Eating out is a very special part of the run-up to Christmas, both lunch and dinner, and great numbers of hotels, restaurants and pubs are starting to publicise their seasonal menus. The choice of menu seems better than ever this year, even if many of the dishes are distinctly non-traditional.
These days, Indonesian, Japanese or Punjabi cooking is considered as flavoursome and suitably seasonal as the traditional Christmas fare of stuffed turkey and ham with all the trimmings. The ethnic influence has become much more pronounced among our younger chefs, who are much more willing to experiment on the culinary front, with the willing collaboration of their customers.
Another trend that's developing for this Christmas is vegetarian. It's not so long ago that pubs would have served traditional Christmas food that had been microwaved, but now, there's much greater emphasis on home-style cooking and vegetarian. The Brazen Head pub is one of Dublin's best pub food outlets and on its menus this year, vegetarian features strongly, with such main course dishes as vegetable bake. Even a traditionally "meaty" restaurant like FXBs, is heading in this same direction. The branch of this restaurant at Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin, is offering, for instance, pasta funghi on its Christmas menus.
With unbridled choice in what to eat, the next big question is where to enjoy that Christmas menu. Starting with the greater Dublin area, the selection of places to eat is absolutely astonishing. There are many middle-of-the-road reliables, like the Courtyard in Donnybrook, Dublin. It has a choice of two Christmas lunch menus and two Christmas dinner menus.
On the dinner menus the choice includes turkey and ham, but you can also opt for lemon sole, poached darne of salmon or a vegetarian penne primavera. For people having parties at the Courtyard between November 1st and December 8th, some complimentary wine is on offer.
Another affordable restaurant is the Beanery Cafe at Burgh Quay, Dublin, serving up good food at affordable prices in an informal, friendly atmosphere. Main course choices for its Christmas menu include chicken, poached salmon, loin of lamb and vegetable pasta - not a turkey in sight. Another excellent restaurant is Mitchell's in Kildare Street, another firm favourite for food and atmosphere.
Some parts of the greater Dublin area, like Temple Bar and Malahide, have developed a good reputation for eating out. In Temple Bar, there are firm family favourites like the Elephant and Castle, complemented by the stylish Auriga restaurant overlooking Temple Bar Square. It offers modern international cuisine, with such delicacies on its Christmas menu as roulade of turkey, wild venison marinated in juniper and forest mushroom tagliatelle.
Diners can also make their choice by price rating. The Dublin area has a tremendous selection of upmarket restaurants which are somewhat pricey, but where you are rewarded with wonderfully innovative cuisine and a truly elegant and stylish Christmas atmosphere. To name just a few, the choice includes the Coq Hardi; Ernie's; Fitzer's at the RDS; the Kapriol; the Lord Edward; the Red Bank in Skerries; Rolys; The Commons and Thornton's. They all provide some of the best in gastronomic entertainment. Some go further; McGrattan's is going to have a pianist tinkling the ivories during its Christmas lunches and dinners.
Then there are the pubs with restaurants. Kielys in Donnybrook used to place art above drinking, but what was once its upstairs art gallery is now the equally recommended La Finezza restaurant. Above Coman's at the crossroads in Rathgar, Patrick's restaurant is well recommended. Other pubs that will be big into Christmas catering include Ashtons at Vergemount as you head up towards Clonskeagh, and another old reliable, The Goat in Goatstown. In Blackrock, the esteemed and venerable Punch Bowl has a really wide ranging and tempting selection on its Christmas menus.
You could also try a hotel restaurant. Once, this might have been an off-putting idea, but not these days, when you consider the likes of the Alexandra and Plurabelle restaurants in the Conrad International at Earlsfort Terrace; the Shelbourne and the Gresham. Newer places include Moran's Red Cow Hotel on the Naas Road, the Herbert Park Hotel in Ballsbridge, the Clarence with its Tea Rooms and the new Raglans restaurant in Jurys. In the greater Dublin area, fine food and wines can be enjoyed at the likes of the Kildare Hotel & Country Club; Barberstown Castle and Leixlip House Hotel.
A WHOLE host of regional locations throughout the country are serving up all kinds of goodies for Christmas. At Ballyhack, Co Wexford, the Ballyhack Cookery Centre, part of the famed Neptune restaurant, is running a series of Saturday Christmas cooking demonstrations complete with tasting lunch. Over in Co Galway, Drimcong House restaurant at Moycullen has as its final act in the Drimcong year its Christmas sale and menu on Sunday, December 21st.
Cork is another gastronomic hot spot, with such new hotels as the Ambassador at Military Hill adding to the city's gastronomic reputation. The Rochestown Park Hotel in the city has a new restaurant. Outside the city, Lettercollum House in Timoleague has a magnificent reputation. At Kenmare, Co Kerry, the Dromquinna Manor Hotel has just opened-more gourmet delights in an area of the country that's already renowned for fine dining.
Northern Ireland, too, is already well geared up for Christmas. Interestingly, there seems a greater emphasis there on traditional Christmas fare, with variations, than in the Dublin area. In Belfast, the Roscoff tradition is rated very highly. Northern hotels, like the Marine Court in Bangor and the new Trinity Hotel in Derry, are well into the Christmas spirit. One of the most extensive Christmas menus, really mouthwatering, can be enjoyed at the Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, Co Down.
Ethnic restaurants have mushroomed. If you include Irish cuisine in this category, places like Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar, Dublin, are well worth a visit. It has an extensive Christmas menu that includes such delicacies as roast duckling, fillet of beef and fresh scallops, as well as vegetarian.
Restaurants like Gallagher's Boxty House, Temple Bar, have reworked traditional Irish recipes in fine style. From Europe as a whole, many other national specialities can be tried, especially French and Italian. Scandinavian and other northern exotica can be sampled at the wonderfully atmospheric and long-standing Old Dublin in Francis Street.
Middle Eastern cooking makes its appearance in restaurants like the Marrakesh in Ballsbridge, but if you travel further east, culinary speaking, then the choice really opens up. Fine Indian cooking is very much on the menu at Saagar's in Harcourt Street, Dublin, while sometimes in other places, Indian is combined with other influences. Indiana Mick's in Malahide serves up a tantalising blend of Indian and Italian. Its varied Christmas menu includes Daal soup; tagliatelle carbonara; king prawn Masaledar with such accompaniments as rice and Nan bread. You can try Malaysian at the Langkawi in Upper Baggot Street, Dublin; or go for Japanese at the Ayumi-Ya in Blackrock (it also has a steak house in Lower Baggot Street).
Among the recently opened restaurants is Chequers at New Street in Malahide, which has got off to a good start in a town that's already heavily populated with restaurants. Another recently opened restaurant is in Powerscourt House in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The Chameleon Indonesian restaurant in the Temple Bar area is currently undergoing renovation during its annual holidays and is due to reopen before the end of the month. The Unicorn carries on a long tradition but in a new style.
A whole lot of brand-new locations have come on stream. Patrick Guilbaud, that epitome of Gallic culinary excellence, has his new restaurant location open, in Upper Merrion Street, beside the equally new Merrion Hotel.
There's no doubt about the improvements overall in the standard of cooking. Brendan O'Neill of the Epee d'Or restaurant in Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, who is very involved in national and international culinary events, says that the standard of Irish chefs has come on very considerably.
The weeks leading up to Christmas will be a splendid time for scaling the new gastronomic heights and who knows, you might even be served stuffed turkey, ham, sprouts and roast potatoes, complete with cranberry sauce.
