Chef-owner Paul McVeigh and front-of-house partner Jamie O’Toole hit the ground running with Featherblade when they opened in October 2015, and have kept up a decent pace since, attracting a loyal following as well as critical approval. Their website’s tagline of “juicy steaks, weekly specials, house cocktails and no fuss” is a fair summation of what you get, though they might add upmarket diner atmosphere and genuinely enthusiastic service to the list.
If the black exterior, subtle signage and dark curtains lining the front windows make you feel as if you could be entering a nightclub as much as a restaurant, then both the uptempo music and upbeat reception from the energetic front of house team confirm the tone. The interior is decked out like a classy juke-joint diner made comfortable with generous cushions but not too comfortable – this isn’t somewhere to hang about but rather to grab a great steak dinner and move on into the night.
The space is long and narrow, although dark walls, table tops and cushions and the clever use of mirrors help make it feel more cavernous than corridor-like. Subway tiles, white-washed exposed brick and pale wood banquettes reminiscent of park benches brighten up the inner half of the interior which widens out before reaching the semi-open kitchen.
Bare black table tops are simply adorned with the short but carefully considered menu. The menu details change regularly but the structure remains the same: two choices of starters, two main course steak options, a half dozen sides and two desserts. There’s also a handful of delicious cocktails ‘to guzzle’, including a perfectly subtle lavender G&T with Fevertree tonic and a wedge of grapefruit, alongside other seasonal offerings such as a very contemporary Rosehip and Chilli Old-Fashioned. The homemade syrupsfeature wild berries foraged by McVeigh (or his mother, when he’s very busy – she also grows the lavender for the gin in her Shannon-side garden).
The only permanent menu item is their signature 9oz Featherblade steak served with fresh leaves – although the sides do include excellent regulars such as chips cooked properly in beef dripping, old-fashioned creamed spinach or truffled mac’n’cheese presumably inspired by Chapter One’s dreamy version.
Prices are keen, with the main course steaks both typically priced at around €13, or €18 if you ‘surf ‘em up’ with some garlic-marinated skewered prawns (and another €1.50 each for irresistible sauces such as whiskey peppercorn). The signature feather blade is a tender, lean and sweet-tasting cut of beef which they marinate for 24 hours before covering with a special rub to accelerate the searing process and flashing it under an extremely hot grill. The second steak option will often be something with a bit more flavour and texture, such as marinated hangar or a picanha (rump) to share for two, and is typically cooked sous vide to tenderise before being flashed on the grill for charred, caramelised flavours.
Many of the weekly specials reflect influences garnered from the owners’ time spent in London and McVeigh’s travels as a chef working the luxury yachts (his CV includes a stint as Rory McIlroy’s personal chef and another working with the former chef of Roman Abramovich), and reflect a keen eye on food trends. But they are also a chance for McVeigh to play with local and seasonal flavours, and to show off skills picked up in top Irish kitchens such as Chapter One and The Greenhouse.
Expect the likes of Hawaiin-style ceviche (‘poke’) of organic Irish salmon or crispy chicken with Korean hot sauce sitting alongside Lambay crab and black pudding croquettes with an apple and dill purée. Sometimes these far-flung and local influences meet in the one dish, as with the pearl barley risotto and shimji mushrooms with potato broth and lovage, or the skilfully delivered Irish lamb breast served with red pepper coulis, pistachio, feta and mint.
Fresh leaves, herbs and purées add colour and flavour but as per the ‘no fuss’ promise, there’s no smears or dabs or tweezered micro-leaves here, just generously flavoured, hearty food presented simply.
Like the rest of the menu, the wine list is succinct and well-priced with a choice of one prosecco, two whites and three red wines either by the glass, half litre or litre. True to their commitment to source locally where possible, it is limited to European wines. There’s also a short choice of beer that includes Kinegar IPA or Amber Ale, Porterhouse Plain or Peroni lager.
The front-of-house team pitch their service style perfectly, in terms of knowing their stuff and communicating their genuine enthusiasm while keeping things informal, fun and moving fast – making this a perfect pitstop before a show or a night out on the town.
One word of warning though: at the time of our visit, there were still no coffee-making facilities, so you may want to factor in a take-out coffee en route to wherever else your day or evening takes you.
