The Chameleon

Do you know how sometimes you'll have a meal that's so delicious and so satisfying that once you take the last bite you desperately wish you could rewind time and begin again? Well, I had such a meal a couple of weeks ago. The location; a restaurant on a cobbled street within Temple Bar, but just off the River Liffey. The setting; a room dressed with vibrant and inviting colours, with the most comfortable cushioned seating, which is fondly known as the Opium Room. My company for the evening; a small group of journalists and bloggers with the love of food being the common denominator.

Cumi Cumi Goreng {Crispy Marinated Squid}

Our evening began with a lychee cocktail, while we were treated to an engaging demonstration by Kevin O' Toole. He's an interesting guy, who's extremely knowledgeable on Indonesian cuisine and passionate about what he does. He runs a busy kitchen and I was more than impressed to hear that every paste and marinade is made from scratch in the restaurant. We then made ourselves comfortable in the Opium Room for our wine-pairing dinner. The wonderful Aoife Carrigy was our host for the evening, who guided us through each wine, while Kevin introduced each course of food. What a fantastic and enlightening way to dine. The Chameleon will shortly be offering wine-paring dinners to the public and I'd urge you to book yourself a spot and take the opportunity to enjoy this magical dining experience. 

Asinan Salad

I really enjoy a good story, and I'm always interested to find out where a business idea originates from. I was intrigued to hear that the Chameleon has been in business for twenty-five years, going from a vegetarian cafe to an underground nightclub, before finding the perfect niche as an Indonesian Cuisine Restaurant in 1994. The lady behind this thriving business was Carol Walsh and in 2002 she convinced her partner, Kevin O' Toole, to join her as the restaurant manager and within a year Kevin was attending culinary college. Kevin and Carol are hard workers and are passionate about food. This is ever evident in the food which is served in The Chameleon; where carefully selected ingredients are cooked to perfection with great know-how and skill. With this in mind, it's no surprise that they picked up the Best World Cuisine 2013 at this year's Irish Restaurant Awards. 

Pork Wontons

In my experience of visiting restaurants, quite often the service that is provided can be just as important as the food that is being served. I'm hardly alone when I say that good manners are a must for any establishment that relies on a return of business. Without a doubt I will eat at The Chameleon again, the food was sensational and the warm service was sublime. I felt very comfortable there and only for a pending train home I could have sat for the night soaking in the atmosphere while sipping on one of their carefully selected wines or an Irish craft beer. 

For more information, including menus and opening hours, see www.chameleonrestaurant.com or contact Kevin or Carol on book@chameleonrestaurant.com.

Give-Away Time
If you would like to have the opportunity to dine at The Chameleon, Kevin and Carol have very kindly given me a €50 voucher for their very fine restaurant, which I would like to offer to one of my lovely readers. I must note that I had written this blog post even before receiving this voucher, as such a gem of a restaurant experience had to be shared.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this voucher is leave a comment below, however, you must also be a subscriber to my blog. If you don't already subscribe you can do so by submitting your email address into the tab on the top right of this blog post.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: You must be a resident of Ireland (north or south); you must be over 18; no cash alternative is possible, the competition will close at 6pm on Friday 13th September. The winner will be picked at random from the comments below.
Best of luck!