Tom Doorleyreviews Locks, Dublin 6
When Troy Maguire told me that he was leaving what everybody calls "the French place on Fade Street" -L'Gueuleton - and heading up to Locks, I was afraid that he would start chasing Michelin stars and forget about what he does better than anyone else in Dublin: really good bistro cooking, French by inclination, but eclectic enough all the same.
But I was reassured when he said, with mounting excitement: "I'll be able to buy scallops. And halibut and . . ." What he was looking forward to in Locks was being liberated from the constraints of a menu where virtually nothing costs more than €20.
Fans of the French place will feel at home in Locks. At the time of my visit there was no name on signboard (there still isn't on Fade Street) and there are familiar phrases on the menu, such as "snail and Roquefort", "black pudding and apple tarte tatin" and "organic vegetable plate".
But despite the comfortable familiarity, this is a different order of restaurant, underlined by everything from the crisp, white napery through the cool, calm, effortlessly simple and elegant diningroom to the off-beat, nicely original wine list.
My 10-year-old daughter was enchanted by a dish of plump Dublin Bay prawns with a pigeon "biscuit", which turned out to be not the dunkable sort but rather a kind of set custard flavoured intensely with the bird. We were not sure about the synergy between prawn and biscuit, in that it didn't leap out as a combination that has been waiting to be discovered, but it was very, very good. As was my wife's bizarre combination of baked sheep's cheese with truffled honey, potato, watercress and Ibérico ham. All I can say is that it worked in a way that the mere list of ingredients would not suggest.
My snails Bourguignon was a dream for anyone who, like me, is fond of the creatures (on the plate rather than in the garden) and of dark, concentrated sauces made with red wine and bacon and pearl onions. It made a refreshing change from the usual beef.
My daughter, whose enthusiasm for rare steak is as constant as the North Star, refused to consider any main course other than "dry aged ribeye steak with Béarnaise sauce, watercress and chips". And it was a good choice. You could taste the ageing and relish the fact that this kind of stuff is just not available from your average, or even above average, butcher. And the chips, the chips . . . It's amazing how many restaurateurs just buy the frozen ones or don't know what variety of spud to use. The chips at Locks are first rate: fairly plump, crisp outside and fluffy inside. I doubt you would get better at Thornton's (but if you want to find out, remember to order them in advance).
Mullard looks a bit like a dyslexic mallard, but it's a bigger duck, much used in the foie gras industry (a subject on which we all have our own views, and I won't air mine here). This was roasted and sliced, nicely pink but not bloody, and served with a thyme rosti (which was good but too salty for most palates) and glazed white turnip (which is known in other countries simply as "turnip"; we have a national confusion over swedes). Locks gets round this linguistic problem by using the french word navets. Sweet/salty devils on horseback completed a very tasty picture.
My saddle of lamb was unusual in having taste and in being served rather adventurously with orange gremolata (which is normally made with lemon rind, parsley and garlic). Perhaps it sounds a bit gimmicky, but it was superb.
We shared one pud: rice pudding with stewed apple. It was creamy, simple, delicious nursery food served with a very grown-up sense of style.
The bill for the three of us, including two glasses of white wine, a bottle of very good Burgundy and a lot of mineral water, came to €221.20 before service.
Locks, 1 Windsor Terrace, Portobello, Dublin 6, 01-4543391
Wine choice
A fashionable list, in the sense that New World wines only get in by being a bit unusual, expensive, or both. Our Cave Talmard Mâcon-Uchizy (€7.50 a glass) was steely and delicious. Our Domaine Carré-Courbin Volnay 2003 (€60) was fragrant, lovely and worth the money, especially in this tricky vintage. Stuff I'd love to try with Locks grub includes Didier Dagenau's weird but wonderful Pouily-Fumé (€95); the Fondrèche Cuvée Persia (€43), which is a white Côtes du Ventoux; Deux Montille St Romain "Les Jarrons" (€57), which is super white Burgundy at a fair price; Olivier Merlin's Pouilly-Fuissé "Close des Quarts" (€68); the seductive La Rosine Viognier (€48); Qupé's Bien Nacido Syrah 2000 (€60); Capezzana Barco Reale (€37) and Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf "Chaupin" 2003 (€97).