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From gut-friendly food on the quays to one of the city's coolest wine bars, with all the baked goods on Pearse Street sandwiched in the middle. Pearse St - Merrion Square Our Take From gut-friendly food on the quays to one of the city's coolest wine bars, with all the baked goods on Pearse Street sandwiched in the middle. Where to Eat As One Bread 41 Cloud Picker D'Olier Street Gursha Honey Truffle Il Caffe di Napoli Jean Georges @ The Leinster Note Tang Cumberland Place Vice

Sister 7 BIGFAN's beer-based collab is another smash hit Posted: 16 Apr 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What do we need to know about Sister 7 @ Fidelity Studio? Not that long ago, the BIGFAN guys met the Whiplash Beer / Fidelity Bar guys, and bonded over food, beer, and mad flavour science. A trip to the brewery in Cherry Orchard was organised, and they fell in love over mash tuns and steam generators. The beer boys had taken the lease on the site next door to Fidelity and planned to open Fidelity Studio (with the guys behind The Big Romance ), a dog-friendly, late night, audiophile bar, with an as yet undetermined food offering. The idea for Sister 7, and BIGFAN's second restaurant was born... Sister 7 is named after Head chef Chung Lee, who has worked at Big Fan under head chef Alex Zhang since they opened. Her Chinese colleagues call her "sister", and she's the new girl boss character to Alex Zhang's BIGFAN boss man . Unfortunately she's had to temporarily return to China so missed opening week, and other staff members that Alex went to China to interview and hire haven't arrived here either, so at the moment it's a case of stretching who they do have across two sites. (Sister 7) They've said the menu will be 70% BIGFAN classics and 30% crossover dishes developed with Whiplash using beer or spent product from their brewery, and we're expecting constant collaboration and dish development. (Sister 7) We don't make a habit of doing a Lucinda and showing up on night one (in fact we've never done this), but we ended up looking for somewhere to eat on the day Sister 7 were opening, and knowing the calibre of these two teams we couldn't stop ourselves having an early peek. They'd had a few family and friends nights the weekend before to get to grips with things, and if it was terrible we'd go away and come back in a month. We booked a table for 4pm, but as we walked up to the door there were unloading our table from a van - this was not looking good. Staff laughed when we said we had a reservation, and that their furniture was delayed in arriving. We questioned why no one had called us to let us know, but we couldn't get an answer. We sat in Fidelity next door and given a complimentary drink while we waited for what we were told would be 10 minutes, then 15, then another 10, and it was close to 5pm before we actually sitting down. Not the best start considering we had to be gone by 6pm. "Please let this be good..." we prayed to the restaurant Gods... Where should we have a drink beforehand? If you feel like two venues for the price of one (not literally sadly, you will have to pay for drinks), head to original, brilliant beer bar Fidelity next door. As a Whiplash -owned bar they feature heavily, but you will find other breweries like Kinnegar , Trouble Brewing and UK-based Northern Monk . The 'Cellar Menu' is where the real geeks should head - the 500ml bottles there sell for as much as €38. Think of them as fine wine, and made for sharing. We tried the Whiplash x Allta dark sour, a heady, fruity mix with a vinegary whistle at the end, and a N/A version of their mango jalapeño cocktail, the heat from the jalapeño and hot honey deftly disguising the missing Absolute vodka. Where should we sit? It's business in the front, party in the back, with a DJ booth that looks like it's going to be busy. For something that feels like it's opened in a hurry, the design does not feel like a rush job. The colour scheme of black, sage green and rust feeling warm and contemporary, with little accents of gold bringing a bit of luxe. There are curved banquettes in the front room and on one side of the back, and we can confirm they're very comfortable to spend an hour on. There's also a cute counter for two along the divide across the rooms. Sound systems are not our specialist subject but we hear this one is very impressive, and expensive - if you want the details on subwoofers and coax compression drivers you can get it on their website . What's on the menu? Currently it's a lot of the dishes we know and love from BIGFAN , the baos, jiaozi, duck wings and more, but the cleverness and USP for this site is going to be the dishes they incorporate Whiplash beer and brewery by-products into. Start with the crackers made from spent brewery grain (€5). They sound odd, but taste amazing, some like puffed pork rinds, others with the short, crumbly texture of parmesan crisps. They come with an outrageous beefy chilli oil, complete with chewy, deep-fried beef floss - if there's one thing we've obsessed about daily since leaving here it's this condiment. Go, eat it, and beg them to make it available retail. Sweet heart eggs are another bar snack, cured with soy and bonito, with garlic and chilli oil (€5, or €13 with oscietra caviar added on). We didn't order caviar but it arrived anyway, and who's going to complain about that. The eggs were perfectly fudgy, but it's the garlic and chilli oil that takes it from "mmmm" to "mmmmaaagawd" so make sure it's spread all over. The caviar is a nice add on if you're in the black that week, and a more wallet-friendly way to try it than some other options around town, but our eggs were too cold, clearly not out of the fridge that long. We should have let them come to room temperature but we were too hungry. Bar snack number three, and it's a hat-trick with the Iberico char siu puffs - two for €7. The homemade pastry on this would make you weep - layer upon layer of crispy, flaky magic, not a soggy corner in sight, and the sweet, smoky, juicy filling will give Dublin pork puffs the best possible name, Most of Dublin have had Big Fan 's wagyu cheeseburger's jiaozi at this stage, and the new 'Chun Li' ones here, with chicken, celeriac and water chestnuts, are rolled in the same long style. They come with pickled mushrooms and a Whiplash dark sour vinegar (mimicking the traditional Chinkiang/black rice vinegar), and it's all very clever, and very delicious - despite the filling continuously falling out of the open-ended dumplings. We can nary pass up a soup dumpling, so the xiao long bao (€12) also went on our order sheet. They're filled with minced Andarl Farm pork and pork stock, with a ginger and black vinegar dip on the side. In case you don't know how you're supposed to eat soup dumplings, you pierce a hole in them over a spoon, squeeze out the fragrant soup inside, then dip the remaining dumpling in the dipping sauce. If you're a xiao long bao first timer, this is a great place to pop your dumpling. When it comes to the baos, the classic BIGFAN and Shan Ji appear here, but it's the Sister 7 one you want, with Whiplash Slow Life braised beef short rib, barley crumb, pickled ginger, ume and rhubarb fermented chilli, and cos lettuce. This is the type of bonkers combination that shows what a mad genius BIGFAN 's owner and chef Alex Zhang is. Rhubarb with beef? Why is this combination one of the best things we've tasted in months!? You may place a repeat order - we would have if we'd had time. Another beer-based take on a BIGFAN classic is the Fidelity fried chicken with a Blue Ghost and brewery grain batter, and a side of honey mustard yoghurt. These guys know how to brine and deep-fry to get the juiciest meat, but we waited a long time for this and when it finally did arrive it hadn't been drained properly - we can only put it down to a rush to get it out. The yoghurt was too heavy on the mustard, and we found ourselves coughing as it went up our noses. A couple of tweaks and all will be good. We ended with another new one - Lipsticks. Fermented rice is mixed with finely chopped vegetables including celeriac, shiitake, yam and cabbage, wrapped in tofu skin and served with a maple and miso mayo. BIGFAN have never snoozed on vegetarian options, and this is another good one to get your five a day, but we found the rich lipsticks and the sweet sauce in need of a jolt of acidity somewhere. The easiest fix would be to vinegar up that mayo. What's the story with drinks? Like the mothership next door, beer is the star attraction here. Whiplash beers come on tap, with a board for specials, which included the "Even sharks need water" IPA, and a "Pisco Sour" sour beer. Expect these to change regularly. There's also a standard selection of wines on tap, and some nice looking cocktails, including Basil Margaritas and Negroni Blancos. How was the service? While the food is BIGFAN , the servers are Fidelity , and despite our rubbish start, once we got in and seated they were all very pleasant and helpful. There was obvious beer knowledge so recommendations and tastes of things on tap won't be an issue, and we know BIGFAN will make sure everyone's up to speed on the food. Some dishes were slow in coming out, but it was night one proper so that didn't set off any alarm bells. And the damage? After the inauspicious start, they tried to not charge us for the meal, but as (we hope) you know, we don't write about food we haven't paid for, so we eventually accepted an opening night discount of 10% which they said everyone was getting that night. Prices here have a slight increase on what's on Big Fan's online menu , with some dishes up by 30c, others by 50c, but by and large they're very similar. This amount of food should have been €75 before drinks, and generously fed two. €50 a head is reasonable with a couple of drinks per person, but obviously the sky's the limit if you dig into the drinks list. Either way we thought it felt like brilliant value for money on the barometer of city prices right now. What's the verdict on Sister 7? It's not even open a week and it's clear that BIGFAN have another smash hit on their hands, the collaboration with Fidelity a thoughtful move for both. This kind of instant buzz is what restaurant and bar owners dream of, showing the strength of the fan-base both already had, and how it's multiplied by coming together. The real draw here is the collaboration between brewery and kitchen, the sustainable aspect of using brewery leftovers to make edible dishes, and the obvious passion both brands have for doing things right, giving diners something innovative and exciting to spend their earnings on. It's bar food, but so much better. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

A go-to wine bar for those in the know. Interesting list of responsibly made wines, knowledgeable staff and creative, Italian influenced food from Enrico Fantasia (owner of wine import company Grape Circus) and his partner Thibault Harang (formerly of Pichet and Town Bar & Grill). Seats on the outdoor terrace complete with heaters are in demand year round. Piglet Website pigletwinebar.ie Address 5 Cow's Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story A go-to wine bar for those in the know. Interesting list of responsibly made wines, knowledgeable staff and creative, Italian influenced food from Enrico Fantasia (owner of wine import company Grape Circus) and his partner Thibault Harang (formerly of Pichet and Town Bar & Grill). Seats on the outdoor terrace complete with heaters are in demand year round. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Note Bistro Get In Quick Before It Joins The Impossible To Book Club Posted: 28 May 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Note's evening wine bar and daytime bureau (café to the lowly amongst us) opened at the end of October to all the adulation , with promises that the 'bistro' part of the trilogy was coming a few weeks later. Weeks and months passed and still no sign of a fully fledged menu, but their bar snacks got slowly more interesting - to the point where two national critics went in to review on the basis of those alone - bet they're raging now. Still, we waited, until a couple of weeks ago when a post appeared on their Instagram page announcing bistro bookings were now being taken, with lift off 10 days later. Note is owned by three friends - Andy Collins who owns the aesthetic Eden that is Indigo & Cloth in Temple Bar, and brothers Acky (the Creative Director of a design company) and Essa Fakhry (the chef). We first came across Essa after a stand-out meal at NY-style Mexican 777 a few years ago, finding out afterwards that he was heading up the kitchen, and when we saw him travelling off to other parts of the globe to stage in some uber-cool restaurants we knew he wasn't messing around. From the first night the bistro menu launched we were getting exclamation-laden messages from readers containing sentences like "the croquettes changed my life!", and "just had the best tuna I've ever tasted!", and we knew from a quick social stalk that they weren't Essa's sister/aunt/housemate, so we were feeling optimistic sitting down to dinner. Where should I sit? It's basically a choice between the bar or the main floor. We love the banquettes by the window so that would be first pick, but sometimes you just want to have the elevation of a bar counter, and if you're dining alone there's no better place to sit and have the chats with staff. What's the food like? This kind of menu is our all-time favourite, with snacks, small plates and larger ones, and no minimum order or demand on your time and wallet to have three courses. A few weeks ago there was also a chef's menu for €70pp where they brought you food with no decision-making involved, but that seems to be on hiatus for now. Most likely because at the time we visited it was just Essa and a commis chef in the kitchen - which became all the more impressive as the dishes started to roll out. For the first time in quite a long time we wanted every single dish on the menu, all killer, absolutely zero filler, and whittling it down to a generous amount for two was as close as we've (thankfully) come to slow, painful torture. Begrudgingly and after at least 20 minutes of torment, we settled on a snack, three small plates, a medium and a large. Coming here with a group would be a great way to get through most of the menu and leave having ticked every bistro box - but be aware, it's changing all the time so could be completely different when you visit. We skipped the sourdough with Glenilen butter because once we saw 'anchovy toast' there was no other option. At first it just tasted like really good toasted sourdough dripping with butter, but then you come across a little nugget of anchovy and an accompanying salty explosion. A great start. We go all starry-eyed emoji seeing ceviche on menus (it happens so rarely in this country of ours so full of fish), so we were right onto Note's Stonebass ceviche with lime, oregano and jalapeño, with unmentioned orange segments and slices of radish. It wasn't just a highlight of dinner, it was a highlight of the entire year so far. Staff told us Essa prepares it like an aguachile (soupier and less marinating time) and you will be fighting over the last few drops of that turbo-charged juice with the slightest hint of heat at the end. Ceviche, aguachile, whatever it was, it's difficult to imagine it could tasbetter than this, and if it doesn't stay on the menu permanently we'll be first in line with our placards. Next another ingredient so rarely seen on menus here, white asparagus, with Shepherd's Store cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The asparagus was barely cooked so still had crunch, and was generously covered in the nutty cheese sauce, with another flurry on top, and toasted hazelnuts hiding within. White asparagus has a brutally short season, and if we only get to eat it once a year we want to eat it like this. Next, another dish we've never seen on a menu here (are you sensing a theme?) - Vitello Tonnato, a Piedmontese dish of cold, sliced veal with a kind of tuna-flavoured mayonnaise on top. Super juicy, delicately flavoured meat, a dollop of subtly tuna tasting mayonnaise, and some caper berries to jolt your palate back to reality, resulted in another dish with forks clashing at the end, and not even a smear of sauce left. We'd ordered the lobster au homard (which technically means lobster au lobster) not knowing what to expect, but out came three stuffed mezzelune in a soupy bisque, with some chopped cucumber and more lobster meat on top. We love lobster in all its forms, and this had it coming at you from every angle - in the pasta, in the sauce, in the chunks on top. Everything else on the plate shone a light on the star ingredient, from the deeply flavoured bisque to the finely diced cucumber, with nothing threatening to