Louth: A seriously happy meal
FINALLY, a natural fit for the kids. I’m not talking about the obvious stuff either. Sure, Eastern Seaboard lays on a bucket of crayons and a few drawings to colour in.
Sure, it has a stack of high chairs. These are the basics you’d expect of a family-friendly restaurant (even if they often feel like favours).
But check out the kids’ menu. It kicks off with crudités — spears of carrot, celery and cucumber, a light and airy red pepper dressing, and several breadsticks. And they’re free.
Beyond that, a selection of main courses is priced at €7 a pop — not cheap, but justifiable given the ingredients and portion sizes in options like BBQ baby back ribs, a grilled lamb chop, sliced filet steak, or a pail of shrimp ‘poppers’, all of which include a choice of sides.
Taking my own kids — Rosa (aged 6) and Sam (aged 2) — along to lunch, we start with the shrimp poppers, ordering chips on the side. They arrive fried in breadcrumbs, with a hefty chunk of lemon. Aided by a potent aioli dip, the bites disappear with finger-lickin’ haste.
The hand-cut chips are also light, crispy, and properly cooked all the way through.
“Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy,” reads a tongue-in-cheek sign nearby.
In the loo, there’s an emergency supply of nappies and wipes. A framed, handwritten note invites parents who may have forgotten their changing bag to dip in.
Throughout lunch, staff are easygoing. They do not pat toddlers on the head.
The room is spacious too, which makes for easy adjusting of high chairs, and if your two-year-old decides to see how far he can throw a crab claw, there’s a good chance it won’t land in your neighbour’s chowder.
Net result? The kids are happy. And as any mum, dad or minder will tell you, happy kids mean happy adults.
And happy adults? Well, that’s a nobrainer — to me anyway. They mean larger, more lingering orders, repeat business and tidier tips.
Sadly, though the family offering from Irish restaurants is certainly improving, we still lag far behind the US, and we still await the day when menus routinely going beyond chicken nuggets, and baby changing facilities go beyond the ladies’.
Of course, not all restaurants should be child-friendly. We all need a break from our little tornados. But when a serious restaurant gets the balance right, that’s something to be celebrated.
And Eastern Seaboard is a serious restaurant. Yes, it’s styled as a bar and grill — there’s an arty feel to the fit-out, with bare brick walls, bistro chairs, a concrete floor and eccentric touches like a buffalo’s head here or an old-world map of Ireland there, but food is carefully sourced and the menu is aiming high for a relatively small population base.
From the main menu, I order several small plates to share. Garlicky crab claws are juicy and in your face. Crab cakes are light, stringy, served with a clump of fresh leaves.
I also like the look of the pan-seared scallops, smoked mackerel pâté and the pail of calamari.
Nor is it all about seafood.
A butchers’ board of cured meats and garnishes is priced at €8.50. There are chicken wings and pigs’ cheek terrine.
Bigger lunch orders include sandwiches and burgers and there’s a wide range of meat, fish and vegetarian mains. I’ll be back to sample those.
Quibbles? The Bryanstown Centre outside Drogheda is a strange location. Eating here, you’re literally looking out on a housing estate.
I’m also told the place can get very busy, which is one reason I brought the kids to lunch.
Finally, the whiff of Manhattan could be seen as a bit pompous and derivative, complete with copies of The New Yorker on the bar counter.
On the other hand, it could just be the bold vision of a couple — Jeni Glasgow and chef Reuvan Diaz — that actually met in New York (and yes, have kids). On balance, I think this is a brave venture and an ambitious menu that deserve support — and not just in Drogheda.
Kids’ dessert is €2.75 and includes an ice-cream cone with sprinkles, a banana split or, our choice, Stragrennan Farm apple juice jelly with ice-cream.
It’s a lovely, wobbly jelly that tastes exactly as described, served in a glass tumbler, with a scoop of ice-cream on top.
