The Anvil: Bistro dining in small town Dublin
Opened as an offshoot of the successful Forge Bed & Breakfast, The Anvil's modern European-style menu follows a simple recipe for success: serve favorites well, serve new favorites often.
Regular visitors sample from a changing daily list of specials as well as a set menu of deeply delicious breakfast, lunch and light dinner options. Reservations are rarely required, and dress is relaxed among the regular clientele. Service ranges, depending on the day, from excellent to relaxed, although the menu more than makes up for any shortcomings from staff.
Filling appetizers that could easily take the place of a main course for light eaters are priced high, but filling. Pedestrian selections like chicken wings and salad give way to more luxurious choices, including a chicken liver and fois gras pate or a pan of sauteed wild mushrooms served warm over slices of bruschetta.
Sunday dinners are at their best in The Anvil's spare but comfortable dining room, with sun pouring in through the huge single window and the slow hum of fellow diners. Here, it's easy to linger over a plate of The Anvil's savory goats cheese tart, layered with caramelized onion, roasted red pepper and served hot with slices of chevre bubbling over a buttery crust.
Paired with a simple green salad and a bowl of the restaurant's perfectly thick, crispy steak fries, the plate is an easy win for picky eaters. For those with more carnivorous tastes, The Anvil serves steaks, a roast joint of the day, and a particularly delicious and meaty cheeseburger – served here with melted mozzarella, bacon and a thick layer of the popular, spicy-sweet Ballymaloe relish on a soft white bap.
Desserts are equally luxurious, with rich banoffi, apple pie and home-made cheesecake starring as diner favorites. Above all others, diners are encouraged to set aside any feelings of fullness and at least attempt the piping hot bread and butter pudding, layered with orange marmalade, a hint of Irish Mist whisky and liberally flavored with real vanilla.
Posted by Bridget Reilly