overtake its subtle flavour - skillful and sensitive cheffing. We also tried a side of their potato mousseline, which was basically potato flavoured butter - and there ain't nothing bad about that. Desserts were on the more simple side - an affogato with hazelnuts and homemade coffee liqueur poured over the top (you won't need that post-meal espresso), and madeleines that would give St John a run for their money. If you don't end a meal here with them, you haven't really been. What about drinks? Even though Note is a wine bar first, they haven't let standards slip on cocktails, beer or cider. Bar manager Alan makes his own limoncello, the coffee liquor for the affogato, and no doubt countless other concoctions to be found within the cocktail list. For us the only way to start is with a glass of their grower champagne, a (relative) steal at €17 a glass, when many places around town are charging €25 a glass for Grand Marques muck. In a place like this we love to drink by the glass and try as much as possible, and the person you want making recommendations is the wine brains behind the operation - GM Katie Seward. We basically let her take the wheel bringing us pairings for each dish, and over the night tried Fiano from Campania, Vital (a new grape on us) from Lisbon, dry Pedro Jiminez from Catalonia, Cru Beaujolais, and Loire Valley Chardonnay. Without fail, every pairing made the dish in question taste even better, and we could count on one hand the amount of places with a hit rate this impressive. The only addendum we'd add is that the low margin wine prices we raved about at the start have taken a bit of a jump. There's still value to be had, particularly at the higher end of the price range (that Marguet Shaman grower champagne is less than €15 more than you'd pay retail to drink in), but prices at the lower end now feel more in tandem with average prices around town. How was the service? As lovely and professional as you would hope for. Food and drinks were perfectly paced, and we were never left to wave someone down or with empty glasses or plates for long. And the damage? €195 for two before tip, including champagne and cider to start, a wine for every dish, and an extra to end the night. Definitely on the higher end of dining out spends, but you could do it for considerably less if you just got one bottle of wine on the lower end of the scale. Our advice though would be to go and do it right. The verdict? Regular London or Paris goers will recognise the need for a wine bar/bistro like Note in Dublin, and we've finally got it - hopefully the first of more to come. This is somewhere that would hold its own in any buzzing European city, and we selfishly dread word getting out and it joining the "impossible to book" club of Library Street, Variety Jones and the rest. Rather than "giving the people what they want", Essa Fakhry is stirring, saucing and banging pots to his own drum. Rather than looking exhausted and stressed at serving an entire restaurant with such little backup, he seems relaxed, confident, invigorated - like he's finally cooking the food that's at his core. We've already got our next booking for Note Bistro in the bag, and suggest you do the same before everyone finds out about it. Note Bistro 26 Fenian Street, Dublin 2 notedublin.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Allta Bar Casual dining at Allta is an exciting development for the Docklands, with a masterpiece of a burger Posted: 15 Oct 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Allta Bar? The ever-evolving Allta only made it about four months in the OG Setanta Place space that’s now home to Library Street , before the pandemic forced a closure never to be undone. Well received Summer and Winter House popups throughout those strange years added a cocktail bar, Glovebox , to the stable, and while its artsy vibes and great drinks made it a hit, we sensed the dropping of the name for the stripped-back ' Allta Bar ' suggested a change in direction. Since Allta’s new permanent docklands home opened in January of this year, the smaller space to the left of the building has done solid business for a pre and post-dinner drinks – that’s as much thanks to the lack of any decent options nearby as the custom sound system and decks they installed. Something bigger though was always the plan, and the start of the month saw the launch of a new bar menu to turn this section from high-end waiting room to a destination of its own. Where should we sit? With exposed concrete and air vents aplenty softened with fur furnishings and a plethora of plant life, the more casual bar space manages to hit a balance between openness and intimacy. Mismatched swivel and bucket seats as well as benches are set at low tables, for a sit-back-and-sip comfort more fitting for a drinks-only affair. Those out to eat greedily (guilty your honour) might be best off asking for one of the three high-stool two-tops, or taking a space at the twelve-seater circular bar – the lower tables might make you feel you’ve been seated at a kids’ Christmas table, awkwardly leaning forward to cut through a knee-height steak from your lower perch. What’s on the menu? The staff will point your attention toward the oilskin dungaree-clad man in the mural – as if you could miss him – and tell you the tale of Paddy O’Sullivan, the Kerry oyster fisherman whose catch has been on Allta’s plates just as his furrowed brow has been on its walls, since those first days back in 2019. A lesser venue might make this backstory sound like a sales spiel, but true enthusiasm isn’t easily faked, and a passion for provenance is a theme of the meal. Close your eyes as these sizeable specimens slip-side from the shell and you could be head-deep in the waters of Cromane Bay, such is the fresh shock of salt water. As the meat’s sweetness takes over, house fermented hot sauce and mignonette bring a tart and tangy balance, and the wall décor makes more sense as the quality sinks in. Not much can match the gasp-courting quality of a top-tier oyster’s briny blast, but the bluefin tuna makes a good go of it. We’ve seen a few versions of these tartare rosti bites at the new Allta, with mussel and dexter beef last spring a standout, but this latest levelling-up leaves them in the dust. The chilli-citrus kick of yuzu koshō plays off the intense sea-saltiness of the fish and the rosti’s crisp richness, for a snack we slivered off in wafer-thin bites to make it last longer. Pity the poor arancini having to stack up after those two. There’s nothing wrong with Allta’s take on the Sicilian street food, almost obligatory on bar menus these days, but the scale of invention that went before isn’t anywhere in sight here. Tender, fatty flakes of beef shin generously stirred through the bright yellow risotto make for a tasty mouthful and a pretty sight, but sensitive souls that we are we found the saffron notes too domineering. You won’t find Allta’s beef supplier plastered on the wall but Woodtown, proud owners of Ireland’s oldest purebred Jersey herd, have just as prominent a place. Chef and owner Niall Davidson spent time as a butcher and has put a lot of thought into how we can be more sustainable and less wasteful with beef – fatted ex-dairy cattle are the result. At the restaurant side of the house, you’ll find a choice of steak cuts charged by the 100g; here, it’s an even €18 for the cut of the day – if there’s any you’re unkeen on, be sure to ask. Ours was short rib, superbly charred from the alternating grill-and-rest technique Davidson has settled on for his custom beef, with the medium rare interior’s locked-in juices teeming forth from tenderised meat. The thick puddle of horseradish bearnaise is a smart accompaniment, if on occasion a little too sweet for our palates. We know you're dying to know about the Allta Bar cheeseburger that's been touted so much in their promo photos. It's a masterpiece, as good a use as any for this prime meat. House pickles, Mount Leinster cheddar, a fermented potato bun from No Messin’ , and the infamous shiitake miso butter we all licked the jar clean of in those lockdown box days - every element of this is one we would eat in isolation, but brought together it’s the stuff of burger loving dreams, a concert of quality ingredients that bolster rather than bury the beef. The scant serving of chips are hand-cut and triple-fried to moreishness, ill-served by having so few more on either plate - another spud is hardly likely to torpedo the price point. That this is going for €18 is a shock - given the endless gastropubs around the area shilling a basic-as burger for that or more, this feels like the deal of the year. We couldn’t quite say the same for the €28 dessert (not a typo). Six grams of caviar and a strip of gold leaf are primarily to blame for that price point, a luxury temptation that feels out of sorts with the rest of the meal. The minimal waste philosophy is in play again, with potato peels saved from compost and oven-caramelised for an intensely earthy, subtly sweet ice cream. We’ll confess a cynicism that spud scraps and sturgeon egg would make for a sensible pairing, but the silky-soft scoop played so well off the salt-spiked richness of the roe that we ate our words along with our caviar. Tiramichoux is as nice to eat as it is to say, and a good deal less guilt-inducing on your wallet than the ice cream. Have cameras at the ready for the stream of caramel that cascades down the filling of mascarpone cream as you cut through the crisp pastry. The contrastingly light and heavy textures are a wonder to munch through, with the smooth coffee oil ice cream and crunchy cacao nibs adding extra flavour bursts. We might have expected petit fours over at the restaurant, but not so much the bar. A blackcurrant pastille was a densely delicious shock of intense fruit flavour, while a pretty orange caramel bonbon brought a just-right richness to round things off. A pitch-perfect contrast of crisp caramelised exterior and chewy custard centre are the hallmarks of any great canelé; here, as elsewhere, Allta shows its no amateur. What are the drinks like? This new lease of life for the bar brings with it a new cocktail menu, most at a €16 price point that puts it solidly toward the top of the market – we noted that’s a €2.50 hike on the previous list we sipped our way through when the space bore the Glovebox name. The quality has risen along with the price though, and if you’re willing to part with that amount it won't be spent in vain. The Scottish-Irish hybrid 'Rathlin' pairs poitín and Islay single malt with sherry and kelp for a smoke and salt-saturated answer to an old fashioned – what a way to whet the appetite. 'Skellig Michael' sits among the lighter choices, gin spiked with the complexity of Stillgarden’s Glas 55 herbal liqueur and the crisp bite of apple juice. As a fresh foil to cut through richer dishes it works very well. We cannot urge you enough to have an 'Aran' with dessert. Allta’s miso butter shot to fame long ago, but here it’s found an altogether higher purpose washed with Teelings for a butterscotch-scented beauty we want to drink again and again. For those not partaking, the 'Conor’s' gets a kick from Fire & 5th's N/A spirit, played off the zip of a grapefruit and a tarragon sherbet-spiked tonic for a grownup teetotal choice. The solid BTG wine list counts producers we've enjoyed elsewhere in the city like La Sapata, Bulli, Meinklang and Hacienda la Parrilla among the 12-strong choice. There's plenty to enjoy there, and all the more by the bottle, with prices broadly on-par with competitors like Note How was the service? As in the restaurant, the Allta staff are trained to a tee on every inch of the menu, and bristling to be asked for more detail. They will go long and deep on any dish if you care to hear more, without the stuffiness that sometimes brings. Service here is a testament to the reality that you can keep it informal without ever being anything less than deadly serious about great food. The plates here could be wheeled out by mute robots and would still sing, but the staff’s copious pride and passion speaks volumes about the kind of food culture that's been sought out and cultivated, and it’s infectious. And the damage? We had a much fuller feast than we’d expect most to enjoy at Allta Bar – caviar and all – so don’t take our €115 food bill (cocktails came to another €60) as any kind of indication. It is fair to say we went all-in; more normal sorts could exit well fed for €30 a head before drinks. There’s not many places around town you can eat so well for so little. One sore note that we didn’t notice until afterwards was a €6 charge for those petit fours we never asked for. We’d pay it again, but it doesn’t feel right not to know it in advance. What’s the verdict on Allta Bar? For all we’ve loved Allta in its many guises, it’s fair to say it’s never quite been a casual night out – to all but the most devout food fans, this has always been special occasion stuff. This new Allta Bar feels like a conscious effort to elbow into another end of the market, with some dishes – mains especially – clocking in at prices of sensational value for the quality you get. To have ethical, sustainable, seasonal and minimal-waste food this accessible is an exciting development for the city, and we hope it gets as busy as it deserves to be. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

You might walk into Caffe di Napoli on Westland Row, just next to Pearse Street Station, thinking it’s just a cafe, but venture down the staircase at the back and you could be in Naples. We love the antipasto, which varies depending on what’s available, and while they're not breaking any moulds when it comes to pizza and pasta, we've got a major soft spot for anywhere this Italian to the core. Il Caffe di Napoli Website ilcaffedinapoli.ie Address 41 Westland Row, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story You might walk into Caffe di Napoli on Westland Row, just next to Pearse Street Station, thinking it’s just a cafe, but venture down the staircase at the back and you could be in Naples. We love the antipasto, which varies depending on what’s available, and while they're not breaking any moulds when it comes to pizza and pasta, we've got a major soft spot for anywhere this Italian to the core. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Their Walkinstown Roundabout food truck has long boasted some of Dublin's best fried chicken sandwiches but Cluck Chicken have finally got a permanent home. They've expanded up the road to Tallaght, bringing some much needed zing to the food options of The Square where they'll continue to sling chicken burgers alongside of fries and other sides. Owner Ian Ussher had a big hit when he opened Ian's Kitchen in Crumlin last year so hopefully this new brick and mortar location will continue that trend. Cluck Chicken Website cluckchicken.ie Address Unit 136, Level 1, The Square Shopping Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Their Walkinstown Roundabout food truck has long boasted some of Dublin's best fried chicken sandwiches but Cluck Chicken have finally got a permanent home. They've expanded up the road to Tallaght, bringing some much needed zing to the food options of The Square where they'll continue to sling chicken burgers alongside of fries and other sides. Owner Ian Ussher had a big hit when he opened Ian's Kitchen in Crumlin last year so hopefully this new brick and mortar location will continue that trend. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

The South-West suburbs of Dublin were never a stronghold for food in the past but that has started to change. With some great bakeries and breakfast options in D12 and a growing number of great ethnic restaurants in D24, the area is a wise choice for good value. West Dublin Our Take The South-West suburbs of Dublin were never a stronghold for food in the past but that has started to change. With some great bakeries and breakfast options in D12 and a growing number of great ethnic restaurants in D24, the area is a wise choice for good value. Where to Eat D'Lepak Kaizen Mama Shee Orani

CN Duck Roast meats in Ranelagh straight out of Southeast Asia Posted: 28 Jun 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? CN Duck opened quietly enough on Ranelagh's thoroughfare in February, and apart from one (copied and pasted from their website) article on Lovin' Dublin, and a review in the Sunday Independent, they haven't had a whole pile of coverage, but on a recent visit to Ranelagh in search of somewhere to eat, their online reviews stuck out like a bullet oven in a Dublin suburb. It's a lazy, false stereotype that because people of a similar ethnicity as the restaurant are eating there it must be the best around - people of every colour, race and background eat bad food, and what if it's just the best of a bad lot? - but what stuck out most from all the praise was the steady stream of Asian diners gushing about the quality of the roast meats, and how it was the taste of home they'd been sorely missing. One read: " The best roast duck you could expect to have - it is as best as a 5-star hotel in Hong Kong. This is amazingly delicious. Absolutely worth for the value. Will be visiting again! Salute to the Chef!!! Thank you CN Duck! It effectively heals my homesick. " How could we not after that. Cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are famous for their juicy, crispy-skinned roast meats, cooked in special bullet ovens shaped like torpedos, and hung up in windows and street stalls across town. These ovens circulate heat evenly around the meat, rendering the fat and crisping the skin, and while these aren't the first ones in Dublin, we've never found a source of Chinese roast meats that we thought could compete with the ones we've eaten in South East Asia. Multiple attempts at contacting the restaurant to get more information about who's behind it went unanswered, but one online report claimed they're connected to the Zakura Japanese restaurants. If we ever find out we'll let you know. Where should I sit? This is fast casual dining, with two long tables for sharing with fellow diners, a table for four, two high tables for two, and one outside table that can seat four. The roadside seating isn't the most comfortable and you'll probably be wary of your belongings, but it is nice sitting in the sun (on the rare occasions it shows up). None of the seating has been designed with lounging in mind, so just pull up wherever's free. What's the food like? You're here for the roast meats and we'll hear no more about it, but there is quite a large menu in case you have a heathen in your midst who wants to break ranks (or you just want to get a selection of different dishes - far more reasonable). There are also enough vegetarian dishes to bring any meat-free friends too. We asked which starters were made on site, and were told the spring rolls and the Shao Mai dumpings, so got one of each. There was no doubt the duck spring rolls were made fresh, with uneven wrappers giving up extra crispy bits, and a filling full of fresh, crunchy vegetables, and rich chunks of meat. With a side of sweet chilli sauce for dipping, these are spring rolls the way they should be, yet so rarely are. The Shao Mai (also called Siu Mai) dumplings were stuffed with a pork and mushroom filling so juicy you will want to eat these in one mouthful, the thin pastry pleats holding it all together, and a whole prawn on top. They come with a soy based dipping sauce and are utterly delicious, but heavy. Perfect for sharing, but a whole portion as a starter and you might be done for. For the star attraction, there are a few ways of doing it. The four roast meats on offer are roast duck; crispy pork belly; BBQ char siu pork; and Cantonese soy chicken. You can either order portions of the meat by itself, plumping out your meal with rice and other sides, or you can order it as part of a rice bowl. You can also order combos to try two at once, and because we had to try it all, we got a meat-only combo of roast duck and crispy pork belly, and a rice bowl combo of BBQ char siu pork and Cantonese soy chicken. And oh my this meat. If you've ever eaten your way around those bustling Asian cities this will take you right back there. Too often you find duck in this style with too much fat under the skin, making for unpleasantly chewy mouthfuls, but this was flawlessly rendered down with a slightly sticky marinade, showing what those ovens are capable of in the right hands. You can pay an extra €1 to have it deboned, and if you don't do that just be careful as little shards of bone can sneak into your mouth when you least expect it. The crispy pork belly is cooked in a way that will make you never want to cook it at home again (or eat it anywhere else). By its nature it has more fat than the duck and in more places, but the cracking belongs in the all-star leagues, and the sliver of fat underneath would give fat on meat a good name. There were pieces towards one end that were all fat and crackling, but some people like that too, and there was a lot of meat to get your chops around. The BBQ char siu pork and Cantonese soy chicken were the combo for our rice bowl, and once again, the soy chicken is the best we've had anywhere here. Often slippery, with rubbery skin and no flavour, this skin is made for eating, with the chicken melting underneath it. Again it's on the bone so bear that in mind when jamming it into your mouth. Thin slices of char siu pork had a vivid barbecue flavour, and the portions of meat felt very generous. The rice bowls come with half a jammy, soy-cured egg (as good as the best ramen bars serve, anywhere). stir-fried greens, steamed pak choi and edamame beans, and for €15 for the meat combo this is a hell of a bowl of food. On the table are duck sauce (very hard to find good versions outside of Asian and this is a good version) and chilli oil that tasted like it was based on fermented shrimp paste. Great condiment game. The only downside to these delicious meats is a lack of provenance information. The website says they use "locally sourced meat" but that doesn't mean much, and we would have loved more information on where they're getting it. Outside of the roast meat bonanza there's ramen, noodles, fried rice and stir fries, and while we tend to look at these as filler items, it's hard to imagine the standards dropping from the rest. There's also a good value daytime menu served from 12:00 - 17:00, with a selection of dishes for €9.95 - hard to argue with. We're pretty desperate to go back and try more, and have spent the week quietly cursing Ranelagh residents for having such easy access to it. What about drinks? Soft drinks or beer only - Tiger, Asahi or Tsing Tao, but they also do BYOB at the bargain price of €1 per beer or €6 per bottle of wine. This would be a great place to break out some special bottles, and the food's not spicy enough to overpower anything. How was the service? Very pleasant and to the point. You order at the till and they'll bring your food to you. As you'd expect everything comes when it's ready, so if you want to spread it out we'd advise asking if they can do this when you order. And the damage? €44.95 for a generous amount of food for two with leftovers to take away. For food of this quality we think the value for money is in the city's top tier right now. The verdict? For our money these are the best Chinese roast meats in Dublin right now, and an itch is finally being scratched to complete satisfaction. We hoped CN Duck would be decent, we didn't know it was going to be this good, but maybe we'll take more notice of those gushing Google reviews more often. Hopefully they've got their eyes on other sites so more people can experience the joy, but maybe it's best kept as one solo special spot for soy chicken and char siu. Either way, we're coming up with all sorts of excuses to get back to Ranelagh. CN Duck 12 Ranelagh, Dublin 6 www.cnduck.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Square Dish Website squaredish.com Address Squaredish, Saint Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Dublin's best-known park is surrounded by food options on all sides. Find a table close-by or grab a takeaway and enjoy it in 22-acres of Victorian-built parkland. St Stephen's Green Our Take Dublin's best-known park is surrounded by food options on all sides. Find a table close-by or grab a takeaway and enjoy it in 22-acres of Victorian-built parkland. Where to Eat Amuri Bang Cellar 22 Cirillo's Dax Etto Floritz Glas Kaldero Little Geno's Margadh RHA Tang Dawson Street The Commons At MoLI

The Big Mamma Group brought their high energy, all Italian Gloria Osteria to Dublin at the end of 2025, and it's safe to say the city had never seen an opening like it. The room is a sight to behold, and the menu spans antipasti, pasta, fish and meat mains, and desserts you'll want to save a whole lot of room for. The vibes in here are glamour and fun, so bring plenty of both and you'll have a great time. Gloria Osteria Website gloria-osteria.com/dublin Address 41 Westmoreland St, Dublin, D02 VY45, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The Big Mamma Group brought their high energy, all Italian Gloria Osteria to Dublin at the end of 2025, and it's safe to say the city had never seen an opening like it. The room is a sight to behold, and the menu spans antipasti, pasta, fish and meat mains, and desserts you'll want to save a whole lot of room for. The vibes in here are glamour and fun, so bring plenty of both and you'll have a great time. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Out of gallery

Grano The pasta place we've been waiting for Posted: 22 Jan 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? December 2018 was quite the month for restaurant openings in Dublin ( Variety Jones , Gertrude , Uno Mas scraping in on the last day of November), and one that we were really intrigued by was Grano in Stoneybatter, where owner Roberto Mungo's Italian mamma had flown over and was in the kitchen making pasta. Mamma Roma quickly gained cult Instagram status , and social media was alight with talk that Dublin had itself an authentic Italian restaurant to eat fresh pasta in. Roberto is originally from Calabria in Southern Italy, and says he wanted to open a place that reminded him of home. A lot of the ingredients come from producers and farmers who are family friends, and he wanted the restaurant to be in Stoneybatter because of its sense of community - it's also where he lives. Before opening Grano, Roberto worked as a sommelier for Wallace Wine Bars , and a look online at the wine list made it obvious the wine was as important as the food. There are no flashy names, just small producers with loads of organic, biodynamic and natural options, and refreshingly reasonable mark ups. So far all was sounding a bit too good to be true. Where should we go for a drink first? There are loads of great pubs in Stoneybatter, including L. Mulligan Grocer for one of the best craft beer selections in the city, The Cobblestone for traditional Irish music, and Walshs which was voted best pub in Ireland at last year's Irish Restaurant Awards. Part of the reason for this (apart from the unfalteringly lovely staff) must be the price of the drinks - they sell sherry cask-aged Red Breast whiskey for €10 a measure, when it's more like €18 around town, and Aspall's cider for €5.80, when we've only ever seen it at €8+. Where should we sit? It's a really cosy, intimate room, with mostly two tops and some fours, but they will obviously move them together if there's more of you. We were probably at the worst table in front of the door so had an occasional blast of wind when people came in, but we booked late and were just happy to get in at all. If we have another summer like 2018, the one in the path of a breeze will be the one to bag. Otherwise we'd advise sitting as close to the pasta making action as you can get. What's good to eat? The format of the menu with nibbles, starters, pasta and secondi makes it way too easy to order all the food, but this is the only way to go if you want the full Grano experience (and you do). Portions aren't huge and prices very reasonable so you can get away with ordering from every section. From the nibbles we had the Capocollo ham cured in Primitivo wine, from a family friend's farm in Italy, which had incredible flavour, especially with the Calabrian red wine we were drinking. Marinated anchovies with frigatelli peppers, sourdough and tomato and basil cream were also demolished, and the nduja with crostini (which melts at your table in what looks like an oil diffuser) is the proper Calabrian real deal - which means super spicy. Enter with caution if you're heat-averse. If not you'll love it. From the starters, we had to go for Mamma Roma's stuffed artichoke special with caciocavallo cheese, which was as perfect as we'd hoped it would be. Another of Frisella de Farro (spelt rusk bread that's brushed with water to soften it and topped with cherry tomatoes, oregano, garlic and olive oil) was a bit too soggy for us, and they explained that it's been difficult to get the soakage level right - when it was harder they had people complaining that they were going to break a tooth. They're debating letting people brush their own water on at the table so they can determine their own level of softness, which we think is a great idea. For mains we obviously had to stick to pasta, but there are a couple of meat/fish dishes on there too. Only certain pastas are made in house, others need machinery and the space is too small, so they bring them over from Italy - look for the ones saying 'homemade' on the menu if you want to know what's what. One that is always made in house is the traditional Calabrian pasta fileja, made using a knitting needle. We had that night's special which was described as a cacio e pepe with artichoke and mint. It wasn't what we know as cacio e pepe, which is just made with pecornio cheese and loads of black pepper, but it was delicious nonetheless, and had a layer of slightly hardening cheese at the bottom that we took great pleasure in scraping off at the end. Another of Amatriciana with mezzamaniche pasta (imported), black pig guanciale (from the cheek), tomato sauce and pecorino was faultless, and if any dish was going to make us feel like we were eating in Roberto's Calabrian village this was it. So simple but with such explicitly excellent ingredients, there was practically no conversation while eating this. Continuing the pig fest they brought us a half portion of Italian cheeses with chutneys and a little bit of orangey fruit cake, which is surprisingly good in place of a cracker. We finished with tiramisu, which we thought was perfect except for needing more Marsala, until Roberto told us they don't put any in so that children can eat it too, and he has great memories of his mother making an alcohol free one for him and his siblings when they were small - it's hard to argue with that. What about the drinks? It's rare (although thankfully less so) to find restaurants in Dublin that think about their wine list as carefully as their food, and this is one of those places. Everything is Italian and most are organic, and the mark ups are on the low side in comparison to most places in the city which makes it pretty good value. We were recommended a red Cirò, one of Calabria's most famous wines made from the Gaglioppo grape, which was a bit like Nebbiolo - light and fresh but with good structure and soft tannins - and it was a perfect match for all of the tomatoes and cheese. They don't have dessert wines on the menu but they do have them so ask, and a white (or more like orange) one made from the grape Zibibbo (Muscat) was particularly good. And the service? Roberto is the ultimate host, and constantly has an eye on everybody whilst never being obtrusive. He happily doled out recommendations over the evening, all of which were spot on, and all around us echoed 'Ciao!' and 'Buona sera!' as customers (a lot of whom were Italian) came and left. All of the staff were lovely, and the whole place had a really laid back, neighbourhood vibe. The verdict? We were trying not to get our hopes up about Grano in case our instinct about it was wrong, but we can happily tell you it's as good as (if not better than) we hoped. Almost overnight this has become the place to go in Dublin for rustic Italian cooking and homemade pasta, and if they can keep these standards up it's going to be somewhere you'll need to book well in advance. We're always a bit wary when we hear a restaurant is importing all of their ingredients from another country, when we have so much fantastic produce on our door step, but it's really difficult to argue with food that tastes this good, and we've never tasted an Irish tomato with Calabrian flavour. We've already booked to go back. Grano 5 Norseman Court, Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 grano.