I completely slated Forde’s last year after the utterly mediocre overpriced meal we had there. It was on my permanent blacklist until today. My parents stepped once more into the breech and babysat the recovering nutters so that myself and Catherine could go out for a bite.

I had done a search on Georgina Campbell’s site and came up with a shortlist of The Lobster Pot in Carne, Le Colosseo in Rosslare, La Dolce Vida in Wexford, La Riva in Wexford, Mange 2 in Wexford and
Forde’s. The Lobster Pot has a reputation for horribly arrogant service and overpriced food (and you can’t book) so that was a no-no. We weren’t in a real Italian mood so that just left Mange 2 and Forde’s. It looked like Mange 2 would be the winner but then I was told about the poaching of the Heaven’s Above chef by Forde’s. The consistent bad stories we had all heard about them last year (by real diners as opposed to professional critics) had been replaced by very positive
ones since the new chef’s arrival. So Forde’s it was.

And oh jesus what a mistake that was.

Without a doubt the worst service I have had in a restaurant in five years. From the second we sat down, the clear aim was to get us the hell out of there. And well done to them, they beat our record. Three courses plus coffee in less than an hour and it was all completely mediocre except the coffee.

I don’t know what sort of crack John McKenna, Tom Doorley and Georgina Campbell are smoking but they are so far off the mark on this place, it isn’t funny.

The waiting staff never smiled once. They sat us beside the toilets in an almost empty restaurant. The bread came out with rock hard butter (Cert Training Day 1??). When we ordered the house tempranillo, the waitress said “great choice” and threw her eyes up to heaven as she walked off. The tone of “are you enjoying your meal” was such that you knew full well they did not give a shite either way. When we ordered our dessert, the waitress left so fast we had to shout our coffee order at her.

As for the food, no improvement on last year. Do they really have the old chef from Heaven’s above? The same stupid spud in a spring roll was on the menu - the restaurant equivalent of a chip butty. The same five beef dishes (four types of steak) out of a meat menu of eight. In fact, has the menu changed one iota from last year? The concept of “fish of the day” seems to escape them as all the fish is listed in the permanent menu. I must send them a map to Kilmore Quay.

Anyway, Catherine’s prawn salad on a bed of chinese leaves was missing its bed entirely. My confit of duck leg came with burnt rosti and was swimming in a pool of sauce. My brill was totally overcooked and Catherine’s lamb tasted ok but was very fatty and overcooked. Did they really cook a saddle of lamb in the time we were there or was it zapped? My pannacotta had the texture of butter rather than cream but Catherine’s desert was ok. Coffee was fine.

I’ve just re-read my review from last year to realise that I ordered exactly the same food this year as last! I know that shows me to be utterly predictable but it also says a lot about their static menu. Going by my comments last year, it really does look like the place has amazingly managed to get worse in twelve months.

How the hell are these people getting awards? Seriously, there is something utterly broken in mainstream restaurant reviewing that we can encounter service and food like this TWICE from a place with a 2006 Bridgestone plaque on the wall. To give Forde’s their due, I don’t think I have giggled that much since I was a teenager - a highly enjoyable night out with my wife.

For what I think is the second time ever in a restaurant, I left zero tip.

[tags]Forde’s, Wexford, Bridgestone[/tags]

UPDATE 2007/11/08: A comment below indicates that the restaurant is now under entirely new management etc, so please consider this review out of date.

My crazy parents decided to babysit all their grandchildren and sent the extended family out for a meal on the August Bank holiday Saturday. We’ve all had good meals over the years in Heavens Above in Wexford Town but unfortunately, for most of the group, this wasn’t one of those times.

The restaurant is above a fabulous old pub with the usual diddley-ay bric a brac on the walls. It is a look that was done to death in Dublin in the 80’s and 90’s but this feels like it might be real. It is a lovely airy pub with Erdinger on tap, which kept myself and Tony happy. We had booked for 8.30 but had to hang around downstairs until after 9. Even tho the place never looked completely full all night, the service was incredibly slow overall. OK, we were a group of eight, but that is hardly a stretch for a humming kitchen.

The table seemed to split pretty evenly between fish dishes at one end and steak at the other. Only the steak eaters left happy. The menu semed very limited in scope and unadventurous which was at odds with our previous experiences. I heard later that the chef who made the place famous had been poached by Forde’s along with a lot of the other staff (more of that in the next review). You could tell.

I enjoyed my toulouse sausage on lentils but Kevin thought it was bland and to be honest I could have rustled it up in 10 minutes at home with my eyes closed.

The fillet steaks with cafe de paris sauce were excellent and cooked just right.

The various types of fish that were ordered were all rated as very disappointing with a general feel that everything was missing simple touches like some butter or cream in the mashed spuds.

Desserts were skipped but the coffee was fine. The bill came to €380 with an automatic service charge of 10% due to the table size and we did not top that up. This included several pints for six of the diners and one bottle of white. Usual story with me - if it was far cheaper, I wouldn’t complain too much as the meal was fine. But at that price level, you can get far better food in other places in the town.

[tags]Heavens Above, Restaurant, Wexford, Ireland[/tags]