There was much celebrating out in Blackrock yesterday as one of Dublin’s smallest restaurants – just 18 seats - Heron and Grey picked up a coveted Michelin star.
Only in operation since December when they took over The Eatery Formerly Known As The Canteen, chef Damien Grey and front of house partner Andrew Heron offer a five-course tasting menu for what by Michelin Guide standards is a bargain €48.
Heron and Grey is big on seasonality with Damien often deciding what to cook on the day after he’s been to the market. They also get 10 out of 10 for a wonderfully imaginative wine-list that starts at €28 for a very cheeky Famille Labelle Sauvignon Blanc.
They were among the Best Newcomers in this year’s Hot Press Best of Dublin special with Stuart Clark noting that: “Thankfully, there’s no sider of pretension with the food there to be enjoyed rather than fawned over. When we last popped in the imaginative combinations included Girolles, Chedder & Truffle and Almond, Honey, Duck & Peach.””
Only open Thursday through Saturday, we suspect getting a table could be a trifle difficult right now!
Elsewhere, it’s as you are with Patrick Guilbauld still unique here in having two stars. Chapter One, L’Ecrivain and The Greenhouse are the capital’s other Michelin establishments.
Out west, Aniar and Loam are still doing the starry business with Belfast represented by Hot Press favourites Eipic and OX and The Cliff House flying the flag in Ardmore.
If our number crunching is correct, Kilkenny has the highest per capita number of stars in the country with Campagne’s modern French cooking, and the contemporary Irish fare offered by Lady Helen at Mount Juliet as nibblesome as ever.