Apart from the rich history, the Clarence is also home of one of the oldest tea rooms in Ireland. Today, this tea room, coincidentally called Tea Room, is no longer just serving afternoon tea and comfort food, it has slowly evolved into a casual dining restaurant serving excellent contemporary European cuisine.
French-born Head Chef Mathieu Melin, considered Ireland’s youngest and most talented Executive Chefs, started his culinary career in 1997 at the tender age of 15. His experience is highlighted by his work at the Michelin starred restaurant, La Roche Le Roy, in France.
Chef Melin is best known for his devotion to the use of best locally sourced produce and his strongest repertoire is his own brand of modern European cuisine with an Irish twist.
Our first starter was a salmon gravalax. Never thought we would run into Scandinavian style cooking here in Dublin. That was surprisingly good (6/10).
Next up was pan seared scallops with squid-ink angel hair. Angel hair as an appetizer? Why not?
Unfortunately the angel hair was a little overcooked leaving the texture a bit too soaky to my liking (4/10).
I had their roasted organic chicken with cauliflower puree and peas next. Was a little surprised how well the chicken and cauliflower worked together. The chicken was excellent - very tender (6.5/10).
But our next main course, a beef tenderloin was less impressive to say the least (3/10).
Panna cotta with a little bit of strawberry jelly on top. Fairly refreshing end to an interesting dinner here (5/10). All in all, I thought this meal exceeded our expectation.
Finished dinner by 7:30pm so we still got tons of time to hang around the Temple Bar area.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€
Address: The Clarence G/F, 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland
Website: www.theclarence.ie/tearoom-restaurant
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