Cellar Bar Lunch: Merrion Hotel

It had been a while since I had visited the Merrion Hotel and being Saturday and a last minute decision it couldn’t have been a better choice.  It was as if it had been planned for weeks and weeks.  Walking down the steps directly into the Cellar Bar wine vaults is akin to descending into a hidden cavern – without the pirates.  The lighting is appropriately on the dark side and you are surrounded by vaulted ceilings that have been lovingly restored to their original 18th century glory.  It is full of nooks and crannies so lots of places for little tête-à-têtes.  

The lunch menu was a clever selection and it was good to see food descriptions being precise without being over the top and grandiose.  Yours truly opted for Clare Island Fish Cakes whilst hubby had the Smoked Haddock.  We had purposely skipped starters as we fancied dessert instead and three courses is sometimes just too much food in the middle of the day.  Both courses were first rate and deliciously tasty but it was the desserts that stole the show.  Paul Kelly is the Executive Pastry Chef in the Merrion and it is not one bit surprising that he regularly wins awards.  The Peach Pavlova was my choice and it was mouthwatering. My partner’s choice of the ‘Somewhere in the World’ dessert was perfection personified.   This delectable Apricot Panna Cotta was given a rating of 10/10.

Staff couldn’t have been nicer and we left with big smiles on our faces.  Just as well as neither of us had remembered that it was our anniversary that day until we received a text from a close friend.

Sometimes nice things happen to nice people and this was definitely one of those occasions.