ALL THE FOOD

Chapter One is one of the real success stories of Dublin's dining scene. Open since 1992, they were awarded a Michelin star in 2007, and have hung onto it easily (from the outside looking in anyway) ever since...

Dublin has never been the city to find legit Mexican food (something that causes us much dismay), and while there are some success stories (namely 777, El Grito, and more recently pop up food truck La Cocina Cuevas), what's on the market here would make most Mexicans shudder....

Craft opened in February 2016, and was immediately touted as the neighbourhood restaurant Harold's Cross had badly needed. Head chef/owner Philip Yeung had previously been head chef at Town Bar & Grill (remember the boom?) and Bang on Merrion Row, and a string of glowing reviews for his first solo opening followed...

When news broke last November that Etto head chef Barry Sun was departing stage left, it was met with shock and surprise from the industry and the Merrion Row restaurant's regulars, but it was short-lived once it transpired that he was opening his own place in Blackrock...

As everyone who has reopened is still a bit shell shocked, toying with limited menus and deciding how to navigate the many, many reopening guidelines (some of which make absolutely zero sense), it didn't feel right to do a typical once over, so instead we're telling you about two dining options that are perfect if you're feeling a bit anxious about stepping out into the big, bad world again...

Last December, the team behind Lucky's on Meath Street opened a new multi-purpose venue in a neighbourhood that really needed it - Rialto. The Circular is the pub part, serving craft beer and pizza from Coke Lane with a "beer yard" out the back (yet to be seen), and at the front is Daddy's - the bright, vintage style pink-toned café...

Bastible opened in 2015, the first restaurant from couple Barry Fitzgerald and Claremarie Thomas (who also own Clanbrassil House and Coffee Shop), and after Catherine Cleary called it the best restaurant she'd been to that year, there was something of a stampede, with months of tables booked out in an instant...

Unless you live locally you probably haven't heard of Bistro One in Foxrock. It's one of those under the radar suburban spots - loved by locals but unlikely to have anyone venturing from the other side of the city to eat there...

In December, what had been Fudo Izakaya on Little Mary Street, reopened after a short and unsuccessful stint selling sushi, as dedicated dumpling shop Little Dumpling. Cautious excitement followed...

The story of a new handmade pasta place coming to Dublin in October, where no plate would cost over €10, and practically all the produce was Irish, was our second most read story of 2019, and we can't say we were surprised...