Sumptious lunch in beautiful surroundings

Had it been a little warmer, or had we been a little braver, we could have had our lunch on the terrace which opens out onto the River Shannon, but as it was we had the luxury of looking out on the Shannon from the comfort and warmth of the Quayside Bar. It was easy to relax and forget all our worries as we took a look at the new menu designed by chef Joel Vangeneugden, who joined the hotel five months ago. It's not often you have the opportunity to chat with the chef before you dine, but it was really nice to do so, and we learned that while Joel himself hails from France, his wife is Irish, and it appears both cultures have influenced his menu, which includes many Irish favourites, as well as having a Mediterranean twist and even some oriental favourites to choose from. "I wanted to bring fresh, simple and quality food to the menu and to introduce some new food as well," Joel explained. He has already changed the Quayside menu as well as wedding menus and introducing barbecue dining options on the terrace at the hotel and now plans to focus on the menu of Elements restaurant. But now for the important part - sampling the food! Karen's lunch There were so many delicious options to choose from on the menu, from grilled goats cheese escalivada to deep fried camembert (I'm quite the cheese-lover!), to the Midland Finest, which is ham and cheddar cheese with red onions and tomato on toasted ciabatta, bangers and mash, steak and what I finally settled on - a Caesar salad with chicken. I imagine it's difficult to do anything creative with a salad and generally a Caesar salad comes in a bowl with all the ingredients mixed in, but I was really impressed with Joel's presentation of the salad. It was served on a plate with the chicken and croutons on the outer circle, the bacon and parmesan on the inner circle with the lettuce placed on top and dressing drizzled over it, looking somewhat like a sculpture. The chicken was tender, the bacon was crisp and the parmesan was freshly grated, all of which resulted in an extremely tasty salad - the empty plate a sure sign I enjoyed my meal! Dessert was mentioned and it didn't take much to twist our arms, so we sat back in the relaxing surroundings watching the world go by as the sun shone. While I was tempted to sample the chocolate torte, I was swayed by the apple crumble and I wasn't disappointed. The warm apple crumble had a selection of berries in the centre and was absolutely delicious, as was the homemade vanilla ice-cream it was served with. Danielle's lunch I found lunch a very relaxing, tasty experience! Sitting by a large window enjoying the best of the views of the River Shannon and the castle, the menu provided me with a lot of vegetarian options, something that doesn't happen too much when I'm out! Joel made me the vegetarian special, which consisted of a hearty portion of roasted vegetables, chick peas in a spicy tomato sauce, sitting on a bed of cous-cous. It was delicious! The asparagus were large, fresh and full of flavour. The generous slices of peppers, courgettes and aubergines were well-roasted, just how I like them, and went really well with the sauce. The cous-cous was light and fluffy. It was a massive portion and I could barely finish it, however it was so full of goodness that I felt I deserved a slice of the chocolate torte afterwards! It was lighter than most chocolate cakes are and the chocolate icing was delicious. After trying each other's desserts, we agreed that it would be worth a visit alone for tea and cake some afternoon, especially if the sun was shining down on the deck over the river! I really enjoyed my lunch at the Radisson and I'm eager to return to try out some of the other tempting looking options on the menu!  Unfortunately for us, it was a Wednesday, which meant it was back to the office, but we agreed that a return visit was in order on a day when we could truly relax in our surroundings and perhaps even sample something from the extensive wine list!