Lucinda O’Sullivan’s restaurant review: Neighbourhood in Naas — ‘We didn’t linger’

The latest offering in the commuter belt piqued our critic’s attention, but the food and atmosphere missed the mark

"It was slow-cooked for so long it tasted like crumbly cardboard, with no taste of the onion and much the same to be said about the wood-fired avocado and sour cream." Potato and slow-cooked onion frittata with wood-fired avocado and sour cream at Neighbourhood in Naas, Co Kildare. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"We were greeted by a smiling young man and ushered through to a nice corner table in a long area with a full-length bar." Neighbourhood in Naas, Co Kildare. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"It may be a beautiful space, however the overall vibe with low lighting, bland music, and everybody speaking in hushed tones made it feel overly precious, reverential and a tad funereal, particularly for a casual brunch." Corned beef and pink fir hash with fried egg, wild mushrooms and bearnaise. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"There were no scrambled eggs or omelettes, and no fresh fish, smoked salmon or shellfish, besides cider mussels on toast, and no salady offerings, either." Neighbourhood's brunch menu. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"It was slow-cooked for so long it tasted like crumbly cardboard, with no taste of the onion and much the same to be said about the wood-fired avocado and sour cream." Potato and slow-cooked onion frittata with wood-fired avocado and sour cream at Neighbourhood in Naas, Co Kildare. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"We were greeted by a smiling young man and ushered through to a nice corner table in a long area with a full-length bar." Neighbourhood in Naas, Co Kildare. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"It may be a beautiful space, however the overall vibe with low lighting, bland music, and everybody speaking in hushed tones made it feel overly precious, reverential and a tad funereal, particularly for a casual brunch." Corned beef and pink fir hash with fried egg, wild mushrooms and bearnaise. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

"There were no scrambled eggs or omelettes, and no fresh fish, smoked salmon or shellfish, besides cider mussels on toast, and no salady offerings, either." Neighbourhood's brunch menu. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

Lucinda O’Sullivan Twitter

March 14 2023 02:30 AM

I’m well aware that cancellations and no-shows are a problem for restaurants, and a cancellation policy may indeed be required. However, a ‘strict’ 48-hour cancellation policy with a €40 per person charge — as appearing on the new Neighbourhood restaurant’s online booking platform, and on my subsequent confirmation — would give many would-be diners cause to pause. A lot can happen in people’s lives in 48 hours and such a rigorous policy struck me as being a bit up itself and not exactly neighbourly. Wasn’t this supposed to be a casual restaurant, its chosen moniker intended to spell out a warm welcome? They have since stated that the aforementioned policy does not apply to brunch.

Chef Gareth Naughton is manning the stove, while, according to the press release, the owners are led by Tom McGrath, ex-director of operations of the Cliff Hotel Group. With Jordan Bailey and Majken Bech Bailey of Aimsir involved in menu consultancy and the interior design, front-of-house and the bar led by ex-Aimsir staff Antonia Leece and Kevin Hegarty. It all felt like a sort of ‘Aimsir Light’, as it were.

However, since my visit to Naas, the surprise announcement has been made that Jordan and Majken Bech Bailey are leaving Aimsir in April to pursue new ventures.

Indeed, at the two-Michelin-star Aimsir, where the tasting menu is €220, they take 50pc upon booking and “like a sporting event, your reservation cannot be cancelled”. However, with certain conditions, you can gift or transfer your reservation, but “any changes have to be confirmed seven days prior to your reservation for the tasting menu and 28 days prior for the overnight experiences”. It’s all a bit much.

Back to Neighbourhood though, where we were greeted by a smiling young man and ushered through to a nice corner table in a long area with a full-length bar, which was only half-full during our visit. It may be a beautiful space, however the overall vibe with low lighting, bland music, and everybody speaking in hushed tones made it feel overly precious, reverential and a tad funereal, particularly for a casual brunch.

Complimentary mimosas arrived, which was mildly embarrassing because, as far as we could tell, it wasn’t happening at our neighbouring tables. It would have been churlish to send them away, but, as I was driving, they replaced mine with a non-alcoholic version. It was meant well, but it’s best to ask first.

I didn’t have any quibble with their pricing, their dinner menu looked quite inviting, but we felt there was something very dull and a touch ‘greasy spoon’ about the brunch offerings (€12-€18). It was overly meat-driven, with corned beef, ham, black pudding, confit duck leg, sausages, chorizo and streaky bacon featuring largely. There were no scrambled eggs or omelettes, and no fresh fish, smoked salmon or shellfish, besides cider mussels on toast, and no salady offerings, either. There was very little for a vegetarian, there were no vegan offerings at all, nor were allergens listed.

"We were greeted by a smiling young man and ushered through to a nice corner table in a long area with a full-length bar." Neighbourhood in Naas, Co Kildare. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan

An English muffin (€16) appeared at the table next to us topped with black pudding, Cheddar, a fried egg and brown sauce. Pancakes (€12) could be had with a smoked apple compote, Highbank Apple Syrup and yoghurt, or with confit duck leg (€19), while their nod to the ever popular eggs Benedict seemed to be the sweetcorn fritter with ham, poached egg and hollandaise. Prunes were on offer also, with granola (€9) or brioche toast with salted butter and raspberry jam (€8).

My friend Rena, being vegetarian, struggled. She eventually chose a potato and onion frittata (€16), which was slow-cooked for so long it tasted like crumbly cardboard, with no taste of the onion and much the same to be said about the wood-fired avocado and sour cream. My dish was a bit better — a sauteed corned beef, wild mushroom and pink fir potato hash (€18) with a side jug of bearnaise.

Our bill, with tip, came to €41. We didn’t linger.

Neighbourhood, 1 North Main Street, Naas, Co. Kildare. Tel: (045) 954-466, see neighbourhoodnaas.com

lucindaosullivan.com