The Morrison Room at Carton House. It's rather impressive.
What can you tell us about Carton House?
Carton House is a historic five-star hotel and country estate, just a short drive outside Dublin which has a new(ish) restaurant that looks like it's gunning for a Michelin star. The Morrison Room sees the former Grill at the Dorchester head chef Adam Nevin in charge in a drop-dead gorgeous dining room and he's cooking up some great food.
There's some history to the hotel?
The history of Carton House goes back a long way. The estate was originally owned by the Fitzgerald family, who've owned the land as far back as 1170. Although they lost it for a time, they got it back in the 17th century, which was when the main manor house was built. However, they lost it all again in the early 20th Century when the youngest son used the house to guarantee gambling debts, thinking he'd never inherit it. However his brothers later died, leaving the house to him, which meant it had to be sold to pay the debt.
There are many fascinating rooms throughout the hotel, none more so than The Chinese Boudoir, on the ground floor, which was the bedroom kept for regular house guest Queen Victoria. If you're visiting, it's well worth getting a tour around the house to better understand its history.
The Chinese Boudoir, where Queen Victoria stayed.
Where is it?
The hotel is closest to Maynooth, a small town that's about a 40-minute car/train ride from Dublin. If you're on a tour around Ireland, this would be the perfect first stop in the countryside, after a proper night out in Dublin. It would also make a great two centre break if you're over for a short trip to Dublin.
So tell us about The Morrison Room
It's Carton House's main restaurant (we'll get to the other places to eat at the hotel in due course). The Morrison Room is run by Adam Nevin, who left The Grill at the Dorchester last year, where he was Head Chef working alongside Tom Booton. Having grown up right here in Maynooth, this is very much a return home for him.
Adam Nevin finishing up a dish in The Morrison Room
The restaurant is in one of the most beautifully ornate rooms in the whole building, looking out onto the gardens. It's a hugely impressive setting for a restaurant and it makes dining here feel like a very special occasion.
What's on the menu?
The food here is European fine dining in style, making great use of local Irish produce, with the provenance highlighted on the menu. Ireland has access to some fantastic produce across the country, and in recent years it's something that Irish restaurants are getting really good at showcasing.
It's tasting menu led, with two choices available, the four-course (plus extras) option for €110 or the signature menu, which is six courses (plus extras) for €140. We went for the latter which was perfectly paced for us. Here's a taste of what's in that.
As one of the unbilled extras, the bread is well worth a mention - it's their own homemade sourdough focaccia and some of the best we've ever tried. This comes with house-cured charcuterie.
West Cork raw Irish scallop, with sour cream, rhubarb jelly, lemon gel, poached rhubarb and herbs foraged from the estate.
Limousin veal sweetbreads, marinated in curry, in a veloute with razor clams, asparagus and Champagne. This comes with a little tartlet of crushed and fresh peas. We love a sweetbread dish and this is absolutely fantastic, particularly because of that delicate curry flavouring.
Wild Irish red mullet with west Cork lobster tail, native shrimps and asparagus with wild garlic mayonnaise and wild garlic (foraged from the estate) with a bouillabaisse sauce.
The main beef course comes in three parts. There's sirloin from Donegal, served with Kilkenny-grown wasabi that they bring to the table and grate tableside. The potato dish is layers of pommes anna, shimeji mushrooms and pommes mousseline. But the coup de grace, and one of our top things we've eaten this whole year is the tempura short rib with dehydrated miso, pictured top right. It is absolutely amazing.
The main dessert is Valrhona chocolate cremeaux and coffee parfait which comes with a Szechuan ice cream that works very well against the stronger chocolate flavours.
And what are the extras?
You'll have a load of great canapes at the start, but the thing we loved the most were the petit fours at the end. As well as bringing out a couple for the table, which included a pastry with a Durrus cheesecake filling, you're also presented with a wooden box, from which you can choose a couple of excellent chocolates (the flavours change regularly). It's a really nice touch for the end.
Finishing off with The Morrison Room's own chocolates.
In all, it was a five star experience and one of the most impressive tasting menu affairs we've had recently. Left a little more to his own devices than The Dorchester may have allowed, Adam has put together something quite special here and that Michelin star certainly looks within reach to us.
What about drink?
At The Morrison Room itself, you can go for a notably interesting wine pairing (€75 or €95) while the entry-level bottles are a pretty decent €42 (Bordeaux Rouge, Château Mondain, 2020). It's primarily a European list, with a few interesting New World and American wines in there too. On the very high end, if you're properly splashing out, it's €1700 for a Château Haut Brion, 2016.
Being a hotel, there are many more options for drinks too. The main bar also does a particularly creative line of cocktails.
But, if you get a chance, the one thing you must try is The Whiskey Library. This hidden away room is pretty close to The Morrison Room, and if you like a dram or two in the evening, you'll want to make time for this. They do tasting experiences here which start at just €30 and it's highly recommended.
Whiskey tasting in the Whiskey Library.
What else is available in the hotel?
There are two more areas for eating which are also worth highlighting. Within the main hotel, you'll find Kathleen's Kitchen, which is actually in the old servants' kitchen. This was apparently the first servants' kitchen to be built above ground in a manor house in Europe, because the woman in charge at the time, Lady Emily Lennox, wanted staff to be able to see the gardens. They serve food in here all day, and it's where most of the hotel's guests will have their breakfast too.
An excellent terrine from Kathleen's Kitchen of ham hock, black pudding, chicken and parma ham (€21)
The Full Irish from Kathleen's Kitchen
If you stay in the main manor house, you'll be able to have the "luxury breakfast" in a pretty stunning room next door to the Morrison Room, which has a Baroque-style water-driven organ built into one of the walls.
If you stay in the manor house, you get to have breakfast in the fanciest room.
And just outside the main house, you'll find the clubhouse (there's an extensive golf course here, where the Women's Irish Open is going to be hosted this year). This is a more casual diner and bar, so if you're staying a few nights, it's a great option for one of the evening meals.
The Carriage House
What about staying there?
There are two main options. If you stay in the main manor house, you have a choice of state rooms and suites - these are obviously the pricier option, with rooms starting from around €1k a night. However, if you stay in the newer addition to the house, The Garden Wing, that's a more affordable option with prices starting at around €300 a night.
There's also a spa onsite and a large 18m indoor swimming pool where you can retreat to if the Irish weather gets a little too much.
The back of the main manor house.
Overall thoughts
Starting with the hotel, the setting itself is also pretty great. Outside of the main restaurant, all the food here is very accomplished and felt like it was all very befitting of the five-star experience. There's plenty to do and see around the hotel itself and it's a great jumping-off point if you're touring around Ireland. Mov
Moving onto the main event - The Morrison Room is a hugely accomplished affair with chef Adam Nevin showcasing just what he's capable of, in a spectacular setting. If you're either living in or thinking of making a trip to Ireland, this restaurant should absolutely be on your go-to list. We're still talking about how good that short-rib tempura was. A visit here comes highly recommended.
More about Carton House and The Morrison Room
Where is it? Carton House, Carton Demesne, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, W23 TD98, Ireland
How to book the restaurant: Book online or call +353 (0)1 505 2000
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @the_morrisonroom and @cartonhouse.fairmont
Hot Dinners ate and stayed as guests of Carton House. Prices are correct at the time of writing. And - full transparency - a close family member works in the front of house team at the restaurant.
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