The Glass Curtain — Restaurant in Cork

Arrived at The Glass Curtain on a lovely, pleasant September evening having heard great things in advance regards this restaurant. Expectations were high, the place was buzzing & a lovely warm atmosphere greeted us. Our attentive waitress was friendly & went through the menu, leaving us to decide between a sharing á la carte or the tasting menu, while we chose the wine……..a beautiful NZ Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc at a vastly inflated, overpriced……€57 - can purchase locally for €21.95!!! We opted for the sharing á la carte menu, choosing a single snack along with two starters as well as a sharing duck main course. Snack arrived promptly & was very tasty – a type of Welsh rarebit. This was quickly followed by the two starters – an okay, if rather bland glazed beetroot dish, along with a fantastic mushroom plate…….a definite highlight of the evening – simply sublime. Following a nice welcome breather between courses, our ‘sharing’ main course duly arrived……..the complete letdown of the night at €80 I might add??!!. Two underwhelming (smallish) duck breasts arrived on a dish with a watery sauce/jus along with a cooked pear……that was it – nothing else - €80. Thankfully, we had the foresight to order an accompaniment of crisp potato terrine (so delicious) at an additional €5……..although why this could not be included as part of the main dish simply beats me!!! Not a single other vegetable or accompaniment – mind-blowing!! However, just before we completed this course – I was on my last piece of duck & my wife was not far behind, an apologetic waiter darted to our table with a basket of delicious warm flatbreads saying they had forgotten to give them earlier!!! Honestly, being charged €80 & for this apparently ‘included’ part of the dish to arrive as we were polishing off our mediocre meal, I find unacceptable. Too little, far too late. Eating out is a luxury, especially over recent years & when you plan for a special occasion (my wife’s birthday on this particular day); you like to feel you are getting value as you part with your hard earned cash. With this in mind, I took my time selecting a venue, reading reviews etc. I am not for one moment suggesting I’m naive enough not to have budgeted for what we anticipated to eat/drink having checked prices online in advance, but I seriously believe a review of price & portion should take place without haste!! To its credit, this place is lively & inviting & the staff friendly, but at the end of the day it comes down to the food, the value & the feel good factor (irrespective of cost)! For us, on this occasion all of these were sadly lacking. We most certainly will not be returning to The Glass Curtain having left with a serious hole in our pockets & a sour taste...

Staff were friendly and attentive. However, the flavour matching left a lot to be desired and wasn't what I have come to expect from restaurant within that price bracket. Honestly I left a bit disappointed.

For the starters I had the tartar and my partner had the saffron risotto. The taste of the risotto was incredible but it was unfortunately a little soupy, perhaps this is the restaurants choice but it felt very thin and watery. The tartar however was not good. The beef itself was delicious however it was placed upon a huge portion of soft cheese, which completely overpowered the delicate flavours of the beef as well as ruining the mouth feel.

For the main we shared a cote de boeuf, which was tasty and cooked to our preference. However, they had missed some of the sinew, and it was not as tender as I have experienced elsewhere. We also thought it was an odd choice that the side pairing would be three potato paves, considering this is a main designed to be shared between two people. Surely you should either have two larger paves or four paves in order to have equal sharing. Three is an odd number to have between two people. The salad that came with the main was ok on its own but the acidic vinaigrette overpowered the gentle taste of the potato and meat. The bone marrow was delicious however the pesto(?) Topping on it was pointless and again overpowered the flavours of marrow.

Nothing felt like it had been tasted together.

The dessert was delicious and the highlight of the meal, however even with this it felt like an oversight in the kitchen or perhaps careless preparation. The dessert had caramelised walnuts but unfortunately they were visibly burnt and bitter.

Overall we left the restaurant extremely underwhelmed. Considering the price point I would expect higher standards. I have had much much better for less. The attention to detail wasn't there and neither was the presentation or flavour matching. Unfortunately we didn't want to cause a scene in the restaurant but we will not be recommending the glass...

When I go to the EU, I always try to have at least one Michelin star dining experience; ideally in a two-star or higher restaurant, but sometimes just something in the Guide, which might become Michelin-starred at some point. The Glass Curtain, on McCurtain St, Cork, offers an interesting, intelligent, most assuredly out of this world-delicious 'tasting menu' with wine pairing. Chef paced the palate progression perfectly. S/he offered some little lovely, surprising flavour combinations, and very clever reimagining of common Irish foods like mullet, 'jambon', and pepita pesto, all deftly paired with wines, noticeably from the Languedoc and Porto areas. I'm suspecting some Basque 'pintxos' influence in the tasting menu: the 'jambon' was a delicious bomb when eaten whole, and I was very impressed by the mint-infused olive oil on the fish. I am very pleased to have opted-in to the cheese with white port plate. Service was professional, calm, friendly (not chummy). Ambiance is comfortable: the room has a good layout with a range of table options, including seats at the bar. It didn't feel stark when I arrived at 6pm and was one of only three tables. It didn't feel raucous or cacophenous at 8:30pm when all the tables were filled. The decor offers modern subdued monotones with a pop of cobalt, white table cloths, good glassware and cutlery. The only design misstep was the plastic ivy over the bar, and the dessicated leaves hanging by the kitchen. There is a nice homage to the women who used to work in the same place when it was a bakery, with their photo being the only wall adornment, plus inclusion of Glass Curtain's reimagined 'barmbrack' (cinnamon raisin bread) in the tasting menu. Overall, An impeccable experience. Truly my best dinner out since France, summer of 2023. The Glass Curtain is not Michelin starred yet (though it appears in the guide). But if Chef and house keep the inventive flavours, locally sourced ingredients and excellent service coming (and correct the dead foliage...