Annie's
Guest Writer: Danielle Barnes
Edited by: Ursula
Ballydehob,
West Cork
While in Ireland I had the pleasure of dining at Annie's restaurant in West Cork. Being used to places such as the Olive Garden and White Spot, I would definitely declare Annie's as being "fancy" with her warm, inviting ambiance and elegant 5 course meal: so put some effort into your outfit before you even think of leaving the house! When we arrived, Annie's wasn't quite open yet so she offered us the pub across the street (Levi's) to wet our whistles and salivate over the menus. Adorned with quaintness and a friendly elderly lady who seemed to be quite popular, the pub was very amusing with letters from numerous famous people, such as the Queen of England. You be the judge if they're real or not.
While you are enjoying the pub, Annie then comes over and takes your order. The selection is surprising. There is something for everyone and you have many scrumptious dishes to choose from. There is even a separate vegetarian menu as well. When you order, you choose your starter, a sorbet or soup to cleanse your palette, and then your entree. Dessert is also included in the reasonable cost but you don't order that until after you've finished your many meals.
I chose the cheese souffle for my starter and it was divine. It was light and not very heavy. I was very pleased. Next I was able to sample the passionfruit sorbet, which made my tastebuds tingle. There were tiny bits of passionfruit in the sorbet, which added so much more to the not overly sweet flavour. It was the perfect way to prepare myself for the main course. Four different entrees were ordered that evening and I had decided to try the steak with garlic butter, well done. One misconception of having a well done steak is that it tends to be dry. This is simply not true, if it is done with a sauce. This helps to seal in the flavour and keep the meat juicy. I had thought that the garlic butter was a sauce, but it was on my plate, on the side. I did find the steak to be quite dry and lacking of flavour due to the absence of seasoning, but it still did not ruin my so far lovely evening.
***EDITOR'S NOTE***
Liz had the scallops and said they were delicious and the largest she'd ever seen. I, Ursula, had the mixed vegetable pastry and it was gorgeous. I can't remember what Gerry had, that much pleasure makes you lose your memory, but maybe he can fill that in.
***
For dessert I chose the sinningly sweet chocolate cake with strawberries and chocolate sauce. To die for!
A side note about Annie's, they had the best bathrooms that I could find in all of Ireland. Instead of a narrow tiny stall, it was a large room and the best part - paper towels!!!!
Annie's was not only an amazing restaurant, she is also an amazing person, hostessing, taking orders, cooking and ensuring her customers are satisfied. And this one certainly was!
Annies II
I had to add to this post to put in some pictures. To start I had the twice baked cheese souffle. It looked a lot like this.
It tasted much better than my camera phone photography skills can show. The words oh, my and god just flow together to describe this.
I had a lemon sorbet after this, no pictures I'm afraid, but moved swiftly on to the pork.
This was really really really good. (Yes there is a pattern here in describing this food). It also came with the spuds, very important in Ireland that we have the spuds.
Needless to say the spuds turned out to be a very tasty selection of veggies.
Of course there are more important things than the main course, and yes dessert did Annies proud. Chocolate fudge cake. Mmmmm fudge cake...
Overall Annies is a top restaurant. All 5 courses come in at about 45 euro a head, which is pretty good. The food is fantastic, and the trip across the road for a pint to peruse the menu is an experience in itself. Try it out, if you can get a booking that is. Annies tends to be booked out early for the summer months.
Edited by: Ursula
Ballydehob,
West Cork
While in Ireland I had the pleasure of dining at Annie's restaurant in West Cork. Being used to places such as the Olive Garden and White Spot, I would definitely declare Annie's as being "fancy" with her warm, inviting ambiance and elegant 5 course meal: so put some effort into your outfit before you even think of leaving the house! When we arrived, Annie's wasn't quite open yet so she offered us the pub across the street (Levi's) to wet our whistles and salivate over the menus. Adorned with quaintness and a friendly elderly lady who seemed to be quite popular, the pub was very amusing with letters from numerous famous people, such as the Queen of England. You be the judge if they're real or not.
While you are enjoying the pub, Annie then comes over and takes your order. The selection is surprising. There is something for everyone and you have many scrumptious dishes to choose from. There is even a separate vegetarian menu as well. When you order, you choose your starter, a sorbet or soup to cleanse your palette, and then your entree. Dessert is also included in the reasonable cost but you don't order that until after you've finished your many meals.
I chose the cheese souffle for my starter and it was divine. It was light and not very heavy. I was very pleased. Next I was able to sample the passionfruit sorbet, which made my tastebuds tingle. There were tiny bits of passionfruit in the sorbet, which added so much more to the not overly sweet flavour. It was the perfect way to prepare myself for the main course. Four different entrees were ordered that evening and I had decided to try the steak with garlic butter, well done. One misconception of having a well done steak is that it tends to be dry. This is simply not true, if it is done with a sauce. This helps to seal in the flavour and keep the meat juicy. I had thought that the garlic butter was a sauce, but it was on my plate, on the side. I did find the steak to be quite dry and lacking of flavour due to the absence of seasoning, but it still did not ruin my so far lovely evening.
***EDITOR'S NOTE***
Liz had the scallops and said they were delicious and the largest she'd ever seen. I, Ursula, had the mixed vegetable pastry and it was gorgeous. I can't remember what Gerry had, that much pleasure makes you lose your memory, but maybe he can fill that in.
***
For dessert I chose the sinningly sweet chocolate cake with strawberries and chocolate sauce. To die for!
A side note about Annie's, they had the best bathrooms that I could find in all of Ireland. Instead of a narrow tiny stall, it was a large room and the best part - paper towels!!!!
Annie's was not only an amazing restaurant, she is also an amazing person, hostessing, taking orders, cooking and ensuring her customers are satisfied. And this one certainly was!
Annies II
I had to add to this post to put in some pictures. To start I had the twice baked cheese souffle. It looked a lot like this.
It tasted much better than my camera phone photography skills can show. The words oh, my and god just flow together to describe this.
I had a lemon sorbet after this, no pictures I'm afraid, but moved swiftly on to the pork.
This was really really really good. (Yes there is a pattern here in describing this food). It also came with the spuds, very important in Ireland that we have the spuds.
Needless to say the spuds turned out to be a very tasty selection of veggies.
Of course there are more important things than the main course, and yes dessert did Annies proud. Chocolate fudge cake. Mmmmm fudge cake...
Overall Annies is a top restaurant. All 5 courses come in at about 45 euro a head, which is pretty good. The food is fantastic, and the trip across the road for a pint to peruse the menu is an experience in itself. Try it out, if you can get a booking that is. Annies tends to be booked out early for the summer months.
posted by goodurs at 8:30 AM
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