El Vino Cork
Wednesday 17 February 2010
In the final act of the romantic movie Moulin Rouge, Toulouse-Lautrec shouts from the rafters to the star crossed lovers, Satine and Christian, played by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, the words of a haunting song “ the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”. I adored the romance and Bollywood colour of Moulin Rouge, played out in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, almost as much as I love Verdi’s great opera La Traviata, on which the story is based. Maybe the words of the song are not a bad thought to hold on to this Valentine’s Day 2010 and, indeed, I thought of them recently in Cork as I looked across the River at the blue and purple lights on the top of The Elysian Tower which shine like a beacon across the City. The Elysian, an apartment block, is now the tallest building in Ireland and down which Ali Hewsen abseiled to raise funds for the Chernobyl Children’s Project.
My visit to The Elysian was in no way so noble but rather to have a nice evening of relaxation and fun with another couple, Margaret and Michael, in El Vino Wine Bar & Bistro. The vibes felt good on making our booking – first contact is so important. We didn’t phone until 6.30 p.m. on a Saturday evening in the mistaken assumption that these days we would have no problem! Wrong, they were booked solid. “There is no recession here” the girl said, when we commented, and kindly recommended other restaurants in the area. “Take our number”, we begged and if you get a cancellation….. Ten minutes later we got a call back. We took off.
As one might expect in such a setting, El Vino is ultra modern with a very smart high ceilinged bar, and it opens from breakfast through lunch and dinner. We were seated in a nice corner on a banquette facing a very nice modern painting, and with an interesting brass bound Armoire beside us.
There was a wide selection of hot and cold tapas from €6.95 to €11 plus charcuterie platters and salads, as well as main courses – “Segundos Platos” . To start we ordered Patatas Bravas (€6.95), Gambas Alajillo (€11), Valencian Paella (€9.50), and Pate de Pollo (€8.95). All were excellent, the potatoes a fine big warm bowl of crispy diced deep fried potato with a tomato and chilli sauce, the Tiger prawns chunky in garlic and chilli olive oil served with sourdough bread, the paella plentiful and tasty with chunks of chorizo, chicken, mussels and prawns, the chicken liver pate served with a spicy apply chutney, sourdough toast, and oatmeal crackers to boot.
The place was jointed, the friendly smiling service continued. The food is not pretentious or overly cheffy, but good popular dishes well executed and generous. “Segundos Platos” were €16.95 to €25.95 and my Senor had a cracking 8 oz fillet steak (€25.95) served with glazed shallots, Portobello mushrooms and a potato gratin. Michael had a fine tranch of slow roasted crisp pork belly (€18.95) which came with braised cabbage, chickpeas, potato puree and a Latin style Chermoula dressing. I had Sauteed “Kenmare Bay” scallops (€24.95), seven of them, sitting on rondelles of Clonakilty black pudding, dotted around a central dome of creamed leek risotto and drizzled with a lemon butter – very nice. Margaret had an El Vino salad (€14.95) which she loved with warm chicken pieces, cherry tomatoes, red onion, pumpkin seeds and garlic croutons which she loved.
To finish up we shared a divine Tiramisu (€6.95) and a good ‘half’ cheese board (€7.95). There are some twenty wines by the glass and with two bottles of Bodegas Muriel Rioja Reserva 2004 at €26.95 our bill with optional service was €209.
Good honest comfort food, in stylish surroundings, buzz and charming service. We came out and strolled by ‘De Banks’ back to our hotel as the Elysian lights twinkled above us thinking they could keep Paris.
El Vino,
The Elysian Tower,
Eglinton Street,
Cork.
Co. Cork.
Tel: (021) 431-8530
www.lucindaosullivan.com
THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT ON FEBRUARY 14, 2010.