Tom Doorley finds some seriously funky food at O'Donovan's in Midleton
Everyone seems to know that The Farmgate in Midleton is a darn good place to eat. But even in east Cork there are few who realise that O'Donovan's is worth a detour. This is possibly because O'Donovan's presence, if that's the word, is very discreet. Located down by the bridge over the Dungourney river in this neat boomtown, it looks like a quiet and exceptionally respectable pub from the outside. It doesn't advertise its existence by shouting. Indeed, it barely whispers.
I first discovered it a few years ago when I nipped in to snaffle grilled Ardsallagh goats' cheese with a crunchy, well-dressed salad and a glass of white wine. And, as is the way with the off-duty restaurant critic, I have tended to eat precisely the same lunchtime dish ever since. However, on recent visits, and in the interests of the greater good, I have pushed at the boundaries and have never been disappointed. You have to understand that this is my home territory; I would dearly like to eat frequently in the restaurants which I review (most of them, at any rate) but life is too short. A snapshot generally has to suffice. With O'Donovan's and The Farmgate the situation is different. I'm a regular, not because they are convenient, but because they are bloody good. And convenient, too, of course.
Anyway, O'Donovan's - one of the best kept secrets in east Cork - is a curious restaurant. Despite the excellent grub and the warm, charming service, it has a relatively formal feel to it. There is crisp linen on the table, expensively upholstered leather chairs, and a kind of reverent hush. Even at its busiest, O'Donovan's doesn't buzz. Eden it ain't.
But the advantage of all this is that attention focuses squarely on the food, which offers a startling counterpoint to the relative staidness of the dining room. This is seriously funky food that puts more obviously cosmopolitan establishments to shame. The talent in the kitchen is both competent and innovative, not something I often find myself able to say.
For dinner we kicked off with a Ricard and a chilled Tio Pepe and then got stuck into a couple of starters that embodied what O'Donovan's is all about: local Rossmore mussels grilled with garlic butter and breadcrumbs, perfectly executed and delicious in a very simple, pared-down kind of way, and a spring roll of duck confit served with a soya-based dipping sauce. It was a big spring roll, uncut, not fancily dished up, but packed with masses of unctuous meat. A couple of these would be a meal in itself.
Wild salmon from Ballycotton, simply poached and served with a rich hollandaise liberally spiked with finely snipped chives, was first rate, allowing the fish to take centre stage. The accompanying asparagus was mopped up with the remainder of the sauce. The hollandaise perhaps needed a hint more sharpness, but I'm carping.
Fillet of monkfish wrapped loosely in crisp potato strings was, frankly, better the last time I tasted it. On this occasion it was very good but perhaps a smidgin overcooked. It came with a highly unusual fresh, warm "chutney" of courgettes sharpened with lots of lemon and lime juice - so much so, that at first I thought it was based on unsweetened Bramley apples. Poppy seeds added further texture.
Blueberry, blackberry and vodka jelly, served in a little tower surrounded by a magnificently rich crème anglaise was simply ace - although I was inclined to wonder why blackcurrants, smack in season, were not the key ingredient. Our other pud was a few generous scoops of very good vanilla bean ice cream.O'Donovan's is not cheap. Main courses at dinner run around €25 but they are worth it. With wine, pre-dinner drinks and a double espresso the bill came to €128.10 excluding service.
O'Donovan's, 58 Main Street, Midleton, Co Cork, 021-4631255.
WINE CHOICE Our white wine was a joy: Vouvray Vieilles Vignes Domaine Bourillon-Dorleans 2000, an intense, honeyed but bone dry Loire Chenin for €30. House wine is €18, De Martino Chilean varietals are €20. There's an unusual Portuguese Tinto Barocca Messias at €26, Condado de Hazas 1999, second wine of Pesquera in Ribera del Duero, is €44, while the rich Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine Vieux Lazeret 2000 is a keen €37. Jean-Max Roger's pungent Sançerre, great with seafood, is competitively priced at €34.