Cityfood 4U in Dublin

23/06/2025: Brookwood deserves every bit of praise it has received in online reviews. One of our best (maybe our best) meal in Ireland and that includes a Michelin star restaurant. We were immediately and warmly greeted when we arrived. The restaurant is small and divided between three floors (technically four if you include the basement where some of the prep cooking is done). The first floor includes a handful of tables and the open kitchen where the executive chef and a sous chef work tirelessly. The second floor includes additional tables and a small bar. The third floor includes a private dining room. All told probably 15-18 tables. The service was impeccable from start to finish; our server Alix was personable, efficient and a lot of fun. She took time to help us with our menu and wine choices. We started off with house-made focaccia bread which is made over a two day process and was as good as anything we had in Italy on our many trips there. The “Irish Onon Soup” was beyond delicious — made with house-made beef and chicken stock, red wine, red wine vinegar, 16 hour slowly cooked onions, and finished with an Irish cheese which the head chef described as “like a cheddar but with more umami.” Well agreed that it was some of the best onion soup we had ever tasted and a meal of that and the focaccia would have been perfect. But we quickly changed our mind when the chateaubriand arrived. The chateaubriand is for two persons; we were two couples and both couples decided on the dish. OMG perfection and I am so glad I splurged on the dish and screw my cholesterol for the night lol. Our friends had a special request which was can we do half the dish at medium rare to medium and half at rare - the head chef was quick to say “no problem.” My partner and I both ordered the dish “blue” - yes we love it beyond rare and it arrived at the perfect temp. Our friends also both proclaimed their preferred temps as perfect. The chateaubriand also came with a choice of two sauces and two sides. We selected the bearnaise, the peppercorn and the Brookwood butter as sauces - all perfectly prepared and adding some delicious fat to the fairly lean beef. We selected the delicious cabbage with bacon (a luxurious concoction of cabbage, bacon, cream, and butter) which was decadent rich side which you could pretend was healthy because it is cabbage. The creamy mash potatoes were equally delicious. We were so full after dinner we shared a single dessert which was a lemon custard (no the name on the menu) with fresh strawberries. It was bright, light and lemony a perfect way to finish our meal. I should mention the wine list which is a nice selection and range of prices. We started with a rioja reserva which was delicious as it opened up. We followed up with a nice and reasonably priced cote de Rhône. It was a Monday evening so admittedly not a super busy night (although table were full when we first arrived). The staff is amazingly attentive and we had wonderful interaction. The head chef checked in with us on our meal, answered all of our questions and was genuinely interested in our feedback. All great from our part. A wonderfully memorable evening and food!!!!

09/06/2025: We had a wonderful Sunday roast for my brothers birthday. Thank you for the birthday candle that was a nice touch 😄