It was my first visit to the Dublin area ever and I was lucky enough, not just to visit your wonderful, beautiful, capital city (which I swear I'll return to, there is so much to see and do) but also visit the lovely little town of Greystones, riding the DART from Connolly all along the coast to get there and to eat twice at The Baker's Table.
I simply cannot recommend it highly enough if you're looking for simple, delicious, fresh food at an affordable price. I'm a vegetarian, normally living in France and, in the South, where I live, finding tasty food for people who don't eat meat is not always that easy. No problem at all though at The Baker's Table.
My first lunch was absolutely delicious toasted sourdough bread, which the very kindly and welcoming owner explained is baked daily on the premises. We French love our bread, so you can imagine my pleasure when I tasted it - in my humble opinion, it was as good as it gets. Topping the bread, a generous portion of Portobello mushrooms (I'm guessing pan fried with herbs - maybe including parsley), succulent, warming, extremely tasty - perfect for the cold day I was there and served with a nicely dressed salad of fresh leaves, roquette and baby spinach.
It was genuinely excellent and an enormous pleasure. I followed it with a simple coffee (I have a fairly small appetite), which was also very good and returned later in the day after my wanderings, for a scone and cream (we don't have these in France, so it was a real treat) from the big display of fresh baked goods at the counter. I can report, it was extremely satisfactory.
So good in fact, I returned a few days later although my time in your utterly delightful country was limited, this time it was for a brunch of scrambled eggs (again on the sourdough toast - which we need over here desperately).
I always think that the most simple food - eggs, scrambled or omelettes - are the test of a chef. Anyone can add a sauce or a sparkler. Making something utterly simple to perfection - that is the mark of a truly able cook.
Needless to say, the eggs were equal with the best I've eaten in a long life of searching. Creamy, not wet, light, not dry, savoury, not drowned in condiments, so tender and delicate, yet satisfying and you could taste the freshness. They were exactly what scrambled eggs should be. I was lucky enough to chat briefly with the chef and discovered that he once worked for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, so I suppose it's no surprise that he can cook at truly great egg.
I heartily recommend this place, I will certainly be returning whenever I can get an plane from the sunny South of France. Hopefully, that will be very often.
