As you enter the beautifully decorated restaurant on St Andrew’s Street, you are greeted by the rich aroma of food, the buzzing atmosphere of sophisticated diners and very welcoming staff.
Trocadero is a European restaurant located in the heart of Dublin, just a two-minute stroll from Grafton Street. It boasts a menu with great variety for all three courses, as well as a bar with the finest drinks.
I visited Trocadero on a Monday evening at about 7pm and to my surprise, the place was full of life. It would appear the Celtic Tiger is making a comeback judging by the atmosphere in the restaurant.
The interior design is very elegant and stylish, with comfortable chairs and photographs of famous people, many of which are autographed, covering the walls. The restaurant is surprisingly big, and is divided into four separate but equally beautiful rooms.
The menu is wonderfully varied, with many fish, meat and vegetable options to suit everyone. The problem comes with deciding which dish to choose, as they all look so appealing.
For starter, I had the chicken liver pâté served with hot toast and a cranberry glaze. I was very impressed, despite never having it before. The pâté was mild yet the overall dish was full of flavour, as was everything else I ate there.
After some difficulty deciding which main I wanted, I ordered the cannelloni, which can only be described as rolled-up lasagne. It was simply delicious and was perfectly complemented by the side salad.
The dessert menu is very appealing, but I wanted something fairly light after the rather heavy main course, so I opted for the lemon tart with vanilla crème anglaise. Zesty yet sweet, this was a delightful ending to the meal.
To accompany the dinner I had a lovely Pinot Grigio which really complemented the flavours of the food, particularly the starter. I also had a cosmopolitan to finish the evening, which was a little sharp but still enjoyable.
Dining at Trocadero is a wonderful experience, but not one that can be done too often unless you have plenty of money. As a student, it wouldn’t be my number one choice of restaurant as it is quite pricey, but it is definitely somewhere to try if you really want to treat yourself.
Aoibheann Diver
Image credit: Chai Brady
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