A pinch of nostalgia mixed with exquisite baking

viewed online before heading off for Cork, the magic words ‘bone marrow’ (€7). This is a Crawford staple and it works on me like catnip on your average cat.

And so, it had to be. Three sections of bone came roasted and bubbling to the table with two thick slices of toasted sourdough, a pungent, sharp little salad of parsley and capers, and a little pile of sea salt. Oh, and a teaspoon for liberating the melting interiors of jelly-like, phenomenally rich marrow. I think this was originally dreamed up by high priest of nose-to-taileating, Fergus Henderson of London’s St John.

The marrow was judiciously spread on the bread, topped with some sea salt crystals and finally with a top dressing, as gardeners would say, of that exquisite little salad. Not for everyone, perhaps, but bliss for me, and enough people to keep it on the menu. When I was very small I used to suck the marrow from the bones of many a Sunday roast, so there was an element of nostalgia in all of this.

Our other starter held a similar draw for my wife, Johann, an offal enthusiast whose love of lamb’s kidneys is something I can’t share. I’d find it easier to swallow... well, let’s not go there, possibly for legal reasons. However, her devilled kidneys on toast (€7) were classic rognons au sauce piquante, rare, slightly beyond pink inside, in a creamy, rich, mustardy sauce. And they were the business, she tells me.

Always a very short selection but impeccably chosen, and wines by the glass (€9) change frequently. The value is outstanding. Domaine Santa Duc Côtes du Rhône is a steal at €29, and Gran Cerdo Tempranillo at €26 is an excellent buy. Half-bottles of Château Turcaud Bordeaux, red and white, are very convenient at €16, Biohof Pratsch Riesling and Rosé from Austria are lovely wines at €29 and JM Gobillard Champagne NV is a bargain at €65.