The Blazin’ Grill is a family business, run by Lee McCabe and his brothers. They have just celebrated their first birthday, and given the current climate we are now experiencing they are packing them in with their casual dining restaurant serving a huge range of steaks, burgers, seafood and a selection of pasta.
The restaurant is large and décor reminds me of an old American style saloon with a snazzy cocktail bar in the centre - the theme is very much steak and seafood, and this is the story the menu tells. Natural wood floors run through the restaurant and all tables are hand cut slices of tree trunk with a rough bark on the edges. It is unashamedly a steakhouse.
We were greeted on arriving by manager Shauna, who was very nice and took us through the menu and the specials of the day. She left us to work our way through the choices while bringing iced water to the table. As we read them, I noticed how many offers they have to attract the locals; there’s a set lunch menu for €9.95, on Sunday kids eat a free main off the kids menu, while an early bird menu offers 2 courses for €16 and 3 courses for €19.50. They also do 2 cocktails for €10.00, whereas off the list they run from €6.50 to €7.50, while on a Monday evening they have a bring your own wine evening.
The menu is broken down with starters ranging from €4.95 to €7.95, with old favourites like chicken wings, filo prawns, chicken Caesar salad or ribs. The main courses are long with a huge range of steaks cooked in a variety of styles, like the Famous Polski which was potatoes, white cabbage, smoked sausage, beetroot puree and mushroom sauce or the Amazing American which came with double cooked chips, mash, sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppercorn sauce. In short, steaks as they may be served in other countries. There’s then a choice of burgers, some pasta and the seafood which included salmon, hake or sea bass
I chose chicken and duck liver parfait which was very smooth and served with a tangy cranberry relish and a triangle of toasted brioche; my only issue was I could have had done with another bit of the toast to finish the pate. Keisha had the chicken wings which she really seemed to enjoy and Fred ate juicy steakhouse ribs served with a spicy sauce, and at the end, everything was cleared and he was licking his fingers.
After some debate about which style of steak to have, Fred chose The Mighty Irish which was served with colcannon mash, roasted root vegetables and Guinness jus. Then came the big question, was he going to have a 7oz sirloin, a 7 oz ribeye, an 8 oz fillet or a 16 oz t-bone – you can only imagine my astonishment when I him say 16 oz t-bone. He pretty much got through it in fairness, and really liked it, but if he so much as looks at red meat for the next month, it’s straight to the gym!
I was a good girl, with a very nice piece of sea bass which was so finely served with champ mash, slow cooked fennel, baby spinach and shrimp butter sauce, I felt infinitely superior with my healthier option and Keisha brought up the rear with a plain 7 oz sirloin with chips and gravy.
Blazin Grill is really very good. It’s not taking itself too seriously – they have Spanky Starters for goodness sake, and they are a young and energetic team who seem to be enjoying themselves. During the evening, several staff members took care of us, including GM Christian Murdoch, who runs a good front of house and took care of our wine order. Fred was driving so I contented myself with an Australian Semillon Chardonnay at €21.50, which was a good choice. For the rest of the evening the staff worked the floor, checking every table and ensuring everything ran smoothly, and in general everyone, including the staff, seemed to be having a good time. In the present doom and gloom that’s a pretty good result.
