Mortell’s Delicatessen and Seafood Restaurant

Brian Mortell's city centre seafood restaurant and deli doesn't have customers: it has champions. The Mortell's Champions will tell you, quite simply, that you won't find better seafood anywhere else in Limerick city. And, like faithful apostles, they take their mantra from Mr Mortell himself, so if he says today's fish is black sole and he proposes the way in which he would like to cook it, then they simply assent, let Mr Mortell get on with the cooking, and wait in delighted expectation.

The great thing is that the expectation is always satisfied: Mr Mortell cooks with devilish accuracy and astuteness, whether he is preparing a full Irish breakfast for you, or cooking today's catch with some sautéed potatoes and vegetables and maybe a little salad. Of course, this sort of je vous propose style of cooking used to be a mainstay of European cookery, but has largely vanished in favour of the diktat of the written menu, which only makes Mr Mortell's confidence in improvising his cooking on the spot even more precious and charming. “Superbly cooked fresh fish” is how one correspondent summed up Brain and Maggie's seafood restaurant, and superbly cooked fresh fish it is.