The moment you enter Avenue you feel a million miles away from the chaos of Temple Bar. Located on Crow Street, the restaurant has a very upmarket and arty feel with a nice atmosphere without feeling cramped. We were seated at the window which is a lovely cosy booth overlooking the narrow street- great for people watching!
The menu at Avenue focuses on seasonal, Irish ingredients with a slight French twist. I immediately loved the idea of the “before your starters” course on the menu. Being the greedy guts that I am, I sometimes want something to pick at while I deliberate over the menu. Three simple snacks to choose from – Harty’s oysters, a bowl of olives and nuts or Higgins Irish salami slices are all perfect options for a pre starter snack.
Once I see prawns or shellfish on a menu, there is no further question about what I order, and I was seriously impressed with my langoustines served with a delightfully rich roast garlic milk, with flavours of apple and cauliflower crisps. Himself went with the soup, which we usually wouldn’t order when eating out, but we were very happy with the decision. A moderate sized portion was just the right amount of this mouthwatering potato and garlic soup.
I went for the fish again for my main, this time fillet of stone bass, not something I come across often enough on menus. This was served with basil buree, mussels and a melon and orange vinaigrette – delicious! Himself’s espresso marinated duck was perfectly pink served with a beautiful tangy and savoury espresso flavoured jus and sweet caramelised figs.
I finished the meal off with a glass of sherry and in true French style, a strawberry mille feuille. I was impressed with the whole dining experience and top quality service at Avenue. I’ll be back for more people watching and top quality food soon!
www.avenue.ie
Disclaimer: I was a guest of Avenue on this occasion but was not requested to write a review of my experience. As always, all opinions are honest and fair.
December 19, 2016
Hi,
I feel like I have to respond to your reviews. I love reading about food as well as obviously eating it so I like to see new bloggers etc coming onto the scene in Dublin. However, I’m finding it difficult to take your reviews seriously as you are either eating as a guest or in pretty much every case you give the restaurant a very good review. With all due respect to the restaurants in Dublin they are not all great. Avenue is a perfect example. On paper it reads really well – the menu sounds good, the pictures look enticing, but it’s actually a really dead, lifeless restaurant. We’ve been twice, the second time on the assumption that it had to be better than our first visit. We were disappointed both times. On our second visit on a Saturday night at 8pm, we were seated (along with the other 6 guests) up near the window to give the impression that the place was busy. The food looked quite nice and pretty but was actually bland and for the price we were incredibly disappointed. Our French waiter was a lovely guy and tried so hard to make the meal enjoyable but his personality could only go so far. I think, you need to sharpen up your reviews as writing a fawning piece on every restaurant does nothing for your credibility as a critic.