Honestly, when I think of Irish pubs, I generally think of
establishments that have based their business plans on two things: a
handful of stereotypes and a Celtic font. But—-barring an appearance
by Colm Meaney or a musical tour of the restaurant by Anna
McGoldrick—-it is pretty much impossible to cram any more authenticity into Durty Nelly’s Irish
Pub.
With a sprawling bar that curves through the pub, from a more
upscale Victorian setting in the front to a laid-back country style
area in the back, the space is at once relaxingly upscale and
folksy.
The menu—which was created with the consultation of Canadian
celebrity chef David Adjey, who is familiar to Food Network Canada and
HGTV fans from his work on Restaurant Makeover—-has a tight
focus on homey, traditional meat-and-potato fare. Service is quick and
friendly and our server is happy to provide suggestions based on
customer favourites and her own preferences. We start off with the
Hungarovin Jaszberenyi Riesling ($5.97) and the light, smooth Durty
Nelly’s House Ale ($4.87) while we make up our minds.
Word on the street is that Durty Nelly’s fish and chips are
basically some kind of Neptunian ambrosia, seasoned with the tears of
joy wept by angels from above, but we decide a full-out assault on
nursery rhymes is the order of the day. We settle on Guinness-braised
lamb shank with market vegetables and potato bread dumplings ($17.99)
and Nova Scotia lamb stew with potato-parsley gnocchi ($13.99). Sorry,
Little Bo Peep. You can call back the search party.
The stew is thick, heavy and nicely seasoned and the serving is big
enough to make Éirinn go Brágh, but ultimately it is a
bit of a disappointment. The lamb is inconsistent with stringy, dry
nuggets outnumbering the few tender treasures, while the vegetables are
so soggy that they can’t hold up to even the gentlest assault from a
soup spoon. But it’s the gnocchi that is the real disappointment in
this dish. Dense and rubbery, they are doughy bricks instead of the
pillowy, melt-in-your mouth treat I expect.
The stew is also inexplicably served with focaccia. It’s too oily a
bread to really complement the dish. Something a little more
traditional like Irish soda bread or a nice, flaky biscuit to soak up
the thick liquid would be nice.
Meanwhile, the lamb shank is perfectly cooked. It’s soft and juicy,
and seems ready to fall right off of the bone with no more prodding
than a gentle breeze. The shank is served with a drizzle of the rich
Guinness sauce, caramelized pearl onions, a side portion of carrots and
cauliflower and potato bread dumplings. Unlike the gnocchi, the moist,
deftly cooked dumplings are the starchy highlight of this plating. The
portion is, again, a little overwhelming, but you can’t really fault a
Henry VIII-sized shank sitting on a generous pile of dumplings.
We finish up our meals with French vanilla ice cream with spiced
berry compote ($6.99) and toffee bread pudding with caramel sauce
($6.99). The bread pudding is rich and dense with a nice spice and
lovely caramel sauce, but the whipped cream has the cloying taste of a
canned whipped topping. A clean, fresh cream would be a nicer
counterpoint to the heavy sweetness of the bread pudding. The berry
compote is fresh and tasty, if a little unexciting, but also suffers
the same unfortunate whipped topping.
It turns out that there is live traditional Irish music at Durty
Nelly’s on Wednesday nights, something we didn’t realize when we sat
down for our meal. If straining to talk to your dinner companion over
the rhythmic beating of a bodhran doesn’t exactly keep your Irish eyes
smiling, you might want to pick another night.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2009.
Why WHY WHY!!!!! does the coast have people review pubs, and only critique the food? Lord knows if they went into a fine dining establishment, there would be mention of the wine list. Bottom line, Durty Nelly’s is a chain/franchisee establishment, with a corporate (read gross) beer selection. You want my business, give me a good drink….
They have two Garrison beers on tap, the standard collection of Irish beers and, I beleive, a few corporate “canadian” beers. A little more variety would be nice, but it’s certainly not gross.
In any case, I think DN’s markets itself primarily on the food, which is very good – based on my two experiences – and it’s decor, which is also very nice, so I think that this review is pretty much spot on.
The standard collection of ‘Irish’ beers is the equivalent of the standard collection of ‘Canadian’ beer. It is the same mass marketed corporate alcohol, just a different color, blech. Two Garrison don’t change that much. It’s 90% gross if you will. If these places want support from me, they need to start supporting small business.
The review could benefit from a closing summary.
Great review, Melissa! As well as being informative (and accurate, based on my trips to Durty Nelly’s), it’s fun to read.