Review: Campagne, Kilkenny
We know the early bird catches the worm.
But five years ago, who could have foreseen such an exaltation of them in Irish restaurants, and the rich pickings they would offer?
Back then, Irish restaurants looked set to flounder with the economy. Eating out is a luxury, and recession-hit consumers were quick to clamp down on the habit. By late 2010, the Restaurants Association was claiming 80% of its members operated at a loss.
Tough as things have been, however, smart restaurateurs made the transition. We still love eating out, after all – it’s just that we don’t want to join NAMA for doing it. Early birds and set menus have transformed how we eat. I’d even go so far as to say they have given Irish food an unexpected new lease of life.
Right now, at scores of restaurants around the country, it’s possible to eat three courses for less than €30pp – easily the price of one forgettable main course in boom times.
Campagne in Kilkenny, which Garrett Byrne and Bríd Hannon opened just as the boom went belly-up in 2008, is a prime example. Enticed by an early bird offering two courses for €24 or three for €29, L and I arrive with our two young kids at 6.15pm on a Saturday. We’ve booked a table in advance, and thank goodness for that – the room is completely full.
Byrne is a veteran of Dublin’s Chapter One, which won its first Michelin Star when he was on board, so I’m excited to try his cooking. Plus, there’s a choice of five starters and five mains on the early bird – so cost-conscious punters aren’t made to feel like a necessary evil.
We aren’t spared the extras, either. Dinner begins with a generous basket of sourdough bread, and a couple of slices of gluten-free toast for L, who is coeliac. Hannon shows us to our table, checking in several times over the evening, and her young wait staff are affable, if obviously very busy.
Starters include treatments of deep-fried smoked haddock, Ardsallagh goat’s cheese and cured local Angus beef. I go for the cauliflower soup, served in a large, pottery teacup with bits of bacony badness at the bottom and thin strips of parmesan on top. Stirring a dollop of cream and wholegrain mustard into the mix coaxes surprising depths from the cauliflower. Good feelings.
Meanwhile, L takes the terrine of pork, served with quince puree and celeriac. There’s a light texture to the terrine, which reminds both of us of fish (in a good way), and a sweetness in the quince offsets the chilled, savoury shards of pork. It’s fresh, and leaves us wanting more.
Campagne is a classy space, curving like a seashell around a squiggle of olive-green banquettes. A recessed oval in the ceiling is lit subtly to lend elegance, a wall brightened up by abstract paintings. Through the kitchen window, we see Byrne signing dishes off before they float onto the floor.
Ours are the only kids in the place, but that doesn’t feel awkward. High chairs aren’t a problem, and a shared macaroni cheese was added to with spoonfuls from Mum and Dad’s plates.
Mains include slow cooked beef with creamed kale and parsnip puree; Kilkenny free-range chicken with cauliflower gratin; confit of pork belly with pumpkin gnocchi and Savoy cabbage; a fillet of cod with sprouting broccoli, mussels and saffron; and a fillet of sea-bream.
I choose the cod, which arrives at the table a couple of minutes late. At least, that’s the only way I can explain its droopy skin, which clings to the fish like a piece of fabric, rather than standing up all crisp and glistening. The flesh itself tastes fine, and the sprouting broccoli has a rich bite, but the disappointing presentation isn’t helped by a heavy-handed melange of sauces.
Thankfully, L’s sea-bream is a counterpoint. Served with Jerusalem artichoke puree, fennel, samphire and a caper and dill butter sauce, it arrives with pert and crispy skin, and tastes delicious. Our sides of mashed potato are super-creamy too – we’re still talking about them hours afterwards.
For dessert, we order a selection of ice-cream and a chocolate mousse. The mousse goes down a treat, but the lime, caramel and vanilla ice-cream lasts barely a few seconds before melting in pools all over the plate. Perhaps this had something to do with the unusually warm room?
Not a terrific meal, then, but the experience as a whole was terrific value for money. We early birds caught the worm, and with it enough curiosity to return for the a la carte.
The tab:
Two early birds and one kids’ dinner, with a soft drink and a glass of wine, came to €71.50. Tip extra.
The details:
The Arches, 5 Gashouse Lane, Kilkenny; 056 777-2858; campagne.ie.
This review originally ran in The Irish Examiner.
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