You’re 25 years in business, how has the restaurant and the street and the area changed in that time?
At the start the restaurant was more geared towards students and theatre types – the very start is a bit before my time, but I did work with the previous owner as well. It was geared towards a very arty crowd. Whereas now, I think, we’re a bit more mainstream. We still have a big theatre crowd but much less of the students. I suppose the clientele has got a bit older and grown with the restaurant. Talbot Street has improved even in the 14 years I’ve been here. There’s not as many empty shops as there used to be. We’ve a few more restaurants around for sure, so the eating side of the street even in the last five or six years.
Are you doing anything to mark the 25th year? It’s quite a landmark.
We’re looking to do something around September on a Sunday night when we’d normally be closed, to maybe invite some regular customers and some old customers back, the previous owners and a couple of other people.
Tell us about the cuisine and about your own background.
I started here around 14 years ago as the head chef. When I started there was a big emphasis on vegetarians and vegans. While we always have two or three choices for vegetarians and vegans, we wouldn’t concentrate on it as much anymore. We do a lot more meat and fish than we had done previously. We’ve upped the level of the food over time. Myself, I’d like a lot of game. it’s not the season for it now, but we do quite a bit of game in the winter. We change obviously with the seasons, but I also try to change the menu every three or four weeks. Seasonality is very important.
I was trained in classical French cooking, but I wouldn’t describe us as classical French cooking. We’d use some classical methods of cooking too, but I also like Middle Eastern and African food, so if you look at our menus, there is a bit of a mix. I wouldn’t call it one style.
What about yourself, where did you begin in food?
I worked in a lot of places – I worked in the Gresham for a couple of years, a year in Shanahan’s as a sous chef, a couple of years in La Stampa as a sous chef, I spent a year in Australia working in a few French bistros, I spent a year in Glasgow working in Brasserie 66 and then myself and my wife – who co-runs the restaurant with me – came back, and we’ve been here since. I was here for about six years as head chef when the previous owners told us they were selling up, we said, ‘sure, why not?’
If you haven’t been to 101 Talbot before, what should you expect?
We’re very casual. It’s a big mix of people. There’s people in shirts and ties and there’s people in shorts and t-shirts. It’s all about the food really. We’re not about stuffiness. We want people to be relaxed, there’s no dress code or anything like that. We pride ourselves on good service, but we wouldn’t be obtrusive. Good food, good produce, served well and done well for a competitive price.
You’ve started lunches now too?
We started it a little while ago. I feel like it’s a great offering. There are a lot of our dinner dishes but at a much more competitive price. Then there things like a venison burger, a lamb tagine and soups and large salads. Again, it’s not just one style. Because we change the menu every three to four weeks, and because there’s three or four other chefs in the kitchen there’s lots of ideas coming from every angle. It’s ever changing, and there’s one or two specials every lunchtime.
101 Talbot, 101/102 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, 01-8745011