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Glovers Alley Fine dining returns to the Fitzwilliam Hotel Posted: 2 Apr 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or following the wrong people on twitter) you’ve probably heard about Glovers Alley , the new fine dining restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Thornton’s in the Fitzwilliam Hotel . Headed up by Dubliner Andy McFadden, once the youngest Michelin starred chef in London, we don’t think a Dublin restaurant has ever gone as big on pre-opening PR, and they took a bit of flack over some pretty absurd language on their website (thankfully mostly gone) and the promises of delivering something Dublin has never seen before. Regardless of the slightly bumpy start, we think the city is in need of more high-end dining options and were glad to see one of the ' Murphia ' return home, so we went to check it out for ourselves. Where’s good for a drink beforehand? You’re right off Stephen’s Green so the options are endless. Presuming you’ll be in your Sunday best, the Horseshoe Bar in The Shelbourne is always good for pre-dinner/lunch bubbles, or La Ruelle wine bar is off Dawson Street. For cocktails, beer and rugby-player spotting, Lemon and Duke is close by too. What’s the room like? Not as pink as it looks in pictures. Very plush and clearly no expense spared when it came to decor. There are three main rows of seating, with a mix of banquettes and free-standing tables, and there’s a separate private dining area which was busy hosting a scarf launch/lunch on the day we were there. It feels modern but very comfortable, and we loved the lack of white tablecloths. Staff tend to hover in front of the bar which is slightly disconcerting, as you feel like you’re always being observed, but we’re not sure what the solution is to this. It’s the layout of the room, and there’s nowhere else for them to go. The upside is you won’t have to wave your hand around trying to get someone’s attention. What's good to eat? We would recommend the tasting menu, which felt fairly priced at €60 for lunch, considering there were three snacks, a lot of incredible bread, six courses, a pre-dessert and petit fours. There were twelve elements in total, and while we wouldn’t be spending €60 on lunch every week, it felt like good value. The first snack was disappointing – a parmesan gougère, which didn’t taste of much – but the following two were very good. Foie gras sandwiched between two crisp pieces of tuile, and more crispiness in the form of chicken skin topped with taramasalata and seaweed. Not a combination we would have put together but it all worked. The bread selection must be one of the best in town and we gluttonously tried it all. We’re still dreaming about the parmesan and black olive bun, which was like a savoury version of a cinnabon in the best possible way. Butter is from Abernethy and we had to restrain ourselves from eating it by the spoon. The tasting menu changes daily, but high points for us were curried cauliflower with crispy ham hock, and rabbit with carrots, grapes and tarragon. Rabbit came in the form of an incredibly tender, skilfully cooked loin (no mean feat for such a lean meat), a pastilla (deep-fried pastry) and a teeny tiny, totally delicious rabbit rack, which we didn’t even know was a thing. There were also a couple of brightly coloured splodges of sauce on the plate which didn’t really add anything and we felt unnecessarily complicated things. We were less keen on the brill with beetroot, cucumber and anchovy, the brill being the weakest part of the dish. The chewy, sweet beetroot, which had been dehydrated then rehydrated was the high point and we think they should start selling it in bags to go. A pre-dessert of cardamom panacotta with mandarin granita and Thai basil didn’t taste much of cardamom but was delicious nonetheless and nicely refreshing after the array of flavours that came before it. The main act of grapefruit, white chocolate and lime mascarpone was really beautiful, delicate but full of flavour, nicely balanced between freshness and sweetness. The dark chocolate, sesame caramel petit fours are another item we think they should sell on the side. Crazy good. What about the drinks? As you would imagine, the wine list is extensive and excellently curated. Margins are a bit on the high side but no more than we would expect in a restaurant pitched at this level. There’s a nice selection by the glass and the sommelier recommended some good pairings, including a pitch-perfect German Riesling from Emrich Schönleber , a dry Pedro-Ximenez called Dos Claveles from Spanish producer Toro Albalá , and a really cracking Mencia from Raul Perez, also Spanish. And the service? Very professional but a little stiff at times – lots of ‘Ma’am’ and ‘Sir’ – which is great if that’s what you’re in the mood for. We were very thankful for head waiter Bill, formerly manager at Bastible , who was a breath of fresh air in a slightly nervous feeling room, cracking jokes throughout lunch and generally being an excellent addition to the experience. The verdict? Glovers Alley put themselves in the firing line by talking a big game pre-opening (although we have it on authority that Andy McFadden had very little to do with this) and some critics have been only too happy to take a shot. It’s not perfect yet, a couple of dishes didn’t wow, and it would be nice to see them relax into things a bit more, but there is some very skilful cooking happening here, in an ultra-luxurious room, and we would think zero chance of a bad service experience with a 5-star floor team led by GM Ed Jolliffe (ex- Chapter One ). They're not planning on sitting still any time soon and we would predict that it’s only going to get better over the coming months as things settle down and they find their comfort zone. Glovers Alley 127/128 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 gloversalley.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Irish/French bistro just off Dame Street, that's been a stalwart of the Dublin dining scene for years. Pichet Website pichet.ie Address 14-15 Trinity Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Irish/French bistro just off Dame Street, that's been a stalwart of the Dublin dining scene for years. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Out of gallery

Chapter One The ideal underground escape from 2020 Posted: 1 Sept 2020 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? 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. They've been in and out of vogue over the years, but for the past few it's fair to say they've been riding high, thanks to an impressive kitchen team, some revamped branding and a stunning dining room. Chef/proprietor Ross Lewis runs the kitchen along with head chef Eric Matthews (he of Instagram's ' Cabin Fever Classics '), and with dessert dynamo Darren Hogarty turning out jaw-dropping cakes, tarts and petit fours day after day (and causing much sugar envy via his Instagram account ), the kitchen seems like it's never been in a better place. Chapter One is so many people's 'special restaurant', used for birthdays, anniversaries, and all manor of celebrations, so if ever there was a time to see how it's faring up, a global pandemic, general air of crippling anxiety, and impending second lockdown felt as good a time as any for a treat. Where should we sit? This is one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city - you may find yourself gasping if it's your first visit. There's a main dining room, a cave like space just off it with another five tables, and multiple private dining areas if you're out with a group (and you should really find a group just so you have an excuse to book one). There's also a lovely bar area for a pre-dinner drink - if you're going to do it, do it right. We were sat in the smaller cave-like space and loved the intimacy of it, but if you're a four or a six the main dining area is probably a better shout. (c) Chapter One What's the food like? Packed full of the best Irish growers, producers and suppliers, and entirely reflective of the seasons. For dinner you have the choice of the four-course menu for €85 or the premium for €120. When we were there the premium menu only had one extra course and no choice (but the same dishes on both menus - it seemed odd that it was termed 'premium'), so we stuck to the four-course, which had two-three choices per course. (FYI - The three-course lunch menu is only €50 and features a lot of the same dishes.) Like all good meals it started with bread, in this case a country style sourdough with creamy, salty butter, followed by snacks of a mushroom-filled cone (got to love a cone), and two savoury biscuits, one topped with ricotta and caramelised onion, the other with a Hegarty's cheddar mousse. All were utterly perfect palate teasers, and if you needed any reassurance about what was to come, snacks like these will do it. For the first course there was a choice of baby gem lettuce with Irish peas, white onion and Cáis na Tíre, or Irish sunstream tomato and cherry salad with basil, aerated yoghurt and pistachio. We had both and it would be difficult to pick a winner. This is definitely in the running for the tastiest lettuce dish in the country (although Cáis na Tíre would make an old tyre taste good), and tomatoes and cherries are the red-carpet couple we never knew existed. The basil, yoghurt and pistachios were a stunning supporting cast, and it was a clever Irish take on a Mediterranean-feeling dish. For the second course we struggled not to just order two of the crab pancake with smoked eel, yuzu, pickled seaweed dressing and cod roe cream, but it turned out that the mille feuille of Sean Ring chicken with black truffle and spruce vinegar was even better. Making what's usually a dessert pastry into something so powerfully savoury was another very clever take. The crab pancake was light, fresh, fluffy and fishy (in the best way), but we would have liked a bit more crab in the centre. Next up were the more classic main courses. Pink, tender saddle of lamb came with pickled garlic scape, smoked buttermilk potato (which could have been more smoky) and a full carrot with sweetbread stuffing, which alone would have been a knockout dish in itself. Stuffed rabbit was delivered with broad beans, Hen of the wood mushrooms, a smoked Shepherd's Store cheese sauce and parsley dumplings - a savoury, meaty, creamy, cheesey plate of perfectness. For dessert we couldn't sidestep the elderflower and gooseberry vacherin with lemon shortbread that we'd seen on Darren Hogarty's Instagram , but were slightly disappointed at how teeny it was in real life. Luckily it was a case of good things coming in small packages, but we would have liked one twice the size. The other dessert of Irish strawberries, baked honey custard, meringue, organic milk ice cream and sheep's yoghurt felt like a riff on their famous "textures of milk and honey" dessert, and had us clashing spoons to get the end of it. We ended with exceptionally good petit fours of cherry and white chocolate macarons, hazelnut and milk chocolate ganache truffles (serious swoon), ale choux buns with malt crunch and confit lemon cream, and one of the best decafs coffees we've had in a very long time. What about the drinks? The bottle list is extensive and impressive, so it was surprising to see a by the glass list playing it so safe. There was nothing we wanted to drink on it so asked if anything else was open, to which we were given the Coravin list, which was considerably better (and pricier, just FYI). Le Grappin's 2014 Saint-Aubin (€20) was drinking very well, and a delicate, floral 2017 Givry 1er Cru from Domaine Parize (€16.75) was a perfect pairing for the saddle of lamb and the rabbit. If you have money to spend and want to dive into their mainly European selection you'll have fun browsing the many bottles available. And the service? Delightful and completely charming from the minute we walked through the door, with smiles from everyone we passed - not the easiest of tasks when masked and keeping your distance. There's also a fancy iPad style temperature checker on arrival - green means go. Staff here cannot do enough to ensure your evening is everything you wanted it to be, and it's Irish hospitality at its finest. Our only gripe was the speed that the first few courses came at - we'd had bread, snacks and the first two courses within 30 minutes of sitting down - but once we asked them to slow down things came at a much nicer pace. The verdict? We can think of few better places to escape 2020 right now than Chapter One's cavernous, underground dining room. Yes the food is more classic than cutting edge, but as Michelin-starred meals go this is an experience that will leave you feeling warm and satisfied. Let someone else bear the brunt of life for a few hours and forget everything that's happening outside those doors - your only task is to sit back, relax and let yourself be wrapped up and taken care of. It might not be one for every week, but we couldn't recommend it more for your next treat, and it's very obvious why it's the special occasion go-to for so many. Chapter One 18-19 Parnell Square North, Dublin 1 www.chapteronerestaurant.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Bahay A feel-good, Filipino family affair Posted: 20 Jul 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? We all love the new, the different, the things we can't find on every corner, but when we told you that ex-Clanbrassil House chef Richie Castillo was bringing Filipino food (courtesy of his Dad's recipes) to Dublin, excitement was at fever pitch. There's never been a Filipino restaurant here that's had the foodie crowd clambering at the door, and everything was telling us that this one was worth getting excited about. After considering a few locations for Bahay's (meaning 'home' in Filipino) first outing, Richie and girlfriend Alex O'Neill decided on Roe & Co's D-8te pop up at their Dublin 8 Distillery (quite the coup for them), and tickets disappeared as soon as they went on sale, with legions of you hanging on their feed waiting for cancellations or no-shows. Not ones to let a new food experience go undiscovered, we were ready and waiting for tickets to go on sale and exhaled a sigh of relief when we got a table, ready for all the Inihaw na Manok (grilled chicken), lumpia (pork spring rolls) and sinangag (garlic rice) we could get our hands on. This is a slight teaser of a review as the Bahay Roe & Co pop up ended two days ago, but they'll be back in Camden Yard Market in two weeks with a lot of the same food, and Roe & Co's cocktail village continues until the end of August, with residencies from Nightmarket, Matsu Ramen and Lil' Portie, so here's what to expect from both. Where should we sit? It's assigned seating, and if you've already tried you book you might know that tables for two are few and far between (there might only be one), so you've a better chance of getting a booking for four or six. There are two main seating areas (all covered), and the airsteam is in the middle of both, so everywhere has a decent view. There's also just a lovely, holiday-like vibe in there (helped by plenty of string lighting), and it's a really atmospheric place to spend a few hours with friends. What's the food like? Each residency is a set menu costing €40, with an optional cocktail pairing for €30. This makes it a pretty stress-free experience (unless you're with a picky eater) and you can get straight to chatting and waiting for the food to start coming out. We had to try a cocktail pairing after their big talk about how much work had gone into it, but you can also order other cocktails, spirits or beer. There's no wine. While we were waiting for our first drink to arrive they brought an aperitif of Roe & Co whiskey, Tokaji (Hungarian dessert wine) and aloe - a lovely touch and a very user-friendly (and original) introduction to their whiskey. First up for food was a snack platter containing Lumpia (pork spring rolls) with a rice wine vinegar dipping sauce, Inihaw na Manok (grilled chicken thighs marinated in banana ketchup, garlic, 7up & soy), and Pandesal (a yeasty bread roll) served with whipped chicken fat annato butter (annato is a spice that's frequently used as a yellow food dye). This is the type of legit street food the city needs more of, and hopefully they'll be cornerstones of Bahay's menu. Dipping the pork-packed spring rolls into the zippy dip and pulling the smoky, juicy chicken from their skewers, we could have been in a Manilla market instead of just off James' Street (the hot, humid weather helped too). This is the first time we've seen banana ketchup on a menu in Ireland (you can read more about it as an ingredient here ) and hopefully it won't be the last, and the bread roll from the Gold Ribbon Filipino bakery on Dorset Street was fluffy and made for tearing apart with your hands. The only mild disappointment was the chicken fat butter which we were expecting more of a chickeny flavour from. Next was a small bowl of 'sisig', which our lovely server told us was the dish Anthony Bourdain thought would make the world fall in love with Filipino cooking. If you have a fatty meat phobia this might not be for you, but the diced, grilled pork (usually from the head) with soy, vinegar, calamansi and onion was a savoury, lively bowl rocking with flavour, and it disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. It's cocktail pairing had an appley profile, with Calvados, amontillado, and barley and orange champagne cordial, and it really did compliment the dish - pork, apples and sweetness, what's not to like. The main was beef short rib kare kare (braised short rib in a peanut sauce), with green beans, bok choy, bagoon (a condiment made from fermented fish), atchara (pickled carrot, daikon, pepper and green papaya) and sinangag (garlic rice). At first taste you might think the kare kare is lacking something, but you use the bagoon almost like salt and pepper to season it to your taste. We started off slow and ending up using so much we had to ask for more. If you're a fan of the flavour profile of kimchi, fish sauce, shrimp paste etc, you'll be hooked on bagoon. If they'd been selling it to go we would have grabbed a few jars. We loved everything about this plate, and how harmonious all the flavours were together - the creaminess of the curry, the pungency of the bagoon, the zing of the pickled veg, and the soft, mildly garlic rice. It felt so pure, like you'd been invited to a Filipino friend's house for dinner (whose family could really cook), and something totally original for Dublin. We also spotted Richie's Dad cooking with him in the kitchen - could Bahay get any more wholesome? The cocktail pairing was knockout too. They could have played it safe (who has time for that?) but they really went for it with a Liberty Belle Gimlet - bell pepper infused whiskey, suze, elderflower, grapefruit, olive bitters and chilli oil. A really unusual drink that you're not going to see on every cocktail menu, and it did what every good pairing does, it elevated the dish. Claps for whoever came up with this one. Dessert was tibok-tibok with latik - calamansi coconut custard with caramelised coconut milk curds. The smooth, creamy custard came topped with what looked and tasted like dulce de leche and a cross between fudge and honeycomb, but managed to keep a certain lightness, helped by the citrus calamansi. The cocktail pairing was a Pina Punch, with whiskey, coconut, pineapple, lime, mint and jasmine tea, and together they were a lovely, refreshing ending to a meal that didn't dip in enjoyment at at any point. What about the other drinks? Between four of us we tried all five of the other cocktails on the list, the winner of which was the 'Verdi Grey' - a lemon sherbet style whiskey sour. We also loved the 'Weights & Measures', a low abv drink with Roe & Co's 0.1% whiskey, amontillado sherry, sweet vermouth and cordial, and their take on an Old Fashioned ('Brass Tax') was good too. The most unfortunate thing to happen all night was choosing to end on an 'Espresso Marini', which someone had inexplicably added dillisk liquer to. Seaweed has no business getting into the espresso martini game, and it's a taste that will haunt us for some time. How was the service? When we sat down we were greeted by Roe & Co's Billie, who must be one of the loveliest, bubbliest servers in the whole city. She was full of information, recommendations and seemed genuinely enthused about every drink she brought us. When she disappeared towards the end of the night (presumably a break or end of shift) she was really missed, with other servers just bringing the drinks and placing them down, with none of the Billie flair. On Bahay's side, Alex (co-owner) and her sister were front of house, and their obvious passion for what they were serving burst through, with loads of useful tidbits of information about dishes and ingredients, which really helps to enhance your experience and give you more of an understanding about what you're eating. And the damage? €80 a head - €40 for food and €40 for drinks, which felt pricey enough for something so casual, but also sadly feels pretty standard these days, especially when cocktails are involved. The verdict? We're so happy Bahay is here and can't wait to try more from them. This is something legitimately different for Dublin, and it's first outing has been a major success by the looks of the feedback they've had (ours included). All going to plan you'll find them serving a lot of this food in Camden Yard Market from two weeks time (keep an eye on their Instagram for an announcement), but we're really hoping they can find a permanent home in the next year. We deserve more bagoon, more banana ketchup, and a place for these guys to call 'Bahay' permanently. Bahay Next venue: Camden Yard Market @ Camden Court Hotel Opening days/times: TBC www.instagram.com/bahay_dub www.roeandcowhiskey.com/outdoor-dining New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Just past St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre on Chatham Street sits a flight of stairs that takes you straight to Sicily. Amuri, owned and run by brothers Luca and Andrea, is as charming as a backstreet Osteria in Palermo, and the food deserves to be shouted about. The caponata, pasta alle sarde and arancino could bring a tear to a Sicilian food lover's eye, and the atmosphere is so jovial and welcoming that you'll feel like part of the famigghia by the time you leave. Amuri Website amuri.ie Address Amuri, 4 Chatham Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Just past St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre on Chatham Street sits a flight of stairs that takes you straight to Sicily. Amuri, owned and run by brothers Luca and Andrea, is as charming as a backstreet Osteria in Palermo, and the food deserves to be shouted about. The caponata, pasta alle sarde and arancino could bring a tear to a Sicilian food lover's eye, and the atmosphere is so jovial and welcoming that you'll feel like part of the famigghia by the time you leave. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Jaru's Meal Kit A Korean hot pot to warm up a winter evening Posted: 11 Jan 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Although restaurants are technically still open, a lot of you seem to be side-stepping the early dinners, and we've been inundated with questions about where to get restaurant meal kits over the next few weeks, until normality hopefully resumes - read more about what's available here . Korean food producers Jaru started out as a street food stall, but over the last couple of years have morphed into retail, ready-meals, takeaway, and meal kits, all from their Nutgrove production unit in Rathfarnham. Their Dublin-wide delivery service made them a favourite of ours throughout multiple lockdowns, and their heat at home meals, pots of kimchi, and Asian ingredients lit up many a meal round ours in pandemic times. A few months ago they launched a new monthly meal kit highlighting a different region of Korea, and January's "Jeongol hot pot" looked like a good substitute for your Friday night reservation getting canned. It's a dish that's usually served on New Year's Day, so it felt apt for our first once over of the year. How do I get it? Place your order on their website , for delivery on Wednesday or Friday (€6.95 or free over €100), or for collection from Nutgrove at no extra cost. Order cut-off is two days before. It's not hard to get up to €100 and avoid the delivery charge - fill up on noodles, kimchi and sauces from their Mart , or order some extra heat at home dishes for the fridge or freezer. What's in the kit? The star of the show here is the hot pot, but you get other sides and dessert too. The largest component is a huge tray of vegetables - cabbage, pak choi, butternut squash, carrot, pepper, courgette, assorted mushrooms, beansprouts, spring onions, greens - forget 5 a day, you'll easily get 10 in with this one - and there's tofu too. You also get a very generous amount of beef brisket suyuk (meaning boiled), Venus clams and hake Jeon (Korean style fried fish), as well as a bag of soy beef dashi. For the non hot pot items, a Winter salad comes with squash, feta, orange slices, pecans and greens, all zippily lifted by a ponzu dressing. As January salad ideas go it's a clever combination now firmly cemented in our brains. Jaru's kimchi has taken up permanent residence in our fridges over the past few years, and while the apple one with this kit was nice, it didn't have the depth of flavour we've come to expect, as if it hadn't had enough time to ferment - more salty than sour. Then the main attraction. For maximum show off points you would have a Nabe pot and a portable induction hob to cook in the centre of the table (particularly impressive if you've got guests over), but for us Nabe-less folk any wide bottomed pot will do - ideally cast iron. They tell you to arrange your vegetables, meat and fish in a clockwise direction, but there's so much here that you'll end up having to layer some and shove others in wherever they'll fit. Then you carefully pour in the broth, bring it to the boil, stick the lid on and let it cook for five minutes. When you lift the lid you'll find it's sunk down a bit, so don't worry about jamming it all in there to start with. They recommend eating at this stage, then when you've had the meat and fish, put the pot back onto the boil (either on the hob or at the table), add the noodles for three minutes, then go back for round two. We loved every bit of this hot pot - the veg lucky dip, the buttery soft beef, the firm chunks of hake, the flavours in the broth. They also give you four dipping sauces - sesame; soy; honey mustard; and gochujang, which added different flavour profiles to each bite and were integral to the whole experience, so don't forget about them. You also get a double portion of soy glazed salsify and carrot rice (one between two was plenty), which had a lovely savoury flavour and chewy texture, but it dried out a bit in the microwave. Next time we'd splash some water on top before heating - generally a good rice trick. For dessert there's a berry, orange and pistachio semifreddo (again a double portion when one between two would probably do most people). We presumed it would be an afterthought and the least interesting part of the meal, but we were wrong. Take it out of the freezer five minutes before you want to eat it, then delve in the fruity, frozen mousse that feels just light enough to squeeze in no matter how much hot pot you've eaten. The kit says it feeds two - three people, and we comfortably had enough for two very stuffed bellies, with generous leftovers for lunch the following day, and another semifreddo in the freezer for a future evening when dessert is desperately needed. What should we drink with it? We had a fruity Italian Friulano which worked well with the variety of flavours. We think a Riesling or an orange wine would also be a good pairing, or you get in some Korean beer if you want to really commit. And the damage? €55 for the kit, plus €6.95 for delivery if you don't spend €100. We thought it was really good value for money. The verdict? Jaru have been flying the meal kit flag in and out of lockdowns, so they're a great one to know about when you want to plan a night in without the heavy lifting in the kitchen. This kit was seriously enjoyable to make and eat, and there was a welcome bit of theatre - something we could all do with on these dark, January, curfew-filled evenings. This one's available until the end of January and if you want to order for this weekend head here . We don't think you'll regret it. Jaru 3A Nutgrove Enterprise Park, Nutgrove Way, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 www.jaru.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Kicky's A big, buzzy new arrival, but is it as accessible as it claims? Posted: 28 Nov 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What's the story with Kicky’s? You’re not likely to have missed the pre-opening buzz about Kicky’s since it was announced back in July by co-owners Eric Matthews (former head chef at the previous incarnation of Chapter One), and Richie Barrett (previously general manager at Bang, aswell as roles as Etto and Uno Mas). The pair’s shared concept for a casual, accessible Mediterranean-esque eatery at the heart of the city has found its home on George’s Street, and arrives with the modest self-stated aim of being a laidback space people can return to again and again. Where should we sit? The bespoke mural that flanks the kitchen pass, directly opposite the entrance, invariably draws you toward the heart of this warm, welcoming space – those who love watching a chef at work will be very happy at the bar. Otherwise there’s not much variation to the long and narrow room’s host of low two-tops lining the walls, though the pair of wraparound booths towards the windows onto George’s street lack in lighting and ambience what they make up in added comfort. What’s on the menu? (*Two of ATF's staff writers ended up in here the same week, so we're including thoughts from Maggie as well as Ronan who wrote the review*) The dish you’ll almost certainly have seen on social already is the 72-hour potato focaccia, though you’ll likely have seen a more alluringly crusty corner slab than the tall, twee square we were served. While there’s nothing to fault in the airy texture and fermented flavour of the bread, the absence of crust leaves little scope for the kind of carbonara butter scooping we were promised . The thick spread is closer to buttercream in texture, and for all we admired the deranged decadence of this perorino, parmesan and guanciale-sprinkled serving, the intensity of highly-salted fat upon fat upon fat gave us mild jitters for what might be to come. Taleggio, leek and nduja croquettes brought us at least temporarily back from the brink: these crisp-coated morsels of spicy sausage and sharp, melted cheese are a brilliant burst of flavour, an inventive introductory bite we wished we’d gone for first. Menus both online and on-site list it as a serving of three, but we found four on the plate; if they’ve honed the serving size to more and slightly smaller in their opening weeks they’ve made the right choice – these are perfect. (Croquettes had comforting and indulgent cheese with a bit of spice from the nduja. The leek was a good flavor cutter and the crisp on top was great - Maggie ) https://video.wixstatic.com/video/79af6f_f6a7b3da9a7c4c0fa8d3b2e567df092a/720p/mp4/file.mp4 The ”to share” section has some of the menu’s most interesting options, heavy on the house pastas that have been touted from the get-go as one of Kicky’s core appeals. On paper an egg yolk raviolo with autumn truffle butter would have been one to make a beeline for, but it’s truffle oil instead of the genuine article – always a shame. We went with cacio e pepe, the cheese and pepper classic that first showed up on the menu with Lambay crab, but perhaps in response to unreceptive early reviews , looks to have lost it (though just €2's been knocked off the price - it's now €14). This kind of seemingly-simple plate that’s deceptively difficult to do just-right, should land as a solid crowd-pleaser, even if some stray, stringy lumps nestled among our (very good) pici suggested this went a few sprinkles of cheese wide of the perfect balance. (This is a heavy dish that we only manage to get through half of. It's similar in flavour to the butter so maybe get one or the other. Those traditional worm-shaped noodles were good quality and cooked well - Maggie ) You don't come across a rabbit bolognese all too often in Dublin, and who are we to refuse a novelty. It’s a fine plate, a charred slab of sourdough toast spread with flavourful ragu, piled with chanterelles and sprinkled with a chives and Cais na Tire. There's a lovely interplay of flavour between the gaminess of the meat and earthy umami of the mushrooms, and while we might have liked a slightly sharper cheese to seal the deal, but this is a dish those disposed to rabbit should devour. (Nice for a novelty but we found this dish quite h eavy and salty. It had very good flavours, but with the rest of the food we'd ordered it felt a bit laborious - Maggie ) (We also tried the Jerusalem artichoke with raddichio, hazelnut and Young Buck. Again we found it oily and heavy for a veggie dish, couldn’t get the taste of the Young Buck cheese, and walnuts were used instead of the hazelnuts listed on the menu. We weren't sure if this one was supposed to be served hot or cold as everything came at once and we attacked it towards the end, but think it would have been more palatable warm - Maggie ) (We ordered the steamed and chopped Roaring Bay Water mussels with kohlrabi, smoked eel, taramasalata and chopped eel thinking it might be a lighter reprieve, but not so much. It's a fresh, nicely citrusy plate, but pretty heavy for a fish dish, with lots of thick, salty taramaslata - Maggie ) Mains are more of a stumbling block than sharing plates, not for any issue with the food but for the shock of the price: you're knocking on the door of €40 for the cheapest of the charcoal-grilled mains at Kicky’s before adding sides at €6 a pop, and that will be a bridge too far for many a diner. We stuck to one, a hunk of bone-in monkfish swimming in lemon butter with Lissadell cockles and Castletownbere shrimp. The moist, meaty fish comes beautifully to life with the acidic intensity of the sauce and sprinklings of pickled red dulse, while the shellfish duo add welcome sweetness and texture. Absent something to soak up that very buttery sauce though, the