The Butcher Grill is owned by successful
food entrepreneur John Farrell, the man behind Super Miss Sue, Dillingers and
777. Located in the heart of Ranelagh village the restaurant is quite small
with a few seats at the bar, high tables and high bar stools, cool floor tiling, a beef cut
diagram on the walls and a display of wine bottles above the bar.
They’re only open for dinner during the
week but also serve a brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu is quite short with starters ranging
from €2 for a single raw oyster with shallot vinaigrette to €12 for the grilled
gambas with Iberico chorizo, red pepper and almonds or scallops with crispy
pork belly, pickled seaweed and miso dressing. Mains include meaty options such as the burger
served with French fries (€20), bbq baby back ribs with coleslaw, duck breast
(€26) and there is also a fish option.
I started off with the seared tuna tostados
(€12), which I’ve always wanted to try in their sister restaurant 777, so I
jumped at the opportunity. There were two majestic tostados, beautifully plated,
consisting of fresh seared tuna, guacamole, chipotle mayo, topped with very
thin crispy onions. This dish was refreshing and light as well as being a little
fiery and perfectly sized too.
Mr. FFID went for the beef tartare (€12)
which usually never looks too pretty, it’s raw meat after all but this one was well presented. The meat was perfectly
seasoned and paired with tasty condiments. It came with a quail egg, a smear of
caper jam and toasted bread. It was actually better than most of the steak
tartars I’ve had in Paris, Irish beef always wins for me.
The main reason we visited the Butcher
Grill was for the côte de boeuf. This huge cut of meat is to be shared between
two people and comes served with onion rings and smoky beans, all for €58. I
have a great tip for you though, it’s only €45 on Mondays and Tuesdays which
makes it much better value. Côte de boeuf is a rib eye steak cooked on the bone.
It’s my favourite type of steak and is hugely popular in France but you can now
find it in a few places in Dublin too. It came on a wooden board and cooked to
our liking (medium rare), it was tasty and juicy although I thought it may have
lacked just a little bit of seasoning. It was still a satisfying meat feast,
especially for the price of €45 for 2 people.
We rounded off the meal with a cheese
selection (€10) which were delicious and nicely portioned; I was just a little
disappointed with the cream crackers that came with them and would have
preferred better quality cheese biscuits.
Throughout the evening the staff were
friendly and made us feel well looked after and I loved the intimate
neighbourhood bistro feel to the place. Well worth adding to the must-try list
of any carnivores out there.
The Butcher Grill
92 Ranelagh
Dublin 6
