REVIEWS

ROSS GOLDEN BANNON - SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

Sunday, May 17, 2009

"I was guided by our super-efficient and highly knowledgeable waiter to try the bar en croutte sur sa ratatouille au fenouil (€17.50), which roughly translates as seabass with fennel ratatouille."

"Never in the history of menu writing has such a modest description been overshadowed by the glorious reality. Feather-light pastry broke softly like fluffs of silk to reveal sea bass a’ point, while the fennel, which had a gentle give, was infused with a shadow of the surrounding, sweetly dark sauce. The chef had not merely cooked this dish; rather, he had transmogrified the ingredients into a haunting culinary experience."

"There are a lot of very average restaurants out there serving food which I can certainly talk about, and even recommend, without compromising myself. But as a foodie, it is rare to experience the kind of talent and excellence I experienced at La Maison. This was superb food at any price; I’d pay double for it, yet seven of the eight main courses are under €18."

"Some may know chef Olivier Quenet from Oliver’s Eatery at Vaughan’s Eagle House in the Dublin suburb of Terenure. His quietly-delivered excellence displays a deep knowledge of the French classical canon, pitched to a modern Irish palate."

"We’ve all been in need of some good news recently, and here it is: head to La Maison for some good food haunting."

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TOM DOORLEY - THE IRISH TIMES (MAGAZINE)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

"And so I lunched. I lunched with my youngest daughter and, when I realised how good La Maison really is, I dragged in my eldest daughter and her friend to eat. It’s that kind of place. It fires you with missionary zeal."

"La Maison is transformed now that the counter is gone from the old shop. It’s a bright, high-ceilinged room with well-spaced tables, linen table cloths, sparkling glasses and napkins that are, in fact, linen glass cloths.It’s simple, comfortable, elegant and cheerful."

"Roberta’s skillet of seafood (Poêle de la Mer) was huge: a deep frying-pan packed with cockles, mussels, salmon, monkfish (I think) and miscellaneous creatures of the deep all bathed in a lovely, creamy broth, served with a great big slice of toasted sourdough bread."

"Sarah’s seabass “en croute sur sa ratatouille au fenouil” was actually a pie: beneath a large expanse of proper, home-made pastry, there lurked a very generous chunk of fish which had cooked in the steam from the fennel. Quite splendid."

"La Maison is owned and run by Olivier of Oliver’s Eatery in Terenure, another restaurant that appears to have its finger on the pulse of the market. Our bill, for four, came to €87. I have a feeling that this little restaurant, because of its honesty and straightforwardness, is going to make a big impression. It’s exactly what we need right now, and if the recession brings us more opportunities to eat like this, it can’t be entirely a bad thing."

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