The world was their oyster when leading chef Jordan Bailey (from Cornwall and formerly head chef at top Scandinavian restaurant Maaemo, in Norway) and his Danish wife, Majken, decided to open their own restaurant. Unsurprisingly perhaps, offers came in from all over the world - and it is a huge compliment to Ireland and the quality of its produce that they chose Co Kildare as the location for this unique enterprise, and their new home.
Aimsir, meaning weather in Irish, is dedicated to "Celebrating what can be sown and harvested, fished and foraged on the island of Ireland" and the couple spent many months travelling the country to meet producers. As a result, Jordan’s menu is 95% sourced from the island of Ireland and, with its atmospheric collection of restored buildings and beautiful gardens, the Cliff at Lyons hotel at the historic Lyons Demesne, on the Grand Canal just outside Celbridge, makes a delightful setting for this ambitious project.
The restaurant, which seats just 24 diners and offers only an 18-course tasting menu, is in the former cookery school, now redesigned to create a space with an open kitchen and a service area within the restaurant - where a team of chefs finish each meticulously composed dish in full view of diners, and then proceed to present them at table - provide the focal point for the evening's dining experience.
Given the kitchen team’s background and the attention to detail that can be seen in every aspect of the operation, the exceptionally high standard of cooking won't come as a surprise to most guests visiting Aimsir for the first time. What may be unexpected, however, is the warmth of the welcome, engagement and sense of sheer down to earth enthusiasm conveyed by the smiling Majken and her smartly uniformed front-of-house team - and it is this that makes a visit here so enjoyable and, ultimately, creates a memorable experience that lingers long after the details of each delicious dish have faded.
Alongside the restaurant, a clean-lined modern extension provides a spacious bar and terrace to enjoy an aperitif or a relaxing digestif. The bar overlooks an impressive and highly decorative kitchen garden featuring raised beds and fruit trees - which, in time honoured fashion, had been planted well ahead and already provided fresh produce for the kitchen at the time of opening, in May 2019. Adding the new extension caused planning delays, but it was well worth waiting for - this welcoming triumph of good design is a great asset to the much smaller restaurant and a pleasing contrast to it.
From the bar, arriving diners are led through to the restaurant, en route passing back lit displays of foods that may feature on the plate - including meat and poultry in glass fronted cabinets, fermented vegetables and other preserves that were prepared to make use of garden produce before the restaurant opened.
While retaining a sense of its essential cottageyness, largely due to the flower-fringed arched windows and pretty views beyond, the room is simply designed and modern, with downlighters creating pools of light on the white clothed tables and highlighting naturalistic jugs of seasonal flowers and greenery.
Warmly welcomed by Majken, you’re settled at your table with an explanation of the food and drinks menus. Matching wines are suggested for each course and introduced with great charm by sommelière, Cathryn Steunenberg, but, for many, Majken's unique and specially created non-alcoholic beverages will be an irresistible option. What follows the initial flurry of introductory activity (Act One) is a theatrical performance, with well-rehearsed chefs and front of house staff moving quietly between the kitchen and selected groups, to explain and deliver each delicious course.
An 18-course menu may seem daunting and, in lesser hands, tasting menus can certainly be challenging. But some of the items are really tiny and dinner at Aimsir is so beautifully crafted - developing and holding the diner’s interest like a play, or a musical score - that the palate never flags. There’s a great sense of teamwork and constant interactions with guests ensure that there is always something new to intrigue and delight - a feature that, unusually in fine dining, would make this an equally enjoyable experience for lone diners.
The menu changes weekly and with the seasons, but a dish like Violetta potato from Ballymakenny, Boyne Valley Bán cheese, pickled Drummond House black garlic and scapes - the first item on a recent early summer menu - gives an idea of the beauty and deliciousness that’s in store.
Later, land and sea may come together in a dish of famed Killenure 83 day dry aged Dexter beef served in its own tripe, with smoked Lough Neagh eel, mustard seeds and lemon thyme - and then perhaps an inspired presentation of Kelp from the Skellig coast cooked in cold pressed blackcurrant juice, with Bumblebee Farm lemon verbena.
A particular speciality is Flaggy Shore oyster gently poached in roasted koji butter and Highbank Orchard apple balsamic - a wonderful dish that will surprise many diners who thought that oyster were not for them.
Every single ‘course’, however tiny, is bursting with personality and flavour - and, for many, the most memorable of all may well be the Ballymore Organic heritage wheat soda bread cooked in beef fat, laced with black treacle and Guinness served with raw and heavily salted Crawfords micro-dairy butter. Familiar as we are with breads at the start of a meal, it may seem a surprising choice for the seventh course - but, made with freshly ground wheat and straight from the oven, what a comforting punctuation point it makes, with its satisfying textures and earthy flavours. And oh, that butter…
As the meal approaches the closing act, a perfectly matured sliver of Young buck blue cheese may be served with puff pastry biscuits sweetened with Tawny cider, and wood sorrel foraged from the Wicklow mountains.
And so to desserts - perhaps including a ‘how did they do that’ dish of Irish rhubarb poached in cherry wood syrup pickled beach rose, coal burnt meringue, clarified rhubarb juice and rhubarb root oil - and petits fours, that may include Ballyhubbock raw sheep milk fudge with first skim Achill sea salt: the ultimate fudge experience.
With the bill - beautifully presented in wallet lined with a botanical drawing, also replicated on a postcard and elsewhere - comes the menu and the drinks pairings (wines and non-alcoholic), all of which make fascinating reading after the event although, surprisingly, there is no supplier list to give more information about all the superb products that underpin the stellar cooking. It would be lovely to see those references shared - and also details of the unusual tableware, including tactile hand carved wooden spoons and unique knives with handles crafted from kelp.
So, what lingers in the mind after dinner at Aimsir? The sheer creativity and skill of course, the deep flavours and extraordinary attention to detail - but also, the warmth, friendliness, enthusiasm and charm that make for a memorable dining experience. It’s a one off.
*Accommodation (pet friendly) is also available, see Cliff at Lyons entry for details.
