Ruibin in Galway

31/03/2024: I usually don’t write reviews, but when compared to another one star restaurant we went to the night before, Aniar did not meet the expectations. Perhaps we came on an off day, but the dishes served to us did not have the same level of intricacy or the level of care raved by other reviewers (see photos). There were many repeated elements throughout the 20+ courses - such as the dusting of nettle powder and the usage of tuile for texture. (Another item I suspected was the seafood custard cream being used in the chawanmushi and the oyster ice cream.) In addition to that, two of the dishes we had were too salty, we couldn’t finish the cod with barbecued kale despite it being visually pleasing. As for the service, we found it to be pretentious. When paying, the waiter asked what our jobs were with no intention to continue the conversation. The chef of the evening rushed his greeting to us but when we were leaving, took his time to make nice with another table. Both interactions at the end ruined an otherwise decent dinner.

07/03/2024: Stunning food with so many different components that had our taste buds dancing. Service was top notch one of our waitresses, Izzy was so lovely and attentive.