Roast is a restaurant in Ballsbridge, nestled above Crowe’s pub. If I am ever in the area, I like to pop in, as a good friend and ex colleague, Matt Dillon is one of the owners. Hence this is not a review- as I didn’t pay for this meal- I want to make that very clear at the outset. We had been invited over to Roast to celebrate another occasion, and I thought the food was most certainly worthy of a mention.
There will be no prizes for guessing what I ordered for starter. If there is cured salmon on the menu, cured salmon is what I shall order. It arrived with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled ginger with soy and sesame dressing. It was lovely. The flavours all meshed together effortlessly. I normally despise all things wasabi, but even the wasabi mayonnaise was gingerly dabbed onto the fish. My better half had the Goats Cheese Croquettes, which she really enjoyed.
I was torn for mains. The Daube of beef (Beef cheeks are marinated in thyme, garlic and red wine for 24 hours, they are then cooked at a low temperature for 12 hours before being pulled apart and shaped into the daube) was very tempting for obvious reasons. I saw a lot of these leave the kitchen that night so I think I will try that on my return to Roast.
However I went with something else, the pork belly. It is cooked for 8 hours in duck fat. Pressed overnight, before being skinned (for crackling) and then pan roasted before serving. It’s really good. It is accompanied by a potato mousseline, crackling, savoy cabbage and a red wine sauce. The cabbage was still crunchy and had a lot of flavour. In addition, none of the elements on the plate detracted from the pork in any way, which was soft and tender. The crackling was so good ( apparently) I barely got to try it as my better half bravely volunteered to…. eat it for me. She had the chicken supreme, and really liked the accompanying cassoulet- which was very tangy.
For dessert I had a cheesecake (deconstructed), which after a large meal was a much nicer than a huge slab. Kate’s crème brûlée was the star of the meal as far as I was concerned. It was everything a crème brûlée should be. I have stopped ordering them in restaurants as they always seem to disappoint- but this was one of the good ones. Not too caramelised on top, a custard just set to the right consistency. I equalized on this course for the crackling theft. I would love to have shown you photos of some of the courses- as it was all very pretty on the plate- however the lighting, which made for a wonderful atmosphere, was not so kind to photos of the food.
The service was good, but that’s hardly surprising I’m sure you’re saying. However I have called in for food unannounced several times since Roast opened and I can honestly say that I have always found the service consistently strong. The atmosphere in the room is really good at night and not too noisy. Some of the tables down the back against the wall are an excellent spot to dine when there are just 2 of you. My advice- try Roast. Wander up those stairs above Crowe’s. You will be pleasantly surprised.
thesilverchicken 