Shanahan’s on the Green, Dublin 2
Posted: 18 May '10 by Ciara
Shanahan's on the Green, Dublin 2
My 30th birthday fell on a Friday this year so before the party that was planned for Saturday night my husband and I decided to celebrate my joining of the 30 club by taking a trip to Shanahans on the Green for one of their renowned steaks.
Being huge fan of steaks it rates at the top of our “favourite restaurant” list – they serve certified Irish Angus beef which is cooked in a special broiler, charring the surface of the meat while keeping the centre tender and moist.
Shanahan’s is situated at the top of St. Stephens Green in Dublin 2. Founded by John Shanahan, born in Boston Massuchussets, who always identified with his rich Irish heritage, he embarked upon Shanahan’s on the Green to try and capture his love of cooking and his passion for Ireland.
In addition to its scrumptious menu, which includes those certified Irish angus beef steaks, Irish seafood, hearty sides and mouth-watering desserts, it also has top class service. The elegant service together with the top class food is complimented and heightened by the beautiful old Dublin décor of the restaurant. “The Oval Office”, the restaurant’s downstairs bar featuring historical documents and mementoes from each of America’s presidents of Irish Heritage and also JFK’s original rocking chair from air force one blends both cultures and histories together classically.
We always enjoy a drink in the Oval office before dining in the restaurant as the comfortable leather green chairs and low lit table lamps and frequently lit fire add to the relaxed and friendly atmosphere helping us to unwind and ponder over the menu and beautiful wine list.
Each of the staff at Shanahans are also extremely professional and friendly and if you ask them about any of the artifacts they will willingly give you a history of the restaurant.
The details
For the wine I choose a Portugese red, Duas Quintas Reserve, 2006. This was quite full bodied, quite strong at first but delicious with the steak. Since Cor doesn’t like wine he choose his usual, an Austrian beer called Stiegel – Shanahan’s is one of only a few places in Ireland that serve it.
After making final decisions on our food order our waitress bought us over a selection of fresh breads, cheese and onion flavoured crusty bread and chilli flavoured muffins, still warm from the oven. I decided to have a slice of each, conscious of my huge steak that I was determined to finish. I opted out of a starter and Cor went for the sizzling black west coast mussels presented on a huge plate along with shallots, garlic, fresh herbs, lemon and butter. I watched in horror, not being a fan of fish, as Cor devoured the whole plate. I shook my head laughing telling him he’d never finish his steak.
When our 12oz medium done fillet mignon’s arrived my mouth watered in anticipation. I waited patiently as our waitress placed our beautifully presented side orders of whipped potatoes with butter and chives, sautéed wild mushrooms and Shanahans renowned large portion of onion rings on our table in their copper pots.
We exchanged satisfied smiles and tucked into our meal.
As always, we were thrilled with our meal: the steak was mouth-wateringly satisfying and cooked to perfection, as were the creamy whipped potatoes, the thin and crispy onion rings and the mushrooms, all of which combined to create the perfect meal.
The only downside was that I was so stuffed after my main course that I almost couldn’t breathe.. But not so stuffed that it prevented me from getting a dessert! We shared a huge portion of cookies and cream cheese cake. I was so full at this stage but had to keep eating as it was too nice to leave (and Howard from Take That had arrived into the restaurant with his friends at this stage so I took my time eating the cheesecake while glancing back and forth at him and his companions).
| Starters | |
|---|---|
| Sizzling Black west coast mussels | €19.75 |
| Main Course: | |
| Fillet Mignon x2 | €48.50 ea. |
| Whipped potatoes with butter & chives | €9.25 |
| Sautéed wild mushrooms | €9.25 |
| Crispy fried Onion rings | €9.25 |
| Dessert: | |
| Cookies and cream cheese cake | €12.50 |
| Sundries: | |
| Duas Quintas Reserve, 2006 | €65.00 |
| Stiegel Beer x5 | €6.00 ea. |
| Total: | €252.00 |
Our verdict
We have been to this restaurant quite a few times and have yet to be disappointed. To me, it ticks all the boxes. The intimate, relaxed, classic and historical atmosphere, the beautifully presented and largely portioned food, the extensive wine list and the lovely staff all add up to make my perfect night out.
It is pricey but you do get what you pay for and, as my father-in-law says, “money spent on good food is money well spent.”
Shanahan’s on the Green
119 St. Stephen’s Green,
Dublin 2
Ireland
T: 00353 (0) 1 4070939
W: www.shanahans.ie
You can also find Shanahan’s on Google Maps.
