(30 Jan 2009)
Our recent visit to this fairly new addition
to Kilkenny resulted in a memorable weekend. Zuni is a 13-bedroom
modern hotel and restaurant, on the site of a former theatre,
within eyeshot of the imposing castle.
There’s a lovely, laid-back atmosphere
here, from the tastefully minimal bedrooms to the squashy
leather sofas in the lounge bar. The restaurant only seats
about 50, but it’s well laid out. There’s attention
to detail in the furnishings and fittings, such as the unusual
contemporary cutlery and tablecloths. The menu is relatively
short, but well thought out and tempting. The hubby got delayed
on Friday night, but the staff made this solo diner most welcome.
For starters I chose the Meze Seafood Slate (£5.95)
– one of the most delicious restaurant starters I’ve
ever eaten. It comprised a beautifully presented pile of seafood,
vegetables and leaves, on a square slate of the type you’d
cover your floor/roof with!
DELICIOUS
Prawns, calamari, mussels, mushrooms, roasted
peppers – every morsel was delicious. The various seafood
pieces were beautifully tender, and the leaves and vegetables
were drizzled with a delicious dressing.
For my main course, I chose Blackened Salmon
on French Beans, New Potato, and Chorizo Salad (£12.95).
The huge piece of fish came with a blackened skin, resting
on crunchy green beans and potatoes. The melt-in-the-mouth
flakiness of the salmon provided an interesting contrast to
the moist potatoes and spicy sausage. It was a dish that I
thoroughly enjoyed.
Meal over, I met up with himself for a drinking
tour of the Marble City. On Saturday, we wandered around the
shops and the Castle, before retiring to a pub for a few pints
of stout. My stomach was starting to rumble, and my mind kept
going back to the seafood starter I’d so enjoyed the
night before. I couldn’t wait for dinner time. We were
immediately offered a selection of home-made breads. We took
just one piece each, and were sorry we hadn’t been greedier.
The pesto and aubergine bread was delicious, smeared with
butter, and presented on a miniature slate.
I wanted the seafood starter again, having salivated
at the thought of it all day. Barry also chose it, on my recommendation.
He wasn’t disappointed, and said it as the best starter
he’d had in a long time. In fact, he wiped the slate
clean!
The wine list is wide-ranging, both in choice
and price, and we had a very good Chilean Sauvignon Blanc
(£13.95) – perfect with our chosen dishes. My
fish “n” fries comprised two huge pieces of cod
in a meltingly light batter, with home-made chunky fries and
pea puree. I enjoyed it immensely, but it was very filling.
Barry loved his pesto chicken dish, and the
contrasting flavours of the tender chicken, crunchy ham and
sweet potato.
Completely replete, we couldn’t contemplate
desserts, although the menu included such temptations as iced
vanilla parfait with warm berries (£4.95) and chocolate
truffle torte (£4.95). Instead, we had a coffee (£1.50),
and a cappuccino (£1.95), and decided that a walk around
Kilkenny was necessary after so much fine food.
FLAWLESS
I can’t recommend Zuni highly enough. The staff are
charming, the food near flawless, and the atmosphere relaxing
and convivial. It’s great way of re-charging the batteries
at the weekend, and Kilkenny has plenty to offer visitors.
And the cost of all this fine food? Our Saturday meal came
to £50.20 for the two of us – amazing. The meals
were included in the cost of £115/pps for two nights
B&B in the hotel.
The restaurant is open for lunch from 12.30pm
to 2.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and for dinner from 6.30pm
to 10pm, Tuesday to Sundays. Be warned though – the
locals seem to love it, and advance booking is advisable.