Let’s face it, eating out can be a struggle on the wallet, particularly in Dublin. We’re one of the most expensive cities in Europe – the third most expensive, pricier than London, Paris and Rome, according to a recent report - and we're all feeling it. The same report also found that the average cost of a three-course meal for two was €80, and when we saw that figure our first thought was - "where can two people eat out for €80?? "Which we guess confirms the findings. The price of *waves hands around* literally everything , coupled with the cost of living and the housing crisis bringing rents sky-high, can make the financial impact of eating out burdensome, but we strongly believe that the pleasure of enjoying a meal in a restaurant is one that should be accessible to everyone – regardless of budget. With this in mind that we set out to find some of the best spots in town where you can enjoy a two or three course meal and a drink that won’t leave you eating beans on toast for the rest of the month. Sprezzatura , Dublin 8 & Rathmines Now with two homes – the O.G. in Camden Market, Dublin 8, and the latest iteration in Rathmines – Sprezzatura is our go-to spot for an extremely good value pasta dish (or two). They offer small plates, arancini, fresh pasta and gnocchi dishes, and there’s a few delicious desserts to choose from too. Almost all of their ingredients are sourced in Ireland, there are nice little Irish twists on Italian classics, and pastas start at €6.95 for tomato basil spaghetti, to €13.95 for pappardelle with Jane Russell sausage fennel ragu. Aobaba, Dublin 1 A classic pit-stop for anyone who knows what's what in the Capel Street area, Aobaba is a casual Vietnamese serving the only handmade Vietnamese-style noodles in Ireland. There’s a fantastic selection of phos (you can get a small portion too if you’re budget-conscious starting at €8.50), and lots of great value street food staples like banh cuon, banh mi, and bun cha, priced from €6 - €10.50. You can grab a Vietnamese coffee, bubble tea or smoothie to wash it all down and still have plenty of change in your pocket. Bambino This NY-style pizza shop might not be a sit-down meal, but if you’re lucky you’ll grab some free stools and perch yourself at a counter to enjoy a slice or two of seriously good pizza, and enjoy a glass of wine along with it. With roughly ten different slice options, from triangular to square, red to white, and daily specials, there’s something for everyone in Bambino and lots to choose from. Try the blue cheese and leek for €5.50 a slice, or the burrata square for €6.50. Dillinger's, Ranelagh We haven’t been able to stop thinking about this midweek Dillinger’s deal since we heard about it. The Ranelagh restaurant has recently introduced a Tuesday / Wednesday night special of Dover Sole for two with a choice of two sides for €45. If that’s not a reason to get out of the kitchen and down to this US-style neighborhood restaurant, we're out of ideas. Shouk, Drumcondra We bleat about Shouk in Drumcondra enough, but usually it’s about the quality of the food and the fact that we believe it’s some of the best middle eastern food ]in Dublin. What’s even better is the price point, with pittas ranging from €9 - €14.50 and main dishes like the Batata, Arayes and Shakshouka ranging from €12 - €15. There’s also a tasting menu if you’re undecided and want to try everything for €34 per person. Freshly squeezed juices, cocktails, draft beer and wines are all on offer too, and corkage is €8 per bottle of wine. All in all a bargain night out`in our books. M&L Chinese, Dublin 1 The Szechuan province is in focus at this properly authentic Chinese restaurant off O’Connell Street. M&L Chinese has been serving reliably consistent, must-have Chinese dishes (green beans with pork, and homemade dumplings to name a couple), with fantastic chef’s recommendations that won’t hurt your wallet too much - our last meal worked out around €25 a head ex-booze. There’s a wine list, soft drinks and Chinese soft drinks available, but at €6.50 for corkage, this is some of the best value around for BYOB. Mister S, Camden Street A live-fire BBQ joint from the folks behind Featherblade, Mister S is a meat-lover’s dream, and we’ve been clamouring for a Friday lunchtime table here since they introduced their steak frites lunch deal for €19. Available until 16:30 every Friday, there’s usually another lunch special on the go for the same price point. With the best of Irish produce, great wines and cocktails, this is super value for a late lunch / early dinner - if you can nab a table. Pho Kim, Dublin 1 One of the best Vietnamese restaurants in town, Pho Kim serves steaming bowls of pho €14.50 - €15.50, Banh Cuon (a rice flour pancake filled with ground prawns, pork and mushroom, €14). We're very partial to some Banh Xeo (a crispy savoury pancake with prawns, pork and veggies served with lots of fresh and zesty herbs, €15), and a bowl of 'Bun Tom Thit Nuong', with marinated pork and prawns, rice vermicelli noodles, peanuts, carrots, coriander, crispy onions, cucumber and a tangy sauce - €16. Bunsen Burger, Various Locations Bunsen is a great option if you're in the mood for a straight-up burger (FX Buckley beef accompanied by the classic American hamburger bun - the Amish dinner roll), fries (shoestring are our choice but they’ve also got hand cut and sweet potato), and a drink (beers, wine, milkshakes and soft drinks). Since opening, they’ve expanded to multiple locations around the city including South Anne Street, Wexford Street, Dame Street, Temple Bar, Baggot Street, Ranelagh and Blanchardstown, and you can get in and out for under €20 for a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake. Lee's Charming Noodles, Dublin 1 Based on Parnell Street, Lee’s Charming Noodles serves up some of the best hand pulled noodles we’ve had, from various Chinese regions including Sichuan and Chongqing. We love their sesame king prawn toast and crispy aromatic duck pancakes for starters, followed by Lanzhou hand pulled soup noodles, chow mein or pan fried noodles – the Szechuan spicy lamb noodle is not for the faint hearted. With starters hovering around the €6/7 mark, and noodles around €13, Lee's is great value and always extremely tasty. Sfuso, Dublin 1 This chilled little spot is tucked away on Bloom’s Lane in the ‘Italian Quarter’ just off Dublin’s northside quays. Sfuso , meaning ‘unpackaged’, is a deli-restaurant-winebar serving Italian dishes in a cosy setting. Nab a table in the dining space or outdoor seating area, and on the little blackboard at your table you’ll choose from a mains like parmigiana, gnocco alla romana, lasagna and sides of grilled veggies, roast potatoes and Insalata Russa (all served by weight), as well as the option to have boards and nibbles – the lazy platter is a mix of cold cuts and cheeses, arancini and cantabrian anchovies with burrata and crostini. There's a daily lunch option for €10, and wines by the glass start at €6. Just Chubby's, Clontarf Based in Clontarf, Just Chubby’s food truck has become a destination for the taco lovers of Dublin. From the people behind 147 Deli , we knew it would be good, but the chicken, beef, and veggie tacos they have on offer surpassed all of our (high) expectations. The sides are great too – nachos, corn ribs and fried jalapeno cheese rolls – and at just €5 per portion of tacos, and €8.95 per (generous) side, this is great food for great prices. Lucky Tortoise, Dublin 2 For a fun night and a great deal, check out the ‘all-in’ menu at Lucky Tortoise on Aungier Street (now also in Temple Bar). This is some of the best value in Dublin, with plates of okonomiyaki, scallion pancakes, pancetta potstickers and more for €29. They’ve also got an ‘all-in’ veggie and vegan menu for €28, as well as a lunch deal for €15 (€14 for veggies/vegans), with rice, kimchi, slaw, miso, okky and siu mai / sweet potato. 777 Sundays, Dublin 2 Since its darkened doors opened in 2012, 777 has been heaving, in no doubt down to its fantastic cocktails and innovative, ever-changing small plates. Visit on a Sunday when selected dishes are €7.77 (see what they did there?), as are selected cocktails. It's a fun spot, and the ‘afuera’ outdoor area behind the restaurant is always the life and soul of the party. Xi'an Street Food, Dublin 1 & 2 Located on South Anne Street and North Earl Street in Dublin, Xian Street Food has serves a taste of Xi’An, one of the oldest cities in China. This casual restaurant serves hand pulled noodles, and their signature Biang Biang Noodles, a popular dish from the Shaanxi province. The noodles are named after the sound they make as the large belt-like noodle dough is slapped against the counter when they’re being pulled. Noodles are priced between €13 and €16, with plenty of other Chinese dishes to sample - we recommend the Roujiamo, Xi’an burger, a multi layer crispy bun and possibly the world’s oldest hamburger, dating from the Zhou Dynasty. Featherblade, Dublin 2 For great value steak in the city, Featherblade on Dawson Street is it. You can get a perfectly cooked featherblade here for €14, massive burgers and really good sides. Before 4pm, for €11.50 you can get your hands on a steak sandwich, or a smoked bacon BLT for €9.50. There’s also a set menu option for €35 which includes starter, main, side, sauce and dessert (with a supplemental charge for pichana and ribeye). Piglet, Temple Bar The go-to wine bar and restaurant tucked away on Cow’s Lane that transports you to a little Italian village, Piglet is an industry favourite for wine, wine and more wine. They change the menu regularly but you'll find small bites as well a lunch menu (running from 12:00 - 15:00) with two courses for €29.50, and a dinner menu (served from 17:00), with a two-course option for €37. Just don't say we didn't warn you if you spend your food savings on wine. Hang Dai, Dublin 2 Still one of the buzziest places in town, Hang Dai ’s woodfired duck, family style feasts, great music and cocktails all set against a neon subway carriage backdrop, make for a great night out. If you’re looking for a good value sharing feast, the €40 tasting menu will serve you well, featuring some of the best the menu has to offer including cheeseburger spring rolls, sesame prawn toast with yuzu mayo, and Irish Wagyu steak with ponzu cured egg yolk. And best of all no horse-trading over what to order. Osteria Lucio, Grand Canal Dock For solid Italian cooking centred on quality ingredients, Osteria Lucio in Grand Canal Dock should be on your visit list. This is an Italian eatery by way of Michelin (Ross Lewis formerly of Chapter One and Luciano Tono whose Italian restaurant held a star for ten years). This sounds like it’s going to pinch my pocketbook, I hear you say, and you can run up a sizeable bill, but there’s a €55 per person ‘ Big Lucio Sharing Menu ’ that runs until 20:30 every night. For tables of maximum six people, you'll get a taste of the whole menu, so as long as you don't go too crazy on cocktails and wines you should be able to get out at a reasonable spend per head, especially based on what you're getting.

April's monthly 9 giveaways have arrived! And this month we've got mega restaurant vouchers, food and wine hampers, a whiskey experience, coffee, meal prep delivery and more! Being automatically entered into our monthly giveaways is just one of the perks of being signed up to ATF Insiders - our premium service that allows us to operate independently, with no #ad, #collab or #invite across any of our channels. Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders by midnight on Monday 17th April will be entered into the draw, and winners will be picked and notified on Tuesday 18th April. Here's what you could win this month... 1) A €200 voucher for Eleven, Loughlinstown What was formerly the restaurant upstairs in Whelehans Wines in Loughlinstown has been taken over by John Farrell (777, The Butcher's Grill, Dillinger's), and suddenly South County Dublin has a new wood-burning grill worth making a beeline for. Eleven (named after the N11 it sits on) has a 45-seat dining room, bar seating for up to 20, and a high top table area seating another 30. A terrace at the back will be open by summer for outdoor dining. Eleven opens from Wednesday - Saturday for dinner, with brunch on Saturday and daytime dining on Sunday (featuring the eternally in demand Sunday roast). You can drop in for cocktails at the bar, have a few small plates (like charred prawns with lardo, bisque and sorrel) or book in for the whole hog (like handmade pasta, BBQ monkfish and C ô te de Boeuf). Their Oyster Happy Hour (weekdays from 17:00 - 19:00) is another good reason to visit, with €2 oysters and €2 off cocktails. Eleven have given us a €200 voucher to give away to one very lucky Insider this month, so you can do your worst on all that flame-grilled food and cocktails. 2) A €200 voucher for Pearl Brasserie Pearl Brasserie in Dublin 2 opened its doors an amazing 23 years ago, and chef-owner Sebastien Masi and team have been delivering French fine dining in a warm and welcoming atmosphere ever since. You can visit Wednesday - Friday for their two-course €39 lunch, or go in the evening for their à la carte or tasting menus, and t hey've have given us a €200 voucher to give away to one of you this month, so the choice is yours (we'd do lunch and go all out on the wine). Check out Pearl Brasserie here . 3) A Dunne & Crescenzi Italian Hamper Worth €200 Dunne and Crescenzi , on Dublin's South Frederick Street, has just been been nominated for best wine experience in Ireland at the Irish Restaurant Awards , and to celebrate they've given us an an Italian wine and food hamper worth €200 to give away. In it you'll find a bottle of Dei 2017 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a bottle of Elio Grasso 2013 Barolo, and lots more treats like pasta, coffee and Italian biscuits. Since opening in 1999, Dunne and Crescenzi has been sourcing wines from producers from every region in Italy, and today their list features over 200 different bottles, that can be enjoyed at their city centre, Dundrum, and Kildare Village restaurants. Check them out here . 4) €100 Voucher For Network & All Good Wine Bar Network has long been part of the Dublin coffee and brunch hit list, but then they turned it into All Good Wine Bar on Friday and Saturday nights, and there was yet another reason to amble up Aungier Street. We've got a €50 voucher for Network and a €50 voucher for All Good Wine Bar to give away this month, so you can head in early for 'Notions on Toast', then come back later on for natural wines and tunes from their weekly changing roster of DJs. Check out what's coming up here . 5) Two Tickets For Whiskey Live & A Single Malt Masterclass Whiskey Live , Ireland's premier whiskey tasting event, is back at the RDS on the 19th and 20th of May, Tickets are €44 (ex booking fee) and include all sampling once you're inside, along with a welcome pack, and bottled water throughout, so the only extra cash you'll need is if you want to buy food, purchase a full bottle to bring home, or buy an exclusive rare dram at the ' Dream Dram Bar '. We've got two tickets for Saturday evening to give away, along with two tickets for the Bushmills Single Malt Masterclass , including rare and unreleased drams that have been quietly maturing in their warehouses. Check out the the weekend's line up here , including masterclasses from some of the world's best whiskey brands, and a minimum of €10 from each ticket is being donated to Down Syndrome Dublin , so you can feel even better about your sipping. 6) €100 Voucher For Brickyard Loved Dundrum gastropub Brickyard reopened last month after undergoing a transformation, but regulars were relieved that the menu is mostly the same, with a couple of new additions. The chicken wings, mac-and-cheese bites, and burgers have survived, with newbies including broccoli pakora with coriander chutney, mint yoghurt and fermented jalapenos, and 10 hour braised iberico pork cheek with mustard mash and caramelised onion gravy. Dinner is served seven days a week, with brunch on weekends, and with 25 beers on tap and an updated cocktail menu, you'll have plenty to spend this month's €100 voucher on if you win. Check out Brickyard here . 7) Two Weeks Of Healthy Meals Delivered From Parallel Meals Eaten too many Easter eggs and need to get back on track? When we reviewed meal prep services last year Parallel Meals came out on top for sheer deliciousness, and they've given us two weeks of breakfasts, snacks and a main to give away to one of our Insiders this month. There's a new menu every week featuring dishes like peanut butter cup protein oats, spinach and ricotta lasagne, and coconut chicken curry, and this is a meal prep service that feels more like a treat than calorie-restricted torture. Check out Parallel Meals here . 8) €100 Worth Of Coffee From Imbibe Coffee Café, restaurant and customer favourite Imbibe Coffee turn the big 5 on May 1st, and they're celebrating with a very special Coffee Club . Through their monthly club they bring coffees to Ireland that have never been here before, and for their fifth birthday it's the very rare "Wush Wush" (around €25 per 100g). It's from an award winning farm called El Placer in Colombia, who they rate as one of the best in the world, and say "this is coffee that doesn't taste like coffee." Imbibe donate 1% of all revenue to Women's Aid and 1% to origin projects, but for their fifth birthday they're upping this to 5% on all coffee club sales to each. They're also giving us €100 worth of coffee, including Wush Wush. to give away this month, and you can check out their great work here . 9) A €100 Voucher For Camile Thai Camile Thai recently celebrated Ireland’s first National Good Mood Day, with the launch of their new Good Mood Honey Duck Stir Fry. A source of mood and energy boosting vitamin C, their new stir fry features honey roast duck, stir fried with broccoli, pomegranate, spring onions, and mint in a ginger-sesame sauce, with the sweetness of locally sourced, OpenHive honey, produced by Camile Thai -supported native Irish honeybees. For the month of April, customers can also enjoy 15% off the entire menu using the code GM15 , and one All The Food Insider is going to win a €100 Camile Thai voucher - that will definitely put you in a good mood. Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders for April will be automatically entered into the prize draw - you don't need to do anything. If you're not signed up yet join here before midnight on Monday 17th April (to be entered in this month's draw). You'll be supporting independent content in Dublin and beyond, and be able to get answers to all of your burning questions about eating out, here and abroad, directly from us.

The one-time epicentre of the culinary world, Copenhagen’s fostering of the New Nordic Cuisine in the early 2000s earned the city pride of place in modern gastronomy. Much of that revolves around Noma, René Redzepi’s three-star restaurant that recently announced its shock closure in winter next year, but that’s only one of a huge constellation of great places to eat in the Danish capital. Here are 10 places we loved on a recent weekend break... To Eat Hija de Sanchez An absolute must-stop on any food pilgrimage to Copenhagen is Kødbyen (literally “the meat town”), a former meat-packing district whose various shops, stalls and slaughterhouses have been converted into a trendy hub of casual eateries and microbrewery bars. Put time aside to stroll down the laneways and see what catches your eye (Kødbyen’s Fiskbar is a great shout for fish lovers); for our money, you can’t do much better than Hija de Sanchez , a low-key taqueria with a stripped-back menu that puts all the focus on what these guys do best. These tacos are divine, delicious packages of flavourful beans, shredded cabbage and tender, succulent meat piled up on proper quality corn tortillas. An ice cold cerveza on the side is an essential addition. formel B Noma may be the most famous of Copenhagen’s Michelin-starred restaurants by some distance, but there’s another 14 spread throughout the city - they’re a lot easier to get a table at, and they won’t do quite as much damage to your pocket. One of our favourites is formel B , which hones in on local food and sustainability, with a mostly all-Danish list of small producers providing their seasonal ingredients. The 10-12 menu dishes can be mixed-and-matched to your liking in anything from five to nine plates each (overlong tasting menus be damned) but you’ll have a really hard time whittling it down. We were lucky enough to visit mid-truffle season and the two dishes including it, an aged cheese and whey emulsion, and a kale tartlet, were nothing shy of sensational. Don’t miss this one. Norrlyst For all the innovations of New Nordic Cuisine, much of Copenhagen’s food remains grounded in a proud sense of tradition. That’s seen most clearly in the omnipresent open sandwich smørrebrød, sold everywhere from high end restaurants to contemporary cafés to corner tourist traps. One of the best places in Copenhagen to sample it is Norrlyst , an unassuming little city centre spot with giant jars of pickles and ferments all along the windowsills proudly showing off the care and attention that goes into every plate here. Their lunch offer is about as good value as it gets in a city this expensive, with two smørrebrød of your choice and a plate of Danish cheeses coming in at just under €40. We tried the signature beef tartare with a mountain of microcress, and the spiced herring with a miso emulsion, salted cranberries and kale, and they hit the smørrebrød spot. Søllerød Kro Stray about 20km into the north city suburbs of Copenhagen and you’ll find Søllerød Kro , a rural treasure of a restaurant and a real institution on the Danish culinary scene - the first eatery on this site opened in 1677 and the current iteration has held a Michelin star for 35 years. But while the French-inspired menu, white linen tablecloths and smartly-dressed staff might give an initial sense of traditionality, the cooking in Søllerød is anything but. Head chef Brian Mark Hansen was recently awarded the prestigious world chef championship Bocuse d’Or, and his cooking is bracing, brilliant stuff - we have not stopped thinking about the pigeon wellington, green strawberry and radish, and the TWO types of butter we got. The Sunday Lunch menu of three courses with a glass of wine, coffee and petits fours for just under €150 is exceptional value. Montergade We’re not through with smørrebrød yet. Right in the heart of the city is Møntergade , a Danish-French brasserie that specialises in offering an elevated interpretation of the beloved national dish. Around lunch time it’s buzzing with people in to grab a quick bite - they tend to turn things over quickly so it’s well worth trying your luck at snagging a bar seat. The herring here is the main event, with the curry version our pick of the bunch: a plump fillet of fish topped with a spicy-sweet sauce, pickled onions, capers, cress and a soft crispy egg. This is about as good as smørrebrød gets. To Drink 1105 There’s a real air of exclusivity about 1105 , easy to miss tucked away in the corner of a public square and opening up before you as you push the heavy curtain back. This high-end cocktail bar is specifically aimed at the thirty-something crowd and tends to fill up fast. Their intricate, creative drinks are a joy to behold in the making; the friendly staff are more than happy to walk you through the regularly-rotating menu to help find the right flavour for your taste. Ancestrale A cosy, compact space decked out in distressed woods and lined by rows of interesting bottles, Ancestrale puts serious emphasis on sustainability in its choice of both providers and the slim selection of small plates it puts on to bring out the best of its cellar. As one of the city’s few wine bars that opens on a Monday night, it’s particularly popular with the trade - while we were in we couldn’t help eavesdropping on a table of restaurant staff gossiping about the Noma bombshell, and who is and isn’t followed by Redzepi on Instagram (no really). La Fée Verte Its name a reference to “the green fairy” absinthe, La Fée Verte is an eclectic space that specialises in the once-banned spirit, alongside a roster of cocktails and beer. Describing itself as a “psychedelic rock bar”, its colourful walls and music-themed artwork make this an otherworldly escape to step into from the Frederiksberg streets. True to form there’s a vinyl-only policy when it comes to the tunes; visitors are encouraged to bring along their own too, as long as they fit the vibe. Pompette If the priciness of Copenhagen is starting to chafe, you’ll be very glad to get to Pompette , a cavernous oasis of an all-natural wine bar that offers by far the cheapest (good quality) by-the-glass options of any we came across - at just about €8, it’s almost half what you’ll pay in many other spots. The concept is as simple as the bare, flaking-paint walls: one daily red, white, orange and rosé to choose from. Their sister company Poulette next door serves similarly stripped back fried chicken burgers, if you rack up an appetite. Ruby “Like most good things in life we are not easily accessible” boasts Ruby , the canal-side cocktail bar that opened in 2007 and quickly grew to become one of the most sought-after seats in Copenhagen - not least due to placing six times on the World’s 50 Best Bars. Booking is highly advised though not always essential, and on quieter off-season nights there’s no harm trying your luck for a table. The drinks menu is shaken up at least four times annually, and each new iteration is every bit as complex and considered as the surrounding décor. Dig in.

Hot cross buns, masa waffles with fried chicken, and a raspberry rose sponge we're dying to make. Here's the 5 things we most want to eat in Dublin this week... 1) Hot cross buns, Flower & Bean It's hot cross bun season, and time to cram in as many as possible before they disappear for another year. Of course Flower & Bean in Dublin 8 have taken things to another level, with their spice, raisin, cranberry, ginger and candied orange peel-filled mixture, but they don't stop there. They brush them hot with magnolia flower sugar syrup and top with edible Irish flowers. If you're gona do it, do it right. 2) Masa waffles & fried chicken, Órale Introducing the most random sounding brunch dish to hit Dublin in a while. Órale are gearing up for some daytime fun in Pawn Shop on Dame Street and are kicking it off with this dish of masa waffles, fried chicken, ancho blueberry jam, agave pear & jalapeño pickle, lime mascarpone, pomegranate seeds and almonds. There's a lot going on here, but after our recent visit we have no reason not to trust them. 3) Asparagus with manchego and hazelnuts, Volpe Nera We can practically taste the cheesy, crunchy snap of a spear from this pic. A new starter at Volpe Nera , new season asparagus comes with Manchego cheese, hazelnuts, vinaigrette and lovage. Green goodness is right. 4) Wild mushrooms with green curry on sourdough Urbanity have just launched some new dishes for April and we were stopped dead by these wild mushrooms with green curry, ajat thaeng gwa (Thai cucumber relish), puffed wild rice, pickled chili and peanuts on Tartine Organic sourdough. All the big flavours. 5) Raspberry rose Victoria sponge, The Gathered Table This one is sadly something you'll need to cook in your own home, but how impressed will you be with yourself afterwards. This jaw-dropping raspberry rose Victoria sponge is Aoife Noonan's contribution to stunning new cookbook ‘ The Gathered Table ', with proceeds going to the Peter McVerry Trust. It features one beautiful recipe after another, from Ireland's top chefs, food writers and producers, each one a taste of home to them. Buy it here .

Our 30 hottest list features the most talked about restaurants in Dublin right now, based on column inches, Insta love and the general pain involved in getting a booking. There are the restaurants with all the buzz, in alphabetical order, with eight new entries... * This list doesn't include cafés or lunch only options, everywhere here is open for dinner at a minimum

In news that will come as a hallelujah to Northside brunch lovers, Two Pups have opened their second location in Fairview. The menu is short but they describe it as "banging", with the homemade granola that’s so popular in Dublin 8, a sandwich version of their eggs on toast with miso butter and hot sauce, and "a super bold dish" with hash browns, caramelised onion, fried egg, cheese sauce & crispy onions - ideal hangover material. Bacon, sausage and black pudding sides are from the award winning McCarthys of Kanturk. There's also homemade pastries like a caramelised Granny Smith, custard and crumble danish, almond croissants, and veggie mushroom jambons. Coffee is from Square Mile (espresso) and Farmhand Coffee on Capel Street (filter). Two Pups in Fairview will open Wednesday to Sunday from 07:30 on weekdays and 9am on weekends, until 15:00/15:30. Two Pups Fairview 30 Annesley Bridge Road, Fairview, Dublin 2 twopupscoffee.com

What should we know about Indian Tiffins? Indian Tiffins call themselves an Indian food joint dedicated to serving culinary gems from South Indian cuisine. There's a definite authentic vibe on Dublin's Parnell Street, with modern Indian Telugu music videos playing on the TV screen, and the room heaving with Indian expats when we wandered in on a random Tuesday evening. What should we have? Laminated menus are on every table, and service is efficient. Food here is fast, served on paper plates and foil trays with plastic spoons. As we ordered, we were warned after at least two or three items that they were ‘spicy’ - not an issue for us, but the spice averse might be happy to be steered in a particular direction. We ordered samosas which came out first, served with three small slightly charred green chili peppers. The little veggie snacks were decent, but would have benefited from a chutney or dipping sauce. Next, the chicken biryani arrived with yoghurt raita, pickled red onions and a shorba, or biryani gravy, made of tomato, onion, spices and herbs. The rice was fragrant and the full chicken pieces were marinated nicely, but there were only two, a thigh and wing, that while delicious felt a bit mean for €16.99. The masala and pav bhaji dosas arrived alongside the biryani - two crispy filled pancakes folded and served with a creamy and spicy coconut chutney and a sambar (tomatoey veggie stew). The masala dosa was the winner here - deliciously crispy dosa stuffed with red chili paste and spiced potato. The pav bhaji was good, stuffed with spicy veggies and red onions, however the ingredients weighed it down, resulting in it being quite soggy. To end the meal, we ordered a masala chai, served in a small paper cup and so hot we couldn’t touch it for a while, watching the milk form an unappetising layer on top. Once we could drink it, it tasted like the ones we've had on our Indian travels, and definitely seemed to be the most popular drink in here. To finish we tried the Gulab Jamoon – a dessert ball made with milk solids, flour and leavening agent, soaked in a warm sugar syrup. This was ultra tasty but don’t be fooled by the picture on the menu showing a generous bowlful - a single serving is one ball. What is there to drink? Coffee and tea is served all day, as well as the traditional masala chai. The soft drinks menu has the standards, with the addition of Thumbs Up and Mango Frooti. Having spent time traveling throughout India, the Thumbs Up (the most popular cola soda in India) immediately stirred nostalgic memories, so it was a must-order for that alone. Why should I go? If you want to experience authentic South Indian cuisine in the heart of Dublin, Indian Tiffins should be on your list. Although we felt some things were slightly overpriced, and there's a disappointing use of plastic and paper plates, the turnover in here is no joke, and the Indian community in Dublin is frequenting it in droves for a reason - a taste of home. Indian Tiffins 143 Parnell Street, Dublin 1 indiantiffins.ie

What should we know about Mr Croqueta? Originally arriving on the scene in 2020, Mr Croqueta set out to bring the authentic flavours of one of the most typical tapas dishes to Dublin homes, delivered frozen to deep-fry at your leisure. They were also available ready to eat in A Taste of Spain ’s Camden Street premises, where steady word of mouth has led to the opening of a sit-in setup on the first floor. What should we have? As good as they are - and you should absolutely try them - the croquetas are far from the main event at Mr Croqueta . We went in with a healthy dose of scepticism - too often before we’ve seen a solid specialist food business set up shop and falter with a menu padded out by extra items that don’t pass muster - but we came out very pleasantly surprised at the skill tucked away in this little kitchen. The chef (it’s very much a one-man band) spent ten years cooking in the Basque country, and there are few better places to learn your craft. We’re big fans , so trust us when we say this is the real deal - excellent quality ingredients allowed to shine with simple treatments. The chorizo in cider might be the best example - sizzling slices of softened spicy meat in a salty broth you won't be able to stop eating. Get extra bread. Chunky prawns have much the same effect, lightly tossed in a garlic and chilli oil to bring out their meaty, juicy best. The patatas bravas could have been a little crispier, but the spiced tomato sauce doesn’t put a foot wrong, nor the garlic aioli on top - you’re very likely to clash forks over the last few. The classic tortilla is an essential order, with its oozing, gooey texture and delicate, lightly caramelised onion; it’s as good as any we’ve had outside Spain. Onto the croquetas, there are six varieties available in plates of four, eight, or sixteen. The best are the Basque cod and the jamón serrano with generous chunks of flaky fish and salted pork oozing out of their well-seasoned bechamel binding, as the crisp crumb coating gives way under a fork. It’s worth trying the lot. For dessert, our eyes opened wide to see the name "La Vina" crop up before cheesecake - this is one of San Sebastian's many little pintxo bars, famed for the cheesecakes baked en masse every day. It's a literal slice of Basque cuisine here in Dublin, so make sure to save room for this creamy, not overly sweet ending. What is there to drink? Not much worth noting, in Mr Croqueta's one bum note. Considering A Taste of Spain 's host of quality imported bottles are sat right there within touching distance, it's disappointing to see the wine menu looking so slim, especially on the white front. The Artuke Rioja makes for a passable pairing with most plates, but this is one element of Mr Croqueta that could really use another look. Why should I go? Go for the croquetas, stay for everything else. The tapas field is crowded in Dublin (mostly badly), but here's a new standout - as close as you can get to the Basque country without hopping on a plane. Mr Croqueta 60 Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2 instagram.com/mrcroqueta.ie

Coq au Vin pie, a new Sunday roast, and green ice-cream sandwiches. Here are the 5 things we most want to eat in Dublin this week... 1) Coq au Vin Pie, Note We can't stop clicking back to this Coq au Vin Jaune pie for two from Note , which we hope tastes as good as it looks. Red label Bresse chicken is cooked in a Vin Jaune sauce, then encrusted in flaky shortcrust. It's on their current Bistro menu, but numbers each week are limited. 2) Everything, AA Caribbean After a successful few weeks AA Caribbean are extending their pop up at Bow Lane, and we want to eat everything on the menu, especially the chargrilled gambas in pepper sauce, jerk chicken, and Jamaican patties. They open Fridays and Saturdays from 5-9pm, and you can book online or walk in. 3) Sunday Roast, Lotties The gap for good Sunday roasts in Dublin is wide, so we're happy see Lottie's joining the offering with a Sunday roast served from 1pm - 7pm. Their Andarl Farm pork neck comes with wild garlic and sauce vierge, and adding on roast potatoes with garlic butter & parmesan is reccomended. 4) Caramel-Stuffed Brownie, Brew Lab Newly opened Brew Lab , between Aungier and Wexford Street, opened a few weeks ago with a focus on speciality coffee from two award-winning baristas, and they've also got good taste in cake too. Mud Bakery's caramel-filled, blow-torched meringue topped brownies were a highlight of many a lockdown for us, and this post brought all those feelings flooding back. 5) The Shammie Ice-Cream Sammie, Chimac If you managed to avoid town and all the green-themed food, you've got about a week left to get your hands on a "shammie ice-cream sammie" from Chimac . Crème de menthe ice cream, dark double chocolate chip cookies and a malty salty milk crumb make for the post-Paddy's Day dessert we can't stop thinking about.

A Jewish deli, Brazilian bauru sandwiches, and a French prix-fixe - here are eight of the latest new arrivals in Dublin, and four more coming soon... Deli 613, Rathmines Is it true? Does Dublin finally have a Jewish deli? Look we're not promising Katz's of NYC, but we are quietly optimistic about Deli 613 , which has just opened on the ground floor of the Chabad of Ireland Jewish centre in Rathmines. Opened by Rabbi Zalman and Rifky Lent (who also operate the centre and have lived in Dublin since 2000), Their goal is to provide the Jewish community with a wide range of kosher food at the best prices, including chicken-soup, salt-beef and pastrami, chopped herring and chopped liver, as well as more Middle Eastern Jewish food like hummus, pitta and falafel. There's cake and coffee too, as well as a grocery section, and it's open Monday - Friday at present, but they're teasing a "fine-dining experience" on Sunday evenings, and the possibility of Sunday breakfast if demand is there. Colour us excited. Recanto, Talbot Street With a name meaning “nook” in Portuguese, Recanto has its sights set on being a cosy community spot for the ever-growing Brazilian population in Dublin - or anyone out to get a taste of their cuisine. It’s run by the same people behind the Vama No Brasiliero coffee kiosk down the street, and given the queues sometimes seen there they’ll be needing the seats. Among its specialties are feijoada, a pork and bean stew served with cassava and orange wedges, and a bauru sandwich, layered with roast beef and melted cheese. There's also sushi (no surprise given its popularity in Brazil), as well as cakes and pastries, while on the drinks front they’re complimenting the coffee offerings with sparkling guarana and matcha tea. Flâneur, Rathmines The team behind Sprezzatura have gone back to the drawing board on the neighbouring space that briefly played host to fried chicken joint Spatched. What they’ve come up with is Flâneur - French bistrot cooking with Irish produce. The menu certainly lives up to the promise, with Carlow snails and Killary Fjord mussels finding their way into escargot and moules-frites dishes. Comfy vibes and competitive pricing is the name of the game here - their prix fixe menu sees daily specials like steak or lobster served alongside dessert and a glass of wine for an impressive €24.95. We hear there's occasional jazz too. Dà Qín, George's Street Appearing quietly at the start of the month was Dà Qín , a new Chinese café that’s taken over the George’s Street premises previously occupied by Toonsbridge (RIP). There’s been little word yet save for a few enthusiastic Google reviews (always best taken with a pinch of salt), and the menu is general to the point of including some Korean and Thai influences, not to mention what seem a few concessions to European palates - given the name is the old Chinese term for the Roman Empire, maybe that’s no surprise. Noisette, Rush French-Mauritian couple Vaarsha Baugreet and Jérémy Pastor have been quietly toiling away on the opening of their artisan bakery Noisette for eight long months, all the while sharing head-turning snaps of their experiments in bread and pastry. Their creations include various sourdoughs and focaccias, cruffins, and the signature hazelnut pain au chocolat from which they get their name. Coffee is via Imbibe, and we can see the lovely little plaza outside being a very popular spot in Rush this summer. Ian’s Kitchen, Kimmage It’s been a busy and buzzy start for Ian’s Kitchen since opening on Tuesday of last week - the twenty-two seater brunch spot saw almost six hundred customers flock to Kimmage in just the first four days. The name above the door is Ian Ussher’s, who together with wife Elle also runs Cluck Chicken , so it’s no shock that we’re eyeing up the bloody Mary buffalo fried chicken eggs benedict. “Cooked by locals for locals” is the slogan proudly slapped on a menu that also includes eye-catching offerings like crème brulee banana French toast and a truffle bechamel-bathed Croque Monsieur. La Gordita, Dublin 2 After appearing twice before in the “coming soon” section of this series, we’re glad to report La Gordita finally opened its doors last week on Montague Street. Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy’s second space, right round the corner from Las Tapas de Lola , is named after the couple’s pet pug, and the Bodega-style bar has all the feel of a family space. It’s a slimmer, more streamlined menu than Lola with loads of Spanish favourites, from boquerones and bombitas to salt-baked seabass and pork cheeks on the bone. For lunch, it’s all about rice, with a prawn and octopus arroz to share looking like a standout choice. Read more about La Gordita here . Tapa, Stepaside It’s been a quick turnaround for gelato bar Raffaele’s, which closed in Stepaside two months ago and has been replaced by Tapa - no points for guessing what's on offer here. The menu is a little short on standout items, big on classic tapas. and it only opened its doors on Patrick’s Day (brave move), so it’s a little soon to tell if it's worth hitting the south suburbs for. That said, the same team also run Riba in nearby Stillorgan, and if the new site sees a similar focus on provenance and honest fresh food, the people of D18 could be in for something good. Coming soon... Kari, Inchicore The ground floor of one of Inchicore’s new apartment buildings is suddenly sporting Indian branding, and the planning permission application mentions Konkan (in Dublin 8 and Dundrum). More news on Kari when we have it. Kip, Northside Details are very light on the ground for Kip for now, beyond a broad Northside location and the promise of moreish snacks and unreal wines. We’ll bring you the story when we have it. Camerino Bakery, Kilmainham Capel Street won’t be the same without the sights and smells of one of Dublin’s best bakeries, but we’re very excited to see Camerino taking on a bigger space in the basement café of the Irish Museum of Modern Art , which opens Easter weekend. Zakura, Ranelagh It’s a mixed blessing for Ranelagh as Zakura is set to open its fourth site in a space recently vacated by CN Duck (sob). While usually we'd be excited at the thoughts of sushi, we're just too gutted by the loss of the city's best roast duck and pork.

March's monthly 9 giveaways are here! And this month we've got experiences at some of the city's most exciting new openings, treat deliveries to your house, and even a coffee machine. Being automatically entered into our monthly giveaways is just one of the perks of being signed up to ATF Insiders - our premium service that allows us to operate independently, with no #ad, #collab or #invite across any of our channels. Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders by midnight on Friday 17th March will be entered into the draw, and winners will be picked and notified on Saturday 18th March. Here's what we've got for you this month... 1) A €150 voucher for La Gordita La Gordita is the long-awaited new member of the Hermanas Lola family, offering Spanish bodega-style food, delicious wines and cocktails. La Gordita , the 'little fat one', is bringing a different corner of Spain to Dublin than big sister Las Tapas de Lola , with a slightly more 'mature' twist. The menu includes favourites from owners Anna Cabrera & Vanessa Murphy’s travels around Spain, including pan-fired Carabinero prawns, lamb ribs, and torrijas - almond milk-soaked bread with almond cream. We've got a €150 voucher for La Gordita to give away this month, so one of you can get stuck into nibbles, small plates and 'postres' on the house. 2) A €150 voucher for Flâneur in Rathmines Flâneur , a French-inspired bistro cooking Irish produce, has just opened in Rathmines from the team behind Sprezzatura , and they say it's been months and multiple trips to Paris in the making. The menu features all the bistro fare that's been sorely lacking in the city, like duck rillettes, Tournedos Rossini and moules frites, with impressive suppliers like Skeaghanore Duck, Jane Russell and Gaelic Escargot from Carlow. We're sending one of you to Flâneur with €150 to spend, on as much steak tartare, boudin noir and fromage as you can handle. 3) Dinner for four with cocktails from Órale at Pawn Shop Mexican street food specialists Órale have moved into new cocktail bar Pawn Shop on Dame Street (where Berlin used to be), and the menu has gotten us a bit hot under the collar. Steak tartare tostadas with bone marrow habanero salsa; whole roasted seabass or half chicken with chicken fat rice and ancho mole; agave habanero wings with achiote and orange - need we go on? New head chef Brian Spain has worked in Charlotte Quay, 777, Circa and Coppinger Row, and we're sending one of you in for a three-course meal for four with cocktails on arrival, to give his menu the full once over. 4) A Nespresso Coffee Machine, Frother & Accessories worth €270 To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, and Nespresso turning their Duke Street store into a pop-up Irish bar for the week, we've got a brilliant prize from Nespresso to give away. One of you is going to win a Nespresso Vertuo Pop coffee machine, 80 coffee capsules, a milk frother, travel cup, recycling bin, and financiers to start your coffee morning off right. Nespresso's Duke Street bar is open throughout the week until Saturday 18th March, with live performances from local talent and a cosy environment for catching up with loved ones, so swing by if you're around town. 5) A €100 Voucher for Denj in Rathgar to celebrate #cookforIran From Monday 20th of March, Denj Persian Cuisine in Rathgar (who had a great review in the papers last weekend) will be celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, with a special set menu including some of their most popular dishes like Soltani kabobs and Sabzi polo mahi, (pan fried seabass with mixed herb rice) - and we've got a €100 voucher to give away so one of you can go and try it. Denj is also participating in the #CookForIran campaign, a global initiative launched in November 2022 that aims to use food as a vehicle to amplify the Iranian people's call for human rights and freedom. The proceeds of their fundraising dinner on the 23rd of March will go to The Centre for Mind-Body Medicine's trauma-relief program in Iran, and the #CookForIran team want to invite restaurateurs, chefs, bakers, café owners, food bloggers and home cooks to share Iranian recipes, put an Iranian twist on a dish, create a new dish, or show support via social media. Key ingredients in Iranian cuisine include saffron, pomegranate, pomegranate molasses, pistachios, dried rose petals, rose water, walnuts, fresh herbs and turmeric, and through the campaign, they hope to raise awareness and support for the movement around the world. Check out @cookforiran & @PersianGirlinDublin for more information. 6) Brunch for four at Ian's Kitchen, Kimmage Chef Ian Ussher is expanding from his runaway success food truck Cluck Chicken in Tallaght, with a new café and restaurant in Kimmage, Dublin 12 - Ian's Kitchen . Brunch lovers are going to love this menu, with banana bread French toast, Croque Madame and 'Ian's Benni' with Buffalo fried chicken among the options. They're open Tuesday - Sunday from 08:00 for breakfast, brunch and lunch, and aren't currently taking bookings but that might change. We're sending one of you in with three pals for brunch up to the value of €100, so you have smoothies, sides and all the add-ons you want. 7) A brewery tour for four followed by pizza and beer at Rascals Rascals in Inchicore has just launched a new pizza menu (which Reggie White, ex-Pi and Little Forest collaborated on), and to celebrate they've given us a great day out for one of our Insiders and three friends. We're sending one of you on a premium brewery tour for four people, where you'll learn all about brewing and the story of Rascals. You'll have a guided beer tasting of their award-winning beers (2020 and 2021 Gold Medal winners at the World Beer Awards), and afterwards you'll have a table reserved for you to enjoy complimentary pizzas and pints from their new menu. It's what spring afternoons were made for. 8) A hamper of Blas na hÉireann winning products This St. Patrick's Day entries for Blas na hÉireann (the Irish Food Awards) open. It's the largest blind-tasted food awards on the island, designed to recognise the very best in Irish food and drink, and to celebrate, Blas na hÉireann , are giving one lucky ATF subscriber the chance to win a hamper of goodies from some of their past winners and runners up. With almost 3,000 producers entering last year - the highest on record - only the best of the best make it into their hampers of treats (we can confirm this having been bought one as a Christmas present last year), including boozy drinks, sweet and savoury goodies. For more information about the awards, visit www.irishfoodawards.com . 9) Four weeks of goodies from RuaFood RuaFood , Dublin-based purveyors of all natural wholefood and plant-based sweet treats, are giving one lucky ATF Insider the chance to win a month's supply of their nutritious and delicious goodies. Each week you'll receive a selection of their freshly baked Blas na hÉireann award-winning Golden Toasted Nutty Granola, and an assortment of made to order Cookies, Brownies and Bites delivered directly to your door, and nearly everything can be enjoyed by nearly everyone, as many of their items are vegan friendly and/or gluten-free. Check out RuaFood's selection here . Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders for March will be automatically entered into the prize draw - you don't need to do anything. If you're not signed up yet join here and support independent content in Dublin and beyond, and get answers to all of your burning questions about eating out, here and abroad, directly from us.

'Durty' fried chicken, upmarket sandwiches, and a bigger space for a popular dim sum spot. Here’s what’s new in Dublin, and what's coming soon... Spatched, Rathmines Free-range fried chicken from the folks who gave us Sprezzatura? We’re sold. Rathmines’ latest addition Spatched blew through its soft-launch stock in just an hour on Saturday, and given so many 'durty' (their word) items on the menu we’re sure no shortage of sore-headed souls were set right. Expect lots of oozing and excess here with slow-cooked chicken slathered in heavy sauce, offering add-ons like eggs, cheese fondue, and - this is just getting a bit much - a French toast bun. Oh, and there’s also been talk of carbonara fries, which we can see playing better in Rathmines than Rome. A weekend brunch menu adds pancakes, waffles, and hash browns to the mix, and our money says this will be popular. Food @ Frank's, Dublin 2 Full food service has finally returned to Frank’s communal table and it’s David Bradshaw at the helm, fresh from stints at Clanbrassil House and Potager, after three years in Michelin-starred Lyle’s in London. Bradshaw’s personal flourishes can be clearly seen from the menu, his fondness for foraging in the seasonal Hegarty’s cheddar crumpet with cabbage and wild garlic, while buttermilk ricotta ice-cream with rhubarb granita looks like an evolution of his past desserts. What stands out just as much on the opening menu is the value: aside from three larger plates of pasta, charcuterie and cheese (€12), there are croquettes and crudités for €8-9, with the crumpet and an elderflower crème brûlée coming in at a reasonable €4.50. It all looks like ideal accompaniments to a good glass of wine. Food is served from 16:00 Wednesday to Saturday, and it’s walk-in only. Lucky Tortoise, Temple Bar We’re reliably informed it’s only hermit crabs that trade in their shells for bigger models, but here’s a tortoise doing much the same. The popular if pokey Aungier Street spot Lucky Tortoise has clearly been bringing in enough business to justify a second space, and we’re sure the Temple Bar tourist traffic will lap up the communal dim sum-style sharing experience. It’s a much bigger, brighter, airier interior here, all green glass and grey walls, and though there’s some slight (intriguing) variations on the all-in menus, it’s pretty much business as usual with the €28 per-person feast of miso, tofu, dumplings and pancakes available in meat, veggie, or vegan options. You’ll still have to head elsewhere for dessert though. Three Storey, St. Stephen's Green Slowly scaling up to tell its three stories (geddit?) since its early-March soft launch, Three Storey has been serving small plates in its café and cocktail bar for a few weeks, but now rounds out the trifecta with the opening of its basement-level restaurant. Leading the kitchen is Richard Borne, formerly of McGettigan's and Chapter One, whose opening menu is classical to the point of seeming safe - though we wouldn’t bet against it being the kind of place that shows how cutting-edge classical cooking can be. The 45-seater will be serving up an 'Irish-themed menu' that runs the gamut from cured trout and spiced pork terrine to sirloin steak and comté custard ravioli. Double Happy, Rathfarnham There was some disappointment when Stoneybatter’s Hakkahan opened without takeaway options, but the balance has been flipped for the team's new Rathfarnham opening Double Happy , whose countertop along the window looks less an invitation to dine in than a concession to 'while-you-wait' leaners. Pitching itself as “not an ordinary Irish style Chinese takeaway”, the new opening shares Hakkahan’s quality provenance ethos as much as its branding, with McLoughlin’s craft butchers and Niall Sabongi’s Sustainable Seafood Ireland touted as suppliers. Double Happy has been decidedly hush on its offering to date, with no sign of a menu online or in the window, but what few sights we’ve seen are pretty teasing, from whole steamed sea bass to Yu Xiang aubergine with minced pork, and what could be a signature - duck fat chips with crispy chicken skin salt. Carved, Grand Canal Dock We can think of a few great cafés that might take exception to Carved ’ s “sandwiches by chefs” concept, slathered all over the place as though it were a novelty in itself, but there’s no doubting the limited selection here has been through the test kitchen ringer. It’s bad news for vegetarians with only a Caprese sandwich and the sides to choose from, but carnivores can fill up on feather blade beef, buffalo chicken, or the Instagram-assured crispy crackling porchetta. The chic white brick and copper pendant décor and an exterior plaza that wouldn’t look out of place on Dawson Street add to the high-end aims here - they've clearly got their eyes on the Silicon Docks clientele. Coming soon... La Gordita, Montague Street Las Tapas de Lola on Camden Street dropped the pretty huge news yesterday that they're opening a bodega-style little sister La Gordita , on Montague Street around the corner. We've got everything crossed for an epic sherry list, gildas by the bowlful, and plenty of barrels to stand around. Cluck Chicken, Tallaght Pun-obsessed food truck Cluck Chicken , long parked near the Walkinstown roundabout, has found a permanent home in Tallaght, and they’re only clucking delighted about it. It might be a battle between here and Spatched to see who's serving the most decadent chicken in town, between the truffle mac and cheese topping and the current spice bag burger special collaboration with Mark Moriarty. We're now taking bets on what the bricks-and-mortar equivalent of their “cluckin’ and truckin’” mantra is going to be. Shouk's New Bakery You hear it here first. Our favourite Middle Eastern restaurant is opening a Middle Eastern shop and bakery in Drumcondra this summer. We can barely contain ourselves. The New Café From Two Boys Brew, Drumcondra Rumour has it that the second café from Two Boys Brew in Drumcondra is just weeks away from opening its doors. This one will have a smaller food offering and be more of a coffee shop with undoubtedly great cakes, and you know it's going to look slick. More news when we have it. Bread 41, Greystones Greystones (not Dublin, we know) is getting a new “community bakery” in the form of Bread 41 ’s second spot. Eoin Cluskey’s Pearse Street original has come roaring out of lockdown, with the public appetite for sourdough at an all-time high after maxing out all our patience for at-home kneading, so the time is clearly ripe for expansion. The new venue will follow fast on the heels of a particularly well-received segue into brunch and lunch menus in the Pearse Street premises’ upper floor, and we hear there are more ambitious plays to come once this one gets up and running.

Summer is finally upon us and 2022 marks the first time in far, far too long that most of us will be able to get out of Ireland and enjoy the multitude of regional cuisines that Europe has to offer. However with the cost of flights shooting up for the months ahead, it takes work to pick out the most affordable escapes - and that’s exactly what we’re here for. We’ve trawled through the summer schedule to scope out the most affordable must-visit destinations so you don’t have to, and here it is: the All the Food guide to five of the best, cheapest food trips you can book out of Dublin this summer. Happy holidays... (All of these flights were found on Skyscanner and fly with Ryanair ) Basque Country, Spain (From €34, May) We’re cheating a bit by flying into Santander, actually part of the neighbouring Cantabria province, but it’s Dublin’s quickest gateway to one of Europe’s very best food escapes. Known for its pintxos, little tapas-like dishes served on sliced baguettes, the Basque country is best enjoyed by bar-hopping, sniffing out the various little specialties that give one unassuming little joint a unique edge over the next. Start by getting a bus to Bilbao, the region’s biggest city known for its bustling nightlife and the striking Guggenheim museum, and making your way to the Erribera (or La Ribera) Market , home to a handful of great stalls offering a crash course in the pleasure of pintxos, from gildas and gambas to angulas and bacalao. We recommend a short afternoon roundtrip northward to the beautiful village of Getxo, where the coke-and-wine cocktail kalimotxo first appeared - it’s been a firm favourite of Basque culture ever since. Guggenheim Museum Erribera Market The ultimate Basque destination for food lovers is of course San Sebastian, the city with the most Michelin stars per capita in the world. If you can spring for it, the three-starred Arzak is rightly regarded as one of the best restaurants on Earth, but there’s plenty of budget-friendly fare available from Bar Txepetxa ’s famous anchovies to Ganbara ’s wild mushroom and egg yolk plate, and any amount of incredible produce in between. Arzak ( © Ronan Doyle) Anchovies at Txepetxa / Wild mushrooms & egg yolk at Ganbara ( © Ronan Doyle) On the drinks front, don’t miss the txakoli wine and regional specialty cider while you’re here, or take a short hike up Mount Ulia for a kalimotxo and sunset combo you’re never likely to forget. ( © Ronan Doyle) Feeling spontaneous? You can fly from Dublin to Santander this Sunday until Wednesday for €34. How's that for tempting... Toulouse, France (From €59, June) Despite being France’s fourth-biggest city, Toulouse is easily explored on foot - good news given the sheer volume of pastries, cheese, soups and stews you’ll be needing to work off over a visit here. Get fuelled up for a long day of sightseeing with beautifully buttery breakfasts from the wide choice of patisseries dotted all over town - Sandyan and especially Antoine Fornara are must-visits for their range of gorgeous galettes, macarons and chocolatines (don't even thinking of calling them pain au chocolat, unless you want a stern look from locals). Antoine Fornara Spend the day staring up at the architecture of “the pink city” to work up an appetite for Toulouse’s most famously hearty dish: cassoulet, a slow-cooked stew of beans, bacon and (in its most traditional form) duck confit. Canard is one word you’ll be seeing a lot of here, featuring in many local specialty dishes all across the city, not least of all the foie gras typical of the wider Occitane region. Maison du Cassoulet ( © Lisa Cope) We know what you’re thinking: what about the wine!? Reds from the nearby Languedoc-Roussillon region are perfect for a lot of this food, but it’s the south of France we’re talking about here: it’s all great, and so cheap compared to Dublin that you definitely won’t want to come home. Get a lot more tips from our full write-up on where to eat and drink in Toulouse here . No. 5 Wine Bar At the time of publishing we found flights at the end of June for four nights for under €60. Puglia, Italy (from €57, October) “The heel of the boot” may be among the poorest of the twenty regioni d’Italia, but the same can’t be said for its food culture. The seafood-heavy takes on classic Italian cucina povera (“poor cooking”) to be found along the south-eastern coastline are rich, heavy, and so satisfying. Bari Fly into Bari, whose old town Centro Storico offers up an ideal base to explore the region with plenty of picturesque apartments dotted along its winding, cobbled streets. Unmissable is the via dell’Arco Basso, a narrow residential street where an army of grandmothers sell fresh-rolled orecchiette - the “little ear” pasta shape closely associated with the city - by the bagful from stalls set up at their kitchen windows It’s on the menu everywhere too: for a particularly indulgent twist try the squid ink-infused iteration in nearby La Tana del Polpo. If you like the house special octopus salad, it’s just another short stroll down to the pier where you can see the catch landed every morning, and enjoy oysters and urchins fresh out of the water. La Tana del Polpo, Bari While car rental offers a bit more freedom to explore inland sights like the Instagram-ready Alberobello, regular train lines along the coast make it easy to explore a string of towns and cities from Polignano a Mare and its picture-postcard beach right down through to “the Florence of the South”, Lecce. A lberobello Lecce ( © Ronan Doyle) Make sure to get off for a pitstop in the white hilltop city of Ostuni, where a winding walk from the station up through the intoxicating smell of olive groves guarantees an appetite on arrival. Ostuni ( © Ronan Doyle) At the time of publishing we found flights in mid-October for under €57 for 7 nights. Lisbon & Porto, Portugal (From €105, June) Fast emerging as one of Europe’s hottest food destinations, Portugal boasts a wealth of incredible produce from land to sea, seen nowhere more clearly than its seafood. From its long history as a naval power the country has developed some of the continent’s best preserved fish, from the salt cod you’ll see everywhere around Lisbon to the ubiquitous tinned sardines that make a perfect memento. Douro Valley, Timeout Market Lisbon, Conservas June is a great time to arrive in the capital with the two-day Santo Antonio festival celebrating the city’s fishy heritage—barbecued sardines are a must. Barbecued sardines For food on the fly, stop by the Mercado de Ribeira, renovated in 2014 to include an enormous Time Out Market food court offering an ideal intro to local delicacies. And don’t leave Lisbon without a visit to Pastéis de Belém for the OG custard tarts: if only the ones cropping up all over Dublin now tasted like this. Pastéis de Belém A couple of days up north in Porto are a must for any trip, not just as a gateway to the Duoro valley’s many wine tastings and tours. Pack a picnic at the Bolhão market or the Mercearie das Flores before spending a day on the beach. Swimming should build up enough of an appetite to take on the monstrous Francesinha, Porto’s infamous many-meats sandwich drowning in melted cheese and a beer-based sauce - a little like a croque monsieur, with a vengeance. If there’s any room left, a sweet glass of port is the perfect nightcap before the inevitable food coma. Francesinha, Café Santiago At the time of publishing we found flights to Lisbon for two nights for €105. Slovenia (Via Zagreb, from €65, September) Less a quick weekend getaway than a cross-country journey, a trip to Slovenia may involve the most effort of anywhere on this list, but believe us it’s worth it for this fulfilling food pilgrimage - to date the only entire country to be named a European Region of Gastronomy . The best route from Dublin is a direct flight to Zagreb, and a two-hour train to the capital Ljubljana. It’s a conveniently central base to reach much of Slovenia, easily explored at just under a third the size of Ireland. Lake Bled nd Farm-to-fork is a major way of life here with game and mushrooms the real specialties; aplenty of the same great produce as neighbouring Italy available for a far lower price - you can expect to enjoy more truffles than you’ve ever eaten before. Truffles, Slovenia If you really fancy going all-out, book a table at Hiša Franko in Kobarid, the two Michelin-starred restaurant headed up by Ana Ros, who’s previously been named the world’s best female chef and was featured in Netflix’s Chef’s Table. Hiša Franko Must-visit day trip sites include the stunning shores of Lake Bled, where you can enjoy Bled’s own Kremna Rezina cream cake, hikes along the emerald green Soča river, and tours in any of the country’s many wineries. Slovenia has also become a low-key leader in European wine in the last decade (you might have tried Roka , made in the country by an Irish couple and increasingly popular in restaurants here), with a major focus on biodynamic bottles - the excellent orange wines are not to be missed. We found flights from Dublin to Zagreb in September for €71. Return trains to Ljubljana start at €50.

We’ve all been there - you’ve got a wedding coming up and just can’t think of anything other than cold hard cash to get the happy couple. We’re here to help. We’ve scoured the island’s food tours, cookery classes, and culinary retreats for gift and gift voucher ideas so you don’t have to. So, with the post-pandemic wedding backlog bearing down on us all and more and more invites on the cards, here’s the ATF round-up of some of the best eating experiences for the food-obsessed couples in your life... Aimsir, Kildare We all love dinner and a show - here’s a rare experience where dinner *is* the show. Jordan Bailey and Majken Bech Bailey’s team of chefs and servers at Aimsir work with such coordinated grace you’d be forgiven for not speaking a word throughout this eighteen-course extravaganza, and just staring in awe instead. And that’s just the synchronised style they serve up each new plate with - the dishes themselves are colourful, creative works of food as high art. Set in the stunning country estate at the Cliff at Lyons , with its lily pond and polytunnels where much of the ingredients for dinner are grown, this is about as close to fairytale escape as it gets in Ireland, and what a way to get a pair of newlyweds off on the right start. Be sure to plan well in advance as bookings get snapped up very quickly here - August overnight’s experiences and tables for July go live online on Wednesday 1st of June at 12:00. From €680 for an overnight experience with dinner and breakfast; gift vouchers start at €100. Cliff House Hotel, Waterford It doesn’t get much more luxurious than the Cliff House Hotel . It's one of the shining stars of the south-east’s hospitality scene, with breath-taking sea view rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant that’s just taken on a new lease of life with a young, female-led team. Roisin O’Connor has recently taken up the position of Executive Chef at House after stints in starred restaurants across France and London since she was just 17. Her eight-course seasonal tasting menu is anchored in the best local produce of Ardmore and surrounds - guests can expect plenty of fish from the clear blue sea overlooked by both rooms and restaurant. Within easy access of some of the country’s best cycling via the Waterford Greenway and hiking via the Comeragh and Knockmealdown mountain ranges, this is also an ideal getaway for the adventurous. The one-night bed and breakfast package doesn’t include treatments in the on-site spa, The Well by the Sea, but you'll probably have to sync up with others for a gift this plush so get enough of you and you could add on some spa treatments too. €785 for a sea view room, tasting menu, and breakfast for two; spa treatments from €50 per person; gift vouchers start at €100. Aran Food Tours The perfect choice for cheese-lovers, Aran Food Tours on Inis Mór are led by native islander Gabriel Faherty, whose Aran Goat Cheese plant is the cornerstone of this five-hour tour. The multi-award-winning dairy was established in 2011 and has gone on to develop a wide range of cheeses made from the milk of Gabriel’s 100-strong herd - McCambridge’s and Sheridan’s are just two of the Galway institutions he counts as customers. The tour offers insights into the unique history of the Aran islands and the vital role seaweed has played in its culture and cottage industries, with a visit to artisan producer Bláth na Mara and tastings of their pesto, paté and aioli among other highlights. With the island’s top tourist hotspots of hilltop fort Dún Aonghasa, the Seven Churches site and the seal colony viewing point also included, this is an ideal all-in option for an Aran experience. €70 per person; gift vouchers start at €20. Causeway Coast Foodie Tours, Derry As the site of Ireland’s earliest human settlement over 6,000 years ago, the island’s north-eastern coastline has a rich history of farming and fishing culture. Tying together the region’s past and its modern-day status as an accredited Slow Food destination, Wendy Gallagher’s Causeway Coast Foodie Tours offers a range of experiences with a major focus on sustainable farming and food production. Setting out from Coleraine, the Coast and Country package is a six-hour affair featuring a three-course lunch and five stops with tastings of local produce like hot-smoked salmon, champ potato bread, craft beer and kelp pesto. Taking in family farms and artisan markets, the tour involves the opportunity to hear directly from producers about the local environment, its food chain, and their role as custodians of the area’s culinary heritage. Bespoke tours are also available with optional stops including a truffle-making course in Derry’s Chocolate Manor and a private tour and tasting in the Bushmills Distillery. From £85 per person; gift vouchers start at £25. Blackstairs Eco Trails, Carlow Because nothing says romance quite like scrounging for chanterelles. An ideal gift for environmentally-conscious couples, this fungi-filled outing run by former Green Party TD Mary White and husband Robert builds on their forty years’ experience together revelling in and recording the biodiversity of the Blackstairs mountain range. Starting off with coffee and an introduction to just some of Ireland’s estimated 4,000 species of wild mushroom, the Blackstairs Eco Trails tour takes off through the surrounding woodlands in search of interesting specimens before returning for a three-course lunch and an all-important guide to telling the deadly from the delicious - any of the latter found will be cooked up and eaten on-site. There’s also the option to enjoy the award-winning “shepherd’s hut” accommodation with clear skies above, so a day that started off digging through the dirt can finish up staring at the stars. €95 per person; gift vouchers start at €40. Kinsale Food Tours, Cork Just half an hour’s drive outside Cork city, the gateway to West Cork is often considered to be one of the country’s food capitals, with its world-class seafood and wide range of restaurants. Since 2017, Suzanne Burns’ Kinsale Food Tours has combined her interests in marine zoology and tourism for a unique food perspective on the gorgeous coastal town. Pairing tastes of local produce with an engaging oral history through Kinsale’s past, from Norman fort to fishing village, the two-and-a-half-hour tour takes in four stops and a range of dishes offering an overview of the best local ingredients. With the original town tour now only running midweek to avoid overcrowding, weekend options include foraging guides along the coast and cliffs, and a newly-launched picnic offering aboard a yacht. €250 per town tour. The Wicklow Escape, Wicklow Pitched as a premium relaxation getaway, the mountainside Wicklow Escape resort is a former hiking hostel upgraded with all the luxuries of twenty-first century comfort. Gourmet dining is a major part of the pitch here, with a highly-seasonal menu built around ingredients grown or made within a three-mile radius - it’s no surprise to see Wicklow venison strongly featured. Head chef Mark Ahessy’s CV lists Chapter One and L’Ecrivain on it, and his curated menus across breakfast, lunch, and dinner clearly bear that quality experience. Hot tubs and hammocks offer the opportunity to loaf luxuriously between meals, while the close proximity to mountain walks across Sugarloaf and Lugnaquilla bring the rewards of some of Ireland’s most stunning mountain views for those who can be motivated to move. The packages range from a one-night midweek stay to an all-in three-day experience including a picnic and guided walk on top of all meals and wine pairings. From €334 per person for a one-night midweek stay; gift vouchers start at €50. Vouchers For Restaurants Closer To Home Because not everyone has the time, money, or energy to get away after the madness of planning a wedding, sometimes a night out nearer to home is what's needed. Luckily Dublin has a huge range of great restaurants with gift voucher options at flexible amounts. We can whole-heartedly recommend the classical quality (and prime seafood focus) of Mamó or Michael’s , buzzy hot tickets like Library Street and the relaunched Locks , or a special starry night out in Variety Jones , Bastible , or (when they're finally back online) Chapter One . Have there ever been so many good reasons to get down on one knee? Library Street Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen

From die-hard gourmands to clueless kitchen strangers, the Dads of the world come in as broad a variety as food itself, so with Father’s Day coming up this Sunday - did you forget? you’re welcome - there’s a lot of different tastes to be catered to. Never fear - we’ve scoped out the best Irish offerings for food, drink and experience gift ideas that you can get hold of by Sunday. BBQ Meat Selection, The Village Butcher Ranelagh’s beloved family-run craft butcher is leaning heavily into BBQ season with a range of great beef cuts and various meat skewers offered alongside all manner of flavour-filled rubs and sauces. It’s the sausages you definitely won’t want to miss here though - second-generation butcher Jessica has a superb selection of handmade flavours honed through a lot of overseas experience and home experimentation, from South African boerewors style to classic veal bratwurst. You can order online but we recommend popping in-store to get the full benefit of their expert advice. If you’re really out to impress, you can also say happy Father’s Day with a whole suckling pig. See the range here . Various prices; minimum spend for delivery is €25. Cheese Pairing Box, Folláin & Cheese Subscription, The Little Cheese Shop If your dad’s sweet enough already, gift him some no-added-sugar relish. The Folláin range’s honest-to-goodness ingredients are perfect for anyone looking to indulge in great flavours on the more natural side. This cheese pairing box is our top pick, offering a mix of relishes, jams, chutneys and jelly to accompany an array of Irish farmhouse cheese choices - pairing selections and even a little serving spoon (!) are also included. From chargrilled red pepper and caramelised onion to winter-spiced apple and classic tomato, these cutely-packaged little jars of joy (including two Great Taste award-winning flavours) will keep your Dad happy for months. Pair with a monthly subscription from The Little Cheese Shop in Dingle to attain favourite child status. €20 Italian Wine Dinner with Leslie Williams and Enrico Fantasia, Fallon & Byrne The ideal night out for fathers who fancy the finer things in life, Fallon & Byrne’s upcoming Italian wine dinner on June 23rd promises a slate of great pairings together with anecdotes aplenty from Examiner wine writer Leslie Williams and importer Enrico Fantasia. The gourmet grocer’s ballroom should make for a suitably sophisticated setting for this celebration of Italian food and drink culture in the company of two industry experts, with a menu featuring dishes like Vitello Tonnato and Risi e Bisi, and three pairings including a sparkling rosé from Emiglia Romana. Tickets €75 each The Deadly Dad Box, Beer Cloud Whether he’s something of a craft beer aficionado or just starting to dip his toes beyond the typical tap lagers, this nine-pack gift set from nine Irish breweries is a solid sampling choice for any Dad interested in drinks. Beer Cloud’s boxes are always great all-rounders and this themed set runs the gamut from rye ale, pilsner, pale ale, and Bavarian bock to brown ale, light lager, stout, and IPA. With a glass, set of beer mats and a pack of O’Donnell’s crisps also in the mix, there’s everything here for the home bar experience. Plus if all that doesn’t feel Father’s Day enough, there’s two pairs of socks to really seal the deal. €42 Father's Day Old Fashioned & Craft Socktails Set, Irish Craft Cocktails That’s not the only option for socks we’ve got for you though. The Craft Cocktails team have come up with this Father’s Day “socktail” set with a brightly-coloured pair of combed cotton socks to go with their special twist on their Old Fashioned. Anyone who indulged in one (or more) of these guys’ gorgeous bottles over the course of the lockdowns - think that was all of us - will know they make for a great night in. This limited edition Old Fashioned has Jameson Black Barrel and dark rum with hazelnut, madeira and bitters, and it’s just as well each bottle serves seven, as you’ll definitely be angling for one yourself. €42.50 Gift Box, Kinsale Mead Co. History, horticulture, biodiversity, sustainability - there’s a lot of different interests taken in by Ireland’s first new meadery in 200 years, and its deliciously versatile trio of multi award-winning original flavours. Kate and Denis Dempsey’s Kinsale Mead Co. is big on the heritage of Irish mead production and this gorgeous tasting box includes a run-through of the once-ubiquitous drink’s history together with tasting notes for each of its Atlantic Dry, Wild Red, and Hazy Summer varieties. If your dad’s likely to find himself down south any time soon you can add a meadery tour gift voucher for €15 - it’s one of the most intimate and informative experiences on the island. €21.95 A Cooking Class At The Dublin Cookery School Led by Lynda Booth, whose experience includes stints in multiple Michelin-star kitchens, the Dublin Cookery School has established a popular slate of cooking courses across its 15 years in business geared toward all levels of ability. Gift vouchers are available to redeem against any of their evening, full day, or multi-day courses hosted in its impressive Blackrock culinary studio. So whether it’s the ideally named “Man in the Kitchen” crash course, any one of the deep-dive guides to regional cuisines, healthy eating masterclasses, or just a basic intro learning to cook for friends (or children? eh?), there’s sure to be something here to suit your Dad’s standard. From €90 for an evening class Cheese Hamper, Sheridan's An ideal choice for cheese-obsessed fathers, or if you just want to poke fun at his cheesy Dad jokes, this Sheridan’s hamper has a nice balance of snacks to bring out the flavour of the three stars of the show - Cashel Blue; creamy Crémeux de Bourgogne; and earthy roast onion and caraway Bride Valley cheddar. Also tucked into the box’s straw packing is Sheridan’s own crackers and chutney, Skelligs mint brittle chocolates, Clintons flame-grilled crisps, and Ispini fermented cider chorizo beer stix. If you want to really show you care, bump things up to a whole ‘nother level of taste with an optional add-on 370ml bottle of ruby port. €35, or €48.50 with port Barbecue Gifts, Weber There’s no Dad stereotype as reliable as one holding court over a barbecue. But some stereotypes are born of truth, and it’s not for nothing that Father’s Day falls right around the start of the summer. If yours fits the bill, you can’t go far wrong with old reliable Weber , who aim to offer something for all budgets across their range of barbecues and accessories - pizza stones make a particularly nice choice for introducing some variety to the BBQ mix. If you’re spoiled for choice, the website offers a handy gift guide that lets you match your Dad’s experience level and your budget to find the perfect option to keep everyone happy. Pizza stones from €37.99; barbecues from €94.99; gift vouchers from €25 Single Malt, Dingle Distillery Nothing beats a single malt for a sophisticated sipping experience, and the Dingle Distillery is one of the most interesting new players to step into the fold in recent years. This signature whiskey has a beautifully sweet and smooth character derived from its maturation in a combination of aged bourbon and PX sherry casks. The single malt’s unique quality has plenty to offer the casual whiskey drinker, but if yours is a Dad more fond of a dram, the recently-launched fifth (and final) single pot still release is the right, rarer expression to go for, with its limited production of 8,000 bottles making it a truly special treat. €55

Middle Eastern manoush'eh, bacon fat bechamel sandwiches, and many layered Japanese desserts. Here’s what’s new in Dublin, and what's coming soon... Smartbear Cakery, Liffey Street Once you’ve heard of a mille crepe cake, you might never want to hear of anything else again. Layers of custard, cream and pancakes covered in flavoured frosting, this audacious invention is just one of the varieties of “scrumptious Japanese dessert” that Smartbear Cakery wants to introduce to Ireland. This city site expands out from their well-received Bray original and offers cake by the slice as well as bake-to-order specials for birthdays and all occasions. Other options include mousse, cheesecakes and Japanese sponge, while flavours range from matcha and mango to lychee rose and truffle chocolate. To celebrate arriving in the city they’re giving away a €30 voucher when you spend €30 in-store any time up to this Sunday 3rd July. We’re sold. Ed3n Café, Blanchardstown Blanch might not exactly be the first thing to come to mind if we say the phrase “heaven on earth”, but this Garden of Eden-inspired new opening is out to change that with its colourful décor and wide-ranging menu. Pitched as a French-style patisserie with an Asian twist, Ed3n ’s offerings include the things you’d expect in the pastry, cake and sandwich space, alongside some options you might not, like bubble tea and kimchi croissants. We’re here for anything that eclectic, and the floral interiors and blush pink walls look like appropriately outré surrounds for tucking into some funky fusion food. It's A Trap, Aungier Street We’re delighted to see this plant-based and pet-friendly bakery back in business after a string of incidents forced the closure of its original Denmark Street site back at the start of the year. Specialising in coffee and baked treats from a classic cinnamon roll with maple syrup and pecans, to new arrivals like a peanut butter chocolate roll, It's A Trap also has an impressive selection of vegan sweets and snacks to grab on the go or enjoy at the counter inside or the covered tables out front. Savoury lunch options are on the menu too - their selection of wraps includes Korean BBQ seitan and a Beyond mince burger, while the recent Reuben special stopped us in our tracks. Zaatar, George's Street Arcade Anyone who’s been to the excellent Izz Café in Cork will be familiar with manoush'eh, the Middle Eastern flatbread that may well be the OG pizza - culinary historians, especially Italian ones, can never seem to agree. Dublin finally has its own taste of it via Zaatar , now open in George’s Arcade. Most often eaten for breakfast across the Arab world, these topped flatbreads make a satisfying snack any time of the day, but they're only open from 11:00 - 18:00. With an emphasis on the bread itself - they say they’re “proud of what we dough” - Zaatar offers traditional toppings like lamb, mohammarah (spiced walnut paste), and cheese as well of course as za’atar itself - a flavour-packed blend of thyme, spices and sesame seeds. The menu also includes fatayer (pies with lamb, cheese, or spinach options) and traditional pizza with a Levantine twist. Pangaea Coffee Co, Swords If ever there were three words to convince us to trek all the way out to Swords, “bacon fat bechamel” would surely be them. The new kid on the block at Boroimhe Shopping Centre, Pangaea Coffee Co ’s decadent little twists on what might otherwise seem a straightforward sandwich, soup, and salad menu have us intrigued. As well as that bechamel, spread all over their current (and seemingly very popular) Croque Madame breakfast special, there’s an eye-catchingly cheesy breakfast burrito, deep green spinach and confit chilli soup, and a spicy chicken and harissa mayo sandwich so slathered in Mexican melted cheese we might just need a minute. Danu, Drury Street A new option for healthy food in the city centre, Danu takes its name from the Celtic goddess of the earth - with so much focus on fresh produce and health benefits it’s not hard to see why. Salad bowls and simple smoothies in a rainbow array of bright colours are the name of the game here, with juices and boosters called Detox, Heal, and Flow giving a good sense of what you’re in for. Iced coffees are a new addition for summer, and with a lovely little outdoor terrace this Drury Street spot could become a fast favourite for people-watching in the sun. Coming soon... Margadh, Grand Canal Following hot on the heels of their recent RHA expansion (which, in case you didn’t hear, we loved ), Margadh is coming to a third location, this time along the Grand Canal (where their former deli/café Barrow Market was). Details are scarce on the ground so far but the focus will be more on cheese and wine here, with a little grocery and meals to heat at home. It opens this Wednesday 29th June if you want to be first in line. Nutbutter, Smithfield Expanding from its Grand Canal Dock base, Nutbutter is going to Smithfield for its second location. The super-cool café with its brightly coloured plates of responsibly sourced, 'Flexitarian' food with a Californian twist, says Smithfield has everything they love about Dublin - "Art, culture, history, great restaurants and bars, and when we ran our own delivery we constantly got calls from people in Dublin 7 & Dublin 8 and we couldn’t get our guys over there. It felt like the right fit for Nutbutter #2." They say as many people now come to their Grand Canal Dock site for dinner as they do for lunch, so that's being taken into consideration with the design, but their range of tacos, rice bowls and salads will stay the same across both sites. Look out for Nutbutter on Smithfield Square opening in the next 6-8 weeks. Chimac, Terenure Seriously exciting southside news as the Aungier Street Korean chicken favourite is set to open a second site in the Terenure before the end of the summer. Taking over the spot formerly occupied by Kitchen 101 , Chimac are making a big move here with 70 seats across three floors, with space for more formal tables and even private parties. They’ve long been serving up some of the city’s finest fast food, so we’re excited to see what this new move might mean for the menu.

Superfood snacks, steaks to spare, and classical cooking comes to Castleknock. Here’s what’s new in Dublin, and what’s coming soon… Bovinity, Capel Street Armed with quality cuts and more carnivorous puns than you can shake a ribeye at, Bovinity is the city’s latest steakhouse - and one offering a more upmarket vibe with classy cocktails and neon lights aplenty. While the steaks and smash burgers are expectedly front and centre on the menu (though, to date, their meat suppliers are not), we’ll give some credit for what seem like well thought-through vegetarian options: a seasonal starter of burrata and heirloom tomato and a spiced aubergine, dukkah and feta main. There’s some meaty variety too in the Bovinity bibimbap and seriously tempting oyster shooters. In drinks terms expect bourbon aplenty, with the bell pepper sour one we’re especially keen to check out, and with a nice array of two-seater tables open out front, these new kids on the block are right in time to get in on a pedestrianised summer on Capel Street. Rugged Lane, Castleknock A stone’s throw from the Meath border in the lush surrounds of Luttrellstown Castle Resort, this new 50-seater “concept restaurant” pitches quality, consistency, and sustainability as its ethos. That’s a crowded field in Dublin these days (to say the least), so Rugged Lane is smartly starting out low with a six-course tasting menu at €59, and an eye-catching offer of free still or sparkling water all night. Its menu, with dishes like whipped chicken liver, devilled quails egg, and trout fillet, is the kind of self-consciously classical offering that can easily go either way, but a €44 Sunday lunch with a €19.50 kids’ option will be a welcome addition to this corner of restaurant-scarce suburbia. While Rugged Lane soft-launched at the start of July, online bookings open via Dish Cult this Friday 15th. Skinfull Affairs, Exchequer Street Having recently shut up shop at its Dundrum location, organic beauty retailer Skinfull Affairs has renovated its city centre store with a brand-new plants-based treats counter offering coffee and cold-pressed juices alongside smoothie bowls and cake slices. It’s no surprise their food and drink reflects the ethics of the wider business, with Fairtrade Moyee coffee and honest-to-goodness ingredients informing everything on offer, including banana bread, carrot cake, and a range of superfood snacks. Seems like the perfect feel-good food pairing for a new sustainable skincare routine or in-store treatment; or if that’s not your thing just nab one of the cute little benches parked outside and enjoy a coffee in the sun. Cloud Nine, Dublin 1 That Temple Bar tourist traffic must be serving Cloud Nine well: they’ve crossed the Liffey (just about) to open a second location equally well-situated at the end of the Ha’penny Bridge. It’s a serious size of a site on Liffey Street and one that’s sure to serve the gelato bar nicely if summer holds up half as well as July is making us hope. That bright pink branding sets the scene with plenty of Instagrammable backdrops, and we can see an awful lot of summer shoppers stopping off to try classical flavours like their award-winning raspberry or more oddball inventions like parmesan and pear. If you’re not keen on gelato, firstly how dare you. Secondly they have plenty of sorbets and sundaes too. Coming soon... Pala Pizza & Trattoria, Foxrock When chef Rory Shannon returned home from London and started working in his Father's restaurant Bistro One in Foxrock, we knew he had his sights set on bigger things. They were looking for a city centre site when Covid upended the world, and after surviving the last two years thanks to Bistro One takeaways, and the invention of Pala Pizza downstairs, it's now been decided that Bistro One will close and Shannon Junior will open Pala Pizza and Trattoria in its place. He says, "The focus will solely be on pizza, open fire cookery, local Italian biodynamic & natural wines & a selection of Irish Craft Beer", and trust us, this will be good. Aperitivo, Nassau Street Small plates in an Italian spritz bar? Count us in. Bringing Venetian cicchetti to a corner of D2 that’s rapidly starting to seem like its own Little Italy, Aperitivo (from the same people as The Porterhouse) is one we’re keeping a close eye on.

Fruity cocktails, iced coffees, and more spritzes than we could ever hope to get through: it’s summer in Dublin alright, and keeping up with all the additions to the city’s drinks menus ain’t easy. Here’s our guide to the best ones to try while the sun’s still shining.... All The Spritz, Three Storey With one of their titular floors given over wholly to a café bar and spritzeria, you know the good folks at Three Storey are taking summer drinking very seriously. It’s a largely fresh and fruity affair, suitably enough, with lots of peach, pineapple, rhubarb and strawberry taking up menu space alongside (of course) the Campari and Aperol classics. Strawberry Bellini, Overends Kitchen A strawberry Bellini sounds suspiciously like a Rossini to us, but to be fair that doesn’t make it sound any less delicious. Overends Kitchen might be expecting their weekend brunch punters to be more au fait with the classic peach cocktail: either way, this sounds like a great way to hero the high-quality Irish strawberries springing into season this summer. Bloody Mary, Seafood Café Though its typical hair-of-the-dog outing on brunch menus across the city tends to get it thought of as more a morning drink, the Bloody Mary is a classic all-day summer choice with its savoury hot sauce kick delivering a delicious pairing to the heat. We’re glad to see The Seafood Café is onside too, pairing this tomato juice concoction with their early evening oyster happy hour. Loftus Lane, Bar 1661 There aren’t many spots in the city as good for sipping cocktails in the sun as the outdoor terrace of Bar 1661 . This D7 diamond has plenty of summery choices on its broad menu, but it’s the Lavender Lane we’ve got eyes, for with its cooling combo of cream-washed Dingle vodka, summer stone fruits and milk soda. Messina Spritz, Osteria Lucio Known for a menu of classic Italian done well with a twist, it’s no major surprise to see Osteria Lucio shake up the timeless Aperol spritz with an addition of orange juice, grapefruit and delicate violette. That it’s named for the Sicilian town of Messina is a pretty good hint that we’re talking very, very, very good quality oranges here too. New Orleans, Hatch Coffee Never fear, a non-alcoholic option is here! Summer isn’t just about deliciously refreshing cocktails, and we’ve seen plenty of inventive iced teas and coffees starting to appear across the city in recent weeks. Few look or sound as good as Hatch Coffee ’s New Orleans, with notes of roasted chicory in its cold brew coffee paired with simple syrup and a perfectly picturesque splash of milk. Just The Spot, Drury Buildings It’s not easy singling out just one from Drury Buildings ’ brand new menu of very summery cocktails, carefully made and tested by bar staff in the run-up to June, but this intriguing Green Spot and Riesling combo just about edges out the competition with added ginger, pear, and lemon. There are plenty more we’re keen to try out too so might be best to book in for the full night - just for research purposes, of course. Grapefruit Espresso Tonic, Two Boys Brew There’s something deeply satisfying about watching the swirling clouds of coffee dive deeper into the bright base of red grapefruit in this cooler from Two Boys Brew - if it’s half as good to taste as to look at, you know you’re in for a treat. Not sold on this adventurous flavour pairing? Not to fret, the D7 café has plenty of iced coffee and iced chai too. White Port & Tonic, Volpe Nera Smooth, simple, elegant: sometimes just two ingredients working together is all you need. Volpe Nera are bringing a touch of midsummer class to Blackrock and surrounds by breaking out the all too often unsung white port and tonic for the classic Portugese aperitif - a perfect pre-dinner refreshment. And mid-dinner. And after-dinner. And… Lemon Verbena Coffee Tonic, Glovebox The delicate sprig of lemon verbena poking out of Glovebox ’s coffee tonic makes it so pretty it should be a crime to drink it - though at the same time it sounds so good it might be worth getting arrested. Cold brew infused with that same verbena gets topped up with vodka, dark rum, soda, and tonic for a moody, broody cocktail that looks the part. Lavender Latté, The Cake Café Everything always looks great at The Cake Café , but this lovely lavender latte is especially picture-perfect. We wouldn’t need to think twice about passing a slow summer morning enjoying this and a slice or two of cake in their beautiful open courtyard space - heck, give us a good book and that might easily turn into the whole day. Limoncello Spritzer, Oliveto How many spritzes is too many? We’ve not yet lived through a summer long enough to find out. The next to make our list is Oliveto ’s current special, mixing fresh limoncello and tangy grapefruit liqueur for a balanced refreshing sour-sweet pairing. We believe it would taste even better if you can snag one of their outdoor terrace dining tables. Margarita Picante, The Big Romance Throw a rock in Dublin at this time of year (please don’t actually) and odds are you’ll hit a margarita - coming across a really good one, alas, can be a whole ‘nother story. The Big Romance have got this situation covered with this spicy mix, taking its heat from a gorgeous chili liqueur perfectly balanced out by quality Corazon tequila, syrup and lime. Orange & Rose Geranium Negroni, Allta Negronis seem almost as ubiquitous across the city right now as margaritas and spritzes (trust us, that’s not a complaint), but we’ve not seen anything as head-turning as Allta ’s take on the classic. They’ve gone for a twist on the white variety with house vermouth, Suze, Lillet Blanc, and an orange and rose sherbet. No wonder it’s fast becoming a house favourite. That's My Jam, Note New-ish kid on the block Note isn’t messing around when it comes to celebrating its first summer on the scene. They’ve rolled out a whole mini-menu of seasonal cocktails to enjoy on their Fenian Street terrace and they all look right up our street. Our choice is the "It takes two to mango" with tequila, habanero and ancho chillis, agave and lime, and with plenty of variety and great non-alcoholic options, this one is a great cocktail stop for a group.

After one of the most start-stop summers in recent memory with an unusually rainy June and what's felt like constant cloud, we're in for our second heat wave in quick succession this week - that sound you can hear is everyone in Dublin looking for somewhere to enjoy it at the same time. We've got the lowdown for you on the best terraces, balconies, and beer gardens all around the city for al fresco eating, while we eek out the last few weeks of summer... City Centre Library Street, Setanta Place "Everything is made to be shared" says the sign over Library Street 's door, and that goes for the sunshine too. They've set up a scattering of outdoor tables for wine and small plates that's sure to be a very hot seat of a summer evening. Book online . Frank's, Camden Street I t's walk-ins only at Frank's , so be prepared to wait a while for one of these premium spaces, but when that wait is with a glass of natural wine in hand who's gonna complain? The kitchen is only open Wednesday to Saturday, but there's cheese and charcuterie on Sundays too. Eivissa-Ibiza @ Mercado 52, South William Street The tapas and pintxos arm of South William Street all-rounder Mercado 52, Eivissa-Ibiza serves up summer cocktails and a 5 for €25 early bird tapas menu in its partly-open laneway space. Book online here , but walk-ins are welcome too. Winedown, Leeson Street Seasonal Irish small plates, croquettes and a nice wine list at toastie shop Meltdown's night time wine bar Winedown , with great people-watching seats on Montague Street. Book a table here . Davy Byrne's, Duke Street The Ulysses destination pub's linen-laid tables on the terrace are always in hot demand from Grafton Street shoppers when the sun is shining. Book online here to beat the crowd and get your fill of gorgonzola sandwiches and glasses of Burgundy. Big Fan, Aungier Street Big Fan 's outdoor dining area on Aungier Street has stayed popular all year with the heated patio still in high demand throughout the winter, but there's no doubt it's at its best right now. Get in for a feast of bao, jiaozi and lots of other outrageously delicious plates of food. Book here . Full Moon Thai, Parliament Street T he popular Temple Bar Thai spot has made use of some reclaimed street space on Parliament Street for a limited number of outdoor tables, and with the ongoing pedestrianisation trials at weekends you've a better chance than ever of snagging one. Book here . The Seafood Café, Temple Bar Lobster rolls are back on the menu at Niall Sabongi's Temple Bar institution, and the little sheltered seating area outside is the ideal place to tuck in while watching the world go by. If that wasn't excuse enough, oyster happy hour is from 16:00 - 17:00 daily, with naked oysters €2 and dressed or torched €3. Book here . As One, City Quay Health food focused As One have sunshine filled seating for breakfast, brunch and lunch on the quays. Book a table on their website . Hang Dai, Camden Street The covered, heated terrace of Hang Dai 's rooftop 'Gold Bar' offers a great atmospheric view out over the Camden Street action as well as a buzzy area to enjoy some of their unique cocktails and tasty Chinese dishes. Book online here , and if you're out of luck, there's also a limited amount of ground-floor outside seating available for walk-ins only. Osteria Lucio, Grand Canal Quay With a small number of high-stool and barrel setups, as well as some covered low tables, Osteria Lucio is one worth booking ahead for. Chef Ross Lewis has taken the lead in the kitchen here since handing over the Chapter One reins to Mickael Viljanen, and the result is well worth savouring in the sunshine. Book online . Chez Max, Palace Street Palace Street feels distinctly classier with the Parisian chic vibes Chez Max brings in summer. They've turned the area into a little courtyard terrase and it's a lovely spot to sit back and forget you're in Dublin. Plus you can't beat the new salade océane of prawn, salmon and avocado for summer-friendly fare. Book here . Urban Brewing, Custom House Quay Urban Brewing offers an ideal summer setup with tonnes of outdoor seating outside the CHQ building. The menu in the Hop Garden Terrace is built around tapas and larger plates (raciones), and the sun trap bar will be taking walk-ins for drinks and/or snacks. Book here . B Skewers, Bolton Street W e fell hard for the Brazilian BBQ feasts they cook up at B Skewers (read the once over here ) and we're confident you will too. Outdoor seating is limited but you shouldn't be waiting too long if you fancy chancing a walk-in. Bookings are also available online here . Drury Buildings, Drury Street T he gorgeous garden courtyard in Drury Buildings is serving food and summer cocktails seven days a week, and the balcony tables overlooking the garden will be the ones to nab if you're very, very lucky. Look for a table here . Las Tapas De Lola, Wexford Street An outdoor table at Las Tapas de Lola is always a tall order so plan this one as far in advance as you can. Last minute cancellations may also be your friend here - call 014244100 or email book@lastapasdelola.com for enquiries. 777, George's Street 777 went all-out last year converting a car park into their "777 afuera" (meaning 'outside'), complete with a margarita-serving airstream. They run a special sharing menu outside at €38 pp, with tortillas, taquitos and tostadas. You can only book for tables of six plus here , otherwise it's walk in only. Charlotte Quay, Grand Canal Dock Charlotte Quay has ample outdoor space overlooking Grand Canal Dock that gets the sun all evening. The lunch and dinner menus have plenty of smaller sharing plates so be sure to bring a crowd, and don't forget about two for one brunch cocktails. Bookings available online . L'Gueuleton, Fade Street Fade Street French bistro L'Gueuleton have considerable outside space, mostly covered. It's prime real estate for people watching, small plate eating and Champagne drinking. Book through their website . Fade Street Social Fade Street Social is open outside with a wood-fired menu seven days a week. There's a solid vegetarian selection as well as the expected meat options so plenty of variety to satisfy a mixed crowd. Book a table here . The Woollen Mills, Ormond Quay The Woollen Mills has a spacious first-floor roof terrace overlooking the Ha'penny Bridge and Liffey Street. They're open for lunch and dinner seven days a week as well as weekend brunch. Book on their website . Brother Hubbard North, Capel Street Brother Hubbard have lovely terraces at both their Capel Street and Harrington Street locations, with tons of seating to handle the high demand they always attract. Brother Hubbard North is taking reservations here , but Brother Hubbard South remains walk-in only. Saba's Secret Garden, Baggot Street Saba 's secret garden out the back of their Baggot Street location has canopies and heaters, holiday style lighting and art by Subset. It's open seven days a week serving food all day, including black pepper squid, Thai beef salad and Pad Thai. There's also a pretty extensive cocktail menu. Look for a table here . Piglet, Cow's Lane Piglet is one of the few outdoor spots in the city serving lunch seven days a week, and it catches the sun perfectly right around that time of day. They've got two and three course fixed menu prices for the same for dinner - all washed down with an excellent selection of wine. Book online . Ukiyo, Dame Court Ukiyo 's lovely white picket-fenced area on Dame Court has always got a lively buzz on the weekend, but they're open for lunch and dinner all through the week. Bring a group if you can: this is a lengthy menu you'll want a hand in making your way through. Book here . Glas, Chatham Street Vegetarian and vegan Glas have a very Parisian (and appropriately green) vibe going on outside their Chatham Street restaurant. The added planters, new since last year, make for better insurance against the ever-unpredictable Irish weather. Book online here . Suesey Street Suesey Street 's terrace is one of the best in the city and has a retractable roof to deal with whatever the elements happen to throw at you. They're open for lunch and dinner every day but Sunday, serving up contemporary Irish cuisine with a major focus on local ingredients. Book on their website . South Dublin 31 Lennox, Portobello 31 Lennox in Portobello are offering Italian-inspired breakfast, lunch and dinner outside throughout the week with an all-day brunch at the weekend. Their semi-covered outdoor space down the side lane is a lovely quiet oasis near the heart of the action. Book here . Hen's Teeth, Dublin 8 One of the city's best gallery cafés, Hen's Teeth has a heated and covered outdoor terrace that's one of the hottest spots for weekend evening dining. Their ever changing menu is without doubt one of the most innovative and interesting in the city, and most importantly it delivers. Book for lunch and dinner here . Alma, Portobello The seats outside Alma are some of the loveliest in Portobello, and an iced dulce de leche latté in the sunshine while you wait for brunch is as perfect a morning as we can imagine. Check for tables here . Gaillot et Gray, Clanbrassil Street French pizzeria and natural wine hang out Gaillot et Gray is open for lunch (mainly sandwiches on their own bread) and dinner (pizza) on their terrace out the back. You can book by calling them on 014547781 or they'll be taking walk ins if they have space. Lucky's, Meath Street Liberties hotspot Lucky's has added some seating out front as well as their always in-demand courtyard with delicious pizza from Coke Lane. They're open seven days a week and you can make a booking enquiry through their website . Rascal's Brewing, Inchicore Rascal's pizzeria and tap room has become an Inchicore institution since opening in 2014, and their bustling outdoor space has grown into a really atmospheric evening spot across the course of several pandemic reopenings. Look for tables here . Daphne's, Rialto Daphne's has plenty of covered tables on their terrace available for dinner Wednesday to Sunday and weekend brunch. Their early bird on weekday nights is particularly good value at €26 for three courses. Email info@daphnes.ie or call 015521708 to book. Angelina's Angelina's outdoor tables are the ultimate in goals on a sunny day in Dublin 4. They're open seven days a week for lunch and dinner with brunch at weekends. Book on their website or by emailing book@angelinas.ie . The Butcher Grill, Ranelagh The Butcher Grill has a handful of high tables out front so you can watch all of Ranelagh go by while enjoying your Côte de boeuf. They're open Thursday - Tuesday evenings and for Sunday roasts too. Check for tables here . Nightmarket, Ranelagh The D6 destination for authentic Thai food has a fully-heated side terrace "tunnel" open for outdoor dining so you can stay on to sample the cocktails menu long after the sun sets. Book online . Lenehan's, Rathmines Lenehan's in Rathmines have plenty of seating across no fewer than three covered and heated terraces. They're open Wednesday to Sunday with a new evening summer menu and also serving weekend brunch. Book on their website . Oliveto, Haddington House There might not be a better spot to enjoy a perfectly clear day than Oliveto 's gorgeous garden terrace perch in Dún Laoghaire serving equally beautiful-looking food. Plus they've got plenty of parasols to escape the intensity of that heatwave sun. Book here . Soup Ramen, Dun Laoghaire & Soup 2, Smithfield Soup in Dun Laoghaire and Smithfield, with their special ramen, deep-fried kimchi and super cute cocktails have outdoor dining in both locations. Book on their website . Casper & Giumbini's, Dun Laoghaire Dun Laoghaire bistro Casper & Giumbini's is open seven days a week for coffee, lunch and dinner with seating available on the outside terrace. Book through their website . Grapevine, Dalkey Grapevine in Dalkey are open for outdoor dining and wine-ing from Tuesday - Sunday for lunch and dinner. They've an all day menu and shelves packed with wine. Book here . Volpe Nera, Blackrock Volpe Nera have only a small number of tables available on their covered, sheltered terrace so an advance booking is definitely recommended. They've been leaning into the season heavily with their heavenly limoncello spritz - you know you want one. Book here . Circa, Terenure Circa 's covered and heated outdoor garden area at the back of the restaurant is open and serving their €70 summer set menu as well as their à la carte. Availability is still looking good for the month: book online here . Riba, Stillorgan Riba 's outdoor, covered and heated terrace is open for dinner Wednesdays through Mondays as well as weekend lunch, with an early bird special running up to 18:30 every day. The menu is Italian-influenced with loads of local and Irish produce. Bookings online here . Bresson, Monkstown Bresson ' s lovely outdoor courtyard with white linen tables is open for a three course terrace menu at €49.95pp with dinner served Tuesday - Sunday and lunch Thursday - Sunday. It's an appropriately seasonal choice with plenty of summer veg to enjoy in the sun. Check the website for availability. North Dublin Old Street, Malahide Neighbourhood restaurant Old Street in Malahide have a covered and cushioned outdoor area open from Wednesday through Sunday. They only take bookings by phone on 018455614, and tables are very limited so don't wait around. King Sitric, Howth The Howth institution has hands-down some of the best seats in the city for the right kind of summer day, especially after an afternoon's walk on the hill working up an appetite for their seafood selection. They're dog-friendly too, as if you needed another excuse. Book online . Shouk, Drumcondra Our love for Shouk runs deep. The food, the staff, the prices, the food - and absolutely the outdoor space. Their mid-pandemic expansion out further into their yard was great news for fans of Middle Eastern food, and makes it easier than ever to grab a table. Demand still runs high though, so be sure to book . Mamó, Howth Mamó 's miniature terrace out front is another pristine spot to savour sun and sea in the company of great food. Their focus on seafood fresh-off-the-boat and ingredients from around North Dublin makes this one of the most memorable al fresco experiences in the city, and we've never had a dud dish, wine or service experience there. Book online . Walk Ups Only - L oose Canon - Wine, small plates, toasties and all the happy vibes on South William Street - Two Pups, Dublin 8 - Sheltered tables at the front and in their courtyard - Zaytoon, Parliament Street and Swords - Outdoor tables covered by an awning - Urbanity, Smithfield - Dining for 30 with parasols and gazebo - The Commons at Moli , Dublin 2 - sandwiches, cake and coffee, plus weather-permitting barbecues on Saturdays - One Society , Dublin 1 - Brunch, pizza and pasta on a lovely covered and heated outdoor terrace Urbanity, The Commons at Moli, One Society

Premium pizza and wings, all the Cicchetti, and an awful lot of cocktails on tap. Here’s what’s new in Dublin, and what you've got to look forward to in the next few weeks... Vice, Merrion Street A labour of love from two friends out to deliver a limited menu done well, Vice is going all-in on pizza and wings with 48-hour natural fermentation sourdough crusts, quality ingredients and a range of high-end dips bringing a premium touch to their at-first-glance familiar array of options. Toasted fennel powder, chilli-infused pineapple and hen of the woods mushrooms are some of the toppings to catch our eye so far, and look out for seeded pizza crusts and garlic parm dip. With ample seating space in their downstairs area and takeaway options available via all the usual suspects, this is one we can foresee doing very well, especially with Trinity College around the corner. Tapped, Nassau Street Tapped proudly boast Ireland’s largest selection of taps down the length of its fifteen-foot bar. The fresh new facelift for the old Porterhouse Central location (and before that Judge Roy Beans) just off Grafton Street offers a fifty-strong array of craft beers, wines and cocktails, all on tap. Cocktails are mixed with spirits from Porterhouse’s sister company Dingle Distillery, while the food - loosely pitched as pizza, salads, wings and burgers - comes courtesy of Dublin Pizza Company . Inclusion on an ATF bar crawl may be imminent... Northern Soul, Ormond Quay Taking over from the ill-fated Baggotts Hutton, which lay idle amid planning disputes since 2019, Northern Soul promises a multi-purpose café-by-day and club-by-night vibe along the northern quays. Daytime offerings include coffee from Ground State just across the Liffey, and pastries and sandwiches from Tartine. In the evenings, Pichet alum Juan Carlos Guerrero is in place as head chef with a fusion menu that’s heavy on Italian and Latin American influences. The intimate upstairs venue space has been fitted out with chandeliers and candle-lit tables and has already played host to a diverse range of entertainments from magic and cabaret to DJs and drag shows. We can see this doing well with tourists. Aperitivo Cicchetti, Nassau Street D2 isn’t exactly short of options for Italian, but with its keenly-priced small plates and ‘50s cocktail bar vibes, new Nassau Street arrival Aperitivo Cicchetti looks to be eyeing up a space all of its own. From the folks behind the four Port House locations scattered throughout the city, it looks to be cast in the same mould of affectionate attention to detail in its by-the-book interpretation of dishes from all across Italy - guanciale and all. Negroni, Campari and (of course) aperitivi abound on the drinks menu, alongside on all-Italian wine list. Can't say they’re not committed to the bit. Korean Table, Stoneybatter A mainstay of markets in Sandyford, Camden Yard and Marley Park over the last two years, Korean Table quietly opened its first permanent location in the old Cow Lane Tapas site on Manor Street in the last couple of weeks and has been clocking up impressive murmurs of approval on social ever since. “Some people have never eaten our food” goes their mantra, “but nobody has only eaten it once”, and everything we’ve seen in early reviews suggests that might well be the case. The basic launch menu has kimchi fried rice, hot pot and bibimbap to start, all served with a platter of Korean sides. Coming soon... Bahay, Blanchardstown Having served up its Filipino flavours at food trucks and pop-ups galore, Bahay is finally getting a permanent home in D15 - don’t worry, they’ll still be continuing the travelling offerings too. Lots of detail yet to be confirmed, but we’ll be watching this space closely over the next few months. Kakilang, Finglas More great news for the North of the county as the Taiwanese tea-slingers on Bachelor’s Walk are already on course to expand, just two years on from opening. Kakilang 's Asian street food specials will be making their way to Finglas along with their mille crepes, cheesecakes, and the much beloved souffle pancakes. We're told more details on the location will be released this week. Kodiak, Rathmines The Bonobo team are making their way southward “very, very soon”, this week it seems, for a new suburban bar in the heart of D6. Kodiak in Rathmines is a seriously sizeable site - formerly home to Copan - so we’ll be keenly watching how their brand of casual cool fares when scaled-up.

What should we know about Vice? There’s (yet) another new pizzeria in town. New-kid-on-the-block Vice has just soft-launched right round the corner from Merrion Square, very close to Trinity College, and we got in quick to bring you the early word. The schtick is pizza and chicken wings, with "elevated sourdough crusts", "sublime sauces" and "delectable free range wings". Owner Bobby Lawn thinks that pizza and wings are "destined to be enjoyed together", so he opened Vice to make the dream real. What did you have? There are twelve pizza options on the menu available in 12” or 16” with plenty of high-end quality ingredients like chilli-infused pineapple and toasted fennel powder bringing a premium touch to some familiar favourites. Another point of different with Vice - the finish on their crusts, which you can get in white sesame seed, black sesame seed, poppy seed, or 'everything bagel'. We took the friendly staff’s recommendation and tried the already-popular 'Sweet Meat', with beautifully fruity hand-crushed tomato sauce, spicy salami and a great balance struck between chili and honey. Their 48-hour fermented sourdough base was light and airy and you can taste the time that's gone into making it. The poppyseed finish adds additional texture but prepare for seeds to fly everywhere - it's worth the mess. Also on the menu are wings and tenders in five flavours - buffalo medium, buffalo hot, spiced barbecue, Korean gochujang and lemon pepper. We got the last option in tender form and while the flavour and crisp coating was A1, the chicken inside was just a bit dry - fewer, thicker pieces would go a long way. A buttermilk ranch dip was mild and creamy without being dense, but we wished we'd tried one of the spicier ones. Why should I go? With a seriously big downstairs seating area this is a good pick for groups, and with more than half the pizza menu meat-free we’re sure veggies will be interested too. A quality addition to Dublin's casual dining scene, ideal when you don't have a booking or don't have much time. Vice 5 Merrion Street Lower, Dublin 2 instagram.com/vicedublin

What should we know about Alfama? The latest in a recent wave of cafés popping up to cater to Dublin’s growing Portuguese-speaking population, Alfama recently opened in Dundrum. Named for Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood, this casual spot’s blue and white tile exterior makes it looks like it might have been dropped right in from t he Riviera Portuguesa. What should we have? There’s a decently diverse breakfast and lunch-style menu here, but realistically there’s only one show in town: the Francesinha. An infamously enormous sandwich of multiple meats bathed in cheese and a rich gravy that’s been called everything from “Portugal’s croque monsieur” to “a heart attack on a plate”. It’s a more considered creation than the latter description makes it sound: a combo of ham, salami, steak and sausage may be a little over-the-top, but the six-hour reduction gravy (made, of course, from five different stocks) has a depth of flavour dynamic enough to hold the whole thing together. Bring an appetite - and ideally someone to share with - and you’ll be well able to endure it. We tried the arroz de pato off the specials board too, a crusty-topped dish of baked rice and moist duck chunks topped with crisp bacon and fresh olives. It’s different but definitely less impressive - too dry and a touch dull to really linger in the mind. Pasteis de nata shouldn't be passed on to finish - these ones are seriously good, with cinnamon and lemon-laced custard baked into beautifully crisp pastry layers. A distinctive taste and a perfect texture, and in an ever more crowded field for these little tarts, Alfama stands out as one of the best. Why should I go? Our server was keen to explain they were aiming to capture a sense of Portuguese hospitality, which involves being so well-fed that you can barely get up to leave, and only feel fit to head to bed. On that front we can confirm they deliver. Alfama is offering a genuine version of an iconic food experience, and it's a great addition to Dundrum. Alfama 39 Dundrum Road, Dublin 14 instagram.com/alfama_restaurant

A disclaimer: First things first, spending this much money on dinner is (for most of us) a very expensive hobby. We forego new clothes, beauty treatments, expensive watches, because food and epicurean experiences are all we care about spending our cash on, and fill our cups up to their very tops. If you're not this type of person, look away in horror now, because we're rolling with the big boys here. A second disclaimer: If you already have a trip booked here and it's coming up soon, maybe don't read this, and save the surprises for yourself. What's the background? Two Singapore based investors Dr Stanley Queck and Peng Loh bought Castlemartyr Hotel and Golf Course last year. They also own Sheen Falls in Kerry, Trinity Townhouse in Dublin, and were the original backers for Niall Davidson's Allta (he now operates solo), as well as Kevin Burke's Library Street. Their company ' The Unlisted Collection ' has over 20 restaurants in Singapore, London, Shanghai and Sydney - one with three Michelin stars, two with two stars and four with one star. The Chef-Patron at Terre, Vincent Crepel, has worked in two and three-star restaurants across Europe, including for this group in Singapore, and they backed him in his first solo restaurant Porte 12 in Paris, which was open from 2014 - 2020. They then managed to convince him to uproot his life, leave his friends and family, and relocate to the grounds of a five-star hotel with carte blanche to cook with the 'French technique unpinning Asian flavours' that he loves, but with no doubt in anyone's mind that they expect this to be a two-star restaurant. The challenge was set, the challenge was accepted. What's it going to set me back? The tasting menu is €180 (up from €140 on opening, ouch), and the 'Petit Accord' wine pairing is €110. There's also a 'Grand Accord' pairing for €220, which comprises mainly of Premier and Grand Cru Burgundies. If you're going all in you're looking at a minimum spend of €290 a head before a welcome drink, tea or coffee afterwards, and/or a digestif in the salon. Budgeting in the range of €330 before tip would be more realistic. What can I expect? One of the most dynamic, delicious, dramatic dining experiences in Ireland right now. You enter Terre through a non-descript grey door at one end of the hotel, where manager Fergus McDevitt leads you into a dark corridor full of lit up jars of ferments and pickles, giving you some background on the restaurant and the grounds. Then another door opens and it's into the open kitchen where the chefs turn in unison to shout "Welcome!" (It's the only cringey part of the whole experience, just having head chef Vincent Crepel leading the welcoming committee would be much more easy on the stomach). Pick a welcome drink from the short drinks menu (which includes this incredible low alcohol sparkling milk tea as a Champagne alternative), and let the show begin. So the first part of dinner is in the kitchen? Yes, four perfect, generous little snacks, each brought by a different staff member, interspersed in the middle with a trip up to the kitchen for a look into a cold chest of ultra-fancy ingredients, from which much of your dinner components will be plucked. Your eyes will widen at bluefin tuna belly from Spain, A5 Wagyu beef from Japan, Wexford stone crab, French caviar, Wagyu ham, 46-month aged Parmesan, lemongrass, finger limes, purple radish - it's like looking into a millionaire's fridge, and suddenly you can see where your €180 is going. The snacks are heady, intoxicating, and you may find yourself silently swaying, trying to take in every last flavour bouncing around your mouth. Ballycotton blue lobster, dill mayo, lemon cream, celeriac casing, confit tomato, dried hibiscus, horseradish / Stone crab, kolhrabi, maple syrup casing, finger lime A5 Wagyu 'Miyasaki Prefecture', stuffed with barley koji, hazelnut, nori, yuzu kosho Then it's into the main room? Yes, with tables very nicely spaced apart, and a soundtrack that includes everything from The Eagles to The Rolling Stones. Another seven courses are served here, and while they may change slightly day to day depending on what produce is available, the menu has stayed by and large the same, so you should taste much of this if you do manage to visit in the next few months. We're not going to go into the intricacies of every single dish for fear of losing you, just be assured that this is a menu full of excess, but not at the expense of flavour, full of surprise, but not at the expense of complexity, and almost every dish is finished tableside, so you get dinner and a show. 'Otoro' Tuna belly, Verjus, purple radish, trout roe, toasted Irish kelp 'Chawanmushi' Steamed dashi, foie gras, eel, Wagyu ham, 46-month aged Vacche Rosse Parmesan (this one almost elicited a scream) 'Scallop' King crab, lobster, hamachi, makrut lime consommé, chive oil (there was lardo wrapped around the lobster and the scent of lemongrass was intoxicating) The 'Petit Accord' wine pairing for the above three dishes 'Cod' Miso vermouth, Jasmin caviar, rose oil, white asparagus (they are not stingy with the caviar in here) 'Venison' Cooked over bincho, endives, pied de mouton, Albufera sauce (made with foie gras), smoked porcini oil, served with brioche (a dish of total excess) The wine pairings for the above two courses A herbal tea to refresh the palate before dessert, then a granita of ginger, lemon and lime zest 'Rice and Tea' Rice gelato, Jasmin milk tea, rhubarb (topped with rhubarb root oil at the table, we could have eaten this five times over) Is the wine pairing worth it? The wine pairing is excellent, with sommelier Filip Palfi (formerly at Ballyfin ) a brilliant hire. There are few people in the country with this much intrinsic wine knowledge and understanding, who can deliver the most interesting snippets of information without ever coming across as haughty or self-important. The wines were all excellently paired, but the service itself, along with fascinating tidbits of info along the way, was just as impressive. The wine pairing for dessert - a pear cider from Eric Bordelet What happens next? You're taken into the 'salon' for tea, coffee, petit fours and to fawn over the digestif trolley. We were told by staff the red chairs were the most comfortable, so that's where we settled in to sip homemade herbal tea and high altitude coffee. After that they push over the trolley laden down with Brandy, Armagnac, Japanese whiskey, and a sweet wine made from discarded Champagne grapes - that's what we had and we recommend you do too. Then the blissful petit fours to end - a tarte Tropézienne, chestnut and honey madelines, citrus jellies, and hand-painted, 70% Venezuelan chocolates with calamansi ganache. Somehow you'll find room. Is it stuffy? It's a bit more hushed than say Chapter One by Mikael Viljanen , but we think that's more about staff still settling in and getting comfortable than anything else. The background soundtrack is a list of songs the young head chef loves, and spans everything from 60's rock to 80's ballads. Staff are warm and were happy to joke around, and more than one told us it's one of the most relaxed places they've worked - which in light of recent news articles is always nice to hear. The head chef came into the salon afterwards to say hi and ask if we had enjoyed everything. He comes across as humble, a bit introverted, genuinely overwhelmed at the support they've had and the praise loaded onto their laps. It's a young team with big ambitions but they come across as genuine and spirited, and we think it's partly this that will have everyone rooting for them. There's been so much talk lately about how fine dining is on the way out, how it's had its day, but the electrifying experience this team deliver over four hours says to us that it's not going anywhere any time soon. Any complaints? The mainly French serving staff have clearly been hand-picked from top fine dining restaurants in France and we imagine further afield, but have only been in Ireland a few months and we found some points in service tricky as we strained to understand the explanations of the dishes. There were quite a few awkward moments where we had to ask for a word to be repeated 6/7/8 times before it clicked, which was uncomfortable for both sides. We fed this back to the head chef at the end and he acknowledged it's an issue they are working on - it was clear we weren't the first diners to make this point. Part of the problem is that you don't get the menu in advance, so you're fully dependent on your server to explain the components in the surprise, often complicated dishes. If you're heading there in the next few weeks we would advise having a look at the menu in advance, and familiarising yourself with the ingredients on there, so as to make the interactions more comfortable for everyone. (This paragraph has been edited to add more context) The only other complaint we have is that we don't live closer. Will it get two stars when the new Michelin guide is released in March? There's no question Terre is in two-star territory, and part of a handful of the most extraordinary dining experiences in the country, but with Michelin who knows. They're open the same amount of time as Aimsir were when they got theirs, so it's definitely possible, and only giving them one would just be wrong, when they're clearly in another category. If this all sounds up your alley we recommend planning a trip before March 27th, when tables might become that much harder to come by. Terre Castlemarty Resort, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork terre.ie

La Gordita , the new tapas bar from the owners of Las Tapas de Lola opens today, 10 years after their big sibling stormed onto the Dublin food scene (who remembers the month long waits to get a table?). The second restaurant from owners Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy (whose name means 'little fat one') is aiming to be more casual than the original, with bodega-style food and drinks, and barrels outside to stand around sipping sherry alongside a plate of Jamón Ibérico. The menu is made up of 'Pica-Pica' (nibbles), 'Entrantes' (small plates), and 'Segundos' (the main deal), as well as sides, desserts and cheese. For those with deep pockets you can order organic Spanish caviar with potato crisps and crème fraiche for €65, or snack on gildas (€3.75), boquerones (€10), or Mojama - Almadraba cured tuna from Cádiz with almonds (€12.50). Small plates include deep-fried aubergine with sugar cane honey; lamb sweetbreads; and a tortilla of the day, while larger plates include grilled octopus tentacles with romesco and potatoes, and fried lobster with potatoes, padrón peppers and fried eggs. There's plenty of interesting bottles to drink on the wine list too with seven sherries by the glass (mostly from Lustau), and wines from superstar Spanish producers Raventos, Raul Perez, and Commando G. La Gordita opens Wednesday - Friday from 17:00, and Saturday - Sunday from 13:00. Bookings are now live on their website . La Gordita 6 Montague Street, Dublin 2 lagordita.ie

We're nearly there guys. One more freezing spell this week before we inevitably get to a tropical St Paddy's Day, and then it's plain sailing to summer from then on. Here's what want to eat this week to make that final wait that much easier... 1) Breakfast Taco, Los Chicanos Taco You want to bring a great Mexican taco maker to an Irish food festival. There's only one thing for it - Irish breakfast tacos. Scott Holder's Los Chicanos Tacos will be popping up at Me Auld Flower Festival with this bacon, egg and avo creation, and we'd eat it at any time of the day. 2) The Bacon Seduction Burger, Pitt Bros BBQ While we don't condone the use of the word 'seduction' when naming dishes, this bacon burger from Pitt Bros BBQ certainly grabbed our attention this week. They top a beef pattie with caramelised onion, cheddar cheese and bacon jam, and wrap it in a brioche bun, and you can find it in their George's Street restaurant or at their pop up at Me Auld Flower Festival next weekend. 3) Bolognese Pizza, Rua Wood-Fired Pizza Usually we have to wait until we go on holidays to eat pizza with Bolognese on top (you'll find us rifling through the freezer section of many a Spanish supermarket)️, but Rua in Phibsborough are bringing the holiday feeling to us this week. Their special come topped with pork and beef Bolognese, mozzarella and fresh chilli, and comes topped with rocket and a ball of burrata cheese. Beats the one from Mercadona. 4) Cassata Siciliana, Dolce Sicily If you've ever visited Sicily you've probably come across their famous jewelled dessert - 'Cassata Siciliana'. While they come in many different combinations, it will always include sponge cake soaked in fruit juice or liqueur, layered with ricotta and candied fruit, encased in marzipan and topped with eye-popping designs, including lots more candied fruit. We've never seen one in the Irish wild until now. If you want one as much as we do pop an email to orders@dolcesicily.ie. 5) The Sunday Roast, Hen's Teeth Dublin is somewhat bereft when it comes to Sunday roasts that make us want to leave the house, but Hen's Teeth are trying to right that wrong, and here's the pic to prove it. Their Sunday roast comes with a choice of roast pork; roast chicken, mushroom and tarragon pie; or cauliflower and durrus pie, along with seasonal greens, braised red cabbage and roast potatoes. It clocks in at €60 for two with a bottle of wine, or it's €22.50 just for the roast.

Along with the rest of the nation, we are buzzing for the Oscars this year. Our little island has a record 14 nominations, and whatever happens on the 13th March, it will be a historic day for Ireland. While we’re busy watching as many of the Oscar nominated films as we can, we’re also reflecting on some our favourite movies that centre on our favourite subject – food. This selection is just a few of the films that have inspired us over the years to either get into the kitchen, pop open a bottle, reserve a table, or book a flight. With each of the movie choices, we also thought we’d give you a steer on where you might want to eat in Dublin right after the end credits run. Pass the popcorn. The Menu (2022) Ralph Fiennes plays a celebrity chef in this comedy horror, joined by Hong Chau (excellent in The Whale, earning her an Oscar nom) as his front-of-house manager, and alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and John Leguizamo, who play diners attending his exclusive restaurant. This definitely rests in the not so joyful category of food movies, but one which parodies the world of fine dining deftly – paying eye-watering amounts of money to be served questionably edible food in a strained atmosphere. Let’s just say it brought to mind this recent article by Farrah Storr in The Times. Where to go in Dublin: If The Menu hasn’t turned you off fine dining completely, you won't get much better than Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen for an incredible high-end experience – with none of the gore. Big Night (1996) Written, directed by, and starring Stanley Tucci, this Italian-American comedy drama set in the late 1950s is a heart-warming story of a restaurant run by two Italian brothers. Under pressure to bring in cash, their flashy restaurateur neighbour offers to invite a famous jazz musician, Louis Prima, to dine in their restaurant. They then embark on a quest to prepare a spectacular dinner and make one last ditch attempt to keep their American dream alive. The cast is superb, with Tucci starring alongside Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Allison Janney and Tony Shalboub. From seafood risotto to timpano – a drum-size cake of pasta, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, and sauce, to the beautiful simplicity of an omelette, Big Night is also even credited with kicking off a revolution in American food culture, as the type of Italian authenticity in the movie was relatively new to Americans in the 90s. Where to go in Dublin: When we think about family-run, authentic little Italian restaurants in Dublin, Terra Madre on Bachelor’s Walk immediately springs to mind. Great for antipasti, authentic meat dishes and pasta, including the most perfect black truffle & cheese fondue ravioli, and a solid wine list (sadly we’ve yet to see Timpano on a menu anywhere, but we'll keep looking). Chef (2014) If you’re looking for a feel-good movie with a great cast, a banging soundtrack and scenes that will have you running to your nearest food truck, look no further. Chef tells the story of a head chef (Jon Favreau) who quits his day job, triggered by a viral video where he publicly confronts the restaurant critic who panned his cooking. With his career seemingly in tatters, he gets the opportunity to refit an old food truck with his old colleague Martin (played by a fantastic John Leguizamo), and his young son. The movie turns into a raucous buddy road trip movie as they take the truck across America, with some eye-watering food scenes including the 'Mojo Pork' - essential to crafting the famous Cuban sandwiches their food truck sells. There's a pretty epic grilled cheese scene too. Where to go in Dublin: We couldn’t suggest anywhere other than La Cocina Cuevas , the Californian Mexican street food truck in the Naul – mainly because Jeremy Cuevas combined his love for this very movie with family inspiration to cook Mexican food. ¡Qué chido! Babette’s Feast (1987) This Oscar-winning Scandinavian film is the ultimate film about food, and a deeply beloved, timeless cinema classic. It also happens to have one of the best feast scenes in cinematic history, featuring a seven course menu consisting of turtle soup, blinis with caviar and sour cream, quails in puff pastry with foie gras and truffle sauce, endive salade and a rum sponge cake with figs and candied cherries. Adapted from a story by Isak Dinesen, it's set in late 19th century Denmark and tells the story of a Parisian housekeeper with a mysterious past who brings an exquisite meal to a family and congregation of villagers. The lavish banquet tempts the family, who usually renounce pleasures such as fine food and wine (can't relate), and shows how good food can help heal and reconnect. Where to go in Dublin: If you're lusting after Babette's seven course feast, head to sophisticated French restaurant Dax on Pembroke Street Upper. Located in the cosy basement of a Georgian townhouse, Dax serves elegant French food in a refined, underground atmosphere. Ratatouille (2007) This Oscar-winning Pixar creation tells the story of Remy the rat (voiced by Patton Oswalt), who appreciates good food and has quite the refined palate. Via the TV in an unsuspecting farmhouse, Remy becomes a superfan of chef Auguste Gusteau (inspired by real-life chef Bernard Loiseau, who died of a broken heart after his restaurant, La Côte d'Or, lost a star). When Remy ends up in a sewer beneath Gusteau's restaurant, he sets out on an adventure to realise his dream of becoming a chef. Ratatouille was also voted one of the 100 greatest motion pictures of the 21st century by the BBC , and we would tend to agree – c’est magnifique! Where to go in Dublin: If you’re inspired to eat some deliciously decadent French food after watching Ratatouille, try La Maison on Castle Market for size. From confit duck to Coquilles St Jacques, coq au vin to poisson de jour, La Maison will tick the French craving box. Sideways (2004) Fair warning, you’ll want to have a bottle of wine in close proximity when you’re watching this movie - ideally not a Merlot. A struggling writer and wine enthusiast played by Paul Giametti takes his soon-to-be married friend on a trip to wine country for his last days of singledom. It soon transpires that they have very different ideas of what they’re looking for out of the trip, and soon there’s plenty of drama involving two great performances from Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen. Sideways received widespread critical acclaim and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the film was also credited with being a boon for Pinot Noir, with production increasing by 170% in the decade after Sideways was released. It’s also likely responsible for depressing the merlot market based on the classic line: “ If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am not drinking any f****** merlot!” Where to go in Dublin: If you’re thirsty for a glass or two of wine after this movie (you will be), head to Loose Canon on Drury Street, and sample some of the natural wines they have on offer, with a cheese toastie or small plate on the side. Julie & Julia (2009) A movie written and directed by Nora Ephron, you say? Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci? About the life and work of the legendary cooking teacher, author and TV personality Julia Child? Sold. This is a biographical comedy drama, based on a novel (based on a blog!), contrasting the life of Julia Child with a young New Yorker, Julie Powell, who decides to work her way through every one of the 524 recipes in Child’s 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking . There’s plenty of fantastic food scenes, whether it's making Hollandaise sauce or meringue, pastry rolling, and the recipe that plays the biggest part in the movie - the Boeuf Bourguignon (hot tip: dry the beef in paper towels or it won’t brown. Thank you Julia). Where to go in Dublin: We’re not sure anywhere in Dublin does a Julia Child-level Boeuf Bourguignon, but Bresson in Monkstown is a good place to start. You'll find French onion soup, duck rillettes, and Black Sole Veronique on the menu amongst much more. Ooh la la. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) The only documentary on the list, this beautiful and thoughtful Japanese-language film follows Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old sushi master and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, previously a Michelin three-star restaurant. The restaurant has just 10 seats, serves only sushi, and is located in a Tokyo subway station. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama joined Japan’s then-PM Shinzo Abe and said it was the best sushi he had ever eaten. Indeed, it was this exclusivity and difficulty in getting a seat, likely exacerbated by the film, that saw the restaurant dropped from the Michelin guide in 2019. The film follows Jiro’s two sons, who are both sushi chefs, and is a gorgeous meditation on work, family and the art of perfection, and it will definitely have you craving sushi by the end. Where to go in Dublin: Look, we all know that great sushi is not Dublin’s strong point. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, get in the car and go to Wa Sushi (formerly Wa Café) in Galway, or Ichigo Ichie in Cork for something more Netflix worthy. Pig (2021) A truffle-foraging recluse and former chef, played by Nicolas Cage, goes on the hunt for his stolen pig in this mystery/thriller/comedy. When the trailer hit the internet back in 2021, there was a massive reaction – equal parts joyful and confused – about the Nicolas Cage missing pig movie, but the film has received rapturous reviews and a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes no less, and has heralded somewhat of a comeback for the actor. Like ‘The Menu’ it takes some digs at the pretensions of high-end dining, but the message running throughout the film is the power of food to connect, to heal us and to release long suppressed emotions. Where to go in Dublin: If you’ve managed to be lucky enough to visit the three two-star Michelin restaurants in the city, check out the one-star restaurants, Variety Jones , Bastible and Glovers Alley Chocolat (2000) Based on the novel by Joanne Harris, Chocolat tells the story of Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) who arrives in a picturesque little French village at the beginning of Lent with her six year old daughter Anouk, and opens up a small chocolaterie. Vianne’s presence causes quite a stir and soon influences the lives of the somewhat repressed townspeople. The Comte de Reynaud (played by a brilliant Alfred Molina) is the opinionated curé of the parish, and highly disapproves of this display of temptation. As Easter Sunday approaches, Vianne prepares for a chocolate festival and Reynaud is desperate to win back his flock. There’s so much chocolate to lust after in this movie, but one scene that always springs to mind is when Vianne prepares a hot chocolate that you can almost taste through the screen – it's rich, dark and smooth, uplifted with vanilla and the warmth and spice of ground chile. Where to go in Dublin: Thankfully we have no shortage of great Irish chocolate producers, many of which are widely available in retailers across the city. For your cocoa fix, try Koko Kinsale , Cocoa Atelier , Bean & Goose , Arcane Chocolate , Skelligs Chocolate , Hazel Mountain Chocolate , and current ATF fav Bon Chocolatiers .