Fine (outdoor) dining

Restaurants that have been able to offer outdoor dining saw an explosion of bookings once they were given the go-ahead. Having already been to Johnnie Fox's, The Mill at Lyons Estate and Suesey Street, tonight we were joined by our Chew & Chat buddy Tom for a beautiful meal in Volpe Nera in Blackrock. I'd made the booking six weeks ago (!), but the wait was well worth while.

The original idea was that we'd be dining indoors this time, but the ever-changing pandemic situation meant that the return of indoor dining now won't happen until 26th July. We were very impressed by the restaurant's proactive approach, contacting us to let us know we'd be outside and advising us to 'wrap up warm' in case the weather didn't play fair. As it happened, we couldn't have wished for a better evening — what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far.

It was a great night. Carl picked up Tom at Blackrock DART station in plenty of time for him to carry out an inspection of Carl's new house and then we taxi'd to the restaurant. We used the Free Now app (what a ridiculous name for a taxi service!) and had to get a 7-seater because all other options limit passenger numbers to two. After the meal we dropped Tom back to the DART and Carl and I  carried on back to his place.

Everything about the restaurant was top-notch. Great staff, excellent service, superb food. This is my starter (Hake & Lemon Croquettes). Carl's starter is one of the extras and the other shows the novel way the wine list is presented.