Categories: Republic of Ireland > Restaurant Reviews
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Cupcake Heaven
Posted: 05 October '09 by Kelly
We decided to head off to the West Coast of Ireland at the weekend to celebrate our friend Orlaith turning 21 again:) As you all I’m sure would agree, no birthday celebration is the same without a nice cake. But if your like me and cant decide between chocolate, lemon, white chocolate, strawberry, plain, double chocolate… well you get my dilemma…. Then cupcakes are the perfect choice.
As both Niall and I were working all week we decided that instead of baking them ourselves we would order them. We found a company in Belfast called ‘Cupcakes and Fairy Cakes’ that specialised in celebratory cupcakes for birthdays, weddings, christenings, or any other excuse you can find to eat cake… I have many.
I wanted all 14 I had ordered to be different flavours and thought this might prove difficult but Bernadette and Martine from ‘Cupcakes and Fairy Cakes’ were extremely helpful even suggesting flavours they thought would be nice…. I particularly loved the alcohol infused cupcakes.
The cupcakes went down a treat at the party and everyone had their favourite flavour. Niall’s favourite was the Strawberry cupcake – it had strawberry jam mixed through the cupcake mixture which made it really moist and sweet. Ciara and Orlaith loved the Buttercream ones And I preferred the chocolate… no suprise there then :)
Everything that we tried from ‘Cupcakes and Fairy Cakes’ was moist, fluffy and packed with flavour and I have already put my order in for Halloween. I’m looking forward to see how they are decorated – i’ll post the photos as soon as we get them.
Other Information
If you would like to order cupcakes or a cake from Bernadette and Martine you can contact them on 07879400177 or Email them at info@cupcakesandfairycakes.com.
Prices start from £1.00 per cupcake and they also do gorgeous gift-boxes if you are giving them as a gift.
Contact information
Cupcakes and Fairycakes
T: 07879400177 or 07968225732
E: info@cupcakesandfairycakes.com
W: www.cupcakesandfairycakes.com
Categories: Local Food Heroes > Northern Ireland > United Kingdom
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Hot Hot Hot
Posted: 05 August '09 by Kelly
It was Niall’s birthday at the weekend so we decided to cook up a hot and spicy Asian Feast. On the menu was -
- Singapore Chilli crab
- Salt and Chilli Squid
- Pad Thai Noodles
- Red-cooked Tofu
- Chicken and Thai Basil (Pad Ga Prao Kai)
- Chocolate and saffron fondant with Hazelnut Tullie and Milk Ice-cream (not an asian dish but I love chocolate)
We started the morning with a trip to St George’s Market in Belfast to buy the seafood for the dishes. The market is a great way to start the day with a crepe from the french stall (superb!!), a hot beverage and listen to the different bands that play every saturday morning. All the main ingredients were selected and purchased and now it was time to try and find the more unusual ingredients.
Off we went to ‘Lee foods’ asian supermarket on the Donegall Pass, Belfast. I have never been there before but I will certainly return. It sold an amazing array of asian products however some of the foods were slightly out of my comfort zone (dried cuttlefish snacks, Whole pigs heads and Century Eggs with black yolks!!). After stacking up the trolly with a new wok and some nibbles (Wasabi Peas and Asian dried fruits) we managed to find all the things we needed including the Thai Holy Basil (which for Belfast I thought was a treat). I suppose its just knowing where to look…
We also picked up some authentic chinese tsingtao beer to celebrate Niall turning 21, again….!!!
The dishes were relatively simple to prepare (apart from the squid which is a messy job, I left that to Niall) so we decided to take it easy and take our time cooking. I had pre-prepared the desserts so all they needed was 9 minuted in the oven after the main course.
The starters of Singapore Chilli Crab and Salt & Chilli Squid were served and they went down a treat with everyone. The chilli sauce on the crab was delicious, really hot and spicy, and the squid was so soft (it had been left in lemon for a while) and cooked to perfection thanks to Niall.
On to the main course and the Red-cooked Tofu was a first for me, weird consistency, almost egg-y but really tasty. The Pad Thai noodles were superb, really delicious – I think it could give the Bo Tree a run for its money – although I have to say the chicken was the winner for me. It was really tasty, packed with aniseed flavour from thr Thai Basil, and had a real kick to it.
We were fit to burst after all that delicious food, but not to be beaten – we had the dessert of Chocolate and saffron fondant with Hazelnut Tullie and Milk Ice-cream a few hours later. Now if your anything like me and love your desserts gooey and oozing of chocolate then this is for you. Shame on me though as I could only finish half of it, but luckily Niall’s brother was on hand (as usual) to finish it off for me.
The recipes will follow soon so enjoy making them and let us know what you think.
Categories: Recipes
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Birthday celebrations
Posted: 26 July '09 by Kelly
Make sure you read next week as its Niall’s Birthday and we are cooking up a South- East Asian feast… singaporean chilli crab included.
Categories: Uncategorized
