Alexis Bar & Grill

Amateur night at Fawlty Towers. Basil and Sybil had gone to the flicks and left other lunatics in charge of the asylum. At one point there were three (really pleasant) young people clustered round our table. One had a bottle in his hand and was trying to persuade us that it was what we’d ordered, though it wasn’t. Another was apologising, saying no, sorry, the bottle we’d ordered was out of stock. The third was even more contrite, agreeing with my contention that there was no way the wine (correct or no) should have arrived at table after the starters. Dear, oh dear.

I didn’t know my dining companion that well. Just before we met, at a Christmas party, she had been described to me as “an all-round nice person, a really good egg”, a testimonial that caused me subsequently to invite her to accompany me on a restaurant review. I was already thinking her good-eggedness would be severely tested. I had dragged the lady out of the D4 comfort zone to the arse end of Dun Laoghaire to dine at Alexis Bar & Grill and things were going pear shaped, even before the first mouthful. It had to get better.

It did. From the second the Really Good Egg stuck her fork into the smoked haddock flan. There’s a world of difference between pale naturally-smoked undyed haddock and the yellow peril that tastes as though it was retrieved from a fire damage sale. This was the real thing, subtle and succulent. The flan crust, too, was an object lesson in pastry making, retaining a crisp bite and with good flavour. For my part, I took Jane Russell’s ‘Italian sausage’ – and the quote marks are mine. I know Jane; she’s a lovely person and a damn good sausage maker with a with a righteous attitude to using top class ingredients. But ‘Italian sausage’ it wasn’t. I’ve sampled snags the length and breadth of Italy and this one didn’t say “Ciaio” to me. It’s a textural thing. Jane’s didn’t have the seductive ooze of cotechino or the springy bounce of luganega. Hers was more an ‘Italian-flavoured Irish sausage’. The mash that accompanied it was absolutely exemplary, smooth, creamy but not elastic – much of the mashed potato that people point at you these days could be used as chest expanders. It seems we’re so scared of lumpy mash – a throwback to where we were before we got the Tiger by the tail? – we overwork it.

The RGE, like me, has a healthy thirst. Between us, the very smart bottle of Austrian Riesling disappeared in no time and we were ready for some red. Alexis’ list is compact but interesting, obviously put together by someone with a keen appreciation of wine. We lined up a bottle of Cote de Ventoux and awaited the next course. Here the Really Good Egg proved herself to be free range and double-yolked. I think she sort of sensed that I was really up for the crispy leg and pink-fried breast of Challans duck (was it that obvious?) and backed off, opting for the rack of matched exactly the execution of the dish. The pork, which I was graciously allowed sample, was an egg of the curate’s variety, being good where it abutted the bone but a wee bit dry towards its extremities. Maybe a slight re-think is called for because there’s no doubt it was a well-sourced piece of pork. The Cote de Ventoux, a Southern French region whose wines normally punch above their weight, coped perfectly with both mains.

For dessert, the RGE and I split a selection of Irish cheeses, in peak condition, and a delicious fruit tart with crème Anglaise. Coffee was certainly the best so far reviewed. Flavour wasn’t amazing (commercial Lavazza??) but temperature, extraction and crema were about as good as it gets.

It’s maybe time to own up and say I’d been to Cafe Alexis several times before and really liked it. Indeed, I feel an almost avuncular interest in the restaurant’s well being because a full year before it opened its doors one of the proprietors appeared, incognito, on my website quizzing the hardcore food freaks who contribute to the discussion forum as to their likes and dislikes and what might or might not be an appropriate direction to take. By the time it opened my virtual cronies I felt like midwives at the birth. I’m so glad the infant has grown up into a healthy child – Alexis was packed and buzzing that Tuesday night. Few would-be restaurateurs would take the trouble to go to the lengths Pat did. His co-proprietor and brother, Alan, is the chef; with a pedigree going back to two excellent restaurants, Clarets and Morels and beyond.

At Alexis there’s a reverence for really good ingredients underscored by sympathetic treatment of them; there’s nothing fancy or tricked up about the food but it’s all very well done. Authentic French bistro cooking if you like, transmuted into what, given the very reasonable prices, must be the near-perfect neighbourhood restaurant. There should be one for every suburb of Dublin.

Ignore the first paragraph – what a bitch I am!

The damage: £110 ex tip, 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 desserts, 2 bottles of wine, 1 coffee

Ambience: ****

Quality: ****1/2

Service: ***1/2

Value: *****

Overall: ****

Alexis Bar & Grill, 17-18 Patrick Street, Dun Laoghaire Tel: 01 280 8872