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

Meal #2 - La Cucina, Smarmore Ardee

For tonight's evening out we ventured further afield to La Cucina, the restaurant in Smaremore Castle, a short distance outside Ardee town. The road to Ardee from Dundalk is quite windy and bumpy, and those who are prone to travel sickness might find it difficult. It was a very busy evening for the restaurant when we arrived with most of the tables occupied. The restaurant is situated in the old barn of the castle stable block and there isn't much room for tables to begin with. There are a few shallow steps that have to be negotiated to access the restaurant so it might be difficult for wheelchair users, but shouldn't be too difficult for those merely unsteady on their pins. Despite booking and arriving on time, we were made wait for our table. This was understandable, as they were busy, but we got no apology for having to wait and several groups who came into the restaurant after us were seated first, which set the evening off on a bad foot. Also, if we had been given the menu to look at while we waited or if we had been offered something to drink, it might have made the wait sweeter. However, instead we were left standing in the entrance to the restaurant, in view of all the diners and in the middle of the route to the kitchen with lots of waiters walking past us, which was not pleasant. The overall impression was that the establishment was stretched beyond capacity and no one could cope. I have been to La Cucina before and was pleased with it then, so I think this is an unusual situation rather than the norm. We were finally seated. The tables were very close together to make maximum advantage of the limited space. The barn had been nicely converted and the decor was pleasant, with bright colours and plenty of black and white prints and soft lighting. However, the chairs were not very comfortable, especially for long lingering meals, and there were spider webs around the edges of the rooms. The menu was typical Italian with a range of pasta, pizza and meat dishes. I shared a starter of garlic mushrooms with Broken Wing and sampled some of Gonzalez's garlic bread (vampires beware!). Both the bread and the mushrooms were delicious, although the presentation was non existent. For my main meal I chose steak, and once again there were no objections to serving it well done. The meat dishes came with a choice of potatoes, but I asked for a side order of vegetables instead and got more garlic mushrooms and extra onions. The meat, mushrooms and onions were really delicious - good, unpretentious food - however, the lack of presentation again let it down. The only home made dessert on the menu was Tiramisu, although there were a selection of packaged desserts which seem to be available in restaurants all over Europe (in my limited travel experience, anyway). I am not a fan of Tiramisu, but chose to sample it and shared it with Broken Wing. It was sweet, gooey and pleasant and my only criticism of it was that I don't like Tiramisu. I also had a cappuccino, which was pleasant, and helped myself to the basket of mints near the till on the way out (not the whole basket, of course).

Now, I cannot fault the food, and I liked the decor and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of the other diners (at one point, nearly all the people at the tables around us were talking to the other people at the different tables around them) but the service was another matter entirely. The waiters were sullen, unfriendly and gave the impression of people called in on a favour to help with the crowd but would rather be anywhere else but there. When we ordered drinks, I ordered a jug of water for the table. The drinks came and I got a jug of water and a single glass. I had to ask the waiter twice for another glass before she brought one and even then she didn't bring extra for my other two fellow diners. We also had to wait a long time for our food. Well done steak always takes a while, but we were waiting for a lot longer than usual. I would have put up with this if we had at least got a smile or an apology from our waiters.

I liked La Cucina the last time I visited and I would certainly highly recommend its food, but on this performance I regretfully rate it 3/10 - OK, I suppose.