Anna Haugh has spent the past four months delving into the menu at her restaurant, Myrtle. Working with Irish based small-scale farmers, to create dishes that revere the land’s produce and explore reflections of nostalgic memories from her childhood spent in Dublin.
Drawing on almost 20 years working in places such as Phil Howard’s The Square, Pied a Terre and Paris’ Hotel Lotti, Anna invites guests to join the celebratory journey of then and now. Anna, alongside cousin and General Manager, Daniel Haugh, have now reopened Myrtle’s doors, with seven courses of A Taste of Ireland and new a la carte.
To keep diners safe, seats will be reduced to less than half, the full front of the restaurant’s floor to ceiling windows will be retracted and dining space is available in the sunshine (see notes for full safety regulations). The new menu at Myrtle celebrates Irish produce sourced from each county, its history, and memories from people met and places visited in Anna’s past.
A Taste of Ireland begins with Bia Beag (Gaelic amuse bouche), followed by plates of clonakilty black pudding, wrapped potato from Cork and smoked scallop, Taylors of Lusk garlic, crispy Gubeen Chorizo from a Irish charcuterie producer in Louth. For a celebration of one of Ireland’s most loved pies, guests are taken to Kerry, with marinated lamb, dingle pie chervil and broad bean purée, before stopping off in Wexford, with a sea buckthorn granita and ending in Clare, with the ancient Gaelic Carrageen moss pudding, made with seaweed and Guinness chocolate sponge, surrounded by a chocolate Irish mist.
Each dish at Myrtle tells a tale; Anna’s paté cherries with hazelnuts and toasted potato bread is an ode to her days living in Paris, roaming early morning markets in spring, picking at cherries and thinking of family back home.
Stories of homes across Ireland sharing brown bread pudding around dinner tables inspired Anna’s brown bread soufflé with hints of peach and treacle, served with an ice cream sandwich. The banana bread petits fours with walnut cream and candied walnuts is a nod to Anna’s father; as a boy living in Rigsend, he came across a boat filled with unripe bananas; a coveted item in 1960s Irishtown, he nicked the bananas and ran home, to hide them in his mammy’s hot press. Panicked that his secret would be revealed, he roped in his brother (Daniel’s dad), and they proceeded to eat all the green fruit, only to be discovered rolling around the banana peels by Anna’s grandmother, Annie.
Anna works with Irish based hand crafters for crockery and glassware, from Dublin based Brookwood pottery; Galway Crystal and Mullingar Pewter, used for their wine goblets.
At lunchtime a special three course chef’s menu is available, Tuesday to Saturday made up of three daily changing courses, decided by Anna and what produce is available on the day. To celebrate the arrival of dining out once again, Myrtle’s lunchtime chef’s menu is £22 Tuesday & Wednesday and £32 Thursday – Saturday.