Downstairs

This is a lovely restaurant, and despite what the name might suggest, it is bright and airy, with large windows, and high ceilings, so does not have an ‘underground’ feeling.
We went for the set meals, two course. My starter was Black Pudding, with asparagus. Delicious. A complimentary tray of bread and cream was also brought over to us… which was empty when the plates were collected:-)
My partner went for the Chicken and pea risotto. The chicken was moist, and the pea risotto complimented it very well. Lovely colors, and a great combination.
I had a perfectly cooked cod, melt in the mouth.
The desert we shared, Lemon curd, raspberry sorbet, meringue. There was no meringue on the plate, but there was some crumble. My idea of meringue is that slightly crunchy desert… if I’m correct in that assumption, then they had left something out. So the desert was just very creamy, and lacked any crunch, apart from the bit of crumble. We arrived late to be honest, just as the kitchen was closing, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Reviewed this a while back but have been back several times since and it seems to get better every time.
Lovely, laid back staff serving outstanding food in a classy venue.
What more could you want?
Oh, Harry Byrne’s around the corner us a super pub.

Was here for Sunday Lunch with family. Really excellent! Just go there. For some reasons why, read on.
The place is absolutely lovely. It is as the name implies — downstairs :-) Nice décor, high ceilings, airy and spacious. Really comfy. If you’re worried about being in a dark dungeon — don’t be. Nice job.
The real star of the show however, is the food. I was seriously impressed by the quality of the food across the board — we (5 of us) had the full monty three courses. In my own case this included a quail’s egg and asparagus starter, the roast of the day (Leg of Lamb), and dessert. I’ll deal with the dessert separately.
The starters certainly set the tone: really pretty well-​crafted dishes that tasted absolutely fabulous, and were the perfect size (not too big, bursting with flavour),. Consensus around the table was joy and quiet-​humming as people tucked in to their starters. Delight all around. See photos for a picture of my asparagus and quail’s egg starter, or the black pudding delight.
Main courses were great. Lamb was delicious — perfectly cooked. Served with stunning green beans and brilliant jus. Simple, classic, well executed.
Dessert. Oh my fecking God! I’m not actually a dessert person, being more of a savoury person on the whole. But this. Was. Amazing.
It was: Panacotta served with beignets, honeycomb and French strawberries called Garrguettes. It may be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. Individually, each of the above elements was just fantastic — panacotta was spot-​on (creamy and just-​set, as opposed to jelly-​like), honeycomb was delicious, beignets delicious, and the French Strawberries was sweet and perfect. Together however, it made some kind of mad dessert mouth music. Completely brilliant. When I finished it, I seriously considered having another bowl. I’m sorry as I write this that I didn’t :-)
Anyway — that’s it. Will return to check if this was a once-​off, or if these guys really maintain this as their regular standard. Judging from other reviews, it seems like it’s the latter. They deserve a visit if you’ve never been.

A very pleasant experience here at Downstairs.
So surprising that among the leafy suburbs of Clontarf there is a stylish eatery like this. We chose the table for two behind the wall near the bar, which had a bit of privacy about it.
I started with a lovely Cosmopolitan, which was so reasonably priced at 6.95 EUR I had another one.
For a main I had the fish pie and it was just delicious. Hearty, warming stuff. My partner had the pork belly that tasted good too (I had to have a sample).
I skipped a proper dessert and went for a dessert cocktail instead, the Espresso martini and it was grand. But my partners pannacotta with rhubarb was just divine. Really REALLY good. Well done Downstairs.
For my two courses it was 23.95 EUR and if you wanted three courses it’d cost you 26.95 EUR. And I think this is great value, for the surroundings and the food you get.
I think its well worth making the trek, either by car or by DART, to have a nightout Downstairs.