January 30, 2017 (Dublin, Ireland)
While John was still visiting us in Ireland, we decided to visit another Michelin-rated restaurant in Dublin. We called around and were luckily able to make a reservation just a few days out for l’Ecrivain, which serves food in a traditional French style with some Irish mixed in. l’Ecrivain is a few blocks east of St. Stephen’s Green and one block south of Merrion Square, in the heart of Dublin.
This restaurant is much more casual than our previous Michelin adventure, but that did not detract from our experience one bit. Immediately upon entering we were greeted with a warm welcome, our coats stored (hidden away so no one could see John’s Steelers jacket), and seated at a table in the bar. We were waited on very quickly and soon had drinks in hand to help enjoy ourselves. The bar has a piano, but sadly there was no pianist this evening.
When our table was ready we were taken upstairs to the dining area. This area is very large, with a lofted space and even more seating, but it seemed the perfect size to keep the noise level down. Our table was in one of the corners with a great view of the entire establishment.
We each chose a 3-course meal for the evening.
Before our set meal even arrived, we were given a small salad with tuna tartare and pickled vegetables:
For the starter, I selected charred mackerel with celeriac, kohlrabi, apple, yogurt and dill.
Sasha and John both ordered roast scallops with Jerusalem artichoke, crisps and smoked butter dashi:
We were then surprised with a palate cleanser dish of a chamomile granita with lemon tonic:
For the entrée, I ordered a chestnut dish with gnocchi with wild mushrooms, parmesan, truffle and kale:
Sasha picked the suckling pig with carrot, blood orange, radicchio and jus:
John went for sika deer, gnocchi, chanterelles, turnip and jus:
The entrées also came with mashed potatoes and broccolini.
Finally, for dessert I had the tiramisu, Sasha the poached champagne rhubarb with vanilla parfait and ice cream, and John the Chocolate Mille Feuille with blood orange puree and sorbet.
All the food was amazing, the portion sizes were perfect – we were almost unable to finish our desserts. The service was great and the staff very attentive. We never had to wait for anything.
Being only our second Michelin star restaurant experience, I must make some comparisons to Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. Based solely on food, I think the two were comparable. Patrick Guilbaud seemed to take a chance with certain ingredients while l’Ecrivain was a bit more conservative in this area. The quality and tastefulness of both were excellent. l’Ecrivain was more casual, but this better suited our tastes. We never felt out of place, were generally more comfortable, and enjoyed a more relaxing evening. The prices at l’Ecrivain are less costly; we imbibed more drinks and spent less than at Patrick Guilbaud.
Also, we could understand the staff (many native French speakers at Patrick Guilbaud with such strong accents that we often had to ask the staff to repeat themselves several times before we all understood). Understanding and being understood greatly influenced our ability to relax and enjoy ourselves. Between the two, Sasha liked Patrick Guilbaud the most (she believes the food to be better), but l’Ecrivain gets my vote.
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