I'm so over Sunday brunch right now. Eggs benedict, French toast and granola can all jog on. Whereas brunch was originally all about breaking the breakfast/lunch barriers, I now find it to be borderline tedious. Sometimes it feels that all brunch menus are alike and the enforcement of brunch-only policies on Saturdays and Sundays in some restaurants has further disenchanted me. So I've largely hung up my free-wheeling brunching ways and instead I have moved on to the more sedate pleasures of Sunday Lunch.
Now I do want to be clear about one thing. When I say Sunday Lunch, I do not mean carvery or bar lunch. That's a whole other minefield that I'll reserve for another day. I'm talking about good restaurants and their talented chefs who turn their attentions to more traditional fare on Sundays. Recently, I reviewed Marcel's in Ballsbridge who do a very civilised lunch indeed, and I recently followed this up with lunch at The Wild Goose Grill in Ranelagh, located over the well known McSorley's pub.
The Wild Goose Grill is perennially popular, but there's little about it said on the internet. Rather usually for a goose (usually to be found honking in a field or honking while flying overhead), it maintains a low profile, which is impressive in the busy surroundings of Ranelagh. The dining room is classically styled with linen, crystal and silver settings. We started with a crispy confit of duck with ubiquitous puy lentils and red wine jus for Himself, and a lighter pickled pear, goats cheese, candied walnut and pomegranate salad for me. Puy lentils have failed to convince me of their worth on many occasions but I liked them here, while the simple salad was nicely done.
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| Duck confit with puy lentils and red wine jus |
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| Pickled pear and goats cheese salad |
When a restaurant called The Wild Goose Grill serves goose, it's impossible to resist ordering. The duo of goose featured rich breast meat and a little roll of dark meat, served with bright carrot puree and Goose potatoes. Rich, satisfying and perfect for a cold winter day. My wild mushroom risotto was creamily mushroomy, replete with a cornucopia of mushroom varieties. And in a move unknown to many restaurants, the portion wasn't too big either.
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| Duo of goose |
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| Wild mushroom risotto |
Sunday lunch at The Wild Goose Grill costs €19.95/€24.95 for 2 or 3 courses and is served the entire day from 1pm to 8pm. That should suit even the latest of late risers. The wine list makes for good reading with a good selection of wines by the glass. In a clever move towards the end of last year, they teamed up with downstairs McSorley's to offer a daily three course lunch for €10. That's great value and hopefully it will return.
So remind me again, why I would choose Eggs Benedict for the umpteenth time when Dublin has a fine range of restaurants serving up belly-busting, top notch Sunday Lunch?
Tel: +353 (0)1 491 2377
URL: www.thewildgoosegrill.ie
Twitter: @wildgoosegrill
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