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Mae Gráinne O'Keeffe goes solo in Ballsbridge Posted: 17 Aug 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Gráinne O'Keeffe is a human powerhouse. Not content with being head chef at Clanbrassil House for the past few years (where she and the team won a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2018), she also took on the job of Culinary Director at Bujo , who make some of our favourite (and most feel-good) burgers, fried chicken sandwiches and deep-fried pickles. Bujo went on to achieve a three-star rating from the Sustainable Restaurants Association , while Clanbrassil House continued to climb the cool charts year after year, leading us back to the old adage - if you want something done, ask a busy person. When she teasingly told Instagram followers in May that her first solo restaurant was imminent, people got a bit hyper. New openings on this level have been sparse since the start of Covid, so this was kinda a big deal. We knew it was going to be in Dublin 4, and soon people were sniffing around every empty venue, shuttered restaurant and residential dwelling with the builders in wondering if this could be it. Eventually we were all put out of our misery at the end of July when she announced it was going to be above The French Paradox wine bar in Ballsbridge, as a sort of partnership. A surprising decision to some, but presumably the only way to open her own place in such a prime location without the need for outside investors. Bookings opened two weeks prior to opening and tables for the first three months went almost immediately, so we were glad we'd been ready and waiting to pounce. Where should we sit? It's a long, narrow room, and you won't be able to see the kitchen from the tables at the front near the window, but you will have good ventilation, so choose your poison. It's a mix of low tables and high, so again if that's something you have strong feelings on you might want to specify it before you arrive. Tables are well spaced and it felt comfortable, even in times of Covid. What's the food like? It's a tasting menu only round these parts, but there's a meat and a vegetarian option. It's €60 a head which includes, bread, three snacks, a starter, main and dessert, and you can add on a cheese course for a reasonable €5 supplement. You have a choice of mains, but everything else is decided for you. If you have a strong/strange food aversion we're pretty sure they would do their best to adjust a dish and replace the offending item with something else, but we wouldn't expect a complete overhaul, so a no choice restaurant is probably not somewhere to bring that fussy with food friend/partner/parent. Saying that, it's not an overly edgy menu, for now anyway, so should please most people. Bread comes first. It's currently a dense brown soda bread, which we found too heavy for the start of a meal, and purposely chose not to finish for fear of needing to be helped up at the end. Next came the snacks, which were a finger of brioche with chicken liver and fig, a basque ham and gruyere croquette, and a beetroot, goats cheese and pickled walnut tart. They all had a nice mix of flavours and textures, but the beetroot tart was probably the most memorable. Next was a bowl of Cáis na Tíre (one of our favourite cheeses) agnolotti with artichoke and leek. We love a bit of handmade pasta but would have preferred to do the smearing, scraping and dissecting on a plate. Regardless pasta plus cheese plus artichokes was a winner for us, and we could have eaten this as a main. For mains we had a choice of cod or ribeye steak. While we never fully get the point of cod, unless deep-fried in batter and submerged in salt and vinegar, Mae's black garlic, beurre blanc and seaweed did a good job of taking the flavours from bland to brilliant, although we would have preferred them on a less watery fish, like hake or haddock. The ribeye, from Higgins in Sutton, was topped with morels, celeriac and tarragon sauce, and was one of the most uniquely delicious takes on a steak we've had in a long time. Such an abundance of flavour on top of juicy, ultra savoury meat, but one steak had far too much fat on it (whilst being thick, plump and perfectly medium), and the second they brought in its place was very thin, and by virtue of this arrived well done. If you have a cooking preference outside of "chef knows best" it might be best to state it when ordering. A side of layered potatoes with a cheesy crust was perfectly tender and chewy, and we liked the simplicity of a single side dish - is there anything worse than feeling too stuffed for dessert? And then throwing it in anyway? And then lying awake with heartburn/a sore stomach/diner's regret all night? Somewhat unusually, dessert was the dish of the night. An apple tart tatin with salted caramel, Calvados and creme fraiche could not be faulted, managing to be both lavish and light, thanks to a graceful hand with the pastry making. We'd go back for this alone. Is an optional cheese course ever really optional? No. Especially not when it's Co. Down's Young Buck, one of the country's favourite blues. It came with a pear chutney and seeded crackers, and Young Buck is always a good time. What about the drinks? The French Paradox has the kind of wine list that makes wine fanatics squirm in their seats. There are no en trend names, no iconic wines, pretty much nothing you've ever heard of. If you know your stuff this might make you uncomfortable, if your knowledge is hovering around entry level it won't bother you. We thought that both the cava (we didn't note the producer but there was only one) and the Champagne from Lacourte Godbillon were very good, but the (more expensive, €50 for four glasses) wine pairing missed a few tricks. A red Burgundy did nothing to elevate the agnolotti, and all that was achieved by pairing a Condrieu (a dry white Viognier from the Rhone) with a very sweet tart tatin was ruining a very nice wine. The most interesting pairing was a white Bergerac with the cod, and the Pomerol with the ribeye also worked, but we didn't enjoy an overtly oaky white Rully from Burgundy, which was paired with the snacks. How was the service? The manager (ex-French Paradox) is hospitality personified, and was practically bouncing around the room with positive, welcoming energy, but all of the staff were warm and friendly. We had a few service issues, but it was only their first week and everything was handled with grace and profuse apologies. One of the service highlights is getting to choose your steak knife, which are all made from different artisanal knife makers, each with its own story. It's something unique to Mae and was a clever addition, and probably the thing you're going to see most shared on social media. And the damage? Just over €102 a head for a tasting menu, a shared cheese course, a glass of sparkling wine each and one shared top tier wine pairing. The verdict? Mae is off to a solid start and will no doubt be thronged with the monied Ballsbridge brigade and those from further afield for the foreseeable future. We'd like to see the menu take a few more chances, and O'Keeffe develop a stronger signature style, as well as an opening up of the wine list, but it's early days. We just hope that tart tatin sticks around. Mae 53 Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 www.maerestaurant.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Cute little café in the old projector room of The Academy Theatre from coffee roasters Cloud Picker. Sandwiches, salads, cakes and pastry, and of course excellent coffee. Minimal seating inside and out. Cloud Picker Website cloudpickercoffee.ie Address 42 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Cute little café in the old projector room of The Academy Theatre from coffee roasters Cloud Picker. Sandwiches, salads, cakes and pastry, and of course excellent coffee. Minimal seating inside and out. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Neighbourhood café in the heart of Dublin 8, with all food made on site using seasonal, mostly organic ingredients, and a yoga studio on site. Their menu is all vegetarian with plenty of vegan options, so you can enjoy a plant-filled feast after you’ve worked through your sun salutations. Little Bird Website little-bird.ie Address 82 South Circular Road, Portobello, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Neighbourhood café in the heart of Dublin 8, with all food made on site using seasonal, mostly organic ingredients, and a yoga studio on site. Their menu is all vegetarian with plenty of vegan options, so you can enjoy a plant-filled feast after you’ve worked through your sun salutations. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Hera The Northside's newest gastropub serving the food we really want to eat Posted: 21 Jan 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Hera? It's the new Drumcondra/Dorset Street gastropub that started off as just Juno , from the guys behind Achara on Aston Quay and Crudo in Sandymount (Sean Crezcensi and Jamie McCarthy), and the guys who own The Fourth Corner in Dublin 8 (Brian McCarthy and Jonathan Foley). Juno remains an old-man style bar (for now) on the right, but the left side of the building has been given a facelift fit for 2025, and been turned into Hera (the Greek version of the Roman Goddess Juno - swot up on your Greek mythology here ). We loved the food at Juno , but it was fast food style, with battered sausages, burgers and fish sandwiches. Hera has grander notions for herself, and with Dublin tending to struggle for good gastropubs (particularly on the Northside), where the food is the main draw over the drinks and atmosphere, she's been warmly welcomed to the neighbourhood. When it comes to industry players to watch, we'd put the guys behind Hera , Achara and Crudo in the upper tier of restaurateurs who just get what diners want right now, and strive constantly to give it to them at the best price, so we were eager to see what they'd come up with next. Where should we sit? The former old man pub has been brought bang up to date in a soothing room of greys, greens and browns, with eclectic artwork on the walls and candles on the tables. The sort of alcove to the left when you walk in has all the cosy vibes, but the tables down at the bar opposite the kitchen have more space for groups of four - six, or if you have bulky things with you like bags or buggies. There's also a semi-private dining room in between the two that comfortably sits six, wrapped in walnut wood and bathed in soft lighting and plant life. What's the menu like? Gastropub goes upmarket, with none of the boring box-ticking dishes seen at the majority of other food-serving pubs who consider themselves in the same bracket. There's no burger, no chicken supreme, no seafood chowder - let us rejoice for originality. Prices are on the reasonable side, with snacks from €3 - €8, but small plates are a punchier €12 - €16, so better to see them as smaller sharing mains than starters lest you accidentally blow the budget. Big plates start at €19, and they have what must be one of the best value rib-eye steaks in Dublin at €30. As far as oysters go, Hera's Carlingford ones topped with smoked butter (torched tableside) are a seafood celebration, and a brilliant entry point for anyone struggling to get a taste for the love it or hate it shellfish. A creamy, smoked cod taramasalata comes with homemade Ballymakenny crisps - another nice appetite opener, but we would have prefer the crisps less oily. Remus' sourdough foccacia is the same as the one they use in Crudo, from Dublin's Oaksmoke Bakery , and it tasted even better here. So crisp on the outside, so fluffy in the middle, we would have sworn it was fresh from the oven. We love a flavoured butter, and the chicken and mushroom one here was gone as quickly as it landed. Two long strips of fried Tallegio came with a (subtler than expected) pear and ginger mustard, and a black lime dressing that we couldn't taste black lime off. It's a cheesy, gooey, God forgive me kind of starter, but again needed better draining to soak up the excess oil. We don't often expect meatballs to wow, but the chicken and pancetta ones here did. Your spoon will glide through the soft spheres swimming in chunky wild mushroom and chipotle sauce, topped with finely grated, melting Cloonbook reserve cheese (a semi-hard cow's cheese from Velvet Cloud). You'll want every crumb of that focaccia to scarpetta the bowl clean. Purple broccoli fritti appeared to be regular tenderstem, but were cooked beautifully with just enough bite. The miso bagna cauda didn't have the flavour punch we would have liked, but regardless it's hard to stop bringing them in the direction of your mouth. Then onto that €30 rib-eye that's going to be a massive draw here. The meat was flawlessly seasoned, beautifully charred, and on the right side of medium. It is a fatty cut, but that's what's delivering all that flavour. Pickled onion rings really need to dial up the pickle, and again needed a rendezvous with some paper towels before being plated up. We really didn't like that green peppercorn sauce though, which was strangely sharp and astringent. Maybe cream would help, or something else to temper the acid, but even with that we found the flavour profile oddly unpleasant. Caribou has set the pepper sauce standard in Dublin and it's a high bar. Vegetarians are well looked after here with six options before sides, and the juicy aubergine schnitzel with tomato sugo, cucumber pickle and aioli verde is a great one (although we would have liked less smooth sugo and more of that lipsmacking pickle). Yeast butter fried potatoes are almost shockingly crunchy, and will undoubtedly get all the love online, but could be improved with a more floury potato for more contrast again that crunch. Desserts in places like this don't tend to get much love, being generally demoted to ice-creams, mousses or custard-like things in pots. Not in Hera, where the warm, not too sweet brown butter and miso tart, with short crumbly pastry needs to become their signature dessert. It's the kind of thing someone might make for a dinner party and everyone harasses the chef until they hand over the recipe. The billed crème fraîche must have run out as we got what appeared to be cream - crème fraîche would have been better. Sorbet still gets its day though - ours was raspberry with amarena cherries ( paging Bologna ), and again the salted hazelnuts must have run out because we got pistachios. Sharp and sweet with super-charged flavours and nice texture contrast, it's a kid's dessert for adults (or kids with mature palates). What should we drink? These guys do drinks very well, treading the line nicely between quality and price when it comes to the wine list. There are enough interesting bottles there to ensure everyone will find something they want to drink, whether it's a decent Spanish tempranillo for €33, or a French petillant naturel for €49. The most expensive bottle on the list is €59 and that's a one litre Italian red (the perfect amount for two people). Cocktails go the extra mile too with clear invention in the menu, although we found the Smoke & Mirrors (Connemara whiskey, Valentia Island vermouth, black tea gomme, walnut bitters and smoke) a bit one note, tasting mainly of whiskey. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt as we've had great cocktails in Juno before. There's also plenty of beer on draught and in bottle, with some craft names in there. How was the service? Lovely, with a proper welcome, plenty of chat and nothing too much trouble, including moving to a bigger table. The food was generally well paced, apart from a serious lag of 20-25 minutes between snacks and starters, which was strange as we were in early and it wasn't busy. It feels like a kitchen still figuring things out. What was the damage? It came out at around €50 a head for plenty of food and one drink each, but you could do it for less. Be aware though that a service charge of 12.5% is automatically added to the bill on tables of five or more, even if one of the five is a toddler in a highchair... What's the verdict on Hera? There are the bones of something really great at Hera , with the owner/operators in touch with the current zeitgeist, and obvious talent in the kitchen, which needs to be harnessed and refined. Some more draining in the fried section, attention to detail in ingredients and an ability to get the food out faster would have made this an almost faultless meal, dream gastropub stuff, and looking at sibling restaurants Crudo and Achara, we fully expect them to keep pushing to get it there. 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 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

French crêperie specialising in savoury galettes and dessert crêpes. Voici also functions as a wine bar, with cheese and charcuterie boards to accompany your bottle of Bordeaux. Voici Website voici-creperie.site Address 1A Rathgar Road, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story French crêperie specialising in savoury galettes and dessert crêpes. Voici also functions as a wine bar, with cheese and charcuterie boards to accompany your bottle of Bordeaux. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Japanese bar with small plates, sushi and a robatayaki grill in Temple Bar, just off Dame Street. Daily sushi specials, plenty of vegetarian options, and more interesting small plates than most Japanese restaurants around town. They do a great line in sake, either in low alcohol cocktails or straight up, and it's worth walking in if you forgot to book somewhere for dinner. Daruma Website @daruma_dublin Address 13 Parliament Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Japanese bar with small plates, sushi and a robatayaki grill in Temple Bar, just off Dame Street. Daily sushi specials, plenty of vegetarian options, and more interesting small plates than most Japanese restaurants around town. They do a great line in sake, either in low alcohol cocktails or straight up, and it's worth walking in if you forgot to book somewhere for dinner. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Spanish sister restaurant to much-loved Etto, which opened at the end of 2018 to a glut of gushing reviews. Some of the best counter-dining in the city and all the Spanish favourites like padron peppers, tortilla and morcilla with quail eggs. Extensive list of wines and sherries. Uno Mas Website unomas.ie Address 6 Aungier Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Spanish sister restaurant to much-loved Etto, which opened at the end of 2018 to a glut of gushing reviews. Some of the best counter-dining in the city and all the Spanish favourites like padron peppers, tortilla and morcilla with quail eggs. Extensive list of wines and sherries. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Mad Yolks The expert egg slingers come to Smithfield Posted: 20 Apr 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? We have a serious soft spot for those people doing one thing and doing it really well - what food writers Sally & John McKenna recently called " micro-specific cooking ". Who wants to be faced with a menu spanning five countries, numerous "global influences", and 30 different dishes? Never, ever us. So Mad Yolks , whole sole reason for opening their doors each day is egg sandwiches, appeals to the tortured part of our brain that struggles with menu decisions - food envy and ordering regret are all too real. Dublin brothers Hugh and Eoin O'Reilly started " slinging out some of the finest eggs known to man " in 2018, operating out of a food truck at festivals and markets . Since then they've had various pop-up homes including The Fourth Corner in Dublin 8, and Eagle House in Glasthule , but they were always on the lookout for a place to call home, and in January they announced they'd found it, in Smithfield Square. At the start of March the doors officially opened, and Dublin had itself a new brunch spot (and don't we need more of those). Where should we sit? It's a bit of a canteen vibe, clearly meant for quick eating, and you can pick between counter seats, low tables, or a couple of outdoor tables, which will be prime brunch real estate over summer. They could really do with getting a few more of them, because an egg sandwich has never tasted as good as when the sun's shining down on it. What's the food like? First and most importantly, the eggs are free-range - currently from Ballon in Carlow - otherwise the appeal factor would have dropped to a solid zero. The menu features five egg sandwiches, a burger and a veggie burger (both with eggs too), as well as sides including nachos, halloumi fries and hash browns. We'd seen their nachos con carnage on the 'gram and thought about little else for the week, so were very pleased to be acquainted in person. Crunchy nachos, nicely flavoured chile con carne, melted cheese, the most perfectly fried egg, sriracha mayo, chillies and spring onions would do much to help a Sunday morning hangover. It's also a nicely petite portion in comparison to the mounds of muck seen in bars / themed eateries / Italian restaurants across the city, so you can easily justify it as a side for one. Halloumi fries were lightly breaded, fried until just golden, and had the texture of cheesy marshmallows - not a squeak in sight. The harissa mayo was lovely and lemony, with the tiniest kick of spice, and was a nicely lively accompaniment for dipping We looooove a hash brown so were gutted that they didn't have either the regular or smokin' versions when we visited, and we can't even find a picture of them online, so if you go and have them please send us a pic so we can see what we missed. Then onto the reason why we were here, the egg sandwiches. We tried the classic 'Mad Yolk', the 'Fresh Yolk' and the 'Bad Yolk'. They all come on toasted brioche, and the Mad Yolk is the only one with scrambled eggs, the rest have fried. That scrambled egg is cooked with fresh chilli & chives, and topped with caramelised onion, applewood cheddar, rocket & sriracha mayo, and it held together remarkably well, despite the eggs not being remotely overcooked. They clearly have this down to a fine art, and an Egg McMuffin ain't got nothing on it. Next the 'Fresh Yolk', and possibly our favourite, with two fried eggs (yolks still beautifully oozy), avocado, feta cheese, chilli flakes, rocket & dijionnaise. Mustard/mayo combinations always conjure up great burger memories, and with the buttery avocado, tangy feta and peppery rocket, it was about as fresh tasting as fried eggs on brioche could get. Lastly the 'Bad Yolk'. This is one for the person who always orders the 'Full Irish' when they're out for breakfast (this is not us). As well as those two perfect fried eggs, there's smashed black pudding, streaky bacon, beef tomato, applewood cheddar, rocket & homemade tomato relish. Non crispy bacon is a pox upon the earth, and unfortunately this one was more chewy and fatty than crunchy - grilling bacon is the only way to cook it and we shall hear no arguments on this matt. We didn't think the black pudding added much, and overall it felt a lot heavier than the two that came before - we'd only recommend this to big fans of breakfast meat, for whom breakfast is not breakfast without pork. There's no dessert here, and we think they're missing a trick - one simple offering done really well would be hard to resist. However, home of some of the best pastry in Ireland is a two minute walk away, so if in need of something sweet head for Proper Order to get your hands on No Messin 's finest. The cult Smithfield café opens seven days a week, selling cakes and pastries from their offshoot little sister, run by baker Hilary Quinn. This stuff is so good we've been known to gasp, and we've never had anything that's been less than pastry perfection - and we've tried a lot. The Cardi-Bs (cardamom buns) are the stuff of sticky, spiced dreams, the Double Chocolate Frankies have more chocolate than we thought was possible to get into a pastry, and the choux buns are a lesson in how to do it - but just go with your gut, and pick up a blood orange curd for home. What about the drinks? Alcohol wise it's strangely limited to prosecco, either straight, in a Mimosa with freshly squeezed orange juice, or in an Aperol Spritz. We tried a Mimosa but it was flat as a dosa (see last week's review ), and after some questioning found out that the bottle had been opened the day before and they had no more prosecco. Disaster. We thought they'd said they'd take it off the bill, but when it arrived it was still on there - a coffee had been taken off though. The freshly squeezed orange juice was excellent, as was the coffee from Full Circle, and there are soft drinks in the fridge inside. And the service? Really, really lovely. Loads of smiles, couldn't do enough for us, laid back but clearly taking things seriously. Fast casual, but with proper Irish hospitality. You don't often get it. And the damage? €57.50, which felt like very good value for money, particularly with prices rising all over the place. Anything else we should know? It's right next to The Generator Tower, which has some of the most spectacular views across the city in every direction. Entry is only €5, and it's 259 steps to the top - if it's a clear day don't miss it. The verdict? It's easy to see why Mad Yolks have built a dedicated following. What they're doing looks disarmingly simple, but it's depressingly easy to over or undercook eggs, or place them in flavour combinations that you could beat in your own kitchen. These guys take the egg game very seriously, slinging them out with style, and we'd be surprised if there aren't more Mad Yolks on the way. In the meantime get in here and enjoy Dublin's newest brunch spot - hangovers optional. Mad Yolks Unit 4, Block C, Smithfield, Dublin 7 www.madyolks.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

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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

Casual lunch and dinner spot in the Docklands, with extensive vegan and vegetarian options. Bright colours and flavours on the menu, which includes poke, rice bowls and tacos. Worth a visit for the stunning interiors alone. Nutbutter Website nutbutter.ie Address 2&3 Gallery Quay, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Casual lunch and dinner spot in the Docklands, with extensive vegan and vegetarian options. Bright colours and flavours on the menu, which includes poke, rice bowls and tacos. Worth a visit for the stunning interiors alone. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Part of chef Joginder Singh's Irish empire, with other locations in Blessington and Terenure. A sit-in and takeaway operation above The Bird Flanagan pub, with dishes from a wide range of Indian states north and south, and a frill free room. They've clocked up all the buzz for their Keralan buffet lunch at weekends, with as much as you can handle of up to 20 dishes for a bargain price. Spice Village Website spicevillagerialto.com Address Spice Village Rialto, Above The Bird Flanagan Pub, South Circular Road, Dublin D8, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Part of chef Joginder Singh's Irish empire, with other locations in Blessington and Terenure. A sit-in and takeaway operation above The Bird Flanagan pub, with dishes from a wide range of Indian states north and south, and a frill free room. They've clocked up all the buzz for their Keralan buffet lunch at weekends, with as much as you can handle of up to 20 dishes for a bargain price. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

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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 >>

After doing the market scene for a couple of years, Korean Table owner Vivian Cho went permanent in a long, narrow room in Stoneybatter, previously home to Beo Wine Bar and Cow Lane tapas. The short menu ticks a lot of boxes, with Korean fried chicken, beef bibimbap and kimchi-fried rice, and there’s a basic drinks list. They don’t take reservations unless there’s 10 or more, so chance your arm with a walk up. Korean Table Website koreantablestoneybatter.com Address 50a Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story After doing the market scene for a couple of years, Korean Table owner Vivian Cho went permanent in a long, narrow room in Stoneybatter, previously home to Beo Wine Bar and Cow Lane tapas. The short menu ticks a lot of boxes, with Korean fried chicken, beef bibimbap and kimchi-fried rice, and there’s a basic drinks list. They don’t take reservations unless there’s 10 or more, so chance your arm with a walk up. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Just south of the city centre, bordered by the Grand Canal, head to Portobello for café culture, Michelin-recommended dinners, and homemade pasta. Portobello Our Take Just south of the city centre, bordered by the Grand Canal, head to Portobello for café culture, Michelin-recommended dinners, and homemade pasta. Where to Eat Alma Bibi's Brother Hubbard South Dash Burger Aungier Street Lena Little Bird Richmond Sprezzatura Camden Market

Mad Egg are now up to five sites across Dublin, but have sadly dropped their commitment to free-range birds. They still tea brine them for 48 hours, dredge them in spiked buttmilk and cover them in their special seasoned coating before being fried. Good beer selection too. Their DIY desserts mean you might need a nap afterwards. Mad Egg Website madegg.ie Address 2-3 Charlotte Way, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Mad Egg are now up to five sites across Dublin, but have sadly dropped their commitment to free-range birds. They still tea brine them for 48 hours, dredge them in spiked buttmilk and cover them in their special seasoned coating before being fried. Good beer selection too. Their DIY desserts mean you might need a nap afterwards. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Gráinne O'Keefe's first solo restaurant in partnership with the French Paradox wine bar downstairs, who look after the wine list. Modern Irish cooking and a regularly changing tasting menu, but the tarte tatin dripping in caramel will probably never be allowed a night off. Mae Website maerestaurant.ie Address 53 Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Gráinne O'Keefe's first solo restaurant in partnership with the French Paradox wine bar downstairs, who look after the wine list. Modern Irish cooking and a regularly changing tasting menu, but the tarte tatin dripping in caramel will probably never be allowed a night off. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Floritz All the style, with the substance to back it up Posted: 24 Jun 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Floritz? It's the floral wallpaper-filled, velvet booth-lined, Asian influenced, all the notions new restaurant, in the building that used to be Cliff Townhouse, but is now home to newly opened boutique hotel Townhouse on the Green . The new landlords also own The Fitzwilliam Hotel across the Green, and The Bailey around the corner, and the basement level wine bar Cellar 22 opened last November, in the space where seafood wine bar Urchin used to be (read our review of that here ). The head chef at Floritz, Matt Fuller, was most recently at Suesey Street , but he's probably best known for his Spanish restaurant Boqueria , which gained a name in Stoneybatter, moved to a bigger location in Howth, then closed the year after. He also has a relationship with The Fitzwilliam Hotel owners that goes way back - in another lifetime he was head chef at Citron, the hotel's restaurant before Glover's Alley . Check out this absolute stunner of a blast from the past. Floritz's website describes it as " an invitation to travel far, far away without leaving this dramatic dining-room", and there's a whole narrative about how the man who build this house was an adventurer who travelled to India and the Far East to seek his fortune, and how you could stick him in here now with a lamb bao and he'd be right at home. They call it "a room to see, and be seen in" , so we had to go and see didn't we. Where should we sit? It's all very glam, very comfortable, and very brightly coloured. The money seats are the ones inside the windows at the front, over-looking St Stephen's Green, with all that lovely natural light streaming onto mulberry-coloured velvet banquettes. There's an argument for the more private booths in the centre across from the bar, if you're having an intimate kind of night, and want to feel like you're in your own personal space. There's a third section up some steps at the back which looks like the ideal place for bigger groups, or even a semi-private dining space. What's on the menu? They describe the food as having "global influences", but really it's Asia. The menu is very long , with sections for "crudo", "kitori grill", "sushi", "bowls", "tempura", and a full homage to Irish Wagyu steak, with sirloins and rib-eyes priced at €50 per 100g (€100-€200 per steak). While the length of the menu, with its ever more compelling-sounding dishes, might make choosing a drawn-out affair, it does mean that everyone coming in will be catered for, and there's countless reasons to come back. Enjoy your warm hand towel while you debate. There are 10 "kitori grill" skewers, priced from €6.50 for Globe Artichoke to €15.50 for compressed halibut. The Dublin Bay Prawns with a majada crumb felt like robbery when it arrived with two prawns for €13.50, but one bite into the sweet, smoky seafood with its paprika crumb, dipped in a milky, umami-filled whey dipping sauce, and we couldn't have cared less about the price tag. Another of aged beef rump with truffle tare (€9.50) comes with a "black pepper crème brûlée" that we were fully expecting to take the piss out of - instead we just keep trying to scoop up more of that creamy, peppery sauce with that sweet, tender meat. It's more of a rich aioli, and nothing like the crunchy sugar-topped dessert - but again, we don't care. On the crudo section there are six choices for raw fish dressed in various combinations of salt, fat and acid, right up to an o-toro (belly) tuna tartare with Oscietra caviar for €69. Our pockets aren't that deep so it was yellowtail with jalapeño (€18 for five pieces), and zero regrets - there was lip-smacking, spoon scooping and minute cutting to make it last a little bit longer. That balance - bang on. Then to sushi, with nigiri, hosomaki and sashimi. It's all ambitiously priced, with Nigiri €10 - €18 for two pieces, and the option of a 9-piece sashimi selection for €70. We slummed it with a couple of pieces of tuna chūtoro nigiri for €14 (a medium fatty cutty from the belly), and while we've never paid this much for nigiri in Dublin before, we've also never had tuna of this quality here before. 10/10 would hand over that cash again. We skipped the bowls and soup fearing we wouldn't be able for much else, and went to the bao for duck with leek, koji and hash brown (€18 for two). While again there's poetic licence on the loose (it's more potato straw than hash brown), this is a juicy, meat feast, enclosed in homemade bao buns - we hear the lamb is also excellent. From the chef's specials, the miso roast black cod with preserved red onion was incorrectly priced on the menu, and once we found out it was €25 and not €43, it became more appealing. Black cod (sablefish) is no relation to cod, with flesh that's fatty and velvety, as opposed to firm, lean, white and flaky. When our waiter brought the dish he advised us not to eat the skin - this is bad advice, it might be the best bit. The portion size and lack of anything resembling a side hurt for the price, but yet again, once we had that buttery flesh, miso flavoured skin, and tangy pickled onions on a one way trip into our mouths, price ceased to be an issue. From the tempura section we wanted all the food , (sweetcorn fritters, tempura oysters, turbot, courgette flowers - how much temptation can one person take!?), but settled on pickled onion rings with sumo miso mayonnaise, because - pickled onion rings. While we were expecting a chunkier version, that would probably be a bit uncouth in the setting - the slinky slivers of perfectly vinegared and impeccably drained deep-fried onions were only made better by a dunk in that miso mayo. The perfect snack with a glass of white wine. There's no ice-cream filler desserts on the menu here either. The five options have had as much time and thought put into them as everything else, and a white chocolate mille-feuille with yuzu, mandarin and ginger sorbet and calamansi vinaigrette was precise in every element - LOOK at those pastry layers. Now imagine all of those citrus flavours dancing around it. The only slight misfire of the meal was a cherry blossom baba, soaked in Haku vodka with black sesame ice-cream. There's a reason a baba is usually soaked in rum - because it has flavour - and everything here was very muted in comparison to what had come before, but we can see a certain caviar eating, vodka-drinking set enjoying it. What about drinks? Cocktails are separated by the glass they come in (short on the rocks/coupe/nick and nora/copper mug) which is a clever way of categorising, and both the Ichigo-go-go with whiskey; Campari infused with star anise; and Ume plum liqueur, and the Yuzu Do You with gin, amaro and yuzu liqueur, tasted like they'd been made by someone who was not partaking in their first rodeo. We found the wine list more lacking, with an uninspiring by the glass list and a house Champagne that should be better for €18 a glass. If you're drinking by the glass we'd recommend the Greco di Tufo for white, and the Torre Mora Etna Rosso or the Barbera from Pio Cesare for red. There's not a lot else to get excited about. How was the service? At first overwhelming, with what felt like an endless stream of visitors to our table asking questions, asking whether we had questions, if we'd looked at our menus (we hadn't), if we'd like a wet hand towel (we would). Once they chilled out a bit the service was exact, with every question we had about the many unusual ingredients on the menu answered without hesitation. Tastes of wine were brought when we couldn't decide, offers to change a clearly underwhelming glass, dishes brought at a perfect pace - there's been a weighty amount of staff training in here, and good hiring too. What was the damage? We paid €228 for two before tip. We initially thought we'd over-ordered and wouldn't be able to finish everything, but in reality some of the portions are so small that we could have ordered more. Despite the price/portion size ratio, we left bursting to return and try more. What's the verdict on Floritz? It would have been so easy to get the interior designers in, plaster flowers all over the wall, cover everything in gold and serve a menu of soulness, love-free food that the glitterati will come for anyway - it's literally happening around the corner . But that's not the story at Floritz. They've shown up with the full package, and the closest comparison we can make is to somewhere like Hakkasan in London - all the style, and all of the substance to back it up. Calling this "a room to be seen in" is doing it a disservice. This is a room to eat in. Just spend a bit of time studying that tome of a menu before you get there. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Big flavours in a small space, Italian inspired Etto, owned and run by partners Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett, is a must-try on the Dublin food scene. Compact menu with rarely (or maybe never) a disappointment, and one of the most interesting wine lists in the city. Sister restaurant to Spanish/Irish Uno Mas on Aungier Street. Etto Website etto.ie Address 18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Big flavours in a small space, Italian inspired Etto, owned and run by partners Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett, is a must-try on the Dublin food scene. Compact menu with rarely (or maybe never) a disappointment, and one of the most interesting wine lists in the city. Sister restaurant to Spanish/Irish Uno Mas on Aungier Street. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

The southside city branch of Middle Eastern leaning café Brother Hubbard. Breakfast, brunch and lunch range from vegan wraps to meaty mezze, and the treats like babka, cinnamon scrolls and cookie shots are very hard to pass on. Brother Hubbard South Website brotherhubbard.ie Address 46 Harrington Street, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The southside city branch of Middle Eastern leaning café Brother Hubbard. Breakfast, brunch and lunch range from vegan wraps to meaty mezze, and the treats like babka, cinnamon scrolls and cookie shots are very hard to pass on. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Lock's Grown-up, canal side dining that's worth a trip for the butter alone Posted: 3 May 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Locks has been around since the 1980’s but has had more incarnations than Madonna. At one point it gained and lost a Michelin star within a year (as Locks Brasserie), which led to the restaurant closing in the summer of 2015. That Autumn, it was taken over by Conor O’Dowd (ex-head chef at Dax) and Keelan Higgs, who’d been a chef in Locks Brasserie for the past few years, along with Paul McNamara (ex-head chef at Etto). Since then it’s been gaining a steady buzz with one great review after another. Higgs has since moved on, and in February this year Locks announced that they had hired a new head chef , Chris Maguire, formerly of The Ledbury and Trinity in London (both Michelin starred). We thought it was time we went to check it out. Where’s good for a drink beforehand? If it’s a sunny day most of Dublin will be at The Barge , so you may as well join them. Otherwise The Bernard Shaw is slightly closer and has a good range of beers as well as cocktails and an impressive selection of no and low-alcohol drinks, in case you’re saving yourself for the wine list at Locks. What’s the room like? Really beautifully laid out, like being in a very plush house. The killer tables are the ones by the window, where you can gaze out at the canal all night, but the whole room is ultra comfortable. The private dining room upstairs has serious wow factor, and if we were organising a group night out or a little celebration it would be right at the top of our list. What's good to eat? The smart money’s in the chef’s tasting menu on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which includes five courses (different each week) for €45. There’s also a very good value market menu available from 5:30pm – 6:30pm Tuesday to Saturday, with two courses for €25 or three for €30. We went á la carte. Whatever other choices you make, do not neglect to order the sea trout and dulse butter, which no description can do justice to. It comes with homemade sourdough and brown bread, and honestly if we’d had three courses of that it would have been worth the trip. Another snack that’s difficult to fault was the whipped chicken liver with brioche, grapes and apple - beautifully light and perfectly balanced between richness and freshness. For starters, we loved the roast cauliflower risotto with morels and truffle, which was an umami bomb. The violet artichoke, duck hearts and padron pepper (which came as a sauce) was more understated and didn't wow in the same way, but a nice dish nonetheless and the duck hearts were perfectly cooked. From the mains their signature dish seems to have become the Delmonico salt aged rib-eye for two, with braised short rib, duck fat chips, salt and pepper onion rings and king oyster mushroom, for €65, so we felt we had to try it. The rib-eye meat had extraordinary flavour, so much so that we wanted to eek out every bite, and the short rib and mushroom, which came on two separate plates, felt like more of a distraction. They would have been highly enjoyable by themselves but the steak was the star of the show and hard to compete with, and by the end we were getting close to the meat sweats. Saying that, if you go hungry, or don’t order snacks and starters, you will probably be very happy. The salt and vinegar onion rings were a genius move and highly addictive, but the duck fat chips were more bendy than crispy, and we couldn’t understand the reasoning behind making chips curved and taking off their lovely crispy edges. Dessert was a struggle after so much meat, but we wanted to try the peanut butter tart with banana milk ice-cream after seeing it all over Instagram. It was very well done, the milky banana perfectly offsetting the dense peanut butter tart. What about the drinks? We recognised barely any winemakers on the list which usually sets off alarm bells, but we had nothing to worry about. This is a list which has been put together with care and attention, and there’s a big focus on wines from Portugal, as GM Andressa is Portugese. Everything we tried by the glass was a good step above most restaurants in the city, including an Italian Vermentino, a Spanish blend of Treixadura and Godello, a red blend from the Douro in Portugal and an Italian Barbera. And the service? Our waitress couldn’t have been any more welcoming or lovelier, a rare find for restaurants at the moment, and another member of staff was happy to make wine recommendations and let us taste before deciding. It seems like a place where the staff are happy to be there. The verdict? This is grown up dining in a gorgeous canal-side location, close enough to town that you could walk, far enough away that it feels totally peaceful. Attempt to bag a window table, don’t miss the butter, and if you order the rib eye try not to gorge yourself on multiple courses beforehand. Next time we're going Tuesday or Wednesday for the chef’s tasting menu. Locks 1 Windsor Terrace, Portobello, Dublin 8 locksrestaurant.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Gertrude Fried chicken for breakfast is always a good idea Posted: 8 Jan 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? When rumours started circling last year that 3fe's Colin Harmon was bringing a new all day dining restaurant to Pearse Street, it instantly became one of the most hotly anticipated openings of the year. A series of delays had us thinking it was never going to open (it was a tie between Gertrude and Uno Mas for who had us chewing our fingernails more), but finally it did in early December and seemed to be an instant hit. They've since backed away from the all-day dining concept, with separate breakfast, lunch and dinner options from this week, but that hasn't resulted in too many changes to the menu. It's located about half way between Trinity and Grand Canal Dock, and the kitchen is headed up by Holly Dalton, formerly head chef at 3fe's café on Grand Canal Street. She had a very good reputation at 3fe so we were eager to see what she'd do at Gertrude with a dinner service and more scope for experimentation with the menu. The wine list was put together by Peter Conway, a well known face on the wine scene who was formerly involved with Green Man Wines in Terenure, so we knew it was in good hands - we'd even heard rumours of sherry. Where should we go for a drink first? There are plenty of good boozers in the direction of Trinity, like The Ginger Man on Fenian Street and The Lincoln's Inn on Lincoln place but if it's wine you want just come straight here. If you're out for the night and want somewhere with cocktails and/or a view you could head to Charlotte Quay or the rooftop bar in The Marker Hotel . Where should we sit? The table in the window at the front is the one to bag (especially if you like taking photos of your food - guilty), as it's prime people watching real estate and you can see t he whole restaurant, but any of the tables against the window are nice to sit at. There are also tables in the centre of the restaurant which we imagine would be good for a group or if you have a buggy/general child paraphernalia, and there are are some high tables on the other side if being elevated is your thing. What's good to eat? We tried all three snacks on the current menu and our favourites were the Cooleeny croquettes with beetroot ketchup (hot cheese - what's not to like?) and the bacon and cabbage dumplings which we thought were genius and packed so much flavour. They were both generous portions for €6 too. Whole Hoggs salami spread with sauerkraut on Bread Nation toast was also good, but we thought it was a bit unbalanced in the direction of spice, to the point where our tastebuds took a bit of time to recover, and it generally wasn't as memorable as the other two. We'd heard loads about the pork tonkatsu sandwich with kewpie mayo and shredded white cabbage on Bread Nation batch bread, so were pleased to find it delivered and is something we will definitely be going back for. It was also huge, so go hungry. Our other favourite was the buttermilk chicken and pancakes with honey butter, fermented hot sauce and orchard syrup, which is one of the best things we've eaten in 2019 (dinner at Variety Jones last weekend is also up there). The chicken and pancakes were both perfect and we'd quite like to bribe Holly for that punchy hot sauce recipe. Also, honey butter. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better. We also tried the duck buns which had good bao and meat but which we thought were a bit too salty, and the game pie which was one of those uber comforting dishes perfect for a cold day, but felt it could have done with some kind of green salad to balance the heft, which wasn't an option as a side. For dessert we loved the apple fritters and custard (which tasted more like a crème anglaise - not a complaint), and while the fritters were denser than we were expecting they had a good amount of apple and a gorgeous cinnamon sugar coating which reminded us of times gone by, when doughnuts were simple things costing 40c from a stand on O'Connell Street. It's also worth noting that there are extensive options for kids, with a dedicated menu featuring five choices, or you can get a kids size portion of anything on the main menu for half price - more of this please. They also have highchairs and a baby change, so a very child friendly place to bring the nippers when you don't want to compromise on food quality. What about the drinks? Coffee is obviously excellent, and since we visited they've introduced free top ups on filter coffee and tea. It's obvious that the wine list has been lovingly put together, with loads of minimal intervention options, vermouth and sherries, and there was a lot we wanted to drink. If you're day time drinking try the red Puszta Libre from Claus Preissinger which is only 11.5% and as juicy as a punnet of cherries. And the service? The staff were all really wam and full of smiles, but on both occasions the food took a long time to come out, with 45 minute gaps between snacks and mains. We imagine these are teething issues in a new kitchen and that they are aware of it, but if you're nipping in at lunch and are pressed for time it might be worth letting them know. The verdict? Gertrude really kept us waiting, but she's finally here and we think this is a brilliant addition to the Grand Canal Dock area. They announced this week that they were dropping the all day dining concept in favour of separate breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, and while we will admit to being gutted when we heard this, as we felt it was something really missing from the Dublin dining scene, in reality not a lot has changed, and they say that people weren't ordering spatchcock chicken for breakfast and a full Irish for dinner anyway. The most important thing is that the buttermilk chicken and pancakes are still available for breakfast and lunch (and hopefully dinner - TBC). Gertrude 130 Pearse Street, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin gertrude.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

3 Leaves Redefining Indian food in Ireland Posted: 2 Apr 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Three years ago, a little Indian food stall quietly popped up in Blackrock Market selling 'Indian Street Food'. Chef Santosh Thomas and wife Milie Mathew were the couple behind 3 Leaves , and very quickly gained a dedicated following for their pani puri, palak pakora chat and daily changing curries. Soon demand had overtaken supply, so they decided to take on the unit next door and put in enough tables to seat 12 people. These soon became some of the most difficult to get seats in town (not least because they only opened for dinner two nights a week), and in January of this year they knocked into the next one, giving them another 12 seats. When talking to Dublin food obsessives, 3 Leaves comes up again and again as somewhere that's totally reinvented their idea of what Indian food is, and the fact that's it's BYO with a corkage charge of just €5 makes it ever more appealing. On a weekly basis we seemed to be met with abject horror when we admitted to not having tried it yet (we have actually tried numerous times to get a booking to no avail), so we thought we'd better make a serious effort to rectify that and hold onto our street cred for a bit longer. Where should we go for a drink first? Two reviews in a row in Blackrock and the pre-drink options aren't any more inspiring. For pints or a G+T head to Jack O'Rourke's on the main street, or for wine you could pay a visit to El Celler wine bar in the market itself. And if you need to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner head to Blackrock Celler where they'll give you 10% off if you tell them you're going to dinner in 3 Leaves. Where should we sit? Seating is limited and much of a muchness inside - you could ask for a view of the kitchen but most of it is obstructed by the pass. As summer approaches the outside tables are going to be the ones everyone will want, but we'd say getting your hands on one will be a mean feat. Definitely request one on booking if the weather's looking good, or get there very early and cross your fingers. What's good to eat? All the food. From start to finish we lost count of the amount of times we heard 'wow', from every table in listening distance (and ours), and there wasn't a low point from beginning to end. We were eating from a two-course menu with optional dessert (mandatory), but before any of the dishes came they brought out a dahi puri for everyone - thin, crispy, hollow balls made from semolina flour filled with chickpeas, potatoes and sauces including tamarind chutney and yoghurt. We were told under no circumstances to bite into it as everything would fall out, and although it's a sizeable chunk to put in your mouth in one go, as soon as it's in there it pops, and 'flavour explosion' is the only appropriate descriptor. Of everything we had this is very much on the "best things we've eaten this year" list. We tried all four starters and loved all of them, particlarly the lamb and the seabass. The chawpati chaat was a soft, mildly spiced potato fritter on a bed of chickpeas, with 'chef's signature sauces' (of which there are five, made fresh every day - taramind, mango, mint, yoghurt and Thomas' special signature sauce). A galawat lamb kebab was meltingly soft with a really vibrant tasting salad of chickpeas, pomegranate, pea shoots and more of those sauces, all sprinkled with sev, that crunchy noodle type snack made from chick pea flour which adds a whole new level of texture to the dish and really takes things up a gear. A sukha adraki chicken kebab consisted of boneless chicken thighs marinated with ginger and cardamom and served with those signature sauces, more pomegranate seeds and more sev. As far as we were concerned every dish could have been drowning in those same few elements and we would have left very happy. Finally for the starters, a really delicately marinated fillet of seabass came wrapped in a banana leaf, with more of that crunchy salad, edible flowers and tiny dots of very mild wasabi yoghurt for the tiniest hit of spice. Perfectly cooked and perfectly balanced, both in flavour and texture. For mains there were options of chicken or lamb curry, dahl, or a taster menu with a bit of everything, so there was only one choice. It also came with mixed vegetables (mainly potato, onion and green beans), and palak pakora chat - deep-fried spinach with sauces, pomegranate seeds and more of that sev, which was the highlight of the taster plate for us. That and the dahi puri have pretty much monopolised our thoughts ever since. The other components were murg mumtaz (a creamy chicken curry), gosht falaknuma (slow-cooked lamb curry with more spice), muradabadi dhal (a creamy, deeply-flavoured yellow dahl), chickpea bread and rainbow rice - coloured with dehydrated spinach, beetroot, carrot and saffron. This was so much food for the price with so much going on in terms of tastes, textures and smells, and even though we ate ourselves stupid we didn't feel the usual fullness verging on sickness that we associate with eating mass amounts of Indian food. It really does feel like being cooked for in someone's house, the type of food they eat themselves on a daily basis - this is not the stuff of high street curry houses or uber eats deliveries. Indian restaurants in Ireland aren't generally known for their desserts, so the temptation is to skip it, but we'd been told from past diners not to make that mistake, so we ordered one of each. A carrot halwa trifle somehow managed to get carrots to taste like spiced caramel, on an almost cheesecake like base, the sweetness diluted with just whipped cream. Pretty perfect. The other of mango dulaat ki chat Milie described as "a cloud" - it's made from sweetened milk and mango and does quite literally feel like taking a bite of a cloud, the spoonful evaporating in your mouth as soon as it touches the sides, leaving behind tiny shards of candyfloss, which somehow manage to avoid being over sweet or in any way sickly in the grand scheme of the dish. A really unexpected, pitch perfect way to end an Indian meal. And the drinks? 3 Leaves is BYO with a bargain corkage charge of €5 so it's a great place to bring a nice bottle that you don't fancy paying Dublin restaurant mark-ups on, and as we said earlier, Blackrock Celler will give you 10% off anything to take over there and will happily recommend wines to go with the food. We took an Austrian Riesling from Holzer (available in Clontarf Wines and Jus de Vine ) which worked really well with the abundance of flavours and hits of spice throughout. They have applied for a wine list so are hoping to have their own short list of wines available too in the coming months. What about the service? Everyone who's been here leaves talking about how warm and welcoming Milie is, and she really is the perfect host, taking time to explain the meaning and make up of each dish, and constantly (but gently) checking if everyone is okay and enjoying themselves. Santosh also does a lap of the room after the main courses have been served, to say hi to everyone and answer any questions - and presumably get deluged with compliments on daily basis about how his cooking is so far from what they thought Indian food was. It's such an intimate space and experience and we think it would be hard to leave here without feeling rejuvenated on a few levels. The verdict? If you're someone who thinks Indian food means greasy baltis, chicken tikka masala (invented in Glasgow) and indigestion, you need to get yourself here as soon as possible. This will be an eye-widening experience for a lot of people, and after eating here it's very easy to see why they've gained such a following, and why people travel from across the city to sit in this basic room with market stalls outside the window. This is undoubtedly some of the best Indian food being cooked on the island right now and eating here should be on your restaurant bucket list. 3 Leaves Unit 30, 19A Main Street, Blackrock Market, Co. Dublin www.3leaves.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The Big Romance describe themselves as an "audiophile bar", with a custom sound system, one of the best craft beer lists in the city, and pizza from neighbours One Society down the road. Cocktails and wines are good too, and the moody, dimly-lit space is perfect for first dates and nights that go on till late. The Big Romance Website thebigromance.ie Address 98 Parnell Street, Dublin 1 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The Big Romance describe themselves as an "audiophile bar", with a custom sound system, one of the best craft beer lists in the city, and pizza from neighbours One Society down the road. Cocktails and wines are good too, and the moody, dimly-lit space is perfect for first dates and nights that go on till late. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Dún Laoghaire's food options have improved vastly over the past few years, and more options can be found further south along the coast in Sandycove, Glasthule and Dalkey. Dún Laoghaire - Sandycove - Glasthule - Dalkey Our Take Dún Laoghaire's food options have improved vastly over the past few years, and more options can be found further south along the coast in Sandycove, Glasthule and Dalkey. Where to Eat !

Niall Sabongi's seafood café opens from lunch till late seven days a week, serving sustainable, Irish seafood served in simple, delicious ways. Catch their oyster happy hour between 4pm and 5pm every day, where oysters are around €1 cheaper than normal. The Seafood Cafe Website klaw.ie Address Unit 11, Sprangers Yard, Fownes Street Upper, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Niall Sabongi's seafood café opens from lunch till late seven days a week, serving sustainable, Irish seafood served in simple, delicious ways. Catch their oyster happy hour between 4pm and 5pm every day, where oysters are around €1 cheaper than normal. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Crudo A neighbourhood Italian getting it all right Posted: 20 Mar 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Crudo? In what was formerly Dunne & Crescenzi in Sandymount, the next generation of the family, Sean Crescenzi, opened Crudo with friend Jamie McCarthy in mid-2019. They were finding their feet and figuring things out when Covid shut them down in early 2020, so it's been a stop-start few years, but they've now settled nicely into their groove. Feedback seems to have been getting progressively better about their neighbourhood Italian offering, aimed at locals, without cutting corners to satisfy blander taste buds, and they've been quietly going about their business with a limited social media presence - clearly it's not needed to drum up customers. Where should we sit? It's a homely room with simple furniture and someone's much loved (and long held) cookery book collection dotted around the walls. We do love a bit of people watching and you never know who you'll see in Sandymount so we'd go for the window if it's free. Andrew Scott was who we saw in Sandymount - he walked right past the window on his phone - and we're told Andy Farrell (the Irish Rugby Head Coach) is a regular. Those tables at the front are also perfect for familes. They seat six so there's plenty of space, and are right near the door in case anyone using their outdoor voice needs to be swiftly removed. Otherwise there's four tops along the wall and twos in the middle, but there's the ability for maneuvering depending on bookings. What's on the menu? They open for lunch and dinner with a lot of the same dishes, but lunch has a slightly reduced menu, and the addition of paninis which come with soup or parmesan fries. A lovely suppliers list (including first names) is up front so it can't be missed, and there's a €10 (frozen food free) kids menu that will excite parents used to paying €4 for just a juice. There were a lot of specials on the day we visited, but we try to stick to the dishes you'll be able to order too. Bear in mind though that even if you've picked your food in advance based on what's online, expect a whole new realm of greedy confusion to reign down when you're presented with chalkboards of new options, each one sounding better than the last. One of the best tests of any Italian is bruschetta, especially in a country where tomatoes are more often mealy, insipid balls of disappointment, than juicy, round pops of sunshine. Here a fluffy wedge of Oaksmoke sourdough comes just grilled, rubbed in garlic, and topped with marinated datterini tomatoes, basil and EVOO (€13) and you can add half a creamy, springy burrata ball for an extra €5.50. €18.50 might be on the pricier side for a starter, but it's big enough to share, and it's worth it when the Italian-imported ingredients are this superior. Arancini (€15) are always on the menu, and ours came with 'crispy fried risotto', crayfish and lobster bisque, and a preserved lemon and basil crema underneath. These were as big as baseballs, and another starter easily shared between two. The risotto itself was a bit dry (maybe because of the crispy frying), but had proper chunks of crayfish, and the crema was one of the best things we've tasted this year. So vividly lemony, there wasn't a creamy basil-streaked smear left on the plate - it made the whole dish (and possibly our whole day). We feel like we've been hearing about Crudo's scampi risotto since day one. Just cooked arborio rice comes with a lavish amount of fresh prawns, Dublin Bay prawn and sambuca bisque, prawn oil and crème fraiche (€24). It's one of those dishes you won't be able to make much conversation while eating, other than ummmms and errrmmaagaawwddss, and the elevation of all the flavours here shows up so many other risottos around town. Even the most committed meat eater should try the hand-rolled ravioli filled with cavolo nero and brie, served with deep-fried wild mushrooms, hazelnuts, and black truffle and parmesan fonduta (€25). It's one flavour bomb after another, the chewy mushrooms and and crunchy hazelnuts the perfect foil to those big pasta pillows and all that cheese. The pasta was a little underdone in the centre, but we couldn't dream of parting with the plate, and there was so much to love here that we didn't really care. Desserts contain your traditionalist options like tiramisu, affogato and cantucci biscuits with Vin Santo wine, and as you might expect by now are no slow coaches in the taste stakes. Tiramisu (€9) comes in individual portions with hazelnuts and Frangelico, and a chocolate biscuit on top. We loved the crunch of the whole nuts in there and all the flavours in the glass jar, but it was a little heavy on the cream and a little light on the sponge. A doorstop of a dark chocolate tart (€9) came with a bitter chocolate base, an unrestrained chocolate filling, sprinkle of sea salt and the genius addition of mandarin oil. Staff told us people regularly take some of the monster portion home and offered to wrap up any we didn't finish - what a lovely takeaway. Excellent espresso sent us on our way. What about drinks? The wine list is 90% Italian (as it should be) with the odd bottle from Spain, France or Portugal. There's a noble 13 wines by the glass, and it's the kind of place where they'll be happy to give you a taste of anything open before you commit. We went on their recommendations and had a fleshy, structured Sicilian Grillo, and a light, bright Marzemino (all herbal notes and sour cherries) from Alto-Adige. Both felt like something you'd be poured in that local trattoria on your holidays - wines made to work with the food you're eating. How was the service? Danny Meyer talks in his brilliant book Setting the Table about gatekeepers and agents, and we think about this walking into every single restaurant. A gatekeeper sets up barriers to keep people out - the staff member who blocked your path asking if you had a booking, the server who didn't acknowledge you and eventually shrugs saying there's an hour wait for a table. An agent on the other hand facilitates, makes things happen. When we walked into Crudo, we had a heroes welcome, an owner offering to seat us before knowing if we even had a booking. There were bright smiles, genuine chats, inquiries as to whether the table was okay - we think it would be just the place to be on a day when you're feeling fragile and need to be cosseted. There were only two servers for a half-full lunch service but no missteps or delays, and regular glances and check-ins to see if we needed anything. It feels like a very smooth operation. And the damage? €120 for a three course meal for two with a glass of wine each and one espresso. It felt like fantastic value considering the quality of the produce, the quality of the dishes, and the portion sizes. We could have shared a starter and dessert and left very happy. What's the verdict on Crudo? Crudo is that little Italian you find on your holidays and can't understand why food doesn't taste like this back home. None of it is over-complicated, there's nothing to scare anyone away (paging your parents), but it's all done with carefully gathered ingredients and some very skillful, generous hands in the kitchen. We could pick the most minor of holes in it, but none of them would matter, because as casual neighbourhood restaurants go, Crudo ticks every one of our boxes, and if Sandymount isn't your neighourhood, it's only a 10-minute walk from the Dart. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Big Fan Big flavours, sake cocktails and hiphop tunes on Aungier Street Posted: 7 Jul 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Big Fan was another one of 2020's mid-pandemic openings - not the way they envisioned their first year in business but plans were already in motion when the world as we knew it ended last March, so they made the best out of a bad situation. They started with take-away, then a brief spell of indoor dining in December, then some seriously delicious at home meal kits (one of the overall standout ones for us) and now they're back with outdoor dining. The owners have a background in burger restaurants and art galleries, but their head chef Tom is from Hong Kong and has been cooking Chinese food for over 30 years, and Big Fan was a chance for him to really unleash what he could do. They say they want to bring something different and genuine to the Dublin restaurant scene, the best Chinese food in town (set to a back drop of Hiphop tunes), and after what we sampled at home we were keen to try the full Big Fan experience. Where should we sit? They've done a really good job of maximising their space for outdoor dining, including taking out the window at the front and seating people technically inside the restaurant - some of you who are still unvaccinated and/or anxious about being around strangers might not be comfortable with this. If that's the case they have tables outside on the path too, which are well sheltered from the elements - on the night we were there it lashed but we didn't feel a drop. Just make sure you specify any preferences on booking. What's the food like? There's quite a large menu, with bao, jiaozi (dumplings), small plates, big plates, sides and sauces. Our eyes were popping at all the inventive dishes, each sounding more appealing than the last, and we were pretty pleased that so many were in the €6.50 - €10 bracket so we could justify ordering too much food. First up were crispy wontons filled with Toonsbridge scarmorza and squash, and a plum sauce for dipping. Often this kind of 'Asian fusion' is a complete car crash, but not at Big Fan. This kitchen has a a bit of magic when it comes to flavour and texture, and if they're not careful they might give Asian fusion a good name again. Next up were duck wings (which must have been legs unless there are mutant ducks walking around St. Stephen's Green that we don't know about), deep-fried and tossed in Big Fan seasoning. We'd initially asked for a sauce to come with them thinking they might be dry, but we were very wrong. These bad boys are so good you won't want to dilute the flavour with anything. The juiciness, the spice mix, the crispy bits - we haven't seen or eaten anything like this in the city before, and that goes for a lot of the menu here. We'd surprised ourselves by falling hard for the cheeseburger spring rolls at Hawker, so when we saw that Big Fan had put cheeseburger jiaozi on the menu it was only going to end one way - in our mouths. Once again a restaurant has managed to take a processed, corporate (albeit delicious) piece of fast food and morph it into something we feel much better about eating, complete with burger sauce and gherkins. It might sound easy but it's so hard to get right, and again here they've nailed it. A few more of these inventions and we'll be able to write a piece on "where to eat a cheeseburger when you don't want to eat a cheeseburger". Cheeseburger salad? Cheeseburger sushi? The options are endless. Last for the ones we loved was the 'Legend of the Ox' - a juicy beef shin ball wrapped in kataifi pastry on a bed of sweet soy mushrooms. The meat was juicy, the pastry crispy, and the soy mushrooms were the umami bed it was all wrapped up in. Another really excellent, different plate of food. We'd ordered the 'Black Dragon' bao - who could resist the promise of Irish lobster tail and Wagyu beef on a squid ink bun - but it wasn't what we were expecting, and we initially thought they'd brought the wrong dish. The bao came as a flat rectangle which had been deep-fried (leaving it greasy), as was the lobster tail, and everything combined just felt too rich and unbalanced. Big talk, unfortunately didn't deliver for us. Prawn toast was perfectly good but no better than most other good Chinese restaurants, and after the plates that had come before we were expecting something more exciting. The pineapple salsa was a bit underwhelming, and serving it on the plate with the toast caused them to get soggy bottoms - not a good look, or texture. The most disappointing was the Taiwanese fried chicken with Big Fan chilli sauce. The outside wasn't crunchy, the chicken tasted wooly (no mention of provenance or free-range, which was strange considering the other Irish producers name-checked), and the sauce was all heat and not much else. Our mouths were burning uncomfortably for about 5 minutes afterwards, at which point we realised we'd never been brought any water - that was a speedy run to the desk. There were so many more dishes we wanted to try (the pork kou rou, cucumber jelly fish salad, what will their chicken balls and rice be like!?), but we were defeated, except for the obligatory part of the stomach that saves itself for dessert. There are two non vegan options - deep-fried mantou (dough) with coconut condensed milk, and a coconut and mango parfait. We went for the latter, thinking that anything else deep-fried might push us over the edge, and the parfait was perfect. Light, cooling, creamy and fruity, it was like a delicious digestif in dessert form. What about the drinks? It's a simple list but well thought out. There's a small selection of wine on tap (we liked the Lo Pateret orange, also in Sprezzatura up the road), a sake, a few cocktails (some with sake, Sichuan pepper and pandan leaf) and a nice selection of beers. This isn't somewhere you're going to be drinking vintage champagne or top shelf cognac and it's all the better for it. There's also kefir and kombucha for the non-drinkers/drivers. What about the service? Staff were lovely and very welcoming, but service was quite loose. We had to get out of our seats several times to ask for water, napkins, drinks, and they're weren't at full capacity. They've clearly hired (successfully) for personality, but the ship could be run a bit tighter (which to be fair is a far easier fix than if you had unlovely, unwelcoming staff). And the damage? €104.08 for eight plates of food and four drinks, which felt like very good value. We would have been full with less. The verdict? When Big Fan hits its mark it's startlingly good. For a good portion of the meal we sat there shaking our heads at the creativity, flavour and sheer originality of what we were eating. There are bags of potential here, despite every dish not being a home run (yet). We'd like to go back and put another eight dishes through their paces, and the taste memories of the knockout ones ensures it's on the return list. There's nowhere in the city quite like Big Fan, it really does feel different and innovative, and you get the sense they're not going to be sitting back and phoning it in any time soon. We'd hedge our bets that there's a lot more to come from these guys. Big Fan 16 Aungier Street, Dublin 2 bigfan.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>