Itsa gives modern twist to Imma Sunday, June 14, 2009 By Ross Golden Bannon Itsa@Imma
Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8
01-6129900, www.imma.ie
Chef: Neil Shirt
The people behind the Itsa Bagel chain and the Itsa4 restaurant in Sandymount are behind the new café at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham. Can their reputation for quality and no nonsense food compete with the best of Irish and international art?
I went along with Cuz and a Brazilian friend to find out.
It would be difficult to compete with the beauty of the Royal Hospital building. Its classical geometry and elegant sweep of line was completed in 1684; modelled on Louis XIV’s Les Invalides in Paris, it predates the more famous Royal Hospital in Chelsea by two years.
A formal garden has been set out at the facade that faces the Phoenix Park, so if the art hasn’t made your tummy rumble, perhaps a stroll through the clipped hedges and herbaceous borders will help build up an appetite.
The cafe¤ is located in the basement, in a long, barrel-vaulted room cheered by white paint, stainless steel lights and bright, shiny furniture in white and olive green.
The buffet-style menu has plenty on offer, whether you just want to comfort yourself with a freshly baked buttermilk scone with butter and jam (€2.50), fill up with treats like a roast chicken, Wicklow brie, bacon and red onion relish club sandwich (€8.50), or go all out and try the creamy fish pie with organic salmon, prawns, mussels, leek and a potato topping with salad (€13).
Cuz was quite rightly celebrating his first weekend in a new apartment nearby with stunning views across the Dublin skyline from Howth to the Dublin Mountains.
No bubbly was around, so I settled for a refreshing, sparkling elderflower drink (€2.50). Cuz and our Brazilian friend celebrated with a half bottle of Sancerre, Doudeau Legér 2007 (€14), which was sadly not as chilled as the two of them on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday.
We skipped the indulgence of a starter, and I went straight for the lamb curry with chickpeas, lentils and fluffy, fragrant basmati (€9.95). The curry was bouncing with flavour and sensibly light on the chillies, though some of the lamb was on the slightly grizzly side. We ordered a Thai red vegetarian curry (€9.95),which was filled with bright vegetables and flavours, but also sensibly restrained in terms of the chilli.
Cuz ordered the fishcakes with two salads (€9.95).The cakes were packed with salmon and tuna, with only a little potato. So often you feel cheated with a heavy hand with the spuds, but this wasn’t the case here, and the fishcakes were beautifully matched with a vivid green dill and tartar sauce.
The salads are also on offer in all sorts of sizes, from one choice at €3.50 up to four for €11.50. The roasted potato salad with gherkin and spring onion was superb, reminding me of Theresa Hernandez’s Mexican potatoes with tomatillos (www.meromeromexico. com). The pea and broad bean salad with fresh mint had just the right sparkle of red chillies throughout.
Between courses I regretted a little that we were not out in the sun, and mused on how very different dining is in the museums of other great cities. The CAPC Musée in Bordeaux has a stylish restaurant on the roof, while Moma in New York has a chic restaurant called The Modern headed by Gabriel Kreuther. It’s a place to be seen, with not a backpack or Birkenstock in sight.
For dessert, there were cakes and sweet treats available aplenty, from freshly baked croissants, Danish pastries, pain au chocolat and flavoured cookies (all €2.50) to apple, walnut and cinnamon cake and coffee and walnut cake (€4), and lemon cupcakes (€2.50).
Between us we soldiered through ¡ber-rich chocolate cake (€4.95), flourless almond and orange cake (€3) and carrot cake with a zingy lemon frosting and plump sultanas (€3.95). And despite the generosity of the main course portions, we cleared the plates.
There is much to be said for creating an eatery that is as much an attraction as the contents of a museum, and Itsa really delivers here. But with the growing neighbourhood, imagine how much more attractive Imma would be if a smart brasserie was set out in the courtyard, and an opportunity for evening dining was also available, too. Itsa would be well up to the job, but is Imma?
Breaking the bank
Starter: gourmet soup of the day with homemade brown bread €6
Main course: Terry Butterly’s smoked salmon plate with homemade brown bread, lemon, capers and sliced red onion €16.95
Starter: chunky lentil and vegetable soup with homemade brown bread €5.50
Main course: freshly baked tart of the day with mixed leaves €9.95 Dessert: lemon pistachio cookie €2.50
Drink: homemade lemonade €2.75
Lunch for two: €41.40
Tomás Clancy rates the wine list
This isn’t so much a list as a short offering of six wines, four of them quarter bottles and two half-bottles. The quarter-bottles are all from the Chilean winery Ventisquero, which specialises in modern, temperature-controlled wine making with measured use of US oak. The reds are the Ventisquero shiraz and merlot, both rather soft, fruity reds that are meant for early consumption. The whites are the Ventisquero sauvignon blanc and chardonnay.
If you want all-singing, all-dancing zestiness, go for the half-bottle of Sancerre Doudeau-Le´ger at €14, which has a wash of delicious asparagus and a crisp finish. The other half-bottle is a Domaine Martin Cotes du Rhone for the same price. Given the avant-garde setting of this restaurant, the management could perhaps think about taking a few more risks with its wines. Rating: **
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