La Reserve Brasserie

Possibly/probably now my favourite restaurant in Ranelagh. Dinner a few weeks ago and brunch today-top class, fresh food. Superb, smooth, professional service making it a really enjoyable all round experience. Try it if you have it tried it yet, you won't be disappointed.

Due to location, dining in Ranelagh isn’t something I do very often. I have however passed through many a time on a drive out to Dundrum, and always commented on the amount of dining options in the area. Everything looks so fancy!
As of last December, my non-Ranelagh dining experiences took a turn for the better. Since joining Zomato I have now tried two restaurants there at our meetups, and neither have disappointed. The most recent Zomato event was at La Resérve, located on Ranelagh’s main street.The first course was organic smoked salmon, buckwheat and herbed crème fraîche. Such beautiful presentation and anything with salmon gets good reviews from me.Our second course was frogs legs. I’ve never had frogs legs before, so I was pretty excited! Served in watercress soup; the course was so light that it felt more like a palate cleanser. I was hoping my first frog leg experience would involve garlic and plenty of butter but this was a nice twist and not too overwhelming with so many courses ahead.The third course was confit of quail with aubergine purée and oxtail and sherry vinegar. The meat was rich in flavour (as were the accompaniments) and very gamey for such a small bird. The next course was my favourite; rosemary and garlic infused rump of lamb with white beans and sweet pepper. The perfect comfort food on such a cold evening!Next up was Roquefort cheese in a walnut crumb, with pear confit. I normally (regretfully!) forgo cheese courses as they can be heavy but this was the perfect amount and the walnut subdued the sharp flavour of the cheese. Our final course was a beautifully presented dessert of a pistachio biscuit with a dark chocolate mousse, orange fruit salad and the best champagne sorbet I have ever tasted.
At the end of the meal we were honoured to meet the chef owner himself, Jérôme Fernandes, who is an incredibly pleasant, passionate and an all-around lovely guy.
La Resérve is a great little bistro, perfect for a date, anniversary or a small family gathering. Parking in Ranelagh can be difficult but La Resérve is a 2 minute walk from the Luas if you’re visiting from the city.

I had an amazing tasting menu here recently. With delicious canapés to start, I then had a smoked salmon roulade with a creamy herb cheese which was excellent and a light fresh beginning to our meal! Next was a watercress soup with frog legs, I was excited at the thought of my first experience of frog and it was a lovely introduction- they were served in the soup and very pleasant. A main of rump of lamb with beans and sweet pepper was comfort food at its best and the meat perfectly cooked. Next up was the highlight for me- Roquefort cheese with a walnut crumb and confit pear- heaven! A perfect dessert followed of champagne sorbet with orange salad!

A beautiful meal with excellent wines. La Reserve is a true hidden gem and is certainly leading the way with French food in Dublin. You can tell the chef is passionate about his food and this really shines through in the quality of every dish.

I’ve tried quite a few of the local restaurants in Ranelagh, The Butcher Grill, The Exchequer Wine Bar and Dillingers to name a few… but there are just so many there that I still haven’t tried. One on my list of the recently opened Rio Rodizio, a Brazilian place that I’ve heard great reports on. But on this occasion it was a place that I’ve often heard mentioned but never made it to thus far, La Réserve Brasserie.

The small and intimate French brasserie is situated on Ranelagh main street – an absolute nightmare for parking. It was a wet and windy night when we braved the outdoors and after a bit of a trek to find parking we were warmly welcomed into the cosy restaurant.

It was early evening and we were in time for their great Market Menu deal of 2 courses for €19.95 or 3 for €22.95.

Starter options included Smoked chicken and sweet potato gratin, monkfish and endive terrine with ricotta cheese and tomato, or the special for the day which was seared tuna with sundried tomatoes and ratatouille. I love tuna steak so went straight for that – a fabulous fresh and light starter and the ratatouille was a great accompaniment.

Choices for main were Chicken Roulade with shallot and sage cream, Slow baked Salmon with green peas and wasabi purée & Crêpe of baked ham with organic egg, Emmental, baby potato and mushroom. I was so close to ordering the crepe but decided on the Chicken Roulade – and was delighted with my choice. This was comfort food on a plate, creamy mashed potatoes with veg and delicious soft chicken.

Mam decided on the special of slow cooked rib of beef. I had more than a small bit of envy when I saw her gorgeous meat. Another dish of warm and comforting food, the red wine jus and beef were absolutely fantastic.

After foregoing a starter, she decided to go for the small cheese plate for dessert with a glass of wine which finished things off nicely.

The restaurant was pretty quiet during our visit – I can only imagine that the awful weather had put people off as it certainly isn’t the quality of food served in La Réserve. While Ranelagh has many popular dining options I find a lot of them are of the more casual burgers and wings line of food. La Réserve is a welcome break from that with a great Early Bird to take advantage of…give it a try!