They're already doing great lunches, but they won't open for dinner until they're sure the food will be just right. TheItsabagel sisters' restaurant hits all of Tom Doorley's buttons
"A restaurant is only as good as its last meal." That is just an example of the wisdom you will find in the introduction to the menu at Itsa4 Sandymount, the restaurant that Domini and Peaches Kemp have opened in south Dublin. Another? "Service not included. All tips go to the staff (not the owners!)." This is refreshing and rare. If any other restaurants would like to give me a sworn declaration to this effect, I would be keen to publish a list of places where your gratuities go, in their entirety, to the people who work for them.
Itsa4 is different in several other respects, too, and it happens to hit all the right buttons for me. This is an unusual experience, and I may be in danger of losing the run of myself. This is unlikely to happen to the Kemp sisters; I have a feeling that their feet are firmly on the ground. They had a quiet opening before Christmas and will open for dinner in the spring, when they are satisfied that the establishment can cope with the extra pressure. There is a very strong sense that they are determined to get everything right.
Itsa4 seems in tune with how real people eat. There are copious declarations of provenance, and the menu, which avoids any distinction betweeen starters and mains, runs from chicken goujons and giant roast in a roll to warm tart of the day and chicken with chips and gravy. The dearest dish is €16.50. If we had a proper food culture in Ireland, this would not be unusual. As it is, Itsa4 feels revolutionary.
We shared a plate of potato skins with cheddar, dry-cured bacon and a sour-cream dip; the skins were splendidly crisp and flavoursome. Their touch of sweetness was perhaps a little much, but this is splitting hairs.
A hamburger with melted Swiss cheese on an excellent toasted bap with salad, mayonnaise, crispy bacon and spicy home-made tomato relish was so good that this mainstay of the fast-food industry was transformed into a thoughtful, wholesome dish.
It came with organic chips, which have proved controversial. Some customers, poor dears, don't like the fact that the spuds are not peeled, thus conserving most of the vitamin C in which carefully prepared potatoes are surprisingly rich. It also means more dietary fibre, come to think of it. What they lacked in crispness - we are all used to mass-produced industrial chips that shatter on contact with the teeth - they more than made up for with flavour.
The same chips came with the 6oz rib-eye steak, with that perfect texture and deep taste that comes from having been dry-aged for 28 days. If that means nothing to you, bear in mind that these days you are very lucky to get beef that has been aged for a fortnight. An accompanying ramekin of bearnaise sauce was rich, thick, buttery and clearly very fresh. Too many restaurateurs seem to think that bearnaise should be closer in texture to beurre blanc than to mayonnaise.
A hefty chunk of perfectly mature brie de Meaux was served on a little wooden platter with cheese biscuits, which had been thoughtfully warmed through, and some equally thoughtful seedless grapes. Perfect.
Pieces of warm chocolate brownie with hot fudge sauce, toasted hazelnuts and vanilla ice cream was as good as it sounds, some of it surviving a joint attack.
Coffee is Java Republic's organic Fairtrade variety, which formed the basis of two impeccable espressos, with perfect crema and oodles of dark, intense flavour. With a 500ml bottle of Italian mineral water and a pitcher containing two generous glasses of Côtes du Rhône, the bill for this rib-sticking lunch came to €66.50 before the tip. tdoorley@irish-times.ie
Itsa4 Sandymount, 6a Sandymount Green, Dublin 4, 01-2194676, www.itsabagel.com
WINE CHOICE A short list with plenty of offbeat stuff. Dr Loosen Riesling (€19.50/€4.75 glass) and the chunky Portuguese red Cortello (€16.50/€4.25 glass) are exceptional value as house wines. Domaine de Pradels St Chinian (€18) is ripe and peppery. Plan Pegau (€24/€7glass) comes from one of the great Châteauneuf estates. Yann Chave's Crozes-Hermitage (€27) is a snip. La Corte Anfora Negromaro (€46) is a Puglian whopper. The dry and steely GB Riesling Sauvage (€29) is a new German classic. The outstanding Gravitas Sauvignon Blanc (€42), from New Zealand, is flagged with the simple comment "Cloudy who?" There are also some interesting Aussies with an Irish connection from Setanta Estate, in the Adelaide Hills.