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Of all the Irish chefs abroad that we're willing to come home and open a restaurant, Robin Gill is at the top of the list (Kevin Burke, head chef at The Ninth in London, also gets a mention). The South Dublin boy turned good owns three of London's most dynamic restaurants with his wife Sarah - The Dairy , Counter Culture and Sorella , and has another London venture currently in the works, details of which are TBA. He's also known for being very sound. Robin's been keeping a foot in Ireland for the past few years - he's involved with Airfield Estate and the brilliant Overends Kitchen , and has been appearing at events like Litfest and Taste of Dublin , but we were ultra excited to hear that he's in town next week to cook dishes from his new book ' Larder ' at Glovers Alley , with Executive Chef Andy McFadden. McFadden returned to Dublin at the start of this year after 10 years in London, to open the much hyped Glovers Alley in The Fitzwilliam Hotel, in the site that was formerly Thornton's. Presumably the two knew each other as fellow members of ' The M urphia ' in London, and McFadden says he's always enjoyed eating in Gill's restaurants. The menu for the evening starts with snacks, then Robin's famous charcuterie which he's bringing over from London, accompanied by Glovers Alley's famous bread (parmesan and black olive bun for the win), followed by a starter of beet tartare with radish, mustard and truffle, a fish course, a lamb dish, and ends with a strawberry, raspberry, cream cheese and white chocolate dessert. The four course menu, snacks, petit fours and coffee is €80. If you've been looking for a reason to visit Glovers Alley, this is as good an opportunity as we can think of, but don't dawdle too long. We fully expect this to be a sell out. An Evening with Robin Gill & Andy McFadden Wed 29th August, sittings from 18:30 Glovers Alley, 128 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 gloversalley.ie

Dublin has itself a plush new playground for adults when ' The Grayson ' opens at 5pm today. Housed in the building that was formerly private member's club Residence (along with Restaurant Forty-One ), ' The Grayson ' is the latest addition to the Press Up Entertainment group, who also own Roberta's , Sophie's and The Stella Diner , amongst others. Press Up quietly purchased the beautiful but long-troubled building at 41 St. Stephen's Green from the Residence owners in January, and quietly closed it for refurbishment. Residence had boomed during the Celtic Tiger years, but had suffered to stay afloat since the recession, with yearly financial losses and numerous changes of ownership. We've had a sneaky peak into ' The Grayson ' and it's pretty stunning. There are four floors to explore, and one of the biggest differences between this and its previous incarnation is that they want it to feel less 'exclusive members club' and more 'everyone is welcome'. You can't book the bars, and they will always take walk-ins for food, so we're not expecting The Ivy mark two, where you seem to need a secret password to get to the bar without a prior booking. One of the most striking areas is the atrium bar with its glass roof, and up the steps there's a smoking area with a retractable roof, the only downside being the smokers. The ground floor will serve lunch from Monday - Friday, and drinks and bar snacks all week, while the first and second floors will serve dinner every night from 5pm and weekend lunches from 12pm - 4pm. There are also loads of little nooks and crannies that you can book for a private dinner or event. It does feel a lot like being a guest in someone's mansion. We've also heard rumours that the basement might host a nightclub. They describe the menu as "something for everyone", and while some of their other venues have had hammerings for their food in the past, this one looks pretty good (if unfocused), particularly the long weekend lunch with three different roast options, for when you just can't eat any more avocado toast. There are some interesting options on the wine list, and cocktails are well priced at €10 - €12. James Gibbons has come home from managing Hawksmoor Seven Dials in London to take up the role of GM here, and he's about as pro as it gets when it comes to making people feel welcome - we're not expecting the front door to come complete with gatekeeper. We'd bet any money there'll be a critic in here within the next week, so watch this space. The Grayson 41 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 01 683 3680 thegrayson.ie

'Daniel', the new café from 3fe 's Colin Harmon, has opened at 19 Clanbrassil Street Lower, on the corner of Daniel Street. All eyes have been on Harmon lately waiting for news of his new all day dining spot Gertrude on Pearse Street, but this one flew under the radar a bit. Daniel is open from 7am - 3pm Monday - Friday (with weekends to follow), and the very short food menu consists of toasties, pastries (from Bread Nation on Pearse Street) and brownies. As usual with 3fe there's an extensive range of coffees to drink in and take home. Harmon has said that more than anything, Daniel is "such a lovely space to sit and drink coffee in", and with Clanbrassil Coffee Shop and Gaillot et Gray a few minutes walk down the road, Dublin 8 residents are increasingly spoilt for choice in that area. We can feel a café crawl coming on. Daniel 19 Clanbrassil Street Lower, Dublin 8 Monday - Friday 07:00 - 15:00 3fe.com

It's a seafood fest this weekend - looks like the last days of summer had everyone craving shellfish platters and dressed crab (which should contain brown and white meat by the way - more of that later). The winner of this week's reviews is undoubtedly Michael's in Mount Merrion, where Catherine Cleary in The Irish Times finds "sublime seafood worth shelling out for", and gives it a rare 9/10. Michael's has been riding a wave of raves for the past year, and if you've eaten there you'll understand why. Truth be told we're a bit miffed she's told the whole country how good it is. Good luck getting a table there any time soon. Cleary is on fine form as ever, calling chef Gaz Smith "a noisy hugger", who gives out "mafia don clinches" and poses for photographs with happy guests. She sums up Michael's by saying, "behind all this friendly gee-whizzery is a real connection to something just glimpsed twinkling on the horizon down the hill." She describes how Smith has built up a relationship with two fisherman who sell directly to him; how he knows exactly where his crab has been caught by how it tastes - she sounds slightly swoony. Portmarnock razor clams "knock the socks off any razor clams I've had in Ireland", and the Irish seafood sharing platter is "unmissable". John Dory is "superb", crab claws are "so fresh that the crab meat comes away in sweet threads rather than one generic wodge", and the "luscious feathery innards" of the Clogherhead prawns "take some winkling out of their shells because they haven’t cooked into a lump". She describes the joy of it as not just the freshness, but the cooking with minimal fuss. She wasn't keen on a "cheffery" amuse bouche or a sorbet, but she describes the service as "great", and ends by saying that Michael's is all about the food - "excellence hiding in plain sight in the south-city suburbs up the hill from the bay." Safe to say Chef/Owner Gaz Smith is happy with this one. Read her review here . Somewhere that might be calling Michael's for a few tips is Fallon & Byrne in The People's Park, where Katy McGuinness in the Irish Independent settled for a seafood platter that was "woefully shot on provenance". The dressed crab had only white meat and was "fine" but lacked the flavour of the Lambay crab at Michael's , which she calls her "benchmark". Thankfully mackerel paté was "a thing of beauty ... creamy, lemony, rich, delicious". Smoked salmon and "tiny" prawns were "grand". She calls the menu "a dull read" with "little to excite", and a "yawn-worthy" dish of hake with a cassoulet of beans, chorizo and sprouting broccoli had some advertising errors - beans but no cassoulet, regular broccoli, not sprouting. A dish of braised Comeragh mountain lamb was "too-wintry", with artichokes that tasted like they came from a jar. She calls it "dull-fare", and not wanting to waste any more stomach space they skipped dessert in favour of dessert cocktails, two of which were "indistinguishable". She says she finds it odd that they set the bar so high for their food halls but are satisfied with such an "unprepossessing" offer in one of its restaurants. On the plus side service was good and they got to eat outside, but she gives it 6/10 for food. (Review not currently online but when it is you can find it here ) More seafood dramas for Lucinda O'Sullivan who graced the threshold of The Ivy to bring us review number four, and they wouldn't even crack her lobster claws for her, something she says should be reserved for doing shoreside in jeans, not on a small table "in a restaurant that considers itself smart!" After some kerfuffle they relented, but the whole thing sounds bizarre. Did they not have anything to crack them with? Do they think if you work for your dinner you'll enjoy it more? We may never know. Despite a few digs about whether it was "all fur coat and no knickers", the "PR overkill" and how the lush, jungle decor is more Carmen Miranda than classical Parisian dining room, she quite enjoyed the food. An Asian-style duck salad was nice but could have done with more spice, and a watermelon and crab salad was "lovely". The famous Shepherd's Pie was "delicious" if "delicately-sized", and despite "lobster-gate" the dish itself was "pleasant enough". Rum Baba for dessert was lovely, their waiter "a delight", and the "glam brigade" were out in full force. When she left the music was thumping and "a saxophonist was cruising the aisles", which is our second favourite thing about this week's reviews (favourite below). Review not currently online. Even MORE seafood disappointment for Tom Doorley in the Irish Daily Mail who was trying out the newly opened Botanic House in Glasnevin, owned by the same people behind Aqua in Howth, and once again finding a "dressed crab" that wasn't. Maybe the RAI should arrange a mandatory dressed crab tutorial for the city's chefs. Perhaps then we could save other innocent diners suffering this same unnecessary fate. The starter in question - "dressed crab and local smoked salmon" was "very pleasant", but the crab came in a lemon and caper vinaigrette, when dressed crab should be a dressing-free affair - ironic. The salmon was "decent enough". He enjoyed squid rings, even if they weren't as tender as they should have been, and ironically for a seafood restaurant, the star dish was a fillet steak, which was cooked "spot on" and came with "very decent" Béarnaise and a "quite delicious" cube of confit potato chips. The clanger was the "hot shellfish native catch with bouillabaisse sauce" - no idea either - which came with overcooked seafood including a tiny lobster tail that "looked like a prawn on growth hormones", two King prawns and 22 mussels - someone in the kitchen needs a lesson on ratios. The bouillabaisse was just "an aggressively tomatoey sauce", and came with the kind of seafood tools you need to get a whole lobster out of its shell, which is our personal highlight of this week's reviews. No one knew what the cheeses on the "local, artisan, hand-crafted cheeseboard were" (SRSLY), but a crème brûlée was perfect. Not a great first outing for The Botanic House . Will be interested to see if anyone else gives it a go. (Review not currently online) In The Irish Examiner Joe McNamee was seeing what all this veganism fuss is about at 143 V in Cork, where the first impression is "wonderful" - "It is tiny, quirky, awkward ... light, bright and very welcoming". Cold-pressed juices to start were "delicious", the winner a mix of apple, ginger, lime, orange & strawberries called "Lime Yours" - but does anyone know how to make a blue juice? Just curious. Starters of hummus and guacamole with corn chips, carmelised cubes of tofu, and ‘meaty’ garlic mushrooms all impressed, as did a 'Rainbow Bowl' with more tofu, sweet potato chunks, crunchy raw peppers, red cabbage