Meal #1 - McBrides, Castlebellingham

Ah! The inaugural meeting of the Stardust Ratatouille superheroes! For this evenings refreshment we headed to Castlebellingham, a small hamlet not 8 miles away from Dundalk. McBrides is a pub on the main street, with a long history as a drinking establishment. It serves hot meals all day in the pub downstairs (it is basic pub grub, but of a high standard. Gonzalez and I tried it out a few weeks ago) and more high class meals in the restaurant up stairs in the evening. The outside of the pub is attractive cream and black and it looks newly painted. Parking is a problem, however, and you are lucky if you get a spot along the pavement in short walking distance to the venue. Entrance to the restaurant is via a small porch and up a steep flight of stairs, which is not very friendly to those with mobility issues. Once in the restaurant, the decor is very pleasing with nice decorations and touches of rustic charm. The chairs and tables are wooden and comfortable. The atmosphere is created with soft light and soothing music and is relaxing. We were greeted by a very friendly woman who showed us to our table and took our drinks order (always a good sign when a restaurant takes a drinks order while you peruse the menu imo). The menu was quite restricted, but all the meals sounded very tempting. I chose Steak for my main course, which they cooked well done without a quibble (I know technically steak should always be pink in the middle, but I hate when a restaurant refuses to do your steak well done. You are the one eating it - and paying for it - so what are they complaining about?). It came complete with onion marmalade and potatoes and was delicious. For dessert I had been advised to try the Creme Brulee, but I found none of their desserts particularly tempting (although they all sounded nice) and decided to just go with a cappuccino, which was warm and frothy but a little too bitter for my taste. The staff were very attentive and pleasant throughout the meal, without once rushing us or being obtrusive. A good place to dine, I would give McBride's 7 stars out of 10 - expect a good evening out.