Restaurant review: end your year right at Dublin's Greenhouse

Leslie Williams Greenhouse restaurant review

• The Greenhouse Restaurant, 21 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
• thegreenhouserestaurant.ie - Tel: [phone]
• Lunch: Tuesday - Saturday 12-2.15pm
• Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday 6-9.30pm
• Three-course lunch: €85 per person. Tasting Menu: €145 per person.

So how do you finish off a year like 2020? Well if you are me you hook up with an old editor who encouraged and mentored me for almost two decades, and you book into Two Michelin Star restaurant The Greenhouse.

Chef Mickael Viljanen is one of a kind: truly gifted and full of surprises and with an amazing ability to conjure the unexpected — I still remember the celeriac, duck heart and hazelnut combination he had on his first Greenhouse menu in 2012. The decision on what to order was made easy when Mickael told us he had a portion of the Lièvre à la Royale left as part of the tasting menu (€145 per person) — it had to be done.

We began with raspberry-and-floral-scented Ayala Rosé Champagne (€24) and the odyssey began. First, a small ramekin of Landaise Chicken Custard topped with a nutty slice of black truffle. Subtle and silky with fruity creamy chicken notes and the delicate aromas of truffles all around. This earthy delight was followed by a call from the sea — a tiny seaweed shell with Flaggy Shore Oysters and 'pearls' — this briny zingy salty wonder was, as promised by the chef, like sticking your head into the sea.

An emulsion of wild Sea Bass, wild horseradish and kombu in a crispy croustade shell came next — the trick here was that no one element dominated — the ozone intensity of the fish and the pungent horseradish both vied for dominance while the kombu and croustade added texture and seasoning.

The first of our bread courses put me in a reverie — a feuilleté brioche made from rich French Bordier butter and beurre noisette — the butter glistened on the golden-hued bread and the aromas filled the room. This brought to mind my first taste of Breton butter cake Kouign-Amann with its intense aromas of sweet baked butter and caramelised pastry. Fromage Blanc on the side had been given a kick of Espelette pepper and chopped chives to cut through the buttery richness.

Greenhouse’s signature dish of Foie Gras Royale with Smoked Eel, Candied Walnuts and Granny Smith Apple was next. The apple lifted the fatty foie flavours while the walnuts brought out sweetness and the eel added smoky textured notes to interrupt the flow and focus the mind — a sort of crashed cymbal in one of Art Blakey’s quieter drum solos.

Delicate Lough Neagh Pike Quenelle was so pretty it looked like one of Nemo’s stripy fish friends that had escaped from a coral reef — it even had a small fleck of gold leaf for an eye. The quenelle sat on an umami-rich mushroom duxelles and on the side were hand-dived raw Scallops with a jalapeño and elderflower vinegar topped with satiny creamy Oscietra Golden Caviar which had been aged a little longer to Mickael’s specifications.

Lobster was lightly poached in its own head juices with a kick of secret spice which proved the exact match for our wine — Domaine Tempier 2015 from Provence. Dom. Tempier has long been one of my favourites and it seemed fitting to drink it this Christmas as its owner Lulu Peyraud died in October aged 102. Her gorgeous supple, red fruit and spice flavoured wines will live long after her.

Saddle of Hare with truffled kohlrabi and celeriac was served rare and with a rich natural jus and more truffles. A poached Passe Crassanne pear on the side added fruity notes and had been topped with dried hare heart crumbs. And then, drum roll, Lièvre à la Royale the legendary dish that takes days to make as the hare is stuffed with its own minced lungs, liver, heart and, of course, truffle — the sauce is thickened with its blood. Dense and complex with fruit and game flavours and a surprising lightness of touch, it was worth the wait.

Pastry chefs, Tara Garland and Lali Gonzalez, deserve a page to themselves given the wonders they served us but I’ve run out of space. Bavarois of white chocolate and cardamom with a quince vinegar caramel was one joyous element, coffee sorbet, chocolate delice, and yuzu and dulce bon-bons all deserve mention.

Greenhouse is serving awe-inspiring food and if you saved money during lockdown there is no better place to blow it all — it can't fix the trauma of the year but I promise it will help.