Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

About The Restaurant

Russborough House, in Blessington, Co. Wicklow,  is one of the finest stately homes in Ireland. A wealthy Dublin brewer named Joseph Leeson, who later became the first Earl of Milltown, built it in the 1740’s and over the course of his life filled it with great works of art and exquisite furnishings. The house stayed in his family until the early 20th century when Sir Alfred Beit, who installed his family’s priceless art collection, including works by artists such as Velasquez and Vermeer, purchased it. The house eventually passed to the Alfred Bait Foundation and today it is open to the public, who continue to arrive in their numbers to see the house, explore the grounds and enjoy a bite to eat in an atmosphere that is truly inimitable.

The Russborough Tea Rooms are a great addition to this wonderful estate and offers its patrons a fantastic array of soups, salads and sandwiches not to mention a selection of desserts that are simply to die for, all set in a cool chic café that maintains the historical atmosphere of this wonderful place. When I was there last, the menu had an extensive selection of  homemade soups and brown breads to start, which included potato and fennel, carrot and orange, parsnip and smoked bacon, curried parsnip and apple, courgette and almond and a lot lot more. My other half went for their tomato, celeriac and coriander, which arrived with a healthy portion of their delicious homemade brown bread. I, on the other hand, was more in the mood for one of their salads, of which there were many. They had a beetroot and fresh yoghurt salad, a French bean salad with bacon, an oriental noodle salad and even a salad of cous cous with sun dried tomatoes and mint leaves. I opted for their carrot, mange tout and poppy seed salad and I was glad that I did.

The savoury food menu has something for everyone with a wide variety that includes filled baguettes and gourmet sandwiches as well as panini’s and wraps. You can have your full Irish breakfast there or you can stop in for some homemade beef lasagna or a chicken and mushroom vol-au-vent. They offer a great selection of savoury tarts and bakes also. When I was there, they had a salmon and leek torte, a chicken and broccoli bake, a spinach and mushroom croustade and a red onion marmalade and goats cheese tart as well. I however, went for their ham rendered leek and smoked cheddar tart which was absolutely gorgeous whilst Brendan chose their twice baked potato with ham & 3 cheeses and looked more than pleased as he cleared his plate.

We simply couldn’t leave without sampling the desserts; which were well above par with an elaborate menu of tasty sounding treats such as their caramel slice and chocolate fudge; or their raspberry and almond bakewell. They had cappuccino cake, Pavlova, Toblerone cheesecake, sticky toffee gateaux and even an oreo cookies giant sandwich. It all sounded so good. I went for the cherry berry cheesecake, which was just fantastic. Himself went for the raspberry meringue roulade and when it arrived to our table, beautifully presented,  he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

Our visit to Russborough House was wonderful, but our visit to their Tea Rooms was the cherry on the cake.

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