Pyg Restaurant in Powerscourt Town Centre

You know how it goes. A group of girls meet up, stand in town outside a bank and deliberate what and where to eat and drink. Strains of 'I want to go somewhere new', 'It needs to be cheap', 'I've already eaten so just something small', 'I don't like that sort of food' all mixing with the sound of growling tummys. Well that was the scenario last Friday night, so throwing out suggestions as fast as I could (I think I was the hungriest), we settled on Pyg. It was new, we didn't know what to expect, so that was that decided and off we trooped. 

Pyg is based in Powerscourt Town Centre. It is part of the Pygmalion Bar and to access it in the evening you have to go through the bar to reach the restaurant. There is a lovely vibe to the restaurant with a mix of seating - couches, low chairs, high stools - so you can just sit back and relax. As we hadn't booked we got offered the high stools at a long communal table. The great advantage of this was that we could see straight into the kitchen. I love watching chefs make their magic!

Some of the unusual decor

The first thing we noticed was the price of the food - a Cheese Plate for a fiver, Spicy Chorizo & Tomato Stew for eight euro, Catalan Tuna and Mussels for nine - surely they must be tapas sizes we whispered to ourselves. Yet on glancing around and subtly eyeing up other customer's food we discovered to our delight that no, it's just really really good value! Oh we could have gone mad and stuffed ourselves silly but we kept it simple! For starters we ordered a cheese plate with the usual mix of Blue Stilton, Manchego, Irish goat’s cheese and Camembert. It was grand it didn't rock my world but that's because I' m a cheese nut (see Spring Cheese Celebration blog post) but it was good cheese all the same and perfect for sharing.  

Cheese Plate to Share Please

Then it was on to the mains. For Sassy B, who said she only wanted something small, an order for a side of Garlic and Cheese Ciabatta was placed. It was nice and crispy - it was garlic bread. You can't go too wrong.

Garlic and Cheese Ciabatta

For Brighty, the Fajitas took her fancy. They came served with grilled peppers, onions & mushrooms, achiote red rice, Mexican beans, flour tortillas, guacamole, Monterey jack cheese and sour cream. I am a big fan of Fajitas though for me the achiote red rice was way too spicy and there weren't enough tortillas for all the food that came with them. This is only a minor personal complaint but Brighty had no such qualms and deemed it all delicious.

Fajitas

Then it was time for my main course. I love tuna and it is such a treat to get it out so I was done deciding in about 2 seconds flat what I wanted to get. My Catalan Tuna and Mussels dish tasted of summer, sunshine and the Mediterranean. The tuna was perfectly cooked and served with capers, olives, lemon, green beans and sautéed new potatoes. I couldn't have asked for anything more from a main.

Catalan Tuna and Mussels

We were tempted to finish off the meal with dessert but we were full ,so instead we finished off our bottle of Merlot and rounded off the meal with a coffee. Pyg is a little gem of a restaurant, the food is ridiculously good value and the staff are very accommodating. The waitress didn't even bat an eyelid when all Sassy B asked for was a side and we were allowed to stay as long as we wanted without feeling rushed. It's a lovely venue perfect for a cheap meal out and a catch up with friends and when your done you can just stroll down into the bar for a cocktail!!

All together our bill came to €53 which included wine and coffee.

For more info on Pyg click here. It is open from 6.30 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the Pyg Cafe takes over during the day.