Ian Orr, former head chef at nearby Rathmullan House Hotel in Co Donegal (among several respected kitchens), has recently taken over this well known restaurant in the Waterside area on the eastern bank of Lough Foyle - and it’s the perfect succession for what has been the city’s most highly-regarded restaurant over two decades.
The familiar neat, understated modern exterior can be glimpsed from the traffic lights beside the station across the road (a handy place to park and take the pedestrian crossing) and returning guests won’t find too many big changes – although given a revamp and emerging with an Art Deco theme overlaying the contemporary style, the smart interior has not changed fundamentally and it’s immediately clear that comfort and caring service are the priorities, ensuring maximum enjoyment of very good food indeed.
Ian Orr is renowned for his dedication to fresh seasonal produce and support of local suppliers, and visitors keen to experience the best the area has to offer will not be disappointed.
A carefully considered range of menus is offered, including an à la carte lunch, a midweek set 2/3 course pre-theatre menu, à la carte dinner and a dedicated vegetarian menu; all showcase local ingredients and are keenly priced without compromising on quality in any way – lunch, for example, offers six equally tempting dishes on each course with an average starter costing around £6 and mains about £8; comfort food like grilled Toulouse sausages with baked borlotti beans, olive oil mash and aged balsamic earns its popularity, and textbook perfect risotto – butternut squash, for example, with parmesan, spinach & sautéed mushrooms - is as delicious as it sounds.
The most expensive main course by far is rib-eye of the excellent Kettyle Irish beef from Co Fermanagh, which is worth every cent of the still-modest £12.50 charged at lunch; on the evening menu this is upgraded to fillet steak and offered attractively with red onion, balsamic & rosemary roasted baby potatoes, and a spring salad with blue cheese & walnut pesto (about £21).
The excellent Silverhill duck, from Emyvale, Co Monaghan, appears in various guises and you’ll be very pleasantly surprised if you opt for chicken when dining here as it’s the Fermanagh free range chicken, also supplied by Kettyle, which recently won an Irish food Writers’ Guild Award; served with sauté spring vegetables and pea & mint purée, perhaps, it makes a moist, well-textured and exceptionally flavoursome dish.
Seafood is well represented, of course, depending on the local catches – a particularly good seafood chowder is served with Guinness bread (one of a selection of dangerously more-ish home-bakes) there’s fish from Greencastle, and Portavogie scallops and prawns (fritto misto, perhaps, with a chilli mayo, spring leaves & sundried tomato).
Ian Orr cooks with a deft hand and a light touch, allowing the natural flavour, texture and colour of ultra-fresh ingredients to take the lead – one of the most appealing features of his menus, in fact, is the quality and range of mainstream vegetarian options, including a pretty and very tasty salad of local beetroot with Fivemiletown goat’s cheese, aged balsamic and toasted pine nuts.
And this chef’s enthusiasm for the wonderful local produce coming into his kitchen can sometimes lead to unexpected acts of generosity – it has been known, for example, for the arrival of beautiful fresh crab to inspire an amuse bouche of a little warm crab salad for the delighted guests…
Portions throughout are generous without being heavy – and do leave room for dessert, it will be worth it.
L Tue-Fri & Sun 12-2.30pm (to 3pm Sun); D Tue-Sat 5.30-10pm; value L £8.50; Sun L £18; also à la carte; 2/3 course pre-theatre D £15/18, Tue-Fri 5.30-7.30pm; also à la carte. House wine about £18. Closed Sun D & Mon. MasterCard, Visa, Switch.
