Restaurant Review: Richmond


Posted March 19, 2016 in Restaurant Reviews

Do you remember the steak and eggs at Gig’s Place? You probably don’t because, even if you did eat at this legendary late night “restaurant”, you were most likely so uproariously sozzled that being there is but a wobbly memory. The draw of Gig’s Place was not the food or the ambience; it was its late-night/early-morning booze licence. The only catch was that you had to order food (and believe me, it was *terrible*) to get your drunken mitts on that sweet, sweet danger juice.

Hopefully, owner and manager Russell Wilde and Head Chef David O’Byrne don’t get frustrated with the name checks to Gig’s Place because Richmond couldn’t be more different with the red banquettes nodding back to its previous existence.

Wilde, who ran The Butcher Grill, Herbstreet and, before that, Café Bar Deli, has made a feature of the beautiful front window (which was always suspiciously covered up so that Gig’s Place looked permanently shut) and kept the décor simple and tasteful. It must have been a long road making this space suitable for a more sober clientele. “God, where to start?” exhales Wilde, “I’d need more than a couple of sentences to even scratch the surface of the story of obtaining the lease and the eventual transformation.” The end result, however, is quite remarkable.

O’Byrne, formerly a chef at Mulberry Gardens and Head Chef at Le Mere Zou, brings a delicate yet accessible approach to dining, his menu a clever collection of classics elevated by contemporary influences. His croquettes are delicious shredded oxtail coated in a crispy shell, served with a slaw of kohlrabi and a dip of parsley sauce with horseradish mayo (€8.50). The presentation of the seared scallops is enticingly elegant, a pretty plate of red chicory and plump scallops arranged around the strip of maple-glazed belly of sucking pig, which steals the show from those scallops with its juicy tenderness.

The Richmond 8oz Burger (€16) is a triumph. The burger is cooked medium to order, melted Monterey Jack cheese bringing a welcome layer of extra naughtiness. A paprika aioli, skinny fries and excellent homemade ketchup are served on the side.

Richmond1

 

A roasted breast of duck with parmesan polenta, purple broccoli, baby beets, carrot and orange puree (€26) not only looks exquisite, but everything on this plate of aesthetically pleasing pinks, purples and oranges tastes superb as well.

Desserts are a dazzlingly sticky date pudding (€7.50) with a rich toffee sauce that makes for a great bedfellow with chunks of salted roasted peanuts. The gingerbread ice cream could have done with a bit more ginger but its creamy texture makes up for a lack of spice.

A lemon tart (€7.50) is a zingy wonder. The pastry is biscuit-y and crisp, and the pistachio ice-cream complements the tart brilliantly.

Our total bill, including a large bottle of sparkling water and glass of Tempranillo (€6), comes to €71, great value for such graceful cooking. There’s a set price menu of two courses for €21.50 and three for €25, with only a few dishes missing from the À La Carte menu, such as the duck and the scallops.

Richmond are doing brunch as well as dinner, and they’ve made use of a room upstairs that looks out onto South Richmond Street. No doubt their chargrilled rump tail steak with béarnaise (one of the more pricey brunch dishes at €16.50 – the rest hover around €10) will obliterate any memory of the steaks served in this building in the past. Some things are better off left in the past.

Richmond

43 Richmond Street South, Dublin 2

t: 01-4788783

w: www.richmondrestaurant.ie

Words: Aoife McElwain

Photos: Mark Duggan

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