Ard Bia and Nimmo's

This day we had an early dinner at Ard Bia and Nimmo's, Spanish Arch, Long Walk, Galway, Ireland (http://www.ardbia.com/restaurant.html). We were lucky to be early; that was the only reason they could find us a table. This is a crowded restaurant, for good reasons, and booking is recommended. Outside, you can admire all the awards they've collected over the years.

The bread was the first indication of what was to come: three different kinds, all of them delicious but the cinnamon bread was astounding. We rapidly consumed it all. Bernhard had a starter, as usual, and choose the day's special, chili squid rings on salad. The leaves were crisp and tasty, herbs rather than lettuce, with lots of fennel, and the squid just the right level of hot.

The main course was another day's special, tuna with tabbouleh, for Bernhard and, since I had decided, based on the bread, that I could trust this place to have a good cook, polenta cake with smoked Gubeen cheese, creamy mushroom, spinach & tarragon sauce. The tuna was rare, as it should be, and the tabbouleh flavourful, just as it should be. My polenta cake was creamy, fluffy, and resting in a sauce that mixed justt he right amount of flavours: none of the one-flavour-too-many which is so common right now for reasons which escape me. The mushroom and spinach dominated, with the tarragon nicely understated (tarragon in food, like in your garden, tends to take over if not kept within bounds).

We were too full for dessert. This is a lamentable fate.