When Gerry McMahon's Il Vicolo restaurant closed in Galway city, just on the eve of the city's food festival a few months back, there was a true sense of loss.
It wasn't just that Il Vicolo served excellent food and wines, and that they were served by a truly cool team. No, what people regretted was the passing of one of those restaurants that had achieved cult status. Il Vicolo was like a secret, a clubby, intimate room where time stood still as soon as you walked in. It wasn't just good: it was cult.
Maybe being cult means that you aren't superstitious, which might explain why Mr McMahon and his team, with the keys to the most beautiful water's edge room in the Bridge Mill building in their hands, got Il Vicolo re-opened in the Bridge Mills on Friday the 13th of June, 2014.
We were there the next night, and even with no telephones and no credit card machines, every table in the dining room was taken by 8pm, proof that cult status can overcome opening glitches. The team is the same as in the old Il Vicolo, so whilst one would never, ever – ever – review a restaurant on their opening week or month, the situation here is slightly different. Yes, the team have got to step up to a room with 65 covers – from 24 – but they are a well-versed crew, and whilst there were delays with service of some dishes, they were in reality small problems and – more importantly – the staff handled them with charm and grace.
But first, the room, or, in reality, the rooms: there is a wine bar with stools as you walk in which is destined to be Meeting Place Central for Galway. Two stone-clad dining rooms lie off on either side and, then, the coup de grace: Il Vicolo has the most gorgeous riverside terrace.
In fact, the river runs right under the main dining room, adjacent to the old Mill wheels, so it's an atmospheric delight: “You could have a lovely wedding party here”, said Sally McKenna, and one suspects proposals will be made, and wedding parties booked, by the dozen.
The cooking is northern Italian, and rock steady, with a chichetti menu – small, Venetian-style dishes – and a page of larger dishes. Of the smaller dishes we had courgette flowers stuffed with bechamel and cured meats; liver and onions with lost of vinegar; burrata with grilled peaches (the cooking uses vinegar, citrus and sweet notes to brighten the tastes); fritto misto and bacalao on grilled polenta. We sat at the big window looking onto the hypnotising waters of the Corrib flowing in front, and Il Vicolo once again did its charming thing: time stands still; it's all delightful; do we have to go home; ah just one digestif? Cult all over again.
Il Vicolo, 085 288 0934 (temporary number)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Il-Vicolo-Cafe/178429315566631
