Beef & Lobster,
40 Parliament Street,
Dublin 2,
00353 1531 3810
beefandlobster.ie
IN A couple of hours at the Olympia Theatre, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will tell tales of Watergate and hold court on the present state of the American presidency. So it seems at least mildly appropriate to be sitting here, a few doors down, eating dinner in the style of Donald Trump.
It’s not a conscious thing, but midway through using cutlery to slide the meat off a portion of duck wings in Beef & Lobster in Dublin’s Temple Bar, the realisation hits that the 45th president, who goes about his fried chicken with a knife and fork, would probably approve.
The duck is obviously made to be handled but I’m not a fan of making a sticky mess of my face, licking fingers and all that, while out and about. If you were sitting near me you’d be even less of a fan. But they sound too good not to order and, mercifully, the meat glides from the bones.
But we’ll get back to that, because if you’re going to eat somewhere called Beef & Lobster, taking up too much time talking about the duck feels like missing the point.
Chef Oliver Dunne was the youngest in Ireland to win a Michelin Star but after eight years of keeping himself in the tyre company’s good books he decided to turn towards a more casual style of dining, effectively giving up his gong.
One of those stripped back, easy-going ventures is Beef & Lobster, which also has a branch in Malahide.
It looks exactly the way you’d expect, which is to say if you ever go back in time and want to ensure future riches for your younger self, don’t give them a Grays Sports Almanac. Just tell them to open a shop flogging wood panelling, exposed brick and neon signs to restaurants.
The service is as casual and on-point as the decor and the menu, although the centrepiece of that menu, the classic notion of surf and turf – no, not a fish supper and a battered sausage – a fillet steak and lobster, leaves me cold. They just don’t do anything for each other. It’s just an attempt to put the phrase ‘treat yourself’ on a plate.
Land and sea can combine magically but, roast lamb and anchovy, a beef and oyster pie aside, the turf almost always needs to be some sort of cured or smoked pork.
A gumbo of prawn and sausage, a piece of cod wrapped in pancetta, a multi-pack of bacon and scampi flavour fries. But we’re here in Beef & Lobster, so let’s get beef and lobster.
The lobster is grilled which goes some way to drawing it together with the charred fillet. The beef is excellent. Perfectly rare, it melts away like those duck wings, but has a depth of flavour you’ve no right to expect from a fillet.
The lobster is good. It’s not the best you’ll ever have, but it’s not overly expensive either, with a decent amount of meat to be fished out of the shell.
It’s €42 for the pair – though you’ll have to pay extra for sides – which isn’t at all bad given you’re sitting smack bang in the middle of the world capital of needing a mortgage to buy a pint.
I’m still don’t think the two halves really make a whole, but that’s nothing to do with the quality or execution here.
Those duck wings are €9 but you get a shed load of them for a starter. Across the table the €38 three-course menu is fantastic value. Lobster and prawn fritters are crisp and light, but full of shellfish.
They insist on calling the sirloin a New York strip but, whatever about the nomenclature, it’s a great piece of meat. A side is included, ramping up the value, and the truffle and Parmesan chips are spot on, as are the onion rings that cost €4.25 along with the surf and turf.
Of the desserts, the apple crumble tart was best, with the chocolate brownie sundae let down by the brownie itself being pretty dry.
The whole thing is crammed into a jam jar, meaning it’s entirely impractical, but it ends up rescuing the brownie somewhat by mashing it up with a load of peanut butter mousse, raspberry sauce, ice cream and toffee popcorn.
That sentence screams ‘treat yourself’ every bit as much as the surf and turf does, and that’s why you’d come to Beef & Lobster. And why you’d leave happy.
THE BILL
Duck wings €9
Lobster surf and turf €42
Onion rings €4.25
Chocolate brownie sundae €6.25
Set menu €38
Still water x2 €3
Hop House €6.20
Cute Hoor IPA €6.20
Total €114.90
