I went for a pre-theatre dinner with Mos last night to Le Bon Crubeen on Talbot Street. We were going to a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire in the Gate theatre. Yes, we are that fancy…..about once a year.

I arrived a little early yesterday after venturing down Talbot St for the first time in about 5 years. Man, that street is dodge city. I really don’t buy it when people talk about streets like this as ‘full of character’ and teeming with ‘salt of the earth’ people. On my way down to the restaurant I saw a blind drunk man being helped into an ambulance and on our walk to the Gate we found a used needle….tis a bit of a kip.

Anyway, don’t let that put you off. It’s lovely inside and the staff were very welcoming at 5.45pm of a Thursday. It was also around half full at this time.  As I was waiting on Mos to make his way dublin bike style across the city, I ordered a glass of the french savignon blanc. It was alright but not amazing. Not the best wine selection I ever saw to be honest.  Mos arrived and we ordered a bottle to share because when you’re only half enjoying a glass of wine, the only sensible thing to do is order a bottle of it.

On looking at the menu, all the coeliac friendly options are clearly marked and it mentions that gluten free bread is available.

I ordered the Chicken Liver Parfait to start with gluten free bread. It was the perfect amount of pate (is this the same of parfait? help?) and the bread was well toasted and very tasty. Yum yum.

For my main I had the pan fried trout which was served with peas, broad beans and mustard potatoes. It was delicious and again, a really nice portion.

The only downside to the pre theatre menu is that the only gluten free option for dessert was….you guessed it…. ICE CREAM!! However, it did come with some nice honeycomb which made it a little more exciting.

Bill came to €80 including tip, a bottle of wine and three courses each. Very good value and I would definitely go again. It’s a really easy place for a coeliac to eat and most importantly, no ill effects to report.