Fine dining is back in fashion and Conor and Joanne Dempsey’s Amuse is serving some of the finest and most inspired food in the capital. Taking the best of French techniques, Irish ingredients and Japanese ingredients, Conor brings a refreshing originality to the plate in this small, intimate restaurant.
The use of less familiar ingredients will catch some diners off guard, but that’s the joy of Amuse’s menus. With so many restaurants plying formulaic offerings it’s wonderful to find such originality and creativity at this level. Dishes like Castletownbere crab wrapped in charentais melon with kimizu and dashi broth or Iberico Pork Presa de Bellota, with pea, pistachio, quinoa, lime and nasturtium are triumphs.
Everything is masterfully seasoned, well balanced and beautifully plated. Exquisite tableware in delicate clays, glasses and finishes, make perfect palettes for the intricate cooking.
Popping with vibrant colours, every dish is a miniature work of art, from a signature squid cracker amuse bouche to a zinging starter of loin of blue fin tuna, with purple shiso, horseradish, ginger, bergamot and radish to the prettiest, most delicious dessert of strawberry mousse, verbena sorbet, creamy yoghurt, meringue shards, and white chocolate strips. (Desserts have always been sublime at Amuse, followed by the most perfect petit fours.)
Attentive, discreet service means those in a two-course hurry are as well looked after as diners settled in for the nine-course Paris to Tokyo tasting menu. Matching wines are available for all tasting menus, and the comprehensive wine list marries affordable options with big hitters, and plenty available by the glass.
A little paint touch-up in the stairwell and a new toilet sign would be smart moves for a restaurant where attention to detail is key to its brilliance.
