Where potatoes are optional

IRWIN STEWART

My personal gastronomic map of the Irish Republic is heavily weighted in favour of the Dublin area. The blank areas do not necessarily represent gastronomic deserts as there are certainly many fine provincial res- taurants which I have not discovered.

Some of those which I do know are every bit as good as what the capital has to offer. Take Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, which is near Middleton in County Cork. This elegant hotel has a fine collection of modern Irish paintings including many by Jack B. Yeats, so they call their restaurant the Yeats Room. Here you can eat sumptuously in beautiful surroundings. The cooking is re- freshingly original, not the least original feature being the carefully cooked fresh vegetables. Parents with children are partic- ularly well catered for. Not only have they riding and a swimming pool but a special early meal is provided for the children so that parents may enjoy dinner at their leisure.

One of the most unusual and pleasing aspects of good eating in Ireland is the 'call and ask' routine. You call the restaurant well in advance and discuss what is available. Any special request will be fulfilled if pos- sible and you will be regaled by a meal tailored to your own requirements.

Do this at the luxurious, country style guest house called Crocnaraw near Clifden in Connemara. Food and wines here are quite memorable as also is the Glenwood near Rathdrum in County 'Wicklow, where the same idea is the rule. The atmosphere at Glenwood is that of a splendid private country house. You may dance until the small hours of the morning.

At the pretty boating and deep sea fishing village of Kinsale in County Cork it is worth dropping in during the day to the Spinacre and they will go to great trouble to prepare dinner to your personal taste. This is a totally informal, totally unpretentious little restaurant owned by the widow of the poet Louis MacNeice.

Oddly enough this approach is also en- couraged at the Great Southern Hotel in Kenmare, County Kerry. The Kenmare is a very special Great Southern, as far as I can see, and appears to be catering specially for its French guests who must be very much at home there. Can one say more? Sea urchins, seafood soups, shellfish, game are partic- ularly good and the wine list is outstanding with a good selection of the better vintages.

Dublin, like any other capital city, has a range of first-class hotel restaurants where one can eat excellently, but at considerable expense. The Russell is so distinguished, both gastronomically and price-wise, that its name is a household word to many who have never penetrated beyond its unimposing façade. On a similar level, the Lafayette restaurant in the Royal Hibernian Hotel is a most impres- sive place to eat on account of its opulent decor as well as its first class cuisine.

Fine food in a splendid setting is also the reason why so many people drive nine or ten miles from central Dublin to Sutton House Hotel. This is a striking old mansion situated on the south side of the Howth peninsula overlooking Dublin Bay. It is hard to know whether to recommend a luncheon vilit so that the superb scenery can be en- joyed or dinner on a wintry evening when it must be the cosiest, best heated restaurant in Dublin. At all times the food is beautifully cooked and presented, service is immaculate and there is a well thought out if rather expensive wine list.

On the other side of the city, perched high on the wooded slopes of the Glen of the

Downs in County Wicklow, the Glenviess

Hotel has one of the most interesting menus in the Dublin area. Go there really hungry

as the reasonably priced set dinner is an enor- mous meal. Many of the dishes are quite un- conventional but they are usually expertly prepared, which is why you should not ex- pect to get a table without prior booking except at the slackest times.

Dublin's Leeson Street is thick with res- taurants. Snaffles is smart, expensive, has

good food and wine but tends to be so crowded and close packed that the conver- sation at the next table can ruin your evening.

Birds is a similar restaurant with the addition of dancing. The Blue Caribbean is as good a place as any for first-class steak in the middle of the night.

Dublin is badly off for reliable medium price restaurants but there is one which is

outstanding, the Unicorn in Merrion Row.

This is a long established restaurant with a certain literary tradition and is highly popu- lar with Dubliners. It is family run and well run. The proprietor, Mr Sidoli, or his wife or sister-in-law, welcomes customers as they arrive and from that moment on you can

relax and rely on good friendly service and food which, if unspectacular, will bring you back again and again. Although the Unicorn is Italian this is less reflected in the menu. which is quite general, than in the wine list.

I doubt if there is a restaurant in the country with such a good cellar of Italian wines. which is hardly surprising as Mr Sidoli is a direct importer.

A short walk away in Lower Baggot Street is the unusual, rather exclusive, Elephants.

This is a. small restaurant entirely decorated with elephant prints and drawings. The apéri- tif is taken in a pleasant reception room and when all is ready a pretty young waitress in low bosomed mediaeval dress escorts you to your table in the dining room above. The menu has the virtue of originality and some of the dishes are particularly good. Only fresh vegetables are offered. Food prices are reasonable, wine expensive.

My small selection of restaurants includes only those where food is prepared and served with care and not, as is too often the case. as a mere daily chore. Some have very high prices but none which are, in Irish terms excessive in relation to what they offer. Vtsi- tors are sometimes shocked by prices which the Irish accept without demur. Do not blame the restaurants too much. Indirect taxation is at a high level in Ireland and it should be remembered that, ,with our low popula- tion density, many provincial restaurants de- pend largely on the short tourist season to parry them through the lean winter months.

Act. Lingus fly to Cork. Shannon and Dub- lin from Heathrow. Return fares from £14 19s. A weekend holiday including twa IOW hotel, a hired car, and air travel starts at £23 15s.