A brilliant start and finish but the middle needs some work at this Derry fine-dining restaurant (2024)

Artis

The Craft Village, Shipquay Street, Derry/Londonderry, BT48 6AR
★ Rating: 7.5/10

We’ve long wondered what an Irish version of Great British Menu would look like. The BBC show has been running since 2006 and pits professional chefs from different regions against one another to win a chance to cook at a prestigious banquet. Plus, all the back-slapping and kudos that follows, which, of course, wouldn’t interest chefs in the slightest . . .

There’s something about the gods of the kitchen entering the arena in a spot of culinary jousting that makes for enjoyable TV. Egos at full mast, throwing down the gauntlet, out to one-up each other in technique while fending off kitchen disasters. There’s a heartwarming dash of camaraderie too. Tom Kerridge, Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton, Simon Rogan, Daniel Clifford, Lisa Allen, Sat Bains — it’s the hospitality Hunger Games.

While the clue is in the name, of course it’s true to a British heritage, but Ireland has enough culinary chops to warrant its own interpretation of a similar format. Imagine Paul Flynn, Takashi Miyazaki and Aishling Moore for Munster; Jess Murphy, Frankie Mallon and Sham Hanifa for Connacht; and Jumoke Akintola, Cúán Greene and Gaz Smith for Leinster. The culinary equivalent of an All-Ireland final.

Northern Ireland’s GBM heats have showcased familiar heavyweights such as Paul Rankin, Richard Corrigan and Chris McGowan. Later, newer names took the spotlight: Danni Barry, Chris McClurg and Gemma Austin, while Phelim O’Hagan’s win in 2021 first gave us the gist of his talents.

Hailing from the Walled City, O’Hagan trained in Killybegs, then worked in a couple of Michelin-star kitchens (the Cliff House in Ardmore and Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Gleneagles), before returning to Derry to join Browns Bonds Hill, where he became head chef. He opened Artis in December 2021 with his wife, Serina Macari, and Ray Moran of the adjoining Soda & Starch.

The room is elegantly styled in rich fabrics and luxe carpet with simply dressed tables. A seven-course tasting menu is £70 (€81), with an optional wine pairing bumping that up to £120 per person. Though it may appear aimed solely at the deep-pocketed, there are two and three-course set menus for £30 and £35 and an à la carte, which we opted for.

How to make butter better? Not that it needs to be, but imbue it with Marmite and slather on spring onion bread and it’s an instantly delicious elevation of what usually begins a meal on one note. Next, an unexpected taster dish of pulled beef lavished in a creamy celeriac espuma (which could use deeper celeriac notes) with crunch from an intense parmesan and herb crumb atop. “This is all a bit brilliant,” we say to ourselves.

Starters continued dispensing delicious surprises. The first a torched mackerel dish with fennel and blood orange set in a herb oil. Then an earthy, edging on autumnal, maitake mushroom dish with smoked bacon and leek with a slow-cooked 62C egg at the centre.

Mains then nose-dived in disappointment. Skeghanore duck arrived unevenly cooked. Pink, lightly firm and juicy on the top half, the bottom purple, wobbly and as good as raw, plus the skin, while crispish, needed more time rendering its fat. Cherry was eschewed for blood orange and an oddly tangy polenta cake was an unusual flavour and texture on the plate. A tablespoon’s worth of pulled confit leg with a gremolata-like crumb was the best thing about it.

Similarly, the bacon loin suffered from bad marketing: though cooked nicely, the “barbecue” as mentioned was absent and the braised lentil, carrot and wild garlic were — neither together nor individually — spectacular enough to save the plate from being underwhelming.

Sides stole focus, though. Wee Derry salad is a cheeky little reimagining of the iconic mammy salad, with cubes of ham, pickled beetroot and red onion dappled amid designer leaves. A raw egg yolk hides under a grating of smoked cheddar.

Potato gratin comes as individual pavés of crisp, golden potato lengths slicked in caramelised onion topped with Coolatin cheddar. A must-order. In fact, order a portion per person and savour every bite.

Desserts bring back joy to the table. A lemon meringue soufflé comes perfectly peaking above its mould, dotted with curd and rhubarb gel before hot custard is glugged in the middle. An entremet offered a decadent and supremely skilled ode to chocolate and hazelnut in distinct, uniform layers. Two of the nicest desserts we’ve had in a long time. Though for one of us, with accompanying blood orange sorbet, it marked blood orange in all three dishes. Short-season ingredients deserve supreme celebration, but let’s stop shy of overkill.

A nice selection of wines, charming, personable service, an elegant space and an intriguing menu of great Irish possibilities. With some kinks ironed this could well be the shining star of the northwest, not least Derry’s destination fine-dining spot.

What we ate
Starters
Barbecued mackerel, spicy “Mack” sauce, blood orange, fennel £9
Maitake mushroom, 62C egg, leek, smoked bacon £10

Mains
Skeghanore duck breast, Mooncoin beetroot, black cabbage, confit leg, polenta, sour cherry £31 Barbecued bacon loin, braised lentil, carrot, wild garlic £28

Sides
Wee Derry salad £4.50
Crispy potato gratin, Coolatin cheddar, caramelised onion £5

Desserts
Lemon meringue soufflé, curd, rhubarb sorbet £8
Hazelnut Entremet, blood orange sorbet £8.50

Drinks
1 glass Pinot Blanc £8.50
2 glasses Chardonnay £16
1 sparkling water £4.50
1 Negroni Sbagliato £9

Total: £142 (€162)

If that, then these:
Great Irish Menu: chef-patrons and their fine-dining restaurants worth knowing . . .

Woodruff, Stepaside, Dublin 18
Run to the ‘burbs for an elevated take on seasonal dishes by Simon Williams, with Colm Maguire’s wines and service. woodruff.ie

Oar, Doolin, Co Clare
Find rustic fine dining (with rooms!) in Doolin from restaurateur Kieran O’Halloran and the chef Cezary Sodel. oardoolin.ie

Lignum, Loughrea, Co Galway
Danny Africano’s commitment to wood fire and his Italian-Irish heritage delivers memorable dishes. lignum.ie

artisatcraftvillagederry.com; @ArtisDerry

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