Byerley Turk Restaurant, The K Club.

The Byerley Turk under Finbarr Higgins is definitely in the top ten restaurants in Ireland, maybe even the top five. Food of this quality, yet simplicity is as rare as hen’s teeth. This is food that conceals art. If you haven’t already, make a pilgrimage to Kildare and indulge in true luxury, while eating what will be one of the best meals you can have.

The K Club is the original of Ireland’s luxury resorts and has won numerous awards down the years, including Conde Nast’s resort of the year. The building is quite beautiful, and its size is disguised from the front. The hotel offers a number of dining options, the formal Byerley Turk restaurant, the more informal Garden Room, and the Eastern flavours of the Oriental Restaurant. This evening we were having dinner in the Byerley Turk, a meal I have been looking forward to for some time. The head chef here is Finbarr Higgins, who started his career in the Savoy and has been in the K Club for fourteen years now, meaning he has had the time to nurture his own talented crew in the kitchen and create a food philosophy that is well thought out and consistent.

The dining room is impressive, high ceilings, marble columns and sumptuous wall covering combine with high quality linen, silver cutlery and highly polished glassware to re-enforce the fine dining experience. On this evening we were fortunate that Lisa O’Doherty was running front of house in the restaurant. Lisa was the sommelier at the K Club for five years before going out on her own, doing wine courses and consultancy. Her knowledge of wine is exceptional, and she of course knows her way around Finbarr’s food, so all is good with the world.

We are forced to choose between the A la Carte or the nine (or seven) course tasting menu, life being hard sometimes. In the end sense prevails, and I opt for the nine courses, while Deirdre goes for the seven course option. Unfortunately, I am not drinking, while Deirdre only drinks a little, so we won’t be stretching Lisa’s cellar this evening, but if you are planning a meal here, and are a wine buff, the cellar is stonking, and Ms. O’Doherty has been the driving force behind it, so you couldn’t be in better hands.

I won’t go through all the courses, but two that really stood out were the roasted Kerry prawn tails, which had so much flavour as to be sinful, and the roasted loin of suckling pig, devils on horseback, crackling, all served with a Granny Smith sorbet was exceptional.

The Byerley Turk is a fine dining experience not to be missed. There is something very comforting about an occasional evening of indulgence, and this is certainly the place for it. In these days of recession, they are doing some very good value overnight and dinner packages check out their website for details.