Le Petit Rouge, directly across the street from its ‘maman’ restaurant Rouge, has just opened, bringing yet another option to the West End's thriving 'dining district'. This is a more than welcome addition, as currently there are few places for the thirsty and peckish to go. This style and standard of wine, cheese, and charcuterie is really only available upstairs at Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, since Sheridan’s on the Docks was so cruelly taken from us before its time.
Intimate and rustic, Le Petit Rouge is a small but perfect wine bar with a strong personality. The long, narrow, space here is pure theatre, carefully considered lighting highlighting areas of a room that just stops short of being a stage set, with balconied shuttered windows and vintage posters adorning the exposed brick walls around the centrepiece, a gleaming cherrywood bar.
The wine list carries a number of French labels best known for their traditional and organic approach to winemaking. There are some well chosen cheese and meat platters, small or large to share over a chilled bottle of white; or terrines and patés - perfect with a nice glass of red. Staff are prompt and informative and there are even a couple of small desserts for the sweet toothed.
So, as the powers-that-be refuse to give us any summer, we can make some of our own! Le Petit Rouge is a little bit of La Belle France, right here in Galway.
