Dillon's of Timoleague - Good food, bad value

Kind Auntie Fiona took care of our angels on Friday night so Catherine and I could trot down to Timoleague for a bite to eat. Dillon’s gets a strange mini-review in the 2004 edition of Georgina Campbell. It isn’t really clear whether they think much of it. Dillon’s describe themselves as a cafe bar which can mean a wide range of things.

We popped our head in the door to see a normal bar with beer taps but no-one sitting at it and then a bunch of tables with people eating. It was pretty much full at 8pm which is a good sign. Decor is sort of shabby chic with a mix of table and chair types. I loved the look of the bar itself. Nice friendly welcome and we kicked off with two G&T’s.

I started off with duck spring rolls and Catherine had crab cakes. We also ordered a bottle of red Bordeaux at €23 which was excellent and extremely good value. My spring rolls were lovely and came with an unknown but very tasty dipping sauce. Catherine thought her crab cakes were only fine. But both plates were ruined by having a pile of diced generic salad which clearly came from a vac-packed bag and some big lumps of unripe tomato. Nasty and unnecessary. I’d have preferred either nothing or maybe some undressed coleslaw or something seasonal.

The mains were far far better. I had two wee quail which were fab and came with a good sauce. Catherine had the duck which seemed to be a popular choice at other tables too and she thought it was great. Both came with generic microwaved/steamed veg side plate. I’m thinking of starting a campaign to have this banned in restaurants instead of smoking. Nothing wrong with it, nothing right, why bother? Why not add some flavour and make it part of the meal?

Desserts were both superb. I had blueberry creme brulee which was awesome and Catherine had a plate-lickingtastic ice-cream thingy with cherries, nuts and chocolate sauce. Coffees were good too.

Then came the bill: €113! Bloody hell. That is so out of whack with the level of the food, it just is not funny. At maybe €85 I would have left happy but €113 is a similar price to a meal we had in Les Gourmandises which is one of the best restaurants in Munster.

But the place was full of locals and had sounded full the previous night when Catherine had booked, so what do they care what I think. If people are willing to pay way over the odds for mid-range food then let them. But at those prices, I don’t think we’ll be rushing back.

[tags]Dillon’s, Timoleague, Les Gourmandises[/tags]