A. Caviston is right on the main drag of Greystones, beside the Happy Pear. It is hard not to compare it to Cavistons in Glasthule where Amy Caviston (neice of Peter) served her time (as my mother would say). When you first enter you are accosted by all manner of foodie delights from baskets of olives to David Tiernan's unpasteurised milk to all manner of cakes, breads, juices, oils, salamis, cheeses and wines. Through the dorrway and you see the fish counter. Enormous monkfish – with a gurnard in its mouth! – beside a huge glistening turbot and what looked like a conger eel, as well as haddock, whiting and a pile of gurnard.
The restaurant section is down a short corridor (the shop is a little oddly shaped with rooms following rooms, a little like it was a converted house (maybe it is - it is certainly as welcoming as a home). The 20 or so tables are in a narrowish room with a nice view onto the street. The sun was shining on the day we visited, and we were seated near the window.
Other diners included a proud 83 year old (she told us her age) with a bowl of soup, lunching business people, a mum and toddler in for a quick chowder and a cup of coffee, a large family including grandparents, teenagers and a mum with a suckling infant and a bunch of what must have been surfers (wet hair, stubble, glasses, hipster clothes mixed with a bit of grunge chic – yeah, definitely surfers).
Our waitress was pleasant but a little scatter-brained. She did her best to keep us happy but kept forgetting things (the extra spoon, what fish were on the menu, whether it was bearnaise or hollandaise sauce etc.). I decided to stick with the lunch menu and told my guest to go a la carte. They have a good policy of offering to cook any fish in stock so you can enjoy that day's catch. The choice was reassuringly small - turbot, whiting, gurnard or sea bass. Turbot it had to be...
Wine list had a nice selection of wines - we chose a Picpoul de Pinet for 22.95.
My chowder cost 5.95 and was mid-way between creamy and fresh fish-stock. A good balance. I don't like it creamy and this was more refreshing and was the essence of fish flavour. Good large pieces of white fish and salmon - no shellfish (a pity) but very tasty we both agreed. My guest had crab claws in garlic butter - de-shelled and pan fried. We both dug our bread into the garlicky buttery goodness. Brown Bread was perhaps a tiny bit drier than I like, but still of good quality and a nice malty taste.
The turbot was pristine - firm, cooked à point, crisped slightly on the outside and flaked beautifully. The cost was 18.95 but this is fantastic value compared to what you would pay for turbot in any city centre restaurant. The hollandaise sauce was light and accurately made. Chips were 3.50 extra but worth it - skin half on, chunky and crispy.
I deliberately chose whiting (11.95) for my main – "lets see if they can make this taste good" – was in my head. I like whiting but in the wrong hands it can be terribly flabby and bland, especially if over cooked or the freshness is lacking. If anything the whiting showed just how good they can be in A Caviston. It flaked virtually perfectly and was clearly very very fresh. Also the chef had chosen a good thick piece to show it off at its best. Served with chips and "middling to good" tartare sauce. There was a creamy quality you rarely get with whiting, and we both agreed it was top notch.
We had guzzled all the chips so were quite full and couldn't manage dessert. Desserts are often made with Tiernan's raw milk (I was told) and looked very good – huge slices of moist looking carrot cake, fruit tarts etc. Espressos were just ok - a little too much roasted peanuts and a little too much over-extraction, very much in the Italian style.
So, a very good meal and I think we will be going here instead of Glasthule for our next fish restaurant outing.
Finally a nice typo on the menu where they talk about their suppliers, who include - "Ed Hick, Master Pork Bitcher!"
A Caviston, No 1, Westview, Church Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow
www.acaviston.ie
Tel: 01 287 7637
