La Serre Restaurant: The Village at Lyons

Recently my sister and her family came home from Oz for a flying visit. They were only home for two weeks but they brought the weather with them and the two weeks were spent in a haze of sunshine, swimming and eating out. She also came home bang in the middle of our family birthday season and so got the chance to celebrate mine and the mother's birthday. For the mother's mini surprise birthday (she picked the venue as a family dinner, she didn't know we were bringing cake!) we all went to La Serre which can be found in the very beautiful surrounding of the Village at Lyons.

 

La Serre is the restaurant part of The Village at Lyons and it is, without doubt, in one of the prettiest settings I have ever seen. The dining area is in the original Turner designed conservatory and the room is filled with light and the scent of the fig plants that adorn the walls. La Serre is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but is open for both lunch and dinner. We were there for lunch on a Saturday and were availing of their €25 set menu. This a great value menu with wonderful options on it and is very far removed from a typical set menu. The staff are also very open to accommodating any allergies that anyone may have.

Since there was such a large group of us I think we nearly ordered everything off the menu. For starters we ordered a variety of dishes, two of which I only have pictures of as the others got stuck in too fast! So the two starters were:

Irish Goats Cheese, Pickled Beetroots, Mixed Greens, Candied Pecans

Cured Salmon, Fennel and Apple Salad, Lemon Créme Fraiche, Lavender Jelly

Both the starters were wonderful. They were light and a perfect starter size and were filled with unexpected flavours such as the candied pecans or the lavender jelly.

For our mains we ordered the following dishes:

Cod, Cauliflower Puree, Green Beans and Lemon Butter

Salmon, Crush Potato, Wild Mushrooms, Puy Lentils and Champagne Cream

Prime Irish Rib Eye Steak with Seasonal Vegetables, Potato, Red Wine Jus

Tagliatelle Pasta, Truffle Vinaigrette, Wild Mushrooms, Shaved Parmesan

The nephew's dairy free cod dish (photo taken by him :-)

All the mains were stunning with a plethora of flavours running through each of them but which all worked wonderfully with their individual components. The only dish I wasn't totally enamoured with was the steak. It was still great and perfectly cooked for those that ordered it. It was just a bit ordinary compared to all the other dishes on the menu though I can imagine it sells very well there. I think the best thing about the courses is that they had a wonderful summery feel attached to them with their use of seasonal ingredients.

Our lunch was finished off with a mixed berry tart from the Hansel and Gretel bakery in Navan. Hats off to the staff who managed to conceal it from my mother, put it in a fridge and bring it back in with candles. They didn't have to do it but it made a lovely lunch even more special. 
 

We then finished up our meal with some coffees, a wander around their gorgeous grounds and a walk by the canal.
 

A lunch in La Serre is a wonderful way to spend a birthday/family get together. We didn't expect it to be as fabulous as it was as it was only for lunch, but the food, the staff and the setting made it a very special place to spend the day. I only have one thought in my head now ... if that was lunch, I wonder what dinner would be like?!

Irish Food Festivals and Events: 2 - 11 August 2013

Bray Summerfest

This year's SummerFest will take place over 5 weekends from 5th July to the 4th August. There will be over 60 free events covering music, kids workshops, sport, the airshow and of course food. 

A Taste of Cavan

A two-day festival in Cavan Town on the 10 & 11 August which celebrates locally produced food. Discover artisan cheese, chocolate, ice-cream, bread and much much more with over 75 stands taking part. There will be lots of cookery demos, events for the kids and a jazz band to keep everyone entertained. Admission is €2 and under 16s get in free. 

Annascaul Beerfest

The Annascaul Beerfest is a charity event run by the people and publicans of Annascaul in West Kerry from the 2 – 5 August. It’s all about good beers, good music and good company — and all in aid of a good cause! There will be an Irish Craft Beer and Food Tasting, a bbq, music and lots of other events taking place.

Carlingford Oyster Festival

Taking place from the 8 – 11 August this festival has a lot to offer with a colourful Festival Street Market, lively street entertainment, Artisan Craft & Food Stalls & local restaurants offering delicious fishy dishes, chowders and local cuisine. There will also be a sailing regatta on Carlingford Lough, guided medieval tours and the opportunity to try your hand at kayaking. There will, of course, be plenty of opportunities to try out the wonderful Carlingford Oyster. The Festival also features Morgan's Ocean Fresh Carlingford Oyster Pearl Competition.

Dublin Horse Show

The Horse Show is a Dublin institution and takes place in the RDS from the 7 - 11 August. It is one of Ireland's largest events in which the best show horses and the best international show jumpers compete for honours. If you aren’t into racing though there will be plenty of food, entertainment and shopping to keep you occupied. Or get your glad rags on and enter ladies day on the Thursday.

