The restaurant at Woodstock House, in Co Kilkenny, has a novel menu and a brand-new rulebook. Marie-Claire Digby reports
Bassetts at Woodstock, a new restaurant in the Co Kilkenny village of Inistioge, is in one of the most scenic locations imaginable, beside Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum, high up overlooking the Nore valley. But it's not just the stunning views that are of interest; the restaurant runs along very unusual lines. Instead of offering a choice of starters, main courses and desserts or cheese, the kitchen, under former Lacken House sous chef Emilio Martin Castilla, sends out a succession of starter-size dishes, and all the customers have to do is decide which of them they want to eat.
It's a novel concept that the owners - local man John Bassett and his Dutch partner, Mijke Jansen - developed in response to the success of less-structured dining options. "We often find when we eat out that we prefer to have two or three starters and no main course," says Bassett, a former hotel manager who worked in Dublin and London before setting up the restaurant in what had been his childhood family home.
The response to the venture, which opened last October, has been encouraging. "We have found customers to be totally open-minded, and they really want to try everything," says Bassett. It is not unknown for customers to go right through the card, managing to sample all nine dishes. "But the average order is around five dishes per person."
The first dish goes out at 7.30pm, with the others following at 20- to 30-minute intervals. There is no minimum order and no second sitting, so you have your table, and the wonderful view, for the evening. The seven savoury courses, which have usually been served by 10pm, are followed by cheese and dessert.
The menu is based on seasonal, local produce, so it changes regularly. And this is serious food from a kitchen that knows how to excite the palate. A recent evening's offerings included sauteed foie gras with a foam of potato, apple and lime coulis with asetra caviar; roast pigeon with sweetcorn cannelloni and walnut salad; and fillet of cod with braised lettuce and a salad of orange and spring onion.
And how much will this novel eating adventure set you back? Each savoury dish costs €9.50, with French and Irish cheese at €8 and dessert at €6.50, so that depends on how hungry you are - or how many dishes you manage to resist as they pass before you.
• Bassetts at Woodstock, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny (056-7758820) serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday