Cork: A tasteful bite at the opera
THE addition of a glorious glass facade just over a decade ago transformed an erstwhile ugly duckling Cork Opera House, giving a local institution a face befitting its legendary status.
Inside, a mezzanine opened the floors right up to the very roof so, on a good night with a top act in town, the energy of the crowds in the foyer and the bars on the two floors above surges through the building like a nuclear reactor coming online.
Though equally alluring by day, it lay largely idle; the light was on but, save afternoon matinees, there was usually nobody home. Last year, the House Café crew finally turned this into a space for Corkonians to treasure near-equally by day as they do by night.
Their first achievement was squeezing a working kitchen, coffee dock, cash register, worktops and storage space into one tiny alcove — the proverbial elephant in the phone box, and then some!
Next was the equally challenging reverse conundrum of turning the very large foyer into a more intimate eating space, but House Café’s Victor Murphy and Stephen McGlynn are old hands at the hospitality game and their hosting skills are the stuff of an exclusive private dining club.
Chef Eoin O’Reilly’s cooking amply covers any remaining gaps.
Though House Café begins the day serving a late breakfast, Ms E and I turn up in the middle of a busy Friday lunchtime. The place is humming but there are no delays and I’m soon facing down a Chicken Liver, Wood Pigeon and Pistachio Terrine, with Relish and Grilled Sourdough. I’d prefer the terrine more compacted, the wood pigeon rendered into smaller chunks, the staple ingredients close companions rather than casual acquaintances so each mouthful can reveal the combined effect but there is no denying the exquisitely balanced flavours: Earthy game-bird, sweet metallic liver, coyly resisting nut, all so sublimely spiced that relish and bread are nigh-on redundant.
Fish of the Day is Lemon Sole with Mixed Salad Leaves and Potato Cake.
The sole’s gentle sweetness indicates a nice fresh fish but it has gone over a bit in the cooking, veering towards mushy.
A tasty but muscular pesto, slathered liberally, would be better off picking on someone its own size but the leaves have a lovely, peppery bite while the potato cake is a gem — roughly chopped spud, beautifully seasoned and a perfect showcase for the national tuber. It’s not the first time I’ve dined here and that fish is a rare misfire — furthermore, a subsequent word about it is met with the perfect response from the waiter. Misfires happen occasionally and a good restaurant loves to hear about them, the better to rectify in the future. Saving it up for an evisceration on TripAdvisor does no one any favours, least of all the disgruntled diner unable to say it to the waiter’s face.
Ms E’s Salmon Risotto is perfectly poised, a comforting bowl of nutty, creamy rice, tender little morsels of salmon and a glistening, golden slick of butter. But if this sounds stodgy, fresh, green, minty herbs add the gossamer touch. A lovely dish, of which I manage one taste. When I return for a second, Ms E has scraped through to the table.
It being Friday, we do dessert. Fig Shortcake is pleasant; Spiced Pumpkin Pie is exceptional, a chewy, sweet frangipane and a ginger glow from the biscuity shortbread base.
Coffee deserves special mention. It is from what I believe to be the finest roasted coffee beans in the land — Mark Kingston’s Golden Bean, it’s availability in House a rare imprimatur.
Chef Eoin O’Reilly is a very good cook with a commendable commitment to sourcing top-quality local produce, while Murphy and McGlynn oversee a splendid operation from start to finish.
This could turn out to be the longest-running show the Opera House will ever stage.
