Red Torch Ginger

Thai food, don’t you just love it? Myself and Mrs Irishbeersnob certainly do. 

Red Torch Ginger (www.redtorchginger.ie / @Redtorchginger) is located in Dublin City Centre, opposite Trocadero on Sth Andrew St. Easy to find, and very central whether you’re going out on the town, or heading the Gaiety or Olympia to catch a show its very central to everything.

First impressions walking through the door, a nice bar area with high stools, and tables which would suit people who are looking to eat and run, and then the main dining room. The decor itself is striking, and very contemporary. The full wall print is particularly impressive.

We were welcomed in by Gary and shown to our table. As we there after work, we decided to go with the Early Bird Menu. For nearly a full week Gary had been tormenting me on a daily basis with their daily special cocktails, well at last we were able to sample these for ourselves. Today’s special, a Mai Tai. 

The early bird menu is a very reasonable €19.95 for 2 courses with tea/coffee. 3 courses for €23.95. There was small uplifts if you were having duck or seafood. We ordered our mai tai’s while we looked at the menu.

Unlike some places, you have carte blanche on the menu for your choice of course. So we decided and placed our order.

I decided on the Chicken Wings, and for main Chu Chee Gung, described on the menu as a fried prawn red curry, and 3 chillis pictured above, not for the faint hearted. Mrs Irishbeersnob went with the Pork Ribs, and for main Chicken and Cashew Nuts Stir Fry. 

The starters arrived shortly after, the wings were lovely, cripy skin, with a nice little salad, and Sweet Chilli based dipping sauce. Though once I saw the ribs, I was wishing I got those. They were fantastic. Meat falling off the bone, and very very tasty. Next time!

At this stage, we were nearly finished the mai tais, Gary recommended a lovely red wine, Cotes de Ventoux, a fantastic French red from the Rhone region. It complimented our main courses fantastically. Very smooth, and not as powerful as some reds can be. 

The main courses were presented on lovely rectangular plates, with a generous bowl of steamed rice. My main firstly, was amazing. The prawns were cooked perfectly, and the sauce was so full of flavour from the chilli, but also the citrus elements. There were a few beads of sweat on my brow. Fantastic. The Cashew Nut Stirfry was equally as well executed. The oyster sauce was delicious. Some of the best thai we’ve had in a long time.

Empty Plates, always a good sign

So to dessert, or not to dessert? I’m not usually a man for desserts, but being so impressed with the cocktails. We decided to pick from the “Dessert in a glass” section of the cocktail menu. The cocktails on the night were expertly made from scratch, by Chris. Bravo sir. 

I opted for the Cappuccino Martini, and Mrs Irishbeersnob went for the Snickers. Fantastic. The perfect choice for after dinner.

Once again we walk away from a restaurant having been extremely well looked after. Gary and his team run a great ship, they obviously take a great deal of pride in their work. This shows from the moment you walk in. But its also great to see a bit of a sense of humour at play 

“Everybody was kung fu fighting!”

The future is very bright, and hopefully in that future there is a way for the guys to highlight their spectacular cocktails. The bar area would be fantastic for this, however as I understand it, they have to serve food with alcohol, I am sure though the team will embrace this challenge and design a menu of suitable nibbles for those who want a cocktail more than a great meal. This choice will not only make Red Torch Ginger a great restaurant, but potentially a great place to start the night with a light bite and truly spectacular cocktails.