little! We decided to share a dessert so we went for the crème brulee. Well I went for the crème brulee and Rory and Aine agreed...



With a bottle of Argentinian Malbec and coffees, the bill came to around €150. Good value methinks. We liked the place so much we have decided to make it a regular monthly night out! Well recommended.

http://www.seapointrestaurant.ie/
4 The Crescent, Monkstown, Co. Dublin

Kilkenny - later that same day.... Ristorante Rinuncini

On the same unplanned trip to Kilkenny, we managed (thanks to the lovely receptionist in the Ormonde) to get a table here last minute. I had been here years before with a friend, and was glad to find it just as packed as it was way back when so not a victim of the recession by the looks of it.

We were shown to our table, which was upstairs, and sort of in the middle of the room. I can’t say I liked it, I felt very much in the way of the waiting staff whizzing back and forth. Thankfully, the couple at the table beside us (beside the wall) left after about 10 minutes and we were able to move in. Much better.

Our waiter was fun and knowledgeable, even advising us to pick a different bottle of wine than we’d gone for, and one which was cheaper than our original choice! Once he said mushroom soup was one of the starter specials I was sold, being the avid mushroom fan that I am, and opted for the fillet steak for my main - cooked medium and served with garlic butter it was tender and full of flavour.

Rory had the Tagliata di Filetto di Manzo which was wafer thin slices of cold beef with parmesan shavings, rocket, olive oil and lemon, so basically the equivalent of the mains we had for our wedding reception which is always something we like to go for when it’s an option. He followed that with the pheasant which was again one of the specials, which he hoovered up and was very happy with.

We decided against dessert as we were both stuffed, and had an amaretto each instead. Lovely end to a lovely meal. And great to see Rinuncini's doing as well as ever...

Ristorante Rinuccini, 1 The Parade, Kilkenny

http://www.rinuccini.com/

Kilkenny - Cafe la Coco

So, during an unplanned trip to Kilkenny recently, my husband and I found ourselves looking for a quick bite to eat in the late afternoon. Dinner wasn’t till 8ish but we had no time to waste as we were starving so instead of wandering around and trying to find somewhere, we googled ‘best café in Kilkenny’ gave me this lovely little café as the No. 1 result. And they’re not wrong. Very dinky, lovely little tables, pretty, frilly and set out as what I would imagine a 50s tea room to have looked like. It’s not a huge place, and it was almost full when we got there, so we were lucky to nab the last table. Handy as well for our hotel, the Ormonde, as it was literally just down the road from it, so very central.

Not wanting something too heavy, I opted for the goat’s cheese tart, which was really good. Rory went for one of the sandwiches, imaginative and well made. And this from a man who prides himself on his sandwich making abilities… Not that we normally need an excuse but we had had a bad day, shall we say, and were hanging out for a glass of wine. At first, we thought they didn’t serve alcohol but then like manna from heaven, we discovered to our joy, they did! The waitress was a bit thrown that we wanted a quarter bottle each, which caused much hilarity as we were still a bit hyper from our day from hell! Anyway, it was very refreshing and went well with our late lunch.

We liked the place so much, we returned the next day for brunch! Bit piggy as we’d already eaten in the hotel, but hey ho, any excuse, and besides, we were on a night away. I had lemon and sugar crepes with a fabulous Americano, and Rory had the Swedish almond and chocolate tart again with an Americano.
This is the sort of place which should always do well. Decent friendly service, prices aren’t mental, lovely décor and the food is really good. Next time we’re in Kilkenny (later this month) we will hopefully have time to visit again.

Café la Coco, Patrick Street, Kilkenny
https://www.facebook.com/pages/cafe-la-coco-kilkenny/141253565940383