Balfes @ The Westbury Dublin, Ireland

Since Balfes at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin was always busy, we pre-booked a table for brunch during a weekend in March 2017. There was a time we could simply “pop in” but this isn’t possible anymore due to demand during busy breakfast/lunch/dinner and brunch hours.

 

We were brought to our table and as expected nearly all others were already occupied. Our fellow diners ranged from couples to families, to a birthday party and a business group.

 

The waitress was attentive and offered tap, still or sparkling water. We ordered a large bottle of still Acqua Panna, a Florsheim signature cocktail made with white rum, Vermouth, Crème de Cacao, lime juice and grenadine and two chili hot chocolate.

 

The cocktail was at first creamy and a bit dry and turned later floral and sweet. A beautiful offering.

 

Our chili hot chocolates were very spicy with real red chili peppers, so if you can’t take the heat or don’t like spiciness I wouldn’t recommend you order it, as for us, we enjoyed our beverages.

 

Our starters were Tuna tartare with avocado, Goma Wakame seaweed and Kimuchi sauce. It looked colorful and the sweetness of the seaweed went well with the tangy sauce, the tuna and the creamy avocado.

 

Main courses were the BodyByrne Turkey Burgers topped with guacamole, paprika sweet potato wedges, salsa and healthy coleslaw.

 

The Westbury works closely together with BodyByrne in order to offer nutritious and healthy food.

 

The burgers came without a bun.

 

The coleslaw was Asian inspired and the sweet potato wedges were a delight. The whole combination was very tasty. Some foods can make you tired, but our main courses left us energetic, satisfied and not hungry at all.

 

A meal wouldn’t be complete with dessert, so our indulgences included grilled peppered pineapple with rum sauce, pink pepper and cardamom ice cream and crème brulee. Both desserts weren’t overly sweet.

 

The pineapple’s sweetness went well with the peppery notes, the generous sauce and the spice of the cardamom.

The crème brulee was beautifully presented with ice cream and flowers on top and was not sweet at all due to the Matcha green tea used.

 

We enjoyed our meal. The staff was busy, but attentive and brought our bill quickly. It was ca. 107 Euro (ca. 120 USD).

 

This is a restaurant we visit regular and will do so in the future.

©2017

The Gallery @ The Westbury Hotel Dublin, Ireland

During our stay at The Dean Hotel in October 2015, please see also review, we went to The Gallery at the Westbury Hotel for a quick stop to refresh ourselves after going shopping in the city.

The carpet had slightly changed since our last visit and there was a small exhibition of Irish Design products in the lobby, because 2015 was dedicated to Irish and international Design.

We found a space at The Gallery, but it was quite busy already.

We ordered one Nutella Hot Chocolate, which woke memories of Penang and Malaysia, a Morning Star Green Tea and one Tia Maria.

The bill came in at 17.60 Euro / ca. 19.20 USD.

Overall the staff was attentive, but it was sometimes difficult to get their attention.

We enjoyed our relaxing visit and would return.

©2016

Lunch @ Balfes, The Westbury Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

Every year we try to have a pre-Christmas lunch. This time we went to Balfes at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. We have frequented Balfes for breakfast and brunch before.

We arrived shortly before Midday and were brought to a table near the window.

The staff was totally new to us. All members encountered were friendly, attentive and non-obstructive.

All menus are available online, so we had already checked out what we wanted to have.

Choosing our drinks was easy, but what to have as starter, main course and dessert wasn't so obvious.

We ordered four Chai Latte, two each, one carrot, orange and ginger juice and apple, celery, spinach and kale juice. Later we were told that unfortunately the spinach was not available, but they could make an apple, carrot and kale juice, so I took that. There was no big difference between the juices. Mine was slightly more bitter.

We shared a starter sized chicken salad. It was generous and contained green leaves and guacamole.

Our main courses were two chicken fillets with cassoulet. We were surprised how light the dish was and the meat portion really large, but the chicken was tender and juicy.

A meal wouldn't be complete without a dessert. We had mixed berries with champagne sabayon and Banoffi with hot chocolate mousse. We know both desserts. As always they were delicious. We liked the contrast between ice cold banana and warm chocolate mousse.
The berries with sabayon were delicately flavored and well balanced.

When we arrived the restaurant was empty, but when we left it was nearly full. Having learned this, we might consider booking a table in advance to avoid disappointment.

Noise levels weren't very high, considering how many guests were dining with us.

Overall we had a leisurely lunch and stayed for around two hours.

The cost was 90 Euro (ca. 112.40 USD) excluding tip.

We will be back again.

 ©2014

Balfes @ The Westbury Dublin, Ireland

Before travelling by long distance bus to Belfast we had breakfast at Balfes, located at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin, Ireland and formerly known as Cafe Novo.

Normally we are frequently going there for the weekend brunch, so breakfast during the week was a new experience for us.

During brunch the whole restaurant is accessible, not so when having breakfast during the week. Only the bar section was open to the public. This was the only thing I disliked. The bar was busy due to some job interviews taking place and other guests. All the low tables were occupied. It left us only high ones and meant sitting on a bench or bar stool. It was a bit uncomfortable for me and the tables are slightly too small.

There was another difference. The portion sizes were much larger at breakfast than it is during brunch.

The service was as always attentive and we were recognized as regulars.

We ordered two Chai Lattes, two Orange, carrot and ginger juices, Eggs Benedict, an omelette with smoked salmon and oat pancakes sweetened with agave syrup. The food was delivered timely and was delicious. The oat pancakes were especially interesting and filling.

The bill came in at 45 Euro (ca. 56.20 USD).

In the future we will return either for breakfast or brunch.

©2014

Balfes @ The Westbury Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

After watching an Iranian movie called Willow and Wind at the Irish Film Institute we wanted to have brunch at Cafe Novo at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, which we visited a few times over the years.

To our surprise the name had changed to Balfes. That wasn't the only thing that was different. It had been renovated and there were some menu changes too. For example there was no longer French Toast on the menu.

The renovation was a success in our opinion and looked good. It had now a nice contrast in black and white, dark chairs and comfortable leather sofas.

The atmosphere was good with a lot of families with young children, who were very well behaved.

The staff recognized us immediately, but they were very busy. They were attentive, though, and always there when we needed them.

We ordered during Sunday brunch four chai latte, two fresh orange juice, one Eggs Benedict, one Eggs Royal, blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and mixed berries with champagne sabayon. Everything was fresh and delicious.

We paid 55.50 Euro, ca. 71.90 USD.

No matter if it's called Cafe Novo or Balfes we are going to be regular guests in the future.


 ©2014

Cafe Novo @ The Westbury Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

We frequent the Cafe Novo at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin for years now and knew also the predecessor The Sandbank.

It is one of our favorite cafes in Dublin, because we like the design, the friendly and efficient staff, the excellent food and value.

There are two areas - at the front the bar and lounge style seating and at the back the restaurant.

On this occasion only the front was busy with couples and a group of parents with their small babies - really cute and not noisy at all.

We could choose our table at the back.

Cafe Novo is contemporary and industrial in design.

We arrived in time for Saturday brunch. There were summer cocktails, pancakes, omelettes, a full Irish breakfast, a variety of poached eggs and many more items on the menu.

We ordered four Chai Lattes, two Eggs Benedict and one
Banoffee Sundae to share.

All was very delicious and the staff was very attentive, as usual a great experience.

We paid 43.50 Euro (ca. 58.15 USD) excluding tip.

We are going to be back soon.

©2014