The Corkscrew Restaurant and Wine Bar, Gorey.

It is two years since we first came across and reviewed The Corkscrew in Gorey. The restaurant was in Esmonde Street, but they have recently moved to new premises just off the Main Street, on McDermott Street. This is still a family business, run by brothers Jimmy and Joe McDonald, with Jimmy’s wife Mary being a dab hand at the baking.

The new premises is painted a light green on the outside, and inside the coloured scheme is restful and relaxing, with plenty of creams contrasting nicely with wooden floors. A bar runs along the back wall, while there is a more relaxed area on one side of the room, with comfy sofas and low tables, offering a perfect place for an afternoon coffee or a glass of wine. Upstairs there is a large dining room with bold splashes of colour on the walls, while there are plans to have a bar and private dining room on the top floor.

We went along for an early dinner on Saturday, arriving around six thirty or so. The restaurant was fairly full with customers taking advantage of the early bird menu, and we were shown to our table by the wall. The early bird is available each day and is priced at €19.50 for two courses or €24.50 for three. A walk in Courtown Harbour had given us both an appetite, and we had some nice bread and dip while we ordered.

The food in The Corkscrew is modern Irish, they source local ingredients as much as possible, and the menu is peppered with references to the provenance of the food. They fish and seafood is from Kilmore Quay, while the meat is from local farms, and the pork is sourced in Waterford, from a good producer.

We were eating of the A la Carte, and options included starters of soup of the day, seafood chowder, deep fried Wicklow brie, goat’s cheese, fig and hazelnut bruschetta or a smoked salmon stack. There are a choice of salads available as either starters or main courses, including a classic Caesar or a lemongrass and chilli prawn salad.

Main courses offer several fish choices; fresh salmon and fennel with shrimp butter or pesto and parmesan baked cod. There is a choice of four or five steaks, a surf and turf option and other mains including char grilled chicken or a Gold Coin Indian curry made from a recipe from Kerala in the south.

We started with a special of mussels in white wine and cream, while Deirdre unusually for her, ordered the homemade chicken liver and brandy pate, which is a signature disk. The pate was so fresh it had barely set, with a creamy texture so seldom found, this was an excellent dish. For main courses, Deirdre had the homemade scampi with tartare sauce and home cut chips. These were large pieces in a really light batter, while I had the plum glazed Waterford pork medallions with an excellent garlic potato gratin. These were both very good dishes, but Deirdre’s scampi had the edge. We were fairly full, but The Corkscrew make all their own desserts and we managed a chocolate pudding between us, and a coffee each.

The new Corkscrew is in a much better location than before, and the last time we reviewed it we thought it was very good. Two years on it has gotten better. The dishes are more confident, and the setting more sophisticated. If you haven’t been to The Corkscrew before, now is a good time to get acquainted with it.