Da Robertos

Reading my last 2 blogs I realise that I have a tendenacy to ramble on and, in consequence, they are a bit on the long side. So this one will be shorter. A crisp guide to Da Robertos. It wasn't the S.R. team's first choice for the evening. It had been recommended to me but not by a totally reliable source so I was a bit dubious.

Da RObertos is in Dundalk and is fairly small and unpretentious in appearance. THe service was second to none. Although it was busy, we were shown a table immediately. A candle was lit and the menus were presented. We were given small appertiffs (I think rose but I'm not sure- it was very nice anyway) as we studied the menus. And I mean studied as they were very long! So absolutely loads of choice. A quick aside. I think the free apertiff is a wonderful idea. Firsty we all like something free. Secondly, it got the mood going and was a perfect accompaniment to menu reading.

After we had ordered, we were given free bruscetti like things. A small very tasty snack. This second freebe was totally unexpected. The starters arrived fairly soon. I hadn't ordered one but the bits I sampled from my companions were very nice. Then the third freebie - truly an embarrassment of riches! It was a small lemon sorbet to clense the palette.

I had ordered spagetti bolognese. I have avoided doing this for years as it never lives up to my expectations and I don't know why I broke with tradition this night but it was an excellant inspiration. It was truly delicious. My mouth is watering even now thinking about it. I took the starter size helping which was sufficient for me but it was so nice I might have squeezed the main size portion in. (I usually find the pasta helpings are very big so I was pleased you had the starter size option.)

For desert I had tirimirsu. It was tasty but not up to the standard of the rest of the meal.

I will give DaRobertos a 9 because of its lovely food, wide choice, warm and excellant service, reasonable prices and all round excellance. If the seating was a little more cosy or if an amaretto biscuit was served with the coffee or it the desert menu was half way decent I would have easily given a 10.

Food in the North east

As I roll over in bed on Sunday morning, I think to myself, mmm, to-night I will be going out for some fine food. Sunday, I think is an apical day for dining out; something to reward ourselves for the week behind, while also barricading ourselves to face the inevitable Monday of the following week. At the moment I live in the North east of Ireland, so I with my three companions are going systematically through all the restaurants in the area, except of course the ones we are barred from due to idiomatic reasons, such as we refuse to wear evening dress; nothing of course of social condemnation. So far I have sampled food from three places, McBrides, La Cucina and Da Robertos. Well what will I comment on, the décor, the atmosphere or what I found most tantalizing. I think I start with the last, the ice-cream at La Cucina is delicious, mouth-watering, soul fulfilling, an item I heartily recommend. I also noticed that La Cucina does take out pizza, something to note down as a change from the usual Domino’s, not that I criticising American food; as all my friends know I am a great advocate for American food, and nothing is better for a quick snack, than a portion of fries at MacDonalds. However though I should avoid clichés, I can’t help saying, that a change is as good as a break. McBrides, I found had a very spacious atmosphere, the waiter here certainly couldn’t overhear your conversation, a point worth noticing if you were on a romantic meal, La Cucina and Da Robertos unfortunately were negative in this aspect, though both had a friendly and unassuming atmosphere. The pasta at Da Robertos was very nice, I had carbonara and it went down very well, the helpings were generous and I must say extremely filling. Da Roberto’s also had little extra touches, such as a small lemon sorbet between the starter and main course to cleanse the palette, and an aperitif to start the meal off which put us all in rollicking form. In all, so far, I have being pleasantly surprised, by the district’s quality of restaurant.