My wife booked this place as a surprise for my birthday and I certainly was not disappointed. The menu was varies to suit everyone and I had the beef carpaccio for starter which was melt in the mouth tender with subtle flavours to compliment the beautiful beef. For mains I had lamb which was cooked to perfection with creamy potatoes and it was just divine. I then shared a chocolate fondant with my wife and she says it was gorgeous as I daren't disturb her while she has chocolate on a plate. The food was exquisite but I have to say the highlight and the thing I will remember most was the service. The waitresses were extremely helpful and the manager (who I believe was new) was an example of how a manager should make guests feel welcome in a restaurant. I will definitely be back. Well done everyone at Tankardstown house.

The first thing that struck me when entering the Brabazon restaurant was the beautiful stone walls and the unusual tables. We were a table for 4 and it was a very large sized table with plenty of room for us. I started with the chicken and black pudding which was very nicely presented and very tasty indeed. For mains I had the pork which again was nicely presented with 4 different types of pork cooked in different ways. I orderd mash with it which was devine, lovely and creamy! My husband had the rib eye and I must say he was disappointed with it, quite grizzly and it looked meagre on the plate in comparison to the dishes enjoyed by the rest of us. I do not understand why restaurants, if only offering one type of steak on the menu would choose to offer a rib eye instead of a sirloin or fillet when they are far superior steaks. Dessert for me was an array of little chocolate puddings and the only crib I had was that one of them was served in a small narrow glass so the only was I could get to the mousse at the bottom of it was by using an upside down teaspoon and putting the handle in, not great ettiquette! Very very busy restaurant that night as was the bistro also in the same grounds, not bad for the middle of a recession. I did not pay the bill so I do not know how much it cost in the end.