'Ox, Belfast is Charmingly Unpretentious with Food and Service That Could Challenge The Very Best' - The Gloss Magazine

‘Ox, Belfast is Charmingly Unpretentious with Food and Service That Could Challenge The Very Best’

The very best of local, seasonal produce crafted into dishes that leave you wanting more, Ciara McQuillan visits Ox, Belfast …

In January of this year, I wrote about my culinary bucket list for 2022 and the restaurants I dreamed I would visit should I be lucky enough. The year started off well with lunch in Chapter One ticked off on Good Friday, an experience we still muse over wistfully. In recent weeks, Ox Restaurant in Belfast marked number two from my wish list ticked off and it’s safe to say, I was not disappointed.

Ox itself is an unassuming place. The room is a lesson in pared back sophistication perched on the edge of the River Lagan just before its approach to Belfast Harbour the Victoria Channel. Large windows make the most of the expansive river vista while also flooding the room with light during the day, and bathing it in twinkling city lights after dark.

Winners of the ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’ at The Food & Wine awards, and featured in the prestigious ‘La Liste’ ranking of the top restaurants in the world, the team at Ox recently celebrated their ninth birthday which is an admirable achievement by any standards. But hardly a surprise to those who have been lucky enough to dine there.

Ox is charmingly unpretentious with food and service that could challenge the very best. On the evening of our visit in past May, we were looked after by the gregarious James at front of house, who totally understood our need to take leftover bread home, and kindly brought us some more to squirrel into our bag, which he advised was “delicious toasted with lots of butter”. He wasn’t wrong.

And so the evening of dining on a seemingly endless stream of delicious dishes began, each one receiving gasps of ‘no, no THIS one is my favourite’. In truth, there were no favourites but each dish was so distinct and flavourful that it was impossible to compare. The Gougère were ethereally light, the pea tartlet with confit lemon was sunshine in my mouth and the lobster with turnip, bisque and dill was a delight for the senses.

The first meat course was a dish of seared and smoked rose veal tartare with cornichons, shallot, beetroot, Ballylisk cheese and mustard that was silky smooth with a dash of pungency from the mustard in the best possible way.

The seasonal Jersey royal was next up, served with potato foam, watercress foam, morels, and wild garlic flowers was deeply savoury yet light as air. A dish that was all about the potato, a celebration of the spud if you will and it was marvelous to see it take centre stage.

The second meat dish was Mourne mountain lamb breast with white asparagus, lavender and chard served with a light as air potato foam, toasted buckwheat and sticky jus. Funnily enough, I decided as a teenager many years ago that I didn’t care for lamb and haven’t ordered it, well, ever. Stephen Toman’s lamb dish appears to have changed my mind, and for that, I am forever grateful.

And so the dessert course was served and chocolate, truffle, banana and Armagnac was just as good as it sounds, perhaps better, while the accompanying Domaine Lafage dessert wine was a revelation. Rhubarb with fig leaf, mascarpone and bee pollen left us sated and happy and knowing a good thing when we see one, of course we opted for the extra cheese course.

It may have tested our appetite to the limit, but we had zero regrets when presented with a plate of Kearney Blue from Co Down, Shepherd’s Store from Tipperary and Durrus from Co Cork. The homemade fruit pastilles to finish may well have pushed us over the edge, but as I said, zero regrets.

After dinner, the lovely Stephen Toman (chef and proprietor along with Alain Kerloc’h) escorted us to Ox Cave next door where we finished the evening with an excellent Old Fashioned courtesy of ‘big James’ as we were introduced to him. And a very fine Old Fashioned it was too.

Dinner in Ox is an experience, and one I won’t forget in a hurry. The very best of local, seasonal produce crafted into dishes that leave you wanting more and vowing you will return. A culinary wish list suddenly seems like the best idea I have had all year.

www.oxbelfast.com 

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This