Wednesday 17th August 2011
The Cheese Pantry, Drumcondra, Dublin
It has been a while since my last visit here however and the interior has changed a bit. Previously it was just like a shop/deli once you walked in the door, with shelving along the walls and a big counter. If you wished to eat, you were brought down a narrow passage to the small back room where there was space for about 8 tables. The have now added a seating area to the front which adds seating capacity for about another 12 to 15 people. They have done this by creating a small snug at the front of the shop by the window and this is where we were seated. I like this new area as it feels more like a restaurant than a cafe.
We were given both menus, the Al la carte and the fixed price . We were all going to order from the Prix-Fixe menu, 2 courses for €17.50 I was originally going to just get a main, but the very friendly waitress suggested to combine with a dessert, so I decided to do that. Unfortunately a few minutes later, she returned to say that it was not possible to do so and the menu only referred to a starter and main. We were all quite shocked at this as we had never experienced something like this in any other restaurant that offers this type of deal. Indeed it is standard practice to be able to combine any two courses you wish so they should really ensure that they clearly state this on the menu as it isn't clear at the moment. None of us ordered starters. This is what we all ate:
My sister's partner had the teriyaki beef salad which he said was lovely and well cooked. See pic above
I ordered the risotto. There were three veggie options on the menu, but I didn't really want a salad or tagliatelle. I really like a good risotto, even though it seems to be the standard veggie option at the moment in many restaurants. If it's done well it's beautiful. This was a wild mushroom version which I think would have been better suited to an autumnal menu rather than a summer one. It came as you can see above, with a heap of rocket leaves and the thinnest shavings of perorino cheese I have ever seen. The rocket wasn't dressed or seasoned and would have benefited from being so. The risotto itself was nicely flavoured, but the rice was overcooked and the consistency was quite stodgy. The mushrooms were badly prepared. There is another image below of how they were presented in this dish, big ears which were almost as large as the palm of my hand, they didn't suit this dish and would have been better torn into smaller pieces. I also thought them extremely woody and tough. It was a well seasoned dish however.
My four and a half year old niece tucked into banger's and mash which she liked. The waitress was particularly friendly with her and even brought out special cutlery for her which was nice.
Both my mother and sister eat the coc-au-vin which they said was delicious, well cooked and a rich sauce apparently.
We washed all our food down with an Australian Chardonnay. It was chosen by my brother-in-law and was fruity and light. Unfortunately his original selection from the wine list was unavailable. We discovered this fact at the same time as being told that we couldn't combine mains and dessert which had me slightly concerned about how the meal would progress, but everything else we wanted was fine.
I decided not to have dessert but instead had a small spoon of everyone else's (it would have been rude not to!)
My brother in law and niece shared a 'death by chocolate', seen above after the swirl of chocolate frosting had been whipped into my niece's mouth before I got the photo taken. I'm not the biggest fan of sponge but this was light and moist and the frosting was nice.
My mother had the banoffee pie, which was nice and not overly sweet.
And my sister had the rhubarb crumble. This was probably the best of the desserts, neither too sweet or tart.
I'm not too sure how much the bill came to in total as my sister and her partner kindly paid for us all but judging by the tip I suspect it was around the €100 mark. Looking at the menu the food is quite expensive I feel, but then I have to remind myself that I'm back in Dublin and that €14/€15 is quite a standard price for a main course. I do have to say that I feel it has definitely improved as an establishment and that the food is better now than my last visit over a year ago. It's a handy wee place to have in Drumcondra.
The Cheese Pantry, Drumcondra, Dublin
Arrived back in sunny (?!) Dublin after almost a month in London. I was very sad to leave but needs must. So after a quick hop over the Irish Sea from the extremely handy London City Airport, and completing some necessary tasks, I met up with my mother, sister, her partner and my lovely niece for some dinner in the Cheese Pantry in Drumcondra. This is a small restaurant that I have been to on several occasions with my sister since she has moved to Drumcondra 3 or 4 ears ago. It's a cute wee place, but I've never been overawed by the food so I wasn't expecting too much this evening.
 |
| The exterior, which is pretty cute. I particularly like the tiles. |
It has been a while since my last visit here however and the interior has changed a bit. Previously it was just like a shop/deli once you walked in the door, with shelving along the walls and a big counter. If you wished to eat, you were brought down a narrow passage to the small back room where there was space for about 8 tables. The have now added a seating area to the front which adds seating capacity for about another 12 to 15 people. They have done this by creating a small snug at the front of the shop by the window and this is where we were seated. I like this new area as it feels more like a restaurant than a cafe.
We were given both menus, the Al la carte and the fixed price . We were all going to order from the Prix-Fixe menu, 2 courses for €17.50 I was originally going to just get a main, but the very friendly waitress suggested to combine with a dessert, so I decided to do that. Unfortunately a few minutes later, she returned to say that it was not possible to do so and the menu only referred to a starter and main. We were all quite shocked at this as we had never experienced something like this in any other restaurant that offers this type of deal. Indeed it is standard practice to be able to combine any two courses you wish so they should really ensure that they clearly state this on the menu as it isn't clear at the moment. None of us ordered starters. This is what we all ate:
My sister's partner had the teriyaki beef salad which he said was lovely and well cooked. See pic above
I ordered the risotto. There were three veggie options on the menu, but I didn't really want a salad or tagliatelle. I really like a good risotto, even though it seems to be the standard veggie option at the moment in many restaurants. If it's done well it's beautiful. This was a wild mushroom version which I think would have been better suited to an autumnal menu rather than a summer one. It came as you can see above, with a heap of rocket leaves and the thinnest shavings of perorino cheese I have ever seen. The rocket wasn't dressed or seasoned and would have benefited from being so. The risotto itself was nicely flavoured, but the rice was overcooked and the consistency was quite stodgy. The mushrooms were badly prepared. There is another image below of how they were presented in this dish, big ears which were almost as large as the palm of my hand, they didn't suit this dish and would have been better torn into smaller pieces. I also thought them extremely woody and tough. It was a well seasoned dish however.
My four and a half year old niece tucked into banger's and mash which she liked. The waitress was particularly friendly with her and even brought out special cutlery for her which was nice.
Both my mother and sister eat the coc-au-vin which they said was delicious, well cooked and a rich sauce apparently.
 |
| You can clearly see the gigantic mushroom here. Look at its size relative to the dish! |
I decided not to have dessert but instead had a small spoon of everyone else's (it would have been rude not to!)
My brother in law and niece shared a 'death by chocolate', seen above after the swirl of chocolate frosting had been whipped into my niece's mouth before I got the photo taken. I'm not the biggest fan of sponge but this was light and moist and the frosting was nice.
My mother had the banoffee pie, which was nice and not overly sweet.
And my sister had the rhubarb crumble. This was probably the best of the desserts, neither too sweet or tart.
I'm not too sure how much the bill came to in total as my sister and her partner kindly paid for us all but judging by the tip I suspect it was around the €100 mark. Looking at the menu the food is quite expensive I feel, but then I have to remind myself that I'm back in Dublin and that €14/€15 is quite a standard price for a main course. I do have to say that I feel it has definitely improved as an establishment and that the food is better now than my last visit over a year ago. It's a handy wee place to have in Drumcondra.
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