Ómós review: Faultless cooking already at two-star Michelin level. Get in before prices rise

Ómós      Address: Abbeyleix, Co Laois, R32 K259Telephone: N/ACuisine: Modern internationalCost: €€€€Blanket (2012) – nothing to do with Michael Jackson’s youngest son – is a large John Newling work of pressed Jersey kale leaves, arranged in uniform rows, which you pass on your way into Cúán Greene’s recently opened restaurant in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. It is restrained and resonates with the Scandi/Japanese-inspired space: organic, textured and tactile. At Ómós, there are no plants trailing down from the ceiling, no backlit glass shelves displaying ferments, pickles and preserved pine cones, and no showy meat-ageing fridges. It has a Japanese aesthetic, a confidence in what is left out.Compressed sea grass between the Scottish Douglas fir rafters in the diningroom means there’s no bouncy sound, and diners can converse comfortably without being tormented by jealousy in overhearing sommelier Niall Flynn at another table, talking through an impressive wine list that includes trophy bottles such as Coche-Dury Meursault, Château Rayas and Montevertine Le Pergole Torte, alongside low-intervention wines. You’ll find little below €70.You could of course have a wine pairing which comes at three levels – €99, €165 and €245 – but we opt for wine by the glass from a limited selection, Mas Candi Gal Blanc Xarel·lo (€13), and two glasses of Domaine Sérol Gamay (€17 each).READ MOREIt’s a tasting menu (€175 pp), driven by seasonal produce, underpinned by a serious level of skill and maturity. Koji and miso – Japanese fermentation staples – are used judiciously, seasoning dishes rather than overwhelming the main ingredients, as sometimes was the case in Noma in Copenhagen, where Greene worked for a time. More importantly, there is a clear understanding of how a tasting menu should work: not a succession of dishes that build up to a huge crescendo, which can be exhausting, but a sense of when to pull back and when to build again.Inside Cúán Greene’s restaurant and guest house, Ómós, in Co Laois. Video: Bryan O'Brien The tomato tart opens with an exuberance of candied flavours – Lyonnaise onions, tomatoes, strawberries and green strawberries, topped with fine ribbons of anchovy brushed with Mangalitsa pork lardo. Then comes the most intriguing dish of the evening: shiitake jelly topped with lightly set pumpkin seed milk and roasted corn kernels, served in a chilled, unglazed pot. Quite Japanese in style, the umami of the jelly pushes up through the creaminess of the pumpkin seed milk, with a hum of woodruff oil. Stunning. Cúán Greene, co-owner and executive chef of Ómós, with head chef Matt Smith in the background. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Tomato pie at Ómós. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Staying with the Japanese influence, the menu pulls back further with dry-aged hamachi and a ponzu-style sauce of raspberry, fermented rhubarb and oat tamari. The Irish salad continues in the same vein: Japanese-style steamed egg custard with green beans and berries, dressed with a salad cream of fermented barley and elderflower.Irish salad at Ómós The tempo increases with the snail dumpling – snails chopped finely with garlic and parsley, wrapped in a dark malt dough, with a foamy sauce of rye bread, chicken stock and sauerkraut juice bringing a ferric earthiness to the dish.It’s full throttle once again as the dry-aged mackerel arrives, its skin charred and crisp from the oak-fired barbecue visible in the room. A sharp sea buckthorn beurre blanc and a kumquat kosho give it an assertive edge, mellowed by a courgette and herb purée.A steamed potato with a large scoop of fermented butter slows the pace before the 60-day-aged beef, exquisitely cooked, rare inside and intensely charred on the outside. The heritage grain bread appears just in time to mop up the Kampot peppercorn sauce.Ómós steamed potato and Jersey butter Heritage grain bread and cultured butter at Ómós Desserts wind things down with their fresh frozen flavours: a sphere of sea buckthorn, honey and yoghurt, dusted with raspberry and spiked on an arbutus twig, is a bracing palate cleanser; compressed strawberries dabbed with a rose and seaweed paste are served with raw milk ice cream. Finally, a clever take on an After Eight is made with nori seaweed and chocolate, filled with seaweed butterscotch. Ómós strawberry tree Barebones chocolate and seaweed butterscotch at Ómós What you’re getting at Ómós is the confidence that comes with maturity, an understanding of what to leave out, both in the design of the restaurant and the menu. Some dishes are delicate, others quite robust – the 12 courses paced to balance one another. There’s a signature here, a chef’s imprint with original dishes you won’t find anywhere else.Is it worth it? At €175, the menu is not out of kilter with other restaurants at this level. These are the most exciting, original dishes I’ve eaten this year, food that intrigues rather than challenges your palate. I’d expect Ómós to go in at one star in the next Michelin Guide but, believe me, it is already cooking at two-star level. Get in before it gets too expensive.Dinner for two with three glasses of wine and 12.5% service charge was €495.75.The verdict: Faultless. Resolved, original dishes on a perfectly paced tasting menuFood provenance: Fish, Glenmar; beef, Wexford Hereford; snails, Inis Escargot; potatoes, Red Shed Organic Farm; raw milk, Killadoon FarmVegetarian options: Vegetarian menu availableWheelchair access: Fully accessible with an accessible toiletMusic: Atmospheric and Irish Ómós head chef Matt Smith. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Ómós Guesthouse in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. The restaurant is in a separate but linked building to the rear. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Ómós restaurant interior Exterior of the Ómós restaurant area. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Dining room details at Ómós. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien