It’s takeaway food – but not as you know it at Michael’s

MICHAEL’S 57 Deerpark Road Mount Merrion Co Dublin Phone: 01 278 0377 michaelsmountmerrion.clickandcollect.com

IT seems quite long ago now but it was only the end of last week. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we... er... will be under some kind of lockdown, I was thinking. And so, I went for lunch with one of my oldest and dearest friends, a man who has been reviewing restaurants with me since - dear God - 1994.

Not the easiest thing to do, of course, even at the end of last week. Restaurants in Dublin, where I found myself on an essential visit, were serving a maximum of 15 people and only with plenty of fresh air.

But, I knew that the indomitable Gaz Smyth had added a partly covered “terrace” to the front of Michael’s, his restaurant in Mount Merrion.

And so, after a four mile walk - don’t take public transport unless absolutely neccessary! - I found myself sitting in a reassuringly well ventilated spot with a hot water bottle provided by Gaz’s business partner, outstanding FOH, wine explorer extraordinaire and inventor of the talhatini, Talha Pasha.

To cut to the chase, it’s a long time since I’ve enjoyed a lunch so much and this reminded me that truly memorable restaurant meals are about a lot more than the food. The food, of course, was flawless - but it was the company, the sense of being thoroughly looked after, the wine, the thoughtfulness and, yes, the hot water bottles. A slight breeze playing around my ankles was, I decided, pleasantly refreshing.

Lunch was a Lucullan feast. First we shared an Austrian take on beef tartare - finely chopped raw fillet, deliciously minerally, with a nicely sharp but also faintly sweet tomato dressing, a creamy avocado purée and frickles (€9).

Frickles? Breaded pickled gherkins that had been deep-fried.

Nice. Gaz Smyth is fond of arancini, those little crisp spheres of risotto with melting centres. But being himself, they are more a twist on the dish than anything classic. Duck and mushroom arancini (€10) had crisp shells and an almost l i quid, dark, oozing, intensely ducky and savoury interior. An exercise in both umami and richness.

Gaz like to push the boundaries.

At present he’s pushing cows’ lips in the form of croquettes with Gruyère with a mustard mayonnaise (€7). And if you don’t like them, there’s no charge.

We loved the combination gelatinous stickiness and rich, cheesy bechamel. It seems that none so far has had to be knocked off the bill.

I should stress that it’s best to go easy on starters here because main courses are the very embodiment of the unrestrained generosity that makes Michael’s what it is.

To say that this restaurant does - for the most part - seafood and steak is to miss the point. And most of us have experienced how drab a steak and seafood restaurant can be in the wrong hands.

Here, both are selected with remarkable care, to the extent

that it would be virtually impossible to cook the same at home. Beef has a seductive succulence and an unrivalled depth of flavour; shellfish are the Mr Atlas of their species.

Our main courses have long been stalwarts of the menu, the first a gratin of huge crab claws and muscular prawns (€29.90). The claws were cooked to that nanosecond where the flesh is cooked but it comes away with the greatest of ease, the prawns substantial and sweet. A deep and rich beurre blanc lay underneath while the top was scattered with toasted breadcrumbs.

The other was a combination of big, plump scallops (€30.50) seared on a scorching grill so that the outside caramelised while the inside was just cooked through: a lot harder to do than it sounds.

These came with the prawns that we have already met and slowcooked, tart yet earthy tomato sauce.

Both dishes defeated us in the end and rendered the very idea of a dessert out of the question.

Michael’s is now offering an outstanding online takeaway menu, Wednesday to Sunday, that varies from day to day. It’s essentially the restaurant in your own home.

THE SMART MONEY:

The cows’ lips croquettes with Gruyère and mustard aïoli are a steal at €7.

AND ANOTHER THING...

Regulars will be missing the talhatinis, Talha Pasha’s unique take on the aperitif, both alcoholic and alcohol-free.