Enniscrone Black Pig Festival

This festival takes place in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo from the 8 - 12 August. There will be a parade, live music, fireworks and a market day on the Sunday.

Meath Food Series

Throughout Meath with events running until September. Please see separate post here for more information.

 

Moynalty Steam Treshing Festival

This is one event we go as a family without fail every year. Farming traditions from the late 19th century are celebrated with displays of steam and horse threshing. There is also lots to discover with old traditions such as butter churning and metalwork being demonstrated. There is also lots for the kids to do with a funfair, a dog show and lots of animals on display. Indeed every year I have to be persuaded not to come home with a puppy! Takes place on Sunday 11th August in Co. Meath.

National Country Fair

The National Country Fair is Ireland's national countryside event. This two-day family fair is a mix of fishing, shooting, and equestrian events and competitions. Visitors can enjoy one of the country's largest food festivals with dozens of artisan producers, a crafts fair and an antiques fair on offer. The Fair takes place at Borris House in Co. Carlow over the 3rd & 4th August. 

N.B Even though the events section is updated frequently, dates and times are liable to change so please do check the websites yourself as well. If you would like to have your event added please contact Kat at thepurplepageireland (at) gmail.com

Indie Dhaba: Bringing Tapas Style Dining to Indian Food

2013 has so far turned into the year of weddings and thirtieths. Some people want big parties, others want smaller more intimate affairs. It was with a small 30th get together in mind that we headed en masse to Indie Dhaba. Indie Dhaba is not your usual run of the mill Indian restaurant but instead has decided to shake the food scene up by offering Indian tapas. Now to be honest we were a little bit sceptical at the beginning - Indian tapas we exclaimed, they won’t fill us up and it will work out really expensive too as a group! Turns out we were wrong, oh so wrong. 

Indie Dhaba is situated on St. Anne Street in what used to be Venu. It is a big space and on the afternoon we were there only about four other tables were filled. This didn’t matter to us as we were a group of eight girls who could probably fill the place with enough chatter to make up for the lack in atmosphere. The menu is lengthy with choices of small plates, large plates, dhaba plates and Old Favourites among others. Our waiter explained to us the concept behind Indie Dhaba and some of the dishes on the menu. Being old pros at eating out in groups we co-ordinated our tapas so that we could have a bit of everything! We each choose two small plates and a main thinking that if we were still hungry we could always order more.

So to make life a bit easier as there were so many dishes, here are a selection of what we ordered (I think I have all the names right!).

PAPPADUM BRUSCHETTA: Mini Pappadums and Fryums topped with Indian Vegetable Ratatouille

 

CHATPATEE CHUTNEY MEZZE: Roasted red-bell pepper, aubergine, chickpeas and cumin, spicy olive, mathari sticks

 

NANOZZA: Indian Fenugreek dough, makhni sauce basting, vegetables, fondue of buffalo mozzarella, a.k.a. Jasuben’s Gujarati Naan-Pizza

 

BAGDA CHINGRI: Tiger prawn with Philadelphia Cheese, carom seed, toasted yellow peas flour

PALAK-MISSI TOAST: Sautéed spinach and mushroom, Indian spices, garlic, maize and chickpea flour tortilla   

 

TANGRA CHILI CHICKEN: Indo-Chinese stir fried chicken, Calcutta Chinatown style
   

 

TIWARI JI KI RAJ KACHORI: Giant Flaky-Dough hollow shell dolma, ragout of sprouted Green Mung-bean, baby gem, red kidney bean, natural yoghurt baratte and Tamarind chutney 
     

 

BANGLA CRAB CHOP: Pacific crabmeat and crayfish with spiced beetroot, house-made tomato and plum chutney  

 

We also ordered fig and goats cheese naan (one of the best naans I have ever had!) and garlic, onion & coriander naan and some Basmati rice for the table. The great thing about all the small plates were that they came out divided into four so they were perfect for sharing. One thing we did notice was that there wasn’t much size difference between the large and small plates but the large plates are where you will find the more expensive options of meat and fish. The flavours of the food were amazing and so different to what we are normally used to when we think of tapas. The food was vibrant, intense, fun and was a joy to eat.  

The only dish I was slightly disappointed with was the Bangla Crab Chop as it was just a bit bland and didn’t live up to the experience created by the other dishes. Another plus was that our meal cost us around €20 each. That was for 2 small plates and a large plate X8 so yes it did feel like plate after plate was arriving at the table.  For me this meal was one of the standouts of the year so far. I love the concept behind it and the creativity in the dishes. It also won’t break the bank, is great for groups and they also have Darren, an award winning mixologist, working in house who makes Dublin’s best cocktails (well I think so anyway!).  So all in all Indie Dhaba was the perfect choice for a small 30^th – it was good food and good cocktails all at an affordable price. Could we really ask for anything more! 

Web: www.dhaba.ie
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