A colleague in the media centre advised me yesterday that I shouldn’t write about things that have been discussed at dinner the night before. I took his well-made and ethically correct point on board and dismissed it immediately. If I lived by that rule, I’d have absolutely no career. Last night’s dinner then…
It’s very much worth writing about as it must go down as one of the best, if not the best I’ve ever had. It was at an elusive restaurant called 1888. Rumours abounded that it was closed and we thought that was the case, but a last-minute call from the hotel lobby bar confirmed it was in fact open and there was a table available for us.
Not only was there a table available but it was a private dining table secreted away in the restaurant’s historic and copiously stocked wine cellar. It was like stepping back in time as we wound our way through a labyrinth of rooms to our gastronomic haven. Floor to ceiling bottles with varying degrees of dust hinting at their vintage, aged wood furniture, a huge wooden refrigeration device dating from 1900 (still functional), a carpaccio cutter, faded prints hanging high on the walls. This was the sort of place Hemingway would have enjoyed a raucous, drunken feast. Unfortunately, Hemingway was unavailable.
The amazing 1888 restaurant
(Image credit: Felix Olivo)
Head chef and owner Jose Luis was available though and he was the consummate host. He regaled us with Proustian tales of his early life driving a milk truck, of how he came to establish 1888, of seeing a 10-year-old Maradona playing junior football, of how he developed a love for golf. That love for golf was the key connection that gave us the opportunity to experience his amazing sea food (the squid was a particular highlight,) paired with outstanding wines. Jose Luis and others from 1888 are planning to come and watch some of the action at the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) where second day play is underway.
Thinking of 1888, we talked at dinner (see, I can’t help myself) about important things that happened that year. Mike Woodcock of The R&A had two excellent submissions – One, that it was the year Celtic football club played its first match, the other that it was the year Jack the Ripper wreaked terrible havoc in Whitechapel. I was impressed Mike knew that but became slightly fearful when he was able to list the names of the Ripper’s victims, in order! Anyway 1888. I have a good one.
1888 was the year Royal Portrush Golf Club was…
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