Warehouse Bistro
Guildhall Street
Derry
028 7126 4798
MAYBE a year or two back, I walked one Winter night through Guildhall Square in Derry.
It was a week night, about half eight, not many people around; cold, and the wind was blustering along the river and seeking out the side streets along the river road.
I cut down Guildhall Street. There must have been some function on in the Warehouse Café. It normally closed around six, but the lights were on, and there were people inside.
It looked inviting, a place of fun and friends and warmth and welcome. It was glowing, with soft light gently permeating the misted windows, lifting and heating the red window frame and door. I remember slowing to a stop, smiling, and then hurrying on to the car.
The business there is expanding, carrying that warmth to a shop and gallery upstairs, full of locally produced crafts and artwork, and a bistro downstairs, next door to the café. The restaurant is open from Thursday to Saturday, with last orders taken at around 9.30pm.
The adjoining café will stay open also, and there’ll be music in the café from various local artists. This gives the place a really attractive dimension, because you can have a drink there before your meal, and head back there afterwards, too. It’s easy-going and relaxing, a destination for the whole evening.
This was a night the three of us had been looking forward to for the entire week: the new James Bond at the Strand Road round the corner, and then a table at the Bistro. It was only the restaurant’s third night of trading, which might have put us off, except for the quality of the cooks. Ivan Taylor is the former owner and head chef of Brown’s, over in the Waterside, and his sous chef, Lisa, trained at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork. Not bad provenance.
After a Diet Coke and a shared bottle of Northbound Pale Ale in the café, we headed into the bistro. It’s a small restaurant, the walls adorned with art from the gallery upstairs, an intimate space, although not in the romantic sense – more for groups of close friends to chatter and laugh and relax.
As you’d expect from such a new restaurant, there are tweaks to be made, but you’d have to say they’ve hit the ground running. My goats’ cheese starter was beautiful. I loved the combination of salty cheese, sweet beetroot, and crunchy, autumnal hazelnut. The roast onion tart was warm and deliciously mild, with a nice touch of sharpness from the vinaigrette.
My brother declared his soup was fantastic. The café soup is generally brilliant, so I do believe him, although I wasn’t allowed to try it, my brother continuing the James Bond theme throughout the evening, and keeping his food taken, not shared.
The mains maintained the high standard. The chicken was tender and rich, the duck beautifully cooked and accompanied by lovely, al dente puy lentils, and the pork cutlet with baked apple just delicious. The side orders were of a high quality also. The chips were crisp and then soft, and the mash creamy and smooth. I couldn’t detect the promised scallion, mind, and, while the greens were good, some parsnip and carrot would have given the dish something extra.
We all enjoyed our puddings, although they did leave us a touch puzzled. I don’t see the point of having three identical possets on the same plate, and I think hot rice pudding is a better bet than cold, and, while my ice cream was gorgeous, the poached peach didn’t seem too poached.
Minor objections, easily remedied. Delicious food, caring staff, the warmth of home, this is a local with heart and soul, that should glow in the shadow of the Guildhall for a long, long time.
THE BILL
Starters:
Boile goats’ cheese, with candied beets, roasted hazelnuts
Roast onion tart and ratatouille vinaigrette
Gruyere and red onion soup, potato bread
Mains:
Chicken supreme, with lardons, broad beans
Duck confit and braised puy lentils
Rare breed pork cutlet and honey baked apple
Pudding:
Three chocolate and cream possets
Vanilla seed ice cream, poached peach
Chilled rice and sultana pudding, with skin, apricot jam, pouring cream
Mains served with choice of side dishes – fat chips, buttered Winter greens, dressed leaves, buttermilk and scallion mash
Three courses for £20 per person
Diet Coke – £1.75
Northbound Pale Ale - £4
Bottle of Zonin Pinot Grigio – £16.50
Total - £82.25
