Back to Ireland, but not quite to Dublin. I’d said I might have a report from the fine dining end of things in Dublin this week but I seem to have misplaced the notes I took on the dishes at that meal. So while I scramble to find them, here is a quick look instead at a seafood lunch in Howth, a lovely seaside town, just about a 30 minute train ride from the center of Dublin.

We had been planning to go to Howth pretty much every weekend since we arrived in Dublin, but between a busy schedule and bad weather it didn’t end up happening till almost the very end of our stay. But we did make it out there on a lovely sunny Sunday in August and it was a lovely day. We spent the morning walking one of the longer trails along the cliffs of Howth, and when we descended to the town, we were ready for lunch. That lunch was at King Sitric.

We hadn’t really planned to eat anywhere in particular in Howth. I think we’d figured we’d scope out the scene once we got hungry. But the weather had brought a lot of people in for the day and it seemed prudent to make a lunch reservation before we took off for our walk. King Sitric was right at hand and a quick bit of googling indicated they were locally popular. They were already almost completely booked but were able to offer us an outdoor table at shack-style seating (I forget what the actual term they use is). And it was there we took a seat once we arrived to eat.

The menu is largely centered on seafood. You can also get a burger and the like, and of course, almost everything comes with a side of chips (fries for the Americans) but the seafood is where the action is at. You can choose from the regular menu or from the specials which seem to feature more local shellfish and fish. After getting set up with drinks—soft drinks for the boys, a perfectly-poured pint of Guinness for me—we got down to business.

As is our wont, we shared everything. We started with an order each of the fried calamari and the steamed mussels in a cream, garlic, leek and white wine sauce. We got small sizes of each—this exercised our young server a little bit as he was convinced we were ordering far too little food. As it happens, we we had eaten a large breakfast to fortify ourselves for the long walk and hadn’t fully walked it off. And so these portions—not over-large but also not miniscule—were fine for us. To follow, only two larger dishes. The boys asked if we could get some lobster and as there was some local lobster from Balscadden Bay in Howth on offer it seemed a good idea. We got the steamed lobster. I’m only realizing now that we were not served the chips the menu says it comes with. The lobster itself was very good, if not very large for 35 euros. The plaice almondine was even better. A very nice, large piece of fish, perfectly cooked and sauced.

Despite our server’s fears on our behalf, we were fairly well sated at this point and so passed on dessert.

For a look at what we ate, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next on the food front.

Service was friendly and despite how busy they were our server checked in on us regularly. The total cost was just shy of 100 euros. Almost exactly what we’d paid a few weeks earlier for another seafood-centered lunch at Fish Shop in Dublin. That meal was quite a bit better, on the whole, but of course it had not featured local lobster, or proximity to the cliffs and waters of Howth. Still, I’d recommend King Sitric if you’re looking for a meal in Howth. But what I’d really recommend is going to Howth on a nice day if you’re visiting Dublin. We’re very glad we did.

Alright, perhaps I’ll have that fine dining report from Dublin next week. If I can’t find my notes I might email the restaurant and see if they have details on their menu from three months ago…Before that though I’ll have at least one more report from Italy this weekend, and quite likely a New York report next Tuesday. Though there is a chance we might go up to the Minnesota History Center this weekend with my visiting mother-in-law; and if we do we’ll likely eat lunch somewhere in St. Paul.