A D4 classic
Having previously enjoyed his food when he was at Vaughan’s Eatery in D6, Lucinda O’Sullivan knew Michael Sabik offered good fare at good prices, so she couldn’t wait to try his new Girl and the Goose restaurant in D4
Tucked away, up a steep staircase, in the very heart of D4, is a hidden gem. “Who is Michael Sabik?”, you might ask. He’s not a guy who seeks the limelight, he just keeps his head down and works in his kitchen. I’ve never met him, nor seen him, but I’d tried his food when he was previously operating Vaughan’s Eatery in Terenure, and I knew it to be good, and good value!
And so I sought out his new eatery, the Girl and the Goose, over Crowes pub in Ballsbridge. Sabik’s influences are decidedly French. He spent some time working with French chef Olivier Quene, first at La Maison in Castle Market and then at Vaughan’s, before taking it over when Quenet departed from there.
Starters at The Girl and the Goose run from €5.50-€11.50, while mains are generally from €11.95-€18.50, apart from poached monkfish at €22.50 and a 9oz Black Angus striploin steak with the works at €25.95. On top of that there’s a two- and threecourse ‘Neighbourhood Menu’ at €19.95/€24.95, incorporating starters and mains from the ala carte. Some of the more obviously expensive dishes carry modest supplements. This menu runs from Monday to Thursday, 5pm9pm, and on Fridays from 5pm6.30pm.The decor is contemporary and very comfortable and we were looked after all evening by a very helpful and pleasant girl.
Mary and I agreed we’d happily have had any of the starters — which isn’t always the case! Chicken and duck liver parfait was served with a pear and saffron chutney and a cranberry sauce, while pan-seared scallops were paired with fennel, sweetcorn, candied hazelnuts, cauliflower and pancetta. Pan-fried mackerel also had the pear and saffron chutney, but with asparagus and lemongrass sauce, while a smoked salmon salad was with sauce vierge, cucumber, horseradish, avocado and grapefruit. Mary went for the three-course ‘Neighbourhood Menu’ and started with an asparagus, barley and pine nut risotto, which had a delicious Asian tweak by way of green peas, spring onions and sesame oil. I went a la carte and began with a superb goat’s cheese brulee (€8.95), offset with medallions and cubes of different varieties of beetroot, drizzled with a black cherry jus, chives, radish, and sourdough toast.
Mains include slow-cooked lamb shank, hake, Irish beef and Guinness pie, home-made steak burger, monkfish and a trio of salads, including prawns with chilli, lime and garlic aioli, and a halloumi salad. Mary’s confit duck leg was absolutely superb — tender and juicy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. It came with braised red cabbage, beetroot and black cherry puree, poached salsify, fondant potato and rosemary and red wine jus.
I don’t usually have a steak when reviewing, but a fillet, on special at €22.50, for which I would expect to pay a tenner more in many other places, was a cracker! Thick, chunky, and soft as butter, I had it ‘on the stone’ — I could have had it fully cooked by them — but I’ve only had steak on the stone a couple of times and fancied playing around with it. It came with a side dish of chunky chips, onions, tomato, mushrooms and black pepper sauce.
Desserts were also modestly priced at €5.50, and included a chocolate and orange brownie and a home-made Belgian chocolate fondant, but we shared a fab French-style apple galette, from Mary’s ‘Neighbourhood Menu’. With a bottle of crisp, dry and aromatic Lagarde 2015 Colombard-Ugni Blanc blend (€26.50) from Comte Tolosan in South West France, our bill with optional service came to €92.40. A