Meal #3 - Da Robertos, Dundalk

There is a funny story about tonights restaurant. It almost didn't happen. I'm afraid to say Da Robertos was not our first choice. We drove all the way to Ardee to sample one of its many eateries, only to find it closed, so we returned to Dundalk and tried Da Robertos as we were in the mood for Italian.

As an aside, the building in which Da Robertos is housed has also been the home to two previous Italian restaurants, and I have eaten in both former establishments. Neither of them were particularly nice, so I was somewhat nervous about trying Da Robertos, but third time lucky, or so they say!

The restaurant was plying a lively trade for a Sunday evening. We were welcomed into the restaurant and seated immediately. The room was very small, with large windows facing the street, and our table was at the back in a corner near the till. Access to the building was up one fairly thick step, however the toilets were situated at the top of quite a steep set of stairs, which might make things awkward for people with mobility issues. The decor was colourful, cheerful and pleasant, although the proliferation of pictures clustering the walls was a tad chaotic. The tables all had real table cloths and genuine linen napkins, which added a touch of class. The waiter was extremely pleasant and welcomed us with a free aperitif, which was a rose coloured liquid with a sweet smell served in a shot glass. I didn't taste it, because I believe it was alcoholic and I was driving, but it set the evening off to a good start.

The menu was very varied for an Italian, with plenty of pasta, meat and fish, however I noticed a distinct lack of pizza. Chips were also not on the menu, and the wide variety of potatoes available as side orders did not contain one type of wedge, fry or crisp that could substitute. However, our waiter offered to get some from the nearby chippie when we asked him about it.

After we had ordered, we were presented with a plate of little cheesy bread things, two for each of us, which were quite tasty.

Before I continue, I just want to let you all know that I like mushrooms. I like mushrooms a lot. I think I might be half hobbit (well, a quarter anyway, I don't like pipe weed, but I have hairy feet and a penchant for coloured waistcoats).

My first course was mushrooms with bacon, onions and cheese, and was very nice. After the plates had been cleared away, we were served with shot glasses of lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate. I had always heard that sorbet was good for that, but I had never tried it before this evening - and you know what? It works! I was also very impressed with this touch of class from the restaurant. My main course was mushroom risotto (I thought I would take a change from steak). I know this is not an Italian dish, but it was a perfect risotto - creamy, yet with a bite, tasty without being too rich, flavoured without being oily or overpowered with wine. I also sampled some of Broken Wing's bolognese and even though I only got a string of saucy spaghetti, it was delicious. Likewise were Gonzalez's potatoes, which I also tasted. On a side note, the main courses were brought to our table covered with large silver warmers, which were whisked off with a flourish by our waiter. I thought it was a nice touch.

Having sampled such culinary delights, I had high expectations for dessert. I was a little disappointed there were no more free goodies between the main course and the dessert, but that was because I had already been spoiled by such good service. Isn't that the terrible thing about human nature? If they hadn't provided the aperitif, appetisers and sorbet I would never have missed them, yet because they had, I expected something between each course. The dessert menu provided further disappointment. The prepackaged choices popped up again (whoever makes those things must be a millionaire) but there were also two homemade dishes - Tiramisu and Creme Caramel. Not being the biggest fan of Tiramisu and not having a notion of what Creme Caramel was, I went with the latter over the former. I am sure it was a delicious example of this dessert, however I have discovered that I dislike Creme Caramel quite a lot. I also had cappuccino, which was nice, and mints came with the bill.

I would like to give Da Robertos ten stars out of ten because the service was as near perfect as humanly possible, the atmosphere was pleasant, the menu extensive, the food delicious and the price reasonable, not to mention all the extras that made me feel very special. However, the lack of a decent dessert menu and no pizza reduces its score to a mere 9/10 - almost perfect