finished and flooded plate can’t help feel short of something. Sides are sensational, happily, with the Ballymakenny potatoes the most direct delivery on Kicky’s self-stated aim to just give people good food: quality ingredients unfussily elevated by confident cooking. The gloriously crispy skins and fluffy flesh work wonders with the mounds of confit garlic, slivered spring onions and pecorino shavings. We didn't think to ask who Mrs H is, but the dressing that bears her name served over the house salad should be sold by the bucket. Its mouth-puckeringly tangy taste is a lesson in how vinaigrette ought to be done. We were sorry to find the gorgeous looking éclair with chestnut and quince wasn't on the menu the night we visited. In its place was a brioche-based take on a tarte tatin, introduced at the table by its creator, egged on by Matthews – it’s a nice touch to see other chefs given creative space and, crucially, credit. The crusty, sweet brioche worked well to balance out the intense tartness of the concentrated apple, though the crème fraiche felt like a poor substitute for the tonka bean ice cream the menu promised. The ‘Irish coffee’ twist on a tiramisu is another of the items Kicky’s seems intent on turning into a thing, and the presentation certainly speaks to Instagrammable ambitions. Though the sole macaron shell at its base might not have the absorbency factor to match the Italian dessert this creation tips its hat toward, there’s a lot to like here, from the richness of the butterscotch toffee sauce base, to the double-caffeine kick of a coffee-chocolate crumb and coffee ice cream. (A really nice dessert. The home made meringue at the bottom was a great texture contrast with the " chocolate soil", and the coffee ice cream. We were too full to finish it, but it was yum - Maggie ) What are the drinks like? Cocktails are one of the purported allures at Kicky’s, but as laid out on the menu they seem closer to a modest tweak on classic formula than anything really unique, so we stuck with the wine. The list is a mixed bag with just a few worthwhile by-the-glass options scattered among the more commercial pours. Casa Belfi Rosso made for an offbeat sparkling intro to things that added to the intrigue of those excellent croquettes. Chateau Pajzos Tokaji is dry and sharp, a happy balance to the rich excess of the monkfish’s sauce. There's more of interest for serious wine lovers by the bottle. (We tried two cocktails. The avocado one was well balanced, with an interesting texture from the avocado. Loved the tajin rim. The Tropical Sour was very heavy on the passionfruit and overall too sweet. It looked good though - Maggie ) How was the service? Just about all you could want in terms of friendliness and knowledge – staff here seem very invested in the menu and the mood, with a good sense of camaraderie obvious among the team as they move around the floor. Food comes promptly with plenty of time left to linger and languish if needed before ordering dessert or more drinks to cap off the night. (Agreed. We sat at the bar and staff were great. Our only issue was that we ordered all the small plates and they ALL came at the same time, so we ended up eating cold dishes. We mentioned this to the staff and they apologised and gave us a cocktail on the house which was nice - Maggie ) And the damage? So here’s the rub: we clocked up a €150 bill with two glasses of wine and a volume of food (including one shared main) that could hardly be called excessive. That’s not an appalling amount for the general trend in Dublin these days, but many might want a main apiece and more sharing plates and snacks, plus a bottle of wine or round of cocktails, and that will quickly take you well north of €100 a head (maybe €150 depending on the drinks) before tip. For a great many Dubliners that will be a far cry from the kind of accessible, come-time-and-again vibe Kicky’s has been keen to pitch itself as. The arrival since our visit of a €72 set menu for the Christmas season is another jump in price, with supplements for steak and cheese, but to be fair to Kicky's, it's what many of the city's restaurants do for December - which is why we keep eating out around Christmas to a minimum. What’s the verdict on Kicky’s? We loved the look and the lively atmosphere at Kicky's, but comparing what’s on the plates and the bill to what's on the social feeds trying to draw people in, seems to tell a different story about the kind of place Kicky’s wants to be. When prices which come in steeper for the same volume of food than nearby highlights like Uno Mas and Library Street - and not lagging all too far behind somewhere like Variety Jones – are presented as accessible, we can only ask… accessible to who? Costs are crazy right now, and Kicky’s staff and suppliers deserve to be paid a fair wage, but no less than punters, drawn in here and told they’ll want to return again and again, will need decent value to make them want to come back. Despite some superb standouts we'll be thinking about for a while, most of the food is very, very rich – often drowning in butter and dripping with cheese. Those aren’t things we ever expected to announce as an issue, but when it’s plate after plate of such servings, well, is it any wonder we went so wild for that salad. (We really liked the look and vibe at Kicky's, but found the food very heavy with little respite - I still felt sluggish the next morning. We're no strangers to indulgence, but the addition of some lighter dishes would help to balance things out - Maggie ) Despite our qualms, Kicky's is clearly off to a flying start, with the Christmas buzz well underway and barely a table to be had. If they can take the indulgence levels down a notch, and offer a little more value for our euros, we're sure they can continue it well into 2024 and beyond. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Achara Walloping flavours, fun and prices that are hard to argue with Posted: 3 Sept 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story with Achara? Northern Thai grill-inspired Achara (pronounced ah-cara) opened at the end of June in the Aston Quay site formerly occupied by Happy's , from the same team - they also own Crudo in Sandymount and are involved with Juno on Dorset Street. Happys' global street food on a very challenging street to trade from chugged along but never took off, so the owners decided to change direction. They say they've been obsessed with Thai food since travelling across South east Asia: " The flavours, the smell of grilled meats walking around Chiang Mai, the hustle and bustle of the night markets, that first pad Kra Pao after an 12 hour night train to Surat Thani. " Hungry yet? We were. (Achara) Achara's aim is to shine a light on the grilling culture of Northern Thailand, with a menu centred around their charcoal grill, custom made by Smokin’ Soul in Co. Wexford. It's used to bring out the smoky best in top Irish produce, like Feighcullen free-range chicken, Goatsbridge trout, and custom Thai sausages made by The Village Butcher in Ranelagh. They say they want to show there's more to Thai food than traffic light curries and Pad Thai, and we like the sound of that. Where should we sit? It's the space at the front for us, particularly at the window - Aston Quay might not be the most scenic backdrop but the natural light streaming in those big windows is very pleasant to bath in while you eat. The whole place is tailor made for groups, but particularly the area at the back in front of the kitchen, which looks ideal for semi-private dining. There's also a lovely round table in the window to the left when you walk in, which fits six comfortably in your own little space. Drink while we're deciding what to order? Definitely. There aren't many Southeast-Asian restaurants around town serving BBQ rhubarb gimlets with Thai basil oil (order it, trust us), and Kaffir lime margaritas (didn't taste very different to a regular, well-made margarita). Cocktails here were not a last minute add on, they're a part of the grand plan. What's on the menu? Small and large plates designed for sharing - that means that dishes might arrive at different times, and that may or may not infuriate some diners, so if it's a one main per person sitch with no sharing forecast, you're better telling them so they can do their best to accommodate. The menu doesn't specify how many of each thing you get either, so that's another thing worth asking if you're sharing - it looks to be three large chicken wings, and three - four prawns depending on the size. The lovely small plates for sharing are illogically small for anything more than a few tablespoons, but they seem to have twigged this because larger metal ones came out with the larger plates. You might also be surprised to see a fork and spoon rather than chopsticks, but this is the Thai way - they will bring out chopsticks on request but they're the disposable type and not the nicest to eat with. First up on the do not miss list are the chicken wings in chilli fish sauce caramel (€10). There's so much crunch wrapped around these juicy, double-jointed chicken wings, and the sweet, salty heat of the caramel sauce is just right. Some fresh coriander on top before you take a bite is the final piece of the flavour puzzle. You should also get a Killary Fjord mussel skewer in a spicy lemongrass sauce (€4), the mussel texture closer to chicken than seafood, the flavours BIG. If your mouth needs waking up, this will do it. Goatsbridge trout ceviche (€12) with mint, dill, chilli and little slices of kumquat was more 'cooked' than any ceviche we've had before, so raw fish phobes needn't worry. Ours was surprisingly high on the spicy scale, but it worked well with all of those fresh herbs and the citrus - just make sure you have a full bottle of water on the table, and maybe some tissues for your nose. Kale fritters (€8) were more like a bar snack, with plenty of grease and sriracha for soakage if needed. Good if you want something to crunch on, but we wouldn't be running to reorder. Larger plates start at €14 for mushrooms and aubergine, going up to €25 for whole chargrilled sea bass with nam jim seafood (which translates as "seafood dipping sauce"). Our fish should have come off the grill earlier, the flesh a little past tender, but there wasn't much complaining while pulling off pieces of flesh and swirling them around that firecracker of a sauce laden down with chillies, fish sauce, coriander, garlic, lime juice and sugar. Aubergine fans assemble - Achara's basil chilli version is one of the best dishes using the purple plant that's passed our lips in an age. Bury us in Thai basil, stuff chillies in our ears, lay us on a bed of aubergine so juicy it squirts when you bite into it. There's a mince beef version of the same served with an egg, but this is not playing second fiddle. The charcoal grill really shows off with the glazed pork belly moo hong, slow cooked to render some of the fat away, then seared on an open flame. It's the live fire taste you can't fake, with the sweet, smoky glaze hitting every part of your palate, but the inner pieces were more tender than the outer, some of which were on the dry side. The more squeamish may be put off by the Granny Smith and anchovy salad - they're less anchovies, more tiny dried silver fish or whitebait, startled eyes staring up at you. As an accompaniment it feels like it's there more for visuals than for taste, the watery apple not adding much in the way of flavour. The lunch menu is where the real value is to be had, with selected dishes €15. One of these is the grilled chicken khao soi (€21 on the à la carte menu). Feighcullen free-range chicken is cooked on the grill, and served on top of noodles swimming in a spicy coconut curry, with some raw onions and coriander. It's very good, very spicy and extremely rich (not one for the calorie counters) - the only thing we didn't get was the deep-fried noodles on top which were so hard they felt more like a garnish to be discarded than an edible. A side of green beans with garlic and chilli could have been more blistered, but while they might not hit the heights of M&L they are probably better than what you make at home. There's one dessert of charred pineapple, whipped sheep's yoghurt, pistachio crumble and sticky rice (€8). The whipped yoghurt and crumble are added tableside for an attempt at theatre, but it feels like it a scramble for something to put at the end rather than something created out of love. If you skip it you're not missing much. What are the drinks like? Proper love has gone into this drinks list, with original cocktails, whiskey sodas (for the real Thai feel), and a wine list that has no business being this interesting when much of the food is popping off with spice. There are 12 wines by the glass, with the only one there for box ticking purposes a prosecco. Top picks would be the Von Winning Weissburgunder, the Arndorfer Zweigelt (chilled), and the Piggy Pop for happiness-inducing pink fizz, but there's little or nothing we wouldn't be happy drinking. And the service? Some of Achara's online reviews mention poor service, but on the two occasions we visited staff were welcoming, helpful, and the food came at a good pace. On both occasions the owners were present, so maybe that helped to ensure things were running smoothly. They did also put out a call for staff a couple of weeks ago, saying that their run of good reviews in the press had made them busier than they'd imagined, so perhaps they've had some teething issues with new starters, or a struggle finding them. Either way they'd be foolish if they're not tackling the issue with urgency, and we don't think these guys are that. What was the damage? €151 to feed three with four drinks on the bill. Getting in and out for circa €50 a head with a drink is hard to argue with for food this jammed with flavour, and a restaurant without much to fault. There's also a three-course pre-theatre menu served Monday - Friday from 17:00 - 18:30 which is obscene value for €25pp - more money to splash on that wine list. What's the verdict on Achara? Achara isn't trying to cook Thai dishes to the letter, but take influence from the food and culture of the North to amp up Irish food in a brand new way. They're bringing walloping flavours, fun and great prices to a strip more known for fast food, dive bars and being the wrong side of Temple Bar, and doing it without compromising on the produce coming into the kitchen - that's impressive by anyone's standards. If the kitchen keeps pushing for flavour and consistency, and initial front of house issues are resolved, there's so much potential for these tables to join the consistently booked out club. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Exciting food made for sharing in a room that feels more like New York or Copenhagen than Dublin. Chef Kevin Burke made his name as head chef of Michelin-starred The Ninth in London, before returning home mid-pandemic and opening Library Street in the former Allta site, and it immediately became one of the most sought after bookings in the city. The private dining room is one of the best in town. Library Street Website librarystreet.ie Address 101 Setanta Place, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Exciting food made for sharing in a room that feels more like New York or Copenhagen than Dublin. Chef Kevin Burke made his name as head chef of Michelin-starred The Ninth in London, before returning home mid-pandemic and opening Library Street in the former Allta site, and it immediately became one of the most sought after bookings in the city. The private dining room is one of the best in town. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Table Wine Parisian vibes on Pleasants Street Posted: 7 Dec 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? When it comes to capturing the Dublin zeitgeist, not many business owners are as adept at it as the guys who opened Meet Me In The Morning, Reference Coffee, Loose Canon, Benedict's Egg Shop, and now, Table Wine . They've evolved as needed over the years, recently closing Benedict's (which seemed less to do with its success and more to do with logistics/staff issues and/or the ability to make a decent living from egg sandwiches), and while there were tears shed across the city when they announced they were getting out of the brunch game and closing MMITM, the nooooos slowly turned to ohhhhs when it transpired they were opening a wine bar on the same site. Formerly named Reference Coffee next door is now "The Morning", and MMITM is now "Table Wine". Loose Canon is sill Loose Canon. Up to speed? In truth these guys have always wanted to bring more to the Dublin wine scene ( Loose Canon was pretty ground-breaking when it came to natural wine in the capital), and Table Wine has been in their heads for a long time. Co-owner Brian O'Keeffe used to live in Paris and came home with his head spinning about why Dublin didn't have more dimly lit, caves à vins, serving interesting small plates in casual surroundings alongside the best natural wines around - even if it meant importing them direct. The pandemic put a halt to their plans (them and everyone else), but at the end of November they quietly opened the doors on Pleasants Street with only those in the know clued in enough to visit - which obviously includes us, and you if you're reading this. Where should we sit? It's the same set up as MMITM, with wooden tables and chairs on the lower and upper floors. Tables are well spaced out, but this means they have less seats than before, so we imagine it might be challenging to get a table at peak times if not booked in advance. Downstairs there's a nice bird's eye view into the kitchen, as well as the perfect people watching perch inside the door. Upstairs would be better for more intimate dinner dates or when you've got all the goss to spill. What's the food like? Sharing plates, i.e. our favourite, each one sounding more appetising than the last. Nothing really constitutes a "main", so even the rogue friend who doesn't like to share will be forced to - *evil laugh*. We started with perfect plates to pick at over that first glass of wine - pink pickled eggs with mayo, soy pickled mushrooms, and they brought sourdough, because everything's better with sourdough. The mushrooms in particular deserve singling out for their especially complex, floral flavours with the mildest bite of acidity. We would fling these in a toastie, risotto, on a cheese board - you name it, we'll try it. There's a nice amount of vegetable/cheese based dishes for any veggies in your life, and spuds are a highlight here. The firmer, pink fir apple variety are cooked beautifully, then tossed in garlic butter topped with chives - the new chips. Another dish everyone seems to be loving (us included) is the Crown Prince pumpkin (McNally Farm's finest) with Cais na Tire cheese sauce. The Tipperary sheep's cheese can do no wrong in our eyes, and we would eat it on practically anything, so how could you not love this dish, although it would have been nice to have an element of crunch, so maybe save some sourdough crust if you have the willpower. You're probably sick of us bemoaning the lack of ceviche in the city, so we jumped to order the one here, but it didn't quite have the bracing, slap around the face we like when it comes to citrus cured fish. Ours was made with seabream (we'd also love to see a move to lesser known fish or by-catch), lime leaf oil, chilli and kombucha, and while flavours were pleasant, it was too mild for our Peruvian-loving tastes. You're going to be seeing Table Wine's crab sandwich everywhere, and while you may initially think, "€20 for a sandwich?", this is no ordinary sandwich. It's a triple decker, Lambay crab stuffed, Hegarty's cheddar covered masterstroke, with deep-fried Jerusalem artichoke crisps the icing on the cheesy-crab cake. A warning however - it's as heavy as it sounds, and even one between two will make much of the rest of the menu moot - one between 3 or four would be perfect if you've come to work your way through their offering. Saying that there would be worse ways to slip into a food coma than popping in here for one of these and a glass of wine after a hard day. We love flower sprouts, or kalettes as they've now been renamed as apparently that causes sales to go up, but didn't think they worked here in a simple tempura batter. They needed something to be dipped into, and the kitchen brought a fantastic tomatillo relish on request which rescued things. That tomatillo relish was destined for our dish of the night - the unmissable veal salami, red chilli and poblano pepper croquettes. If we'd had these first, a second (and maybe third) order would have gone into the kitchen, but sadly we were too stuffed full of crab to consider it for more than 5-6 minutes tops. Perfect bites of endless flavour, and that tangy relish underneath just gave them added pizazz. Dessert currently consists of sorbet and ice-cream, and we ordered one of each. Crown Prince pumpkin ice-cream was full of spice and all things nice, brown butter ice-cream literally takes browned butter and churns it in there (how could that not taste good), but the one that disappeared fastest was the yoghurt sorbet with elderflower, whiskey and brandy snaps. A simple but effective ending to a meal full of different flavours. What about the drinks? This is a natural wine bar first and foremost, so if you're not into it, one of the major cornerstones of this place will be lost on you. If you are, you'll be in funk-filled heaven, and there's loads of unusual bottles to work your way through. There's currently only five wines by the glass - hopefully that will expand over time - and bottles start at around €40. We drank a really beautiful gamay from Alexandre Bain in the Loire Valley, and a simpler but still very enjoyable Langhe Nebbiolo from Trediberri, which is an entry level wine on the list. Staff will be delighted to make recommendations for you. And the service? Happy, welcoming and confidently relaxed. Staff seemed like they'd been there years, and everything was very smooth. The chef brought out most of the dishes himself, which gave us a chance to quiz him on their contents and cooking methods. It wasn't full, which always makes thing easier, but the whole places gives off a very chilled out vibe, and it's hard to imagine that changing, even with more bodies in the place. And the damage? €70 a head, which felt like decent value for what we had. The verdict? A UK-based food writer visited here a few weeks ago and whilst in the food planning stage mentioned that she would like to visit several of the best restaurants in the city, "to try a few plates" in each. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but had to break it to her that there are very few places here that you can realistically include on a bone fide restaurant crawl, and not be expected to book weeks in advance - we're not in London any more Toto. This Pleasants Street retreat is exactly what she was looking for, and we hope they can maintain the laid back, formula-free, continental Europe feel of it all. God knows we all need a bit more spontaneity in life right now, and being able to pop in here for delicious, dynamic, ever-changing small plates and great wine at short notice would turn the worst day on its head. Here's hoping this is the start of a new wave of casual, food-focused wine bars, because post (mid?)-pandemic we need all the joy we can get our hands on. Table Wine 50 Pleasants Street, Dublin 8 www.tablewine.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

South Dublin suburb Rathmines has plenty to satisfy hungry visitors, from freshly made pasta and pizza to generously topped galettes. Rathmines Our Take South Dublin suburb Rathmines has plenty to satisfy hungry visitors, from freshly made pasta and pizza to generously topped galettes. Where to Eat Grove Road Kodiak Lottie's Mad Yolks Rathmines Reggie's Pizzeria Shaku Maku The Dunmore Umi Falafel Rathmines Uno Pizza Voici

Amy Austin More Michelin-star than city centre wine bar, with prices and portions to match Posted: 5 Mar 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story with Amy Austin? Amy Austin , or "the wine bar in the carpark" was a long time coming. Teasers started in April 2019, and it was a full 10 months before the door swung open in February 2020 ( excellent timing eh ?) with some eye-raising marketing and Note owner/head chef Essa Fakhry in the kitchen. As with all businesses in 2020 trading was stop start, so it took a while to build up an audience, but they soon got a name for wine on tap, interesting small plates and being a good place to drop into when you didn't have a booking. (Amy Austin) We tried it in summer 2022 and liked the vibe without finding the food overly memorable, but the buzz has been building ever since, with diners and critics seeming to think that head chef Victor Lara has come into his own when it comes to flavour on his plates. Michelin came, went, and agreed, as they awarded them a much coveted Bib Gourmand in the 2024 guide (joining restaurants like Uno Mas and Spitalfields). It felt like time for a revisit. Where should we sit? It's a compact space with the choice between a couple of tables in the middle of the room (for two + people, the set up can be changed depending on bookings) or counter seating around the outside. (Amy Austin) We love a good window street, staring out all the Drury Street passers by, but you could go closer to the open kitchen too for some live fire action. What's the menu like? This is a small plates only zone, and boy are those plates small. We wouldn't advise bringing anyone here who's looking for "a feed", but if you just want a few bites without feeling stuffed, are more interested in drinks, or are going with with people who don't like being rolled out after dinner, head on in. Bear in mind though that there's a minimum order. This is not currently on their website, but when we got there saw the red small print on the bottom of our menus: " we'd like to remind you that for dinner service there's a minimum order of one snack and two mains per person." That equates to a minimum of €40 a head on food. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/79af6f_b75016c250a54f578e7a70e128874bd9/720p/mp4/file.mp4 Snacks are priced from €8-9 (bread and black garlic butter is €6), and you get exactly two bites in each. A shimeji mushroom tartlet with mushroom mousse came in a crisp, buttery shell. with snipped chives to lift the rich, savory flavours. Shimeji is tying with enoki for our favourite mushroom right now, and if you feel the same you can walk one minute away to Asia Market and pick up some to try at home (shimeji fried in butter on the side of scrambled eggs is a game changer). We tried their black cod fritters on our last visit, but these ones were a different creature. While the last were unpleasantly gloopy and lacking in flavour, these had a crisp shell and a fish-filled interior, and a zippy pink pickled ginger dip that we've spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about ever since. The only issue was that there weren't enough of them, and €9 for two small bites may hurt, but black cod (or sablefish) is a lot more expensive than white cod (and no relation), so you can presume that's the reason why. Amy Austin's langoustine tail is the most beautiful thing we've eaten in 2024, and while €15 for a single prawn might have you feeling weak, we'll go out on a limb and say this one's worth it. It came barely charred, lying on a mignonette-meets XO base, with ikura (salmon caviar) on top. Our server poured a watery dressing over the plate, along with some saffron oil from a dropper, and while there's a lot going on, every flavour popped and danced together. Except the grapes. We didn't get the grapes. Torched scallops is another dish we're happy to get behind (€16). They come in a light but creamy chestnut velouté, with little cubes of apples throughout. It's topped with Champagne foam and lumpfish caviar, and tasted more like something from a (very good) Michelin-starred restaurant than a city centre wine bar. You get six pieces of scallop, but it felt like three sliced across the middle - more thin than chunky. You don't see the ultra complex, ultra time-consuming mole negro on menus here very often (take a deep dive here ), so we had to order it here with beef cheek. A small mound of beef no larger than the palm of a (small) hand came in a puddle of mole, with four unadvertised, homemade corn tortillas on the side. It's another great dish, the mole deep with flavour, the meat melting from a long, slow cook, but for €20 we expected more of it - there wasn't nearly enough meat and mole to even lightly fill all four tacos. Black bean tamales (€14) is another dish we reckon helped bag them that Bib Gourmand, and a magically different take on the Mexican corn-based dough, traditionally steamed in corn husks. Here three chewy little corn cakes come with chilli oil in their centre on top, scattered with coriander all around. Dig a spoon in and you'll uncover a cheesy corn and black bean filling underneath. Whoever came up with this one can deservedly gloat about it. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/79af6f_613dee8cb185456c946a9cc22adb3364/720p/mp4/file.mp4 For dessert we almost swayed away from the burnt cheesecake (€9), expecting a hulking big slice of the Basque variety, but not to worry. The usual portion size applies, and the little sliver we got would be difficult to share between more than two, even if you just wanted a bite. The good news is it's another kitchen victory, with a light blue cheese base (we couldn't taste the blue), a bright, intense guava sauce, and 'lera cream', which doesn't seem to exist outside Amy Austin, but is a smoked cream which tastes like it was done the proper way (there's no liquid smoke drops in this kitchen). What about drinks? When Amy Austin opened it was all about the wine on tap, with 16 options including a few aperitifs by the glass. That's been very scaled back now, and we were disappointed to find that half of the wines on their big yellow light box weren't available anymore. There were just three whites and three reds by the glass, none earth shattering, but the Casa Monte Pio Albariño and the Château Pesquié were pleasant and worked well with the majority of the food. There are a further 25 wines by the bottle, with some top producers like Suertes del Marques, Domaine Gramenon, and Steve Matthiasson. There are also seven signature cocktails, priced from €11-€13, which feels like decent value for Dublin right now. We tried the Amy Cherry Sgroppino, with morello cherry, Campari, saffron and sparkling wine, and it was tart and nicely sour, with a ball of cherry sorbet slowing melting within. An ideal first drink of the day and a nice appetite sharpener. How was the service? Pleasant but could have been more energetic. There was no major hospitality, and a few times we were left without cutlery and drinks, having to wave for service - is there anything to make you feel like more of a tool? We also could have done without a very loud food processor on high for several minutes in the middle of the open kitchen. There's a time and place to drown out room conversation and it's pre and post-service. What was the damage? €125 for two with three drinks, before tip, and you can't add a tip onto the bill if paying by card. You can either leave cash, or pay one via a QR code which takes you to a Stripe website, and you have to pay a small fee for the privilege. It's clunky, and will be a bit of a pain for anyone who's entertaining and expensing the bill, and just wants one receipt. What's the verdict? We're not sure many people entering the wine bar in the carpark (with the barely dressed model in a cowgirl hat on the bathroom wall) will be expecting the food to be at this high a level. The thought, execution and presentation of some of these dishes is more akin to Michelin-starred dining than wine bar sharing plates. That's why the prices and portion sizes might come as a shock, but if you can reframe your brain about what to expect before entering (and maybe bulk up your order with some cheese, charcuterie and bread), you'll probably leave thinking this is some of the most interesting food in the city right now. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Izakaya Japas & Sake Class-act cocktails and diverse sharing plates, but not the sushi we're searching for Posted: 3 Oct 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What's the story with Izakaya Japas & Sake? Probably the most common query we receive via ATF Answers – our Insiders-only direct line to advice on eating out – is some variation on where's the best place to get great Japanese food in Dublin. Sadly, friends, we’re largely as bereft as you: despite its capital status, Dublin has lagged behind both Galway (with Wa Sushi ) and Cork (with Miyazaki and the Michelin-starred Ichigo Ichie ) for far too long, with only a handful of passable options studded around the city. The recent arrival of Matsukawa has thankfully (finally!) set a new Dublin bar, but between the €90 price tag and its being booked out clean through to the end of the year, it’s not much help to the casual diner looking for a sushi fix on short notice. So off we went to size up Yamamori Izakaya Japas & Sake after hearing increasingly positive grunts around town, and letting ATF Insiders pick our next review. It's one of the longstanding local chain mini-empire of outlets, open on George’s Street and in recent years pushing itself more and more as a traditional take on the casual Japanese sake and snacks bar. Where should we sit? The Victorian building’s high ceilings and a whole host of nooks and crannies give Izakaya a cavernous feeling that, even if the place is packed to bursting, lets its little corners feel nicely intimate. The sectioned bar seats are just a little too poky for our tastes but otherwise you can’t go far wrong from the main dining space spread with leather-backed booths and high tables and a window-side area with prime people-watching potential onto George’s Street. There’s also a downstairs dining room that was empty on our Friday night visit – it’s probably kept aside for brunch spillovers. What did you eat? Traditional izakayas are usually just as much, maybe more, about the drinking as the eating, so options here are broadly pretty simple, broken into sections of sashimi, nigiri, sushi platters, chef’s specials, and “Japas” – Japanese tapas. The vibe is very casual, with every opportunity to order a few dishes to start, and dip back in as and when it takes your fancy. We started with (complimentary – it’s the little things) edamame, fresh and firm beans in coarse-grain salted pods: the vigorous steam rising from the bowl is a good promise that things will be coming out fast and furious. We skipped past sashimi and went straight in with three nigiri, all served in prettily-plated pairs topped with edible flowers and paired, as per, with a ribbon of ginger and blob of wasabi – these are plates that look the part. The spiced hamachi was a solid start, the mild fatty fish given a gentle kick with duelling sauces of togarashi-based shichimi and citrusy-soy tataki: we might have preferred a more assertive spice, but it’s a matter of taste. Unagi foie gras was always going to need to be tried, roasted slivers of eel topped with a torched smear of liver paté. The slightly bitter brûlée treatment brings an interesting taste and texture to a bite that’s skirting excess richness with the butteriness of both meats – the combo makes for an off-beat interlude, if never quite the showstopper we might have hoped on first sight. The otoro – or bluefin tuna belly, among the most prized of sushi fish cuts – kept things suitably simple with a little smear of wasabi mayo, and while the marbled meat’s saltwater taste attested a freshness, we’ve had substantially better iterations of this elsewhere (not least just recently in Matsukawa). At €15.50 for the plate, this one’s a bit of a letdown. On the level of fundamentals across the three nigiri, there are a few tell-tale drawbacks that hold Izakaya back from being the answer we wish we could give to everyone’s Dublin sushi woes. We found the rice fine but less well seasoned than you should be getting in top-tier sushi rice, while the less said about the grainy, over-processed wasabi paste the better – steer clear. Happily the rest of the menu skewed to a slightly higher standard, with our venture into the chef’s specials a particular standout. These are all norimaki with presentation a major focus, and the ebi dragon we opted for definitely looks the part with plump, juicy katsu prawn wrapped in rice and overlain with thin-sliced avocado, wasabi mayo and capelin roe. You’ll be offered a choice of black or white rice; the black brings a delicate nuttiness that plays well with the sweetness of the prawn and saltiness of the roe. Onward to the Japas options, and we kicked off with takoyaki, the popular Osakan octopus ball snack. There’s good contrast here between the crisp fried exterior and the gooey pancake batter innards studded with chewy diced octopus, but the over-enthusiastic sprinkling of bonito flakes on top slightly dulled the flavour of the sour-sweet tonkatsu sauce. It’s not a bad dish, but there are others around town (hello Kakilang ) doing it better. Gyoza options hadn’t exactly gotten us excited – next to the nigiri, a lot of the Japas menu reads as pretty standard fare – but we gave the yasai option a go for good measure. They came out bearing the tell-tale burnt-bottom signs of a proper pan-frying, and while these crisp undersides give just the right crack as you bite in, the veggie filling is a dud of soggy spinach and soft squash. We’d pass on these. We were on firmer ground with the potato korokke, croquette-style breaded discs of creamy mash with a spot-on golden crust and just the right sprinkling of salt – this is the kind of side snack plate the whole table can agree on. Mileage may vary with the tonkatsu sauce on the side; while it’s flavourful in its own right, we felt these played better with a wasabi mayo. Agedahi nasu – or deep-fried aubergine – arrived in a still-searing pot with the wafting air of dashi broth making its way across the table. The traditional version of this dish uses a Japanese species of aubergine with thinner, more absorbent skins – here, with the more familiar, fatter form of the fruit, the skin still feels slightly rubbery. Thinner slices might have helped. We can’t fault the flavour though, with the scored flesh hiding rich pockets of dashi umami. The seared skin of the 'sea bass & kuro ninniku' is a sight to behold and has the flavour to match: the fish has been cooked in a black garlic butter that gives it a deep, rich, bitter-sweet intensity that’s a joy to savour. Beneath the charred skin, the flesh is soft and succulent with all the buttery goodness it’s known for. This is a standout. Sides of steamed rice are solid, with a varied texture from tempura flakes and sesame seeds keeping it interesting, but given how broadly sauce-free the dishes at Izakaya are, this is one you could easily go without – particularly if you’ve already gone down the norimaki route. With a deeper and nuttier flavour, the black is probably the way to go if you're just looking to get a fix of carbs. What about drinks? Sake is a specialty here with several varieties on the menu, but we’d had a tip that the cocktails are where it’s really at – we’re happy to report it was on the money. The complimentary notes of the Fashioned Brandy and Japanese Old Fashioned highlight the impact of little touches, with the former’s black walnut bitters bringing an earthiness against the apple overtones of the Nikka Days whiskey in the latter. The Toki sour was a knockout, a fresh and sour-sweet mix of Suntory whisky, plum sake, lemongrass syrup and plum bitters topped with a sprinkle of matcha – we loved it. How was the service? Staff are exceptionally friendly and all over the menu – give them your preferences and they’ll give you a very knowing helping hand. Dishes come quick but not overwhelmingly so, and there’s a clear rhythm to the way they'll roll out the next stages according to what you've ordered. The layout of the space can mean you’re waiting a little longer than you’d like to get some attention if you find yourself tucked away in a corner, but service is sharp once you have caught an eye. What was the damage? For a just-right share of food and those rock-solid cocktails, it came to just shy of €70 a head for three of us – that includes a 12.5% service charge added on automatically, something usually only seen in bigger groups. It’s not wildly out of step with expectations in Dublin these days, but it does put Izakaya on a price par with many better options out there. A recently-added brunch menu is much better value, with €35 four-serving cocktail pitchers and a choice of five Japas for €45 (albeit from a much slimmed-down menu) meaning you could eat and drink well for closer to €40 before service – it runs from 1pm to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. What's the verdict? A great place to get sushi it ain’t, but Yamamori Izakaya’s class-act cocktails and diverse selection of sharing plates, never mind its central location and surplus of space, make it a solid choice for group dining. There’s plenty here to suit most dietary needs, and a just-right blend of mainstream and more adventurous choices – if you’re struggling to keep a mixed crowd happy, this might just be the answer for you. New Openings & Discoveries More >> !

The Blackrock Italian from Forest Avenue owners Sandy and John Wyer exploded during lockdown thanks to chef Reggie White (ex-Pi)'s unparalleled pizza skills, and once indoor dining resumed, they added bread, snacks and antipasti to the menu. White has now departed, but his DNA remains, and the nduja, ricotta and honey 'white pie' is one of his best creations yet. Little Forest Website littleforest.ie Address 57 Main Street Blackrock, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The Blackrock Italian from Forest Avenue owners Sandy and John Wyer exploded during lockdown thanks to chef Reggie White (ex-Pi)'s unparalleled pizza skills, and once indoor dining resumed, they added bread, snacks and antipasti to the menu. White has now departed, but his DNA remains, and the nduja, ricotta and honey 'white pie' is one of his best creations yet. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Open since 2010, the southside outpost of the Kinara Group has is still as big a part of the Ranelagh dining scene as ever. The food is mainly Pakistani but you'll find plenty you recognise from your local Indian too. There's a cocktail bar and open-air terrace upstairs. Kinara Kitchen Ranelagh Website kinarakitchen.ie Address 17 Ranelagh Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Open since 2010, the southside outpost of the Kinara Group has is still as big a part of the Ranelagh dining scene as ever. The food is mainly Pakistani but you'll find plenty you recognise from your local Indian too. There's a cocktail bar and open-air terrace upstairs. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Afanti Cross-cultural tastes at Dublin's first Uyghur restaurant Posted: 11 Jul 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Afanti? The latest arrival on Dublin’s rapidly diversifying food scene, Afanti brings with it Ireland’s first taste of Ugyhur cuisine. The Turkic group of some 13 million people, the vast majority now situated in north-western China’s Xinjiang province, is a living embodiment of the Silk Road’s culinary cross-pollination, with a blend of Middle and Far Eastern flavours and styles. Uyghur sisters Eleanor and Halnur Halmurat wanted to share some of their culture’s best-loved dishes with Dublin, and the menu reflects the fascinating Turkish/Chinese fusion style to be found there. Where should we sit? The Parnell Square East building, formerly home to Lily’s Café, looks small from the outside but opens up impressively on entry with a high-ceilinged open space dominated by an ornate oriental chandelier. Further to the back there’s a more intimate area decorated with a handmade wall-hung carpet and a mural of the restaurant’s namesake mascot. Head here if you’re planning to make a night of it; out front is ideal for a quick bite on the go. What’s on the menu? We started with the naan, which is less light and airy than the more familiar Indian iterations. Its dense and doughy texture is softened by dipping it in a salted milk tea, the bread’s natural sweetness offset by the salted richness of the drink - it's thankfully better to taste than it is to look at. It’s an odd and intriguing combination of flavours, a good shared start to a meal that feels equal parts familiar and unique. The samsa - a distant spin-off from the samosa - is an Uyghur street food specialty, and one item on offer we suggest you don't pass up. Its crisp, hot crust-style pastry is a flaky, fatty shell for beef steamed to a delicate juiciness inside. The subtle sweetness of sliced onions rounds out a very satisfying mouthful of food. These come in ones, but you will be wanting more. The manti that came next make for an interesting contrast, and a valuable lesson in Uyghur cuisine’s hard-to-pin-down diversity. Stuffed with the same filling as the samsa, there’s more of a touch of Korean mandu to these steamed dumplings. The result is a succulent, moist meat filling with a thinner, drier, more low-key wrapping flavour. It’s a question of taste, but the samsa’s more ours. Kawap skewers play it straight and simple - chunks of lamb barbecued after a dry spice rub. The light kick of chili is a perfect accompaniment to the meat’s charred surface, though some of the cuts proved a little too lean to offer enough of the rendered fattiness we love in a skewer. One of the things we were most intruiged to try was the spicy bean jelly, a cold dish of mung bean “noodles” - the texture of silken tofu - swimming in a flavour-filled chili oil broth. It’s a fun game for friends to see who can make the least mess trying to eat these with chopsticks - the jelly is so delicately soft it’s as likely to be sliced open as scooped up. The base broth has a real depth that plays off the blandly squidgy noodles, but overall we found this one more curious than compelling. Staff were very happy to help with the Sophie’s choice that is picking between the bigger plates, and while we’d have loved to try the sharing chicken stew (we’d watched wide-eyed as the enormous bowl was brought to another table as we came in), the word was both noodles and pilaf needed to be tried if we were here for the most essential flavours. And weren’t we glad we listened. The hand-pulled udon-esque noodles, made fresh every morning by the Halmurat sisters’ mother, are one of the highlights here, chunky and chewy and perfectly shaped to soak up sauces. They came with leghmen, a kind of Cantonese-style stir fry that’s an Uyghur favourite. Afanti’s uses beef rather than the more common lamb. Paired with bell peppers and the deep umami intensity of black fungus, it works a treat. Ample carrots brought a surprising sweetness to the pilaf, but it worked against the gaminess of lamb, a leg so tender it practically peeled off the bone on sight. This is a heavy plate of food in its own right, never mind on top of what came before, and if you’re not full-on famished coming in, this alone will see you satisfied. We finished with a baklava that steered clear of the cloying sweetness you still get in many around town. This is a more subdued, almost savoury affair of pressed, coarsely chopped hazelnuts with a light spice flavour from cinnamon syrup. It’s a light finale - needed after all that. What are the drinks like? We were too caught up with the milk tea to try any of their others, but they come in ornate little pots and with a real air of ritual about them. A shared one over a baklava would make for a particularly nice cap to a meal. In terms of alcoholic options it’s just a simple beer on tap offering with Tiger and Asahi. How was the service? Considerate and quick - all of the food came in very short order after we’d asked for it, and all together. If you’re looking to space things out, be sure to coordinate upfront. Staff were happy to chat through the menu and keen to sell it too, but once everything was delivered, they very much left us to it. And the damage? All of that (which would happily feed three or more) and two Asahis came to a very reasonable €90.68. From the €2 baklava to substantial mains circa €15, you're definitely getting value for money in here. You could happily stuff yourself and stay on the right side of a €20pp spend. What’s the verdict on Afanti? Those culinary thrill-seekers always out to try something new should add Afanti to their check list, a rare arrival on the Dublin scene that can legitimately claim to be niche and novel. Not all of the dishes here are great, but all are worth trying for a cross-cultural cooking experience most won’t have had before. Whether popping in for a quick few samsas at lunch or indulging in a cheap feast on those divine hand-pulled noodles, there’s lots to discover here. Afanti 3a Cavendish Row, Dublin 1 www.afanti.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The man, the myth, the legend, celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has graced Dublin with his (minimal) presence, in this rooftop restaurant baring his name in new boutique hotel The Leinster. His famed egg toast and hash browns with caviar have also landed, at suitably hefty price tags, with the rest of the menu treading a line between big Asian and Mediterranean flavours, with catch-all ingredients that should please anyone who crosses the threshold. As Dublin prices go it's on the higher end, but those rooftop views don't come cheap. Jean Georges @ The Leinster Website theleinster.ie/jean-georges Address Jean-Georges at The Leinster, Mount Street Lower, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The man, the myth, the legend, celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has graced Dublin with his (minimal) presence, in this rooftop restaurant baring his name in new boutique hotel The Leinster. His famed egg toast and hash browns with caviar have also landed, at suitably hefty price tags, with the rest of the menu treading a line between big Asian and Mediterranean flavours, with catch-all ingredients that should please anyone who crosses the threshold. As Dublin prices go it's on the higher end, but those rooftop views don't come cheap. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield