I had been wanting to try the Cliff Town House on Stephens green for a while. Yesterday, myself and Mos decided to go for an impromptu early bird and were pleasantly surprised to find a table available and even more surprised to find the restaurant actually doing an early bird menu (well, pre theatre as it is known in this type of place) on a Saturday.

I am never worried when visiting a restaurant like this as if a decent chef is in the kitchen, they can cater for any dietary requirement. We warmed up for our meal with a drink at the bar(see the end of my chilli and lychee martini below, which was divine) and then sat down to order from the €25  three course menu.

There was plenty of choice there for me except for the obvious things like the bread for the table (although perhaps if I had given them notice they may have had a GF option for me) and croutons in the salad. I have a lovely spiced beef starter with Parmesan,hazelnuts and rocket, no adjustments needed. My main was sea trout with fennel and spinach and a side of dauphinoise potato. Again, no adjustments needed. Finally for dessert, a  selection of mousses which were absolutely beautiful.

The waiter was very knowledgeable when I mentioned coeliac to him when we were seated and I had no ill affects from the food, which was great.

I think the pre theatre menu is very good value, especially for a restaurant of this quality and I would definitely return.