Last night I ate in Paul and Maire Flynns restaurant The Tannery in Dungarvan, it was an exceptional meal.
Having been greeted warmly by Maire we settled down with two sherries .
First good point, no amuse gueules, I find them unnecessary and palate dulling.
For my starter I had a Mariniére of Mussels and Clams, this was perfectly classically produced except for some garlicky herby crumbs thrown on the top (a good touch). The shell fish was perfect, the clams managed to have no trace of sand (hard to get right) and the broth (they provided a spoon) was perfect: herby, winy, fishy and delicious. I scraped the bowl.

Sile had a sort of Gravlax with asparagus, again an inspired combination with the salmon darkly pink and coated on the edge with fresh dill.

My main course was one of my best ever, simply described as slow cooked beef it arrived under a salad of shallot and leaves.
It was tender enough to eat with a spoon but still gelatinous enough to not be in the least dry. It was in fact ox cheek. A triumph of a dish.
Sile’s lasagne of Rabbit was a bizarre sight.
The rabbit had been shredded a la rilette and didn’t look great.
The taste was extremely good though, the flesh being almost gamey and packed with flavour. Another clean plate.

My dessert was definitely one that I chose for its novelty, however at that stage I had total confidence in the chef.
I had a scoop of mango ice cream on a piece of toasted bread and cheese.
It worked, and I loved it.
Sile had a Concord of Chocolate which was more conventional but still very good.

We drank an extremely good Alsatian Riesling with the starters. A very young and tannic Cairanne (2005 and not ready yet) with the main course, and some Elysium Black Muscat with the desserts.

This was one of my best meals ever and certainly the best I have ever eaten in the Tannery. Paul Flynn is not only a great chef he also has the great courage to produce unusual food and make it work for him.
I can’t wait to go back.