Awe-inspiring – 1 Michelin Star Restaurant in Dublin

On our extra day in Dublin, we went out exploring. We explored Trinity College and the Long Room, the Dublin Castle, and the Guinness Storehouse. Next up was lunch; we found a Michelin Star restaurant, so we completely indulged at Glovers Alley. After lunch we explored Grafton Street and Anne’s Lane. We checked out the spire and the bridges along the Liffey River.

The icing on the cake was the restaurant my hubby found for our lunch. It was upstairs in the Fitzwilliam Hotel at 128 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin Ireland. We had been walking around Dublin and had made it about 4.5 miles at the time we stopped, so we were ready for some good food and a little time to rest our feet. When we are traveling, we always look for somewhere that we expect great service and plenty of time to rest.

Our experience, during our week in Ireland with Irish food was that most of the traditional Irish food was kind of bland and not at all impressive; food snob, maybe?

If you’re looking for places to eat in Dublin, look no further; but calling it “place to eat” seems a little too basic of a question compared to the dining experience you will have.

What Is A Michelin Star?

A Michelin star is part of the esteemed restaurant rating system used by the Michelin Guide all over the world. Restaurants featured on the Michelin guide can either be: Plate Michelin, Bib Gourmand, 1 Star Michelin, 2 Stars Michelin, and of course 3 Stars Michelin. Technically, you are only considered to be a Michelin starred restaurant when you have at least one star. The Plate Michelin and Bib Gourmand recognizes brilliant restaurants which are just shy of the coveted Michelin stars. As expected, the more Michelin stars a restaurant have, the more highly rated it is by culinary experts.

One of Dublin’s Michelin Star Restaurants – Glovers Alley by Andy McFadden

Glovers Alley serves unique modern cuisine, using locally sourced ingredients. We needed a change of pace from what we had been eating all week and Glovers Alley was just what we needed.

When we arrived to Glovers Alley, we were asked for our reservation. We didn’t make a reservation because we had been flying by the seat of our pants all day exploring. Not too many plans in place, just tons of places to see and photograph. But the gentleman kindly said he would get a table set up for us. At this point, we had no idea that this was a Michelin Star Restaurant; we just thought it was just a hotel restaurant.

They placed our coats and shopping bags into the coat closet and showed us to the restroom. This will be a little weird, but yes I am going to comment on the restroom. Most establishments in Ireland had single square toilet paper dispensers with rough toilet paper, but Glovers Alley even had classy, plush toilet paper. I know, I warned you, weird, but this attention to detail everywhere in an establishment wins me over every time.

So as soon as I stepped out of the restroom, the gentleman that greeted us, whisked me away to our table. He pulled out my chair and pushed it in as I sat down. Then he went back to the restroom to meet my husband and show him to our table.

Menus

We were brought the menus and wine list. We were asked about food allergies to ensure we weren’t exposed to any allergens.

There was also a tasting menu, that I did not photograph. I ordered off the lunch menu and my husband ordered off the dinner menu.

Very soon after our wine was served, they started bringing out items chosen by the chef. With each item, they explained what each was; I feel like I should have taken notes, as I don’t remember what everything was. I did however photograph all but one of the chef’s choices we were served. Keep in mind, I had no idea, this was my first Michelin Star experience and I would have documented it better had I known that around ever corner there was going to be something better than the last.

We were also offered 4 different types of fresh breads. I was very fond of the mini French baguette.

My husband indulged with an appetizer of Scallop Ceviche and the Mountain Lamb for his main dish. (I didn’t photograph his because he hates when I make him wait to eat by taking photographs). You will just have to trust me, it was beautiful and according to him worth every quid in the taste arena.

I had pork cheeks, carrots, olives and verjus for my lunch course. The pork was perfectly prepared and melted in my mouth.

After our main dish, they brought out an icy grapefruit tasting that seemed to cleanse our palates and get ready for the full experience of dessert.

For dessert I chose the Mont Blanc and oh my it was so delicious.

My husband got the citrus soufflé and once again no photo, because he was ready to dig in.

After dessert, they brought out even more for us to taste

Attention to Detail

After every new glass of wine, or plate served, or crumb dropped, they were there to clean the table. We had about 5 different people “attending to” our table at all times. This, from what I gather, is commonplace at a Michelin Star Restaurant; that is one of the grading elements it seems to be able to earn a star. Attention to detail is definitely necessary if restaurants are looking to earn a Michelin star; so their Michelin star is no surprise to me.

I am telling you, not a single detail was left unnoticed. The food was delectable and service was top notch.

If you are ever in Dublin, you need to check it out. Oh and did I already mention, they have a Michelin Star; we didn’t know it was a Michelin Star restaurant until we came back to the USA and did some research. The fact that they welcomed us warmly in everyday “peasant-like” clothes was astonishing to me. Andy McFadden hit this one out of the park!  Check out the rest of our Alluring Southern Ireland – 10 Reasons to Tour with Globus

-S&E