Quietly located in a laneway near St. Stephen's Green, just a couple of minutes walk from Grafton Street, Eamonn O'Reilly's recently refurbished One Pico is one of Dublin's most popular fine dining restaurants.
The surroundings are elegant, with crisp white linen and fine china and glassware, and the cooking is exceptionally good: sophisticated, technically demanding dishes are invariably executed with confidence and flair.
This Dublin restaurants range of menus includes lunch and pre-theatre menus which, as usual in restaurants of this calibre, represent great value, an 8-course Tasting Menu, a vegetarian menu (on request), and an à la carte, with about ten quite luxurious dishes offered on each course, plus optional side dishes which should not be necessary as each main course is individually garnished.
There is an occasional small nod to Irish traditions, but this is classical French cooking with a modern twist, albeit based for the most part on the very best local produce (suppliers are noted on the menu).
Eamonn O'Reilly cooks with first class ingredients, turning them into classic dishes with lovely clean flavours, and his own unique style on each dish. Examples include creative seafood dishes - perfectly cooked pan roasted bream with celeriac purée, celeriac fondant and red wine reduction, perhaps - and also upbeat versions of traditional meat dishes such as medallions of beef with asparagus and parma ham, fondant potatoes and béarnaise sauce.
To finish, it is difficult to decide between an innovative and delicious cheese menu, or beautifully presented desserts that taste as good as they look - such as a gorgeous poached meringue with toasted nuts, lemon curd and vanilla cream, perhaps.
Service is professional and friendly.
A well chosen wine list offers some 80 bottles, with a dozen or so available by the glass. This is a fine restaurant and has earned its place among the city's best.
*A sister restaurant is The Box Tree and its newer sister The Greenhouse - see entries.
Seats 65 (private room, 46); air conditioning. open daily noon-11.30pm. Set L €25, early bird D €25, set D €39, also á la carte. House wine €28. SC discretionary. Closed bank hols, 24 Dec-5 Jan. Amex, Diners, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
