I’ve a list of places the length of O’Connell Street of where I want to eat. Forest Avenue has been on that list for quite some time now. It was highly recommended to me by Barry of 147 Deli. I went there for my birthday lunch and I’m sorry I didn’t go sooner. The food was incredible. Exactly the type of food I was looking for. Creative, colourful, and most of all, delicious.
The menu is small but as I’ve said before, a small menu usually means a good menu since more time and effort go into the dishes.
To start we had homemade bread, whipped house butter and a herb ricotta.
Then we were pleasantly surprised to get a course we weren’t expecting. A spiced lamb cigar with smoked yoghurt. If these were on the full menu I’d order them again in a heartbeat.
There was another surprise dish in the form of a Dashie with Seaweed and Smoked Potato Foam. None of us had ever had a dashie before and we all loved it.
Onto the starters. Maria got Agnolotti of Parmesan, Swede, Whey Butter and Kale Pesto. If you like parmesan, you’ll love this. It was gorgeous.
LP had Tartar of Veal Rump, White Beetroot, Cratloe Hills Cheese, Pickled Radish and Shiitake Mushrooms. LP absolutely adored this dish. The shiitake mushroom and cheese paired together perfectly.
I think this is my favourite picture from the meal. It’s a very photogenic dish.
I had Grilled Sprouting Broccoli, Smoked Cod’s Roe, Watermelon Radish, Wild Garlic Yogurt and Fried Egg.
Another really photogenic and colourful dish but also utterly gorgeous. I love broccoli but I can’t make it taste this good. I could have honestly eaten another 2 or 3 plates of this and left happy.
For my main, I had Shoulder of 21 Day aged Mutton, Carrot, Poivrade Artichoke, Smoked Sour Cream and Olive.
Mutton (or lamb) is not something I’d usually cook at home (or even order for that matter) so I thought I’d branch out. This dish had just so much going on. Every bite gave me a different flavour and texture. I especially loved the smoked sour cream.
For mains LP had Beef Short Rib, Braised Cauliflower, Black Garlic and Cavalo Nero.
I always think I don’t like beef short rib or beef cheek but when it’s cooked properly it’s really good. I’m not going to say it was nicer than my mutton but I’d be very torn on which one I’d order when I go again.
For dessert, we all had the Warm Chocolate Mousse, Jerusalem Artichoke, Miso Butterscotch, and Salted Walnut Ice Cream.
If I’m honest I was a tiny bit sceptical about Jerusalem artichoke in a dessert but I’m totally converted. The only thing I’d have changed about this dish would be a tiny bit more salt but that’s because I’m a weirdo when it comes to salt. I wouldn’t expect anyone else to want as much salt as me on a dessert.
Last but not least we were given another small dish at the end that we weren’t expecting in the form of a Ricotta Petit Fois with Apple Puree.
I’m glad one of the others had tasted this first and let me know there was cinnamon in it. I do not like being surprised by cinnamon 😀 It was gorgeous and very refreshing and a really nice end to the meal.
Overall the meal for three of us came to just under €100 which for the quality of food I think it’s exceptional value.
Would I go back to Forest Avenue? In a heartbeat! I’ll be going back to try their tasting menu.
What did I not like? That I didn’t go sooner.
