reviews about chapter one

Each dish was elegantly and colourfully crafted, but the textural variations were of particular merit: the langoustine wrapped in sheer rice paper, the agrestic textures of the cured meats followed by the tenderness of the foie gras...............Chapter One today presents a defining picture of modern Irish cooking - superlative in technique, grounded in the produce of artisan suppliers, and served with easeful charm
The Art of Eating - Winter 2009

...It was one of the best things I’ve eaten for a good long time. Irish cheese, and big 1990s disco puddings. This is a really accomplished kitchen that’s keeping a lot of competing ingredients and methods under tight control...
A.A Gill – June 2009 **** Rating
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I started with tongue and sweetbreads, and a huge sigh of relief. It was brilliant, and why wouldn’t it be? If you’re going to get great tongue, it’s going to be in Dublin. Next, I had salmon with, among other things, a mild curry sauce, which was interesting, and not at all unpleasant. Paddy got the best dish: a stuffed rabbit, with a shepherd’s pie made out of the bunny leg, with puréed potatoes, a Mr Macgregor pie. It was one of the best things I’ve eaten for a good long time. Irish cheese, and big 1990s disco puddings. This is a really accomplished kitchen that’s keeping a lot of competing ingredients and methods under tight control, while still cooking with the hurley stick and a broad dash of muscle and guts. Hide Full Review

...I was surrounded by a bevy of foodies for the unveiling of Lewis’s new chef ’s table, a space which gleams with Connemara marble, stainless steel and smoky mirrors ... It was a dance through a delicacy of flavours and softness of texture...
Food And Wine: May 2009
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The point about the chef’s table is that it offers a glimpse both into the inner workings of a professional kitchen and into the chef’s mind.

It’s a very exciting prospect for any foodie - akin to seeing the director’s cut of a great film, or hearing your favourite band unplugged.

I was surrounded by a bevy of foodies for the unveiling of Lewis’s new chef ’s table, a space which gleams with Connemara marble, stainless steel and smoky mirrors.

The seven-course chef ’s menu costs €85 per person. It was a dance through a delicacy of flavours and softness of texture.

What followed confirmed the major flaw of the chef’s table. I was running out of space to eat any more, but this is the paradox of the committed foodie. Just when you think you’ve no more room, you find space for an utterly sublime dish: squab pigeon, Wellington style, with acidulated root vegetables, parsnip purée and muscatel vinegar jus.

A papery, crisp exterior gave way to the dark polish of the exterior meat, which in turn revealed a blushed interior. The gamey notes worked wonderfully with the sweet and spiky accompaniments. Hide Full Review

“This was smart food, refined but not precious, technically perfect but full of soul, locally grounded but with cosmopolitan flair. The cooking displayed authority and refinement, both French technique and homey Irish touches. We decided that we had found our favourite Dublin restaurant!”
Saveur Magazine, U.S.A

“...and then what about the charcuterie trolley... we watched with anticipation as the trolley rolled up to the table. There is something pleasantly hypnotic about watching your food being plated at the table. Slices of Frank Krawczyk’s salamis were laid out, a morsel of mallard and pigeon terrine was cut and a quenelle of duck rillette shaped - all of which joined the mini chicken and foie gras boudin and tiny tier of watercress salad which waited on the plate. I had a little taste of each and was grateful once again that I was not born into a family of vegetarians.”
Food and Wine

“Chapter One is a formal restaurant with a gloriously relaxed feel, and the food is modern without being sub-conscious. A lot of emphasis is placed on provenance – the brilliant selection of charcuterie, for example, is one of the best (and simplest) starters in the country.”
Irish Times Magazine

“The food of Ross Lewis at Chapter One, another member of the top four in my book, is outstanding.”
Tom Doorley