Patrick Guilbaud's - Dublin

I promised to post a review of this experience a good few weeks ago and still have not been able to deliver.

To start with, I was very nervous about entering the realm of gourmet as having next to no experience from such places, I really did not know what to expect. Once we had our booking confirmed the previous day, we took a cab to the restaurant feeling quite nervous still. Mine, and Xinola's concerns were soon swept away as we were directed to a small and very comfortable waiting lounge.

The owner of the restaurant welcomed us with a firm handshake and a smile, which I thought was a nice gesture. We were soon asked if we'd like a drink before ordering and as we had agreed before, we ordered a glass of vintage champagne for each. This was served swiftly and tasted as I expected a good-quality blanc de blancs champagne from 1996 would.

As we toasted for my birthday the menus were brought to us. We agreed to go for the three course lunch menu and the owner himself took our orders. Next to visit us was the sommelier who brought over the wine list (btw, 72 pages and about 5kg). Instead of delving into the extensive list we asked the sommelier to recommend a wine for us.

We were guided to our table and the first impression of the restaurant just took another step up as the space was completely isolated from the hustle of the street, offering instead a nice and light space with a pretty view to the rear garden. The waiter brought our champagne flutes for us and we sat down to wait for the first course. First, however, the wine was presented.

We followed the sommelier's recommendation for a light Burgundy white. Even without tasting the food, the wine was really airy and fruity and we both agreed to like it.

Instead of receiving the starter first, we were offered a selection of breads and butter. These were all tasty and especially my herb and tomato miniroll was delicious. As we nibbled our bread, the appetiser was served. Now, picture the stereotypical little arty gourmet portion and you can start to have an idea of this appetiser. Consisting of seared chicken, apple salad and plum sauce, the appetiser did a good job of waking up the appetite together with the remainder of the champagne. The service was very professional and most of the waiters were French, which added to the experience.

What followed next was quite interesting - the waiter came to clean the table after the plates for the appetisers were taken away. He used a little metallic spatula to wipe the crumbs from the table. This was quite funny at least for me...

Xinola's starter was a Lobster bisque with truffles and I selected a risotto with parmesan and semi-dried tomatoes and black olives. Both were divine, if a bit salty to our liking. Whilst enjoying our starters, wine and water glasses were filled as needed.

After the starter the main course arrived just in perfect time. Xinola's monkfish looked like a nice piece of 'meat' and my slowly poached chicken looked good too. The fish was apparently very good and the chicken benefited from morel mushrooms and a yellow wine sauce. Very good indeed, if a bit salty once again. At this point I also realised that my concern about not having enough to eat was unnecessary. There was plenty to eat in fact.

Once again the table was cleaned with the same funny tools and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. The wine was excellent with the food and this was turning into one of those experiences you'll always remember.

Desserts were ordered from a separate dessert menu and what followed was very nice. Xinola opted for a selection of French and Irish cheeses and I chose a black fig crumble with milk and almond sorbet. When the cheeseboard (or a trolley rather) was brought over, we were amazed. There were at least 30 varieties of cheese, varying from mild bries to extremely potent goatcheese and gorgonzola. An appropriate selection of crackers was served with the cheeses. Very impressive and more importantly, extremely tasty.

My dessert was very tasty as well. The sorbet was exquisite and the fig crumble was great as well. By this time I was quite full already.

Once we finished the desserts they asked if we wished to have some coffee or tea. We had some coffee and it was served with some petits flours (or something like that), which are little cakes and cookies etc. Very nice touch in the end.

So, we payed the bill and thought: what the hell just happened. It was a trip on to the 'other side', a trip that we'll always remember. Was it worth it? Definitely.

I hope that this makes some sense to give a good idea of the place, but I also have to apologise for forgetting some details. You can now rest and take a sigh of relief for I'm not going to pursue a career as a food critic. I just enjoyed it and would definitely recommend the place if someone would ask. In fact, I'd like to go again one day...