Uisce Restaurant is in the Hilton Hotel, on the banks of the Grand Canal near Charlemont Street. Manager Shane Downey and chef Chad Byrne have tried over the past year to make it more that just a hotel dining room, with innovative menus and prices. It’s fair to say they have succeeded.
The dining room looks out onto the canal, and as we sat there on a Thursday evening, I was thinking it is actually a very nice view. No doubt in summer, with the trees in full bloom and the swans swimming by, it is beautiful. I went with my daughter Abigail who just finished her LC mock exams, and needed a night out. Seated at our window table, we soon had our sparkling water and a good selection of homemade breads, including a black pudding and sndried tomato ‘roulade’, flatbread, garlic bread and a homemade brown.
The menu is short enough to be really clear, and long enough to give good choice, and I was stuck on three starters I liked the sound of, pan fried lamb kidneys, mussels in white wine and cream and the griddled scallops. Abigail fancied the smoked chicken risotto, and I eventually decided on the scallops. I should point out the starters run from €4 for the soup, up to a maximum of €10 for the scallops, with the other options all around €6-€7, not a price range you expect to find in a four star hotel in the city. The main courses offer a selection of three steaks from the grill, a house burger, special smoked beef rib, fish and chips, a catch of the day, (on this day, sea bream) seared loin of tuna and pan roast lamb rump. Again the pricing bears mentioning. They start at €14, for the cannelloni, the tuna is €17, but I have seen the same dish often and recently for €22, and the only dish which breaks the €20 mark is the 12oz t bone steak, which comes in at €25. This is very good value indeed, and after much debate, we chose from opposite ends of the menu, Abi opting for the cannelloni, while I decided that a t-bone steak was too tempting to pass up.
Our starters arrived promptly, and Abigail’s risotto was cooked perfectly and she liked it a lot, while the scallops were a revelation. I cook them myself often when we have people for dinner, but on this evening the chef served them with sautéed kale and pickled ginger, which shouldn’t work, but really did. An excellent twist on a classic dish. The main courses were just as good, the cannelloni of Caponata vegetables with Ardsallagh cheese and a green salad was beautifully presented and went down a treat, while the steak was just as I ordered, very tender and came with very nice chunky chips and a rocket salad.
We cleverly left room for dessert, so while Abigail chose the crème brulee, I opted for the home made doughnuts and warm chocolate dipping sauce. I think I got the better of it here, and we ended up sharing the doughnuts, which were sinful but delicious.
Uisce is trying to be more that just another corporate dining room, and with an imaginative menu, very reasonable pricing and good service, they deserve to succeed. Drop in next time you are down by the canal, you won’t be disappointed.
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