The Two Minute Review: Ely Wine Bar's Secret Pairing

Lisa Cope
Aug 19
2 min read

What's all this about a secret food and wine pairing?

In an era of being bled dry with every step, we're permanently hunting for good value. While looking for somewhere on a quiet Tuesday we came across Ely Wine Bar's "secret pairing" experience, and thought €64.50pp for three courses and wines (hopefully good ones) was worth investigating.

Where are we sitting?

Down to the cellar you go - not ideal on a muggy summer evening, but will be 10/10 on a cold, blustery night coming soon. When we booked there were only high tops available, but low tables were free, so either they had cancellations or their booking system is awry.

What's the secret pairing all about?

They're at pains to explain it's not a three course meal, but snacks, starters and a main. Our snacks were Cooleeney cheese fondue with roast garlic sourdough (funky and crunchy, but the crispy bread we pointed at here looks even better); chicken pie croquettes (loved), and Manzanilla and Kalamata olives (not the city's finest and too many for two). So far, so good though.

"Starters" were even better, with a bowl each of two perfectly cooked scallops with borlotti beans, tomato, basil, artichoke and EVOO poured at the table. We were told our substantial mushroom risotto to share had had chestnut, shiitake and morels, but we found no morels. Hazelnuts, Parmesan and lemon on top stopped it feeling too heavy.

At this stage we were pretty full (stinginess not an issue), so when a board of shatteringly crispy chicken arrived with foie gras stuffing, crunchy mange tout and a buttery leek sauce, we had to undo buttons.

A (bigger than necessary) bowl of ratte potatoes on the side was bland in comparison, with no real reason to finish them.

We didn't need dessert, but were told at 21:40 they needed to let their chef go home and panicked. The "peach bellini ice-cream sandwich" (€7) wasn't worth it - we're not convinced the choux was homemade, and the unripe, crunchy peach was a travesty.

What about wines?

When it comes to wine, tell them your likes or dislikes (the same goes for food). We said interesting, natural, not overly commercial, and it paid off. A, soft, fruity, Portugese pet nat was beautiful with the snacks, and a Sicilian orange Catarratto stood up brilliantly to scallops and risotto.

A Portugese white made from local grape varieties, aged under flor like sherry, was interesting with the chicken too - you'll leave here with added wine knowledge and new bottles to look out for.

Any low points?

It was very wintery food for July, with too many heavy ingredients leading to "I've over done it" discomfort - we were crying out for a salad. They also whipped away a glass with that precious last sip of wine in it, and when alerted said it had been empty. Nothing like a bit of he said she said to end the night on a bum note.

Why should we go?

€64.50 a head for this amount of food and wine feels like a steal of a deal these days, and will be even better on an Autumn/Winter evening when the food and room better suit the mood.