This is a very special experience. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is Ireland’s only two Michelin star restaurant, and it is totally understandable why.
From the moment you walk into the quaint townhouse in Merrion Square, you feel like you have stepped into something magical. I felt a particular affinity to it as soon as I read that the restaurant opened the year I was born. My sister was born in 1969 which had the moon landing, and Bryan Adams wrote a song about it… 1981 doesn’t have quite the same appeal, so I am always pleased when I find something as fabulous as my birth, happened in that year!
The restaurant’s mission is to use local, seasonal produce to create a taste sensation, through the delivery of an exceptional experience. And they achieve it perfectly, if our lunch service one Friday afternoon was anything to go by. Having been lucky enough to bag a last minute reservation, we headed here the day we arrived in the city, and it sure did set a high bar for everything else!
On arrival we were welcomed to the town house lounge, where you could happily spend the afternoon drinking without realising that days had passed. It is cosy, smart and dimly lit. From where we sat, we could see into the much brighter, lively restaurant, and eventually we followed the light to get some lunch. Some of our favourites:
We didn’t go for the very attractive looking cheese trolley, although we were having a bit of food envy as it passed by! The wine selection was also very good here. We ended up going for a Californian Albariño by Donny Boon Vineyard, which did not disappoint.
For the experience and quality of food, it is very reasonably priced. You can get a tasting menu for under 100 euros and the lunch menu starts at just 40 euros. Since we aren’t in the position to visit whenever we want, we went for a la carte. However we still were graced with amuse bouches, palate cleansers and petit fours, all of which were beautiful and delicious and all served with understated panache. Of course the icing on the cake was when Patrick himself came to say hello at the end of our meal.
There is also a private dining space for up to 30 and an indoor/ outdoor smoking terrace with a fireplace which looks very fun. This is definitely a place that will make you want to keep coming back every chance you get.