By David McMannus 

 

Ireland’s capital city has seen dozens of new restaurants open in recent years as Dublin continues to enjoy an economic boom that makes many of its European neighbors look on with envy.  Few European visitors would trade their home city’s gastronomic culture for Dublin’s however - complaints have been brought to light by several recent tourist boards wherein visitors gave the thumbs down to Ireland’s over-priced mediocre restaurants. There are of course establishments which buck this trend.  One that has been doing so since it opened in the late 80s is La Cave, located just off Grafton Street, the city’s main shopping drag.

La Cave is a wonderfully old-fashioned bistro cum wine bar that offers classic Gallic dishes at very fair prices for this part of town.  The restaurant’s name starts to make sense as you walk down a short flight of stairs to the basement room where it’s located, however it is also a reflection of its well stocked cellar, giving La Cave probably the finest wine list of any restaurant in this price category in the city.

The room itself is something of a jewel box, tiny but charmingly decorated in a slightly over-burnished belle époque style.  Shades of ruby and wine lead the color scheme fittingly enough, while the bar at the front of the room often seats a group or two of ladies stopping in for refreshments after a taxing afternoon’s shopping.  This all adds to the slightly boozy feeling of this oenophile’s retreat.  You may even find that after a bottle or two of Cotes de Nuit the small banquets at the back lit by frosted lamps begin to blur into something resembling one of those absinthe tinged Toulouse Lautrec paintings.

As for the food, its classic bistro fare at very reasonable prices for Dublin.  Fusion hasn’t reared its upstart head here so you needn’t expect to find lemongrass in the onion soup or a chocolate mole´ sauce slathered over you steak-frites.  That’s fine by me, while many of the world’s cuisines have benefited from the last decade’s modernizing crusade French food was great to begin with.  Unless your palate is jaded and you are seeking novelty for its own sake, why mess about with it?  La Cave doesn’t, and though you won’t find eggs mayonnaise as a starter here, you can find terrifically unreconstructed dishes such as pate du campagne and steak bordelaise sitting happily alongside more innovative menu items such as ravioli a la forrestiere, scallops in muscat sauce and nightly specials which usually feature several fish plates.  Deserts are a high point, a wonderfully crunchy crème brulle is available as is a beautifully caramelized tarte tatin.  

The restaurants biggest draw however is undoubtedly its wine list.  No prizes for guessing that it is a solidly old-world Francophile affair.  Almost two dozen champagnes are offered, including Krug - a snip at a mere E225.  Most of us will be looking towards more modest bottles and you won’t be disappointed, interesting house wines begin at E17.50, at this price Chateu Veyran 2002 is a great bargain, a grenache/syrah blend that works well with steak or lamb.  The aperitifs and digestifs are my favorite part of the menu though - I can’t think of another bistro in Dublin that offers a selection of Madeiras (including a 15 year old Verdelho for E10.95) as well as a fun kir (a combination of white wine and currant syrup) for E5.95.  

 

La Cave is not a place to go with a large party or companions in search of cutting-edge cuisine, but if you’re in the city and in need of a steak-frites and a bottle of good red, you really can’t do better.

 

28 South Anne Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: 353 (0)1 679 4409
Fax: 353 (0)1 670 5255
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