Emilias, Enniskerry, Ireland

Cambridge foodie has been slack once again, this time blaming it on many weekends spent in a gin haze at parties/ hen nights/ weddings.  Disturbingly the gin head count in the house currently stands at 15 and I think I may have some kind of hoarding problem.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I can recall a crystal clear weekend in February spent sans gin with my teetotal sister (TS).

Those with keen eyes may have spotted this was a weekend in Ireland. We were shopping for a dress with my mother (MW) for TS' upcoming nuptials (we're telling her future husband (POG) she's going to look like a frilly toilet roll holder).  After a long day of shopping in Dublin we headed out to the mountains to grab a bite to eat at Emilias.

Enniskerry appears to be a quiet, sleepy sort of town so I was surprised to find this little gem.  With some debate the three members of staff finally decided that four of us could have a table in the almost empty restaurant (it was only 6pm).

We skipped starters as our driver was feeling a little peaky and headed straight for the mains.  I opted for pizza, a massive dominos-shaming (in both size and cheese content) plate turned up.  Very tasty it was too though I was glad it was topped with rocket which hid the cheese from view and 'balanced' my meal.  POG also had a pizza and despite his best efforts only managed half (the balancing effect of the rocket meant I hit two thirds before wimping out).

MW opted for pasta in a creamy, spicy sauce with chicken which was fabulous.  The sauce had just enough spice to be a seasoning, the chicken was tender and moist and there was a generous dose of garlic.  The garlic was nothing, however, when compared to the garlic contained within TS' garlic potatoes.  They were, to be frank, a work of genius (or should that be tasty nom-iness?).  I still can't work out how *that* much garlic got into potatoes.  Beautifully cooked roasted new potatoes, but mostly garlic.

All this was topped off with a rather good bottle of Primitivo that I suspect the Italian owner may be importing himself as it was cheap as chips and very, very tasty.  Rich and velvety smooth with very ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit and a touch of clove spice to the vanilla finish.

A restaurant well worth visiting if you happen to be in the area but it is a bit of a trek from Dublin.