As the heady aroma of a just blown-out birthday candle drifts across from the table of the happy couple beside me, I think at least it’s a special evening for them in this extremely noisy room in The Glass Curtain in Cork.
It’s a room that has more than a passing resemblance to Library Street in Setanta Place in Dublin – the dried flowers, the menu that reads like an ingredients list, and the wine list that manages to include a few entry-level bottles and some rather lovely choices, including a reasonably priced Rijckaert, Arbois Chardonnay (€50), which we order. There are many promising signs.
Two little jambons (€4), puff pastry snacks oozing cheesy Templegall bechamel and strewn with slivers of lardo which glisten as they melt, are nice bites with that crisp Jura wine. And for a test of the chef and his way with humble ingredients, we order grilled mackerel (€12.50), from a selection of five starters. Accompanied by an ingredients list of burnt onion dashi, radish, sesame and garlic, I am thinking, a Japanese slant perhaps? And certainly, there is plenty of soy sauce, but it is lacking nuance and begging for a hit of acidity. The skin on the robust tasting mackerel has not crisped and should have been whipped right off. It’s not good.
The egg yolk raviolo (€14) is a substantial dish, the soft yolk mixing in with creamy smoked Gouda, topped with ribbons of Jerusalem artichoke and sweet and sour shallots that add a pickled flavour, and a beef jus. It should work, but somehow it all feels a bit bludgeoned into one unrefined umami hit.
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As I unearth sauces and flavours on the rack of lamb (€32), two very large cutlets which for some inexplicable reason have been served with the bones cut off and left on the plate – which I heard being described as “French trimmed” to the diners beside us – I am left questioning how a blob of lemon cream managed to make its way on to the plate. I would have thought that confited carrots, spinach, a black olive tapenade, and a sauce that tastes like a vinegary brown sauce that I can only assume is the date puree, would have been enough. The good news is, the flavoursome lamb is pink and nicely charred on the outside.
Cod with lobster curry sauce and leeks (€28) is peculiar, not because of the words that describe it, but because of the texture of the fish. It's a bit soft, but the lobster sauce is okay, and the leeks are new season, so there's something to work with here.
We have ordered a side of charred vegetables (€4.50), which we discover we don’t need because there’s plenty on our plates. But for good measure we try the rustically cut, barely charred carrots and parsnips, which are slumped on a pedestrian tahini yoghurt dressing. It’s all a bit dull.
Oh dear. But in better news, the dessert (€5.50), which would not be out of place in Library Street, is delicious. Small pieces of bright pink rhubarb, like the first gasp of spring, are drizzled with fruity olive oil and topped with a restrained Velvet Cloud sheep’s milk ice-cream.
It’s a great finish to what has been an unexpectedly mediocre meal. The clatter of the enthusiastic drying of cutlery by the bar, the sight of someone earnestly sweeping the floor beside us, and the overheard discussion of shifts for the following day by a manager, is a further indication of the need for a bit of polish in this ambitious restaurant.
Brian Murray, the chef and owner here, has travelled the world, working on yachts as well as restaurants in Dubai and all sorts of places, and it shows. He casts his net wide and a cacophony of flavours land on one plate, something a bit of serious editing could sort, because there is clearly some talent in the kitchen.
There is a lot going on in Cork at the moment. There’s a real energy to the city with the development of the quays and the re-opening of L’Atitude 51, the wine bar we find ourselves in after dinner, which is very much where the mood is. The Glass Curtain is part of this resurgence but some tough love is needed to get it to where it aspires to be.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €150.50.
The verdict 6/10 The dishes here would benefit from a bit of editing
Facilities Smart and compact
Music Rhythm and blues on a poor sound system
Food provenance Good. Glenmar seafood, Allshire family aged beef, Murphy's of Midleton, Cork Rooftop Farm
Vegetarian options Typically two or three options, dishes have included smoked beetroot and Cais na Tire risotto. No vegan options, but dishes can be adapted.
Wheelchair access Room is accessible with an accessible toilet
