Killarney: Fashion forward
THERE are fashionistas, some perceptive, some slavish, who jump through whichever flaming hoop those who organise these ebbing and flowing fripperies decree. Then there is the great swathe of humanity who, in their unfettered youth, dipped their toe in the à la mode and have, through thick and thin, stuck with the style they adopted back in the day. For these people fashion is an immutable principle rather than an endless, exploitative cycle. And good on ’em for their independence.
We’re all familiar with the septuagenarian teddy boy determined to defy the arthritis and straighten the shoulders to sustain that tribe’s particularly swashbuckling swagger. The matronly punk is by now an occasional sighting and usually opens the mutton/lamb debate no matter how fashionable political correctness may be. And a stooped granny with multiple body piercings must at least prick the cringeometer at the school gates when they collect Abercrombie and Fitch grandchildren.
Some GAA followers seem particularly susceptible to this, especially if their county wins an All Ireland during their formative years. For some Offaly men it will always be 1982. Maybe it’s that a certain style — mullet haircuts, bell bottom trousers and Ben Sherman shirts — is emblematic of joyous times and represent a security blanket rich with the whiff of wishful-thinking. But then, to again dip a toe in the Fendi handbag of sports cliches, form is transient but class is permanent.
Gaby’s in Killarney, a booming tourist destination if the crowds on our Saturday night visit are anything to by, has defied wave after wave of fashion. The dining room is a living, thriving and very welcoming place which seems as if it has hardly changed since Ogie Moran was Kerry’s magnificent corner forward.
Huge beams, ranks of copper pans and a florid red carpet create an atmosphere that reassured its predominantly senior tourist clientele. This fixed-in-time impression is strengthened by the almost seditious fact that the restaurant does not run a website.
Gaby’s is primarily a seafood restaurant but happily offers alternatives to those who are happier if their food once made noise. It is wonderfully robust and a reminder of how the fashion for nouvelle cuisine hollowed out so much of what was/is attractive about a good, robust meal in a good restaurant.
DW, as is usual, was the other half of a two-hander, and she chose Atlantic white crab meat with a cream vinaigrette, pink grapefruit segments and seasonal leaves, and even if the grapefruit was orange it was a lovely opener all set off by the sharp but caressing vinaigrette.
I opened with cassolette of prawns and monkfish in a light ginger sauce. It was lovely, the creamy sauce especially so.
For her main course DW had a lovely plate of seared fillet of turbot with parsley potato and caramelised apple. The fish was fresh, properly cooked and the serving ample.
Though the epitome of simplicity it was just as it should be.
For my main course I had black sole Meuniere with a salad. Black sole is never cheap and even though this was very good and generous, and the pretty basic salad fresh, the €42 tag was, and this is a very polite way to say it, indulgent. Maybe the fact that business is transient and seasonal decrees a certain pricing structure but in today’s back-to-reality world €42 for a piece of fish, no matter how lovely, and a few leaves and cherry tomatoes is just bonkers.
Desserts — warm winter fruit compote with blackberry cream and rich milk chocolate tarte with ice cream and cream — were first class.
The wine, Pouilly Fumé Domaine Chatelain, was very pleasant, but at €42 seemed a few notches overpriced too.
All in all this was a grand meal in a welcoming place with real character and good service, but the abiding impression is that many of the alternatives offer food that is as good but costs the price of a decent bottle of wine less.
THE TAB: Dinner — three courses — for two with wine came to 159.80, tip extra.
HOW TO: Sunday 6:00 — 9:00; Monday to Saturday 6:00 — 10:00
The verdict:
Food: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Wine: 7.5/10
Value: 4/10
