O'Connells Restaurant, Donnybrook, D4.

O’Connells of Donnybrook is located one the corner of Belmont Avenue and Morehampton Road, in the building that for many years housed Madigan’s pub. Tom O’Connell runs this restaurant along with his son Rory and daughter Mia, so it’s very much a family run business. The décor is very sympathetic to the old premises and a lot of the features have been retained, though the main floor is now laid out in restaurant style with tables and chairs, which are covered with pristine white linen of an evening.

O’Connells is easy to find in a prominent corner location, and looks very handsome from the outside, with hand painted signs and some very nice window boxes which are a recent addition. Inside the room is traditional, with the original bar still in place at the rear of the room. The original stained glass and opaque glass windows are also retained, offering a sympathetic barrier to the world outside.

The dining room is quite large, taking up most of the floor area. It has an almost casual, thrown together look, in the sense that the tables appear to fill the space in an generic sense. I suppose the room doesn’t have that geometric look, it’s all more comfortable than that. During lunch the tables are plain wood, all set with sparkling glasses and cutlery, while in the evening the crisp linen tablecloths give it a slightly more grown up appearance, but seems inviting.

The food however is anything but casual, O’Connells have a very good reputation over many years, when Paolo ate at their previous restaurant he made this comparison; “When Patrick Guilbaud opened his restaurant in the Merrion Hotel it was a symbiotic relationship that benefited both parties. Now you can add another to the list; O’Connell’s in Bewley's Hotel in Ballsbridge.”

It would appear that all of the things that made O’Connells so good for so long are still very much in evidence. The menus are all fairly priced and the provenance of many of the dishes is carefully listed. So for example you can have a very nice lunch for €12.95 for filet of Castletownbere Hake with a Gubbeen cheese topping. Or maybe you fancy the smoked haddock and cod fish cake? As a main it comes with a light curry cream sauce. And did you know the curry leaves came from The Green Saffron Spice Company? Probably not, and in most places - even though it almost de rigour to list some suppliers - you never would, but in O’Connell’s it is obviously a religious observation, and what a good one. This attention extends to their Coeliac menu, which is second to none, and for which they are quite famous.

Bill Kelly’s organic smoked Irish salmon, Tipperary Wild boar with Janet’s Country Fare Chutney, Nora Egan’s black pudding or Galway Bay mussels with their own homemade bread to dip in the sauce. It is this attention to detail that makes some restaurants great. Intimately we think great is being able to serve great food day-in, day-out. Consistency comes from attention to detail, and being very careful and choosy when picking suppliers. Two things O’Connell’s do better than most.

Sunday lunch is an all day affair; there is a great value early bird menu for only 21.75 for two courses, which runs most evenings, in addition to the main A la Carte.

O’Connells has a lot of charm, it’s very much a family run business which knows it’s clientele well, and in Donnybrook, we think they have found their permanent home in a space that suits their ethos and purposes. If you haven’t already tried them, we urge you to go along soon.

* This is probably the best restaurant in Dublin for Coeliac, the menu is comprehensive and apparently it is the restaurant of choice for many people who suffer with this condition.