Max’s Bistro and Seafood – Kinsale Ireland

Earlier in the day, we’d wandered around Kinsale looking at likely places for our evening meal…so when it was time for dinner, we knew where we wanted to dine.

This is Max’s Bistro and Seafood in Kinsale.  This restaurant was opened in 1999.  Owners Anne Marie and Olivier Queva (who is also the chef), specialize in seafood dishes but the menu also includes pheasant, pork belly, lamb and beef…

This is a portion of Max’s Dining area.  As you can see, the tables are widely separated…and we were among the first guests to arrive once they opened for dinner.

To begin with, our server brought us this lovely whole grain brown bread with an olive tapenade as a spread.

At this point, I’m not sure who ate what for dinner but I do know that this Sauté Irish Squid with chorizo, thyme, leeks and mixed rice timbale was well appreciated. (8.50E/$10.20 US) It was nicely plated too!

Another luscious item selected were this appealing plate of Grilled mussels with garlic butter, parsley and breadcrumbs. (8.50E/$10.20 US)

We also ordered some steamed mussels in a butter sauce that were very good…but my photo of them wasn’t!

This was the Pan Fried Ling with pancetta, puy lentils, flat parsley, baby onions and roasted carrot. (22.90E/$27.50 US) It tasted as good as it looks!

FYI… The Le Puy green lentil is protected throughout the European Union.  The term can only be used to designate lentils that come from Le Puy France.  They have been grown there for over 2,000 years.  There are claims that they have gastronomic qualities that can be attributed to the area’s volcanic soil and they’re praised for their unique peppery flavor and their ability to retain their shape after cooking. 

All of the entrees were accompanied by the only boiled potatoes that we had in Ireland.  These very nice locally grown Piccolo Star Potatoes are disease resistant and they don’t split or bruise easily. 

This attractive and flavorful salad was very different than the ‘usual’ salad, with lots of different textures.   A couple of these graced our table as sides to our meals. (5.00E/$6.00 US)

This was my entrée.  Isn’t it beautiful?!  This is the Grilled Whole Black Sole with herb butter...and it came with one of the aforementioned mixed salads. (30.00E/$36.00 US) It was light, delicate and flavorful…

This eye catching bowl of red cabbage was another option as a side with our meals. (4.00/$4.80 US) It was very nice indeed…

After dinner, Laurie went for this refreshing Latte with a cookie on the side. (2.60E/$3.10 US)

Since we’d eaten a 'fairly light' dinner and our luncheon pizza was but a fond memory, we shared a couple of desserts.  This attractive after dinner sweet treat consisted of vanilla ice cream, fresh cream, chocolate sauce, toasted almonds, crushed amoretti and meringue. (7.00E/$8.40 US)

FYI… I didn’t pick up on it right away, but crushed amoretti are amoretto cookies that have aged and are crispy all the way through and then crushed and used as a topping.  The cookies are made from ground almonds, egg white and sugar. 

Laurie and I shared this Short Crust Pastry with vanilla ice cream, crème legere, (a light cream), fresh local strawberries and a blackcurrant drizzle. (8.50E/$10.20 US) It was a nice refreshing treat but we would have preferred that ‘drizzle’ be over the top of this creation.

Max’s Kinsale is a fine dining restaurant.   The current Trip Advisor ratings for Max’s shows 93% of the 595 reviews give it an Excellent or Very Good score...and we definitely concur with that input!  They are currently closed for the season, opening again on March 1^st.  Max’s is located at 48 Main Street, Kinsale Cork in Ireland.  Phone: 353-21-477-2443.  Their website is at https://maxs.ie/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave