Thornton's was a restaurant that was housed, in the period 2002–2016, in the Fitzwilliam Hotel, St. Stephen's Green, County Dublin, Ireland. It was previously located on Portobello Road since 1989. It became a fine dining restaurant, that held a one-star Michelin rating in the periods 1996-2000 and 2006–2015. In the period 2001-2005 it held a two-star rating.[1][2][3][4] The restaurant closed on 29 October 2016.[5] The space is now occupied by Glovers Alley.[6]
Thornton's | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 1989 |
Closed | 29 October 2016 |
Owner(s) | Kevin & Muriel Thornton |
Head chef | Kevin Thornton |
Food type | International, French, Irish, Modern Irish |
Rating | Michelin Guide |
Street address | 128 St. Stephen’s Green |
City | Dublin |
Country | Ireland |
Seating capacity | 60 |
Website | http://www.thorntonsrestaurant.com |
Head chef Kevin Thornton was the first Irish chef to achieve two Michelin stars. Patrick Guilbaud received his second star first but was born in France.[7]
Thornton's Restaurant was opened in the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen's Green in 2002.[8][9]
Thornton's Restaurant was embroiled in a controversy in 2007 surrounding Thornton's alleged refusal to sell chips to his restaurant customers, sparking comparisons to British chef Gordon Ramsay. A customer requested the food but, upon receiving it, he changed his mind and sent them back to the kitchen.[10] Thornton then allegedly emerged from the kitchen with the chips and slammed them down on the man's table, with the remark: “They were cooked specially for you, so you eat them, you dickhead”. He later is alleged to have called them "wankers" before removing them from his restaurant.[10]
Asked about the incident by broadcaster Joe Duffy on his RTÉ Radio 1 Liveline programme, Thornton stressed that he had not so much been infuriated by the request of chips (he supposedly provides them for younger customers on a regular basis) but that he had been aggravated by the attitude of this particular customer.[10] The incident has since seen Thornton become associated with a dislike of chips and, as recently as 2009, has been crafted as a pun by the Irish media for any other outlet which does not serve the food.[11] Thornton has also spoken out against serving food such as pizza in his restaurant.[12]
Thornton was named Food & Wine Magazine's Chef of the Year for Ireland in 2007.[8] His restaurant had two Michelin stars but it lost one of them; one newspaper at the time portrayed a cartoon of Thornton setting the Michelin Guide alight.[13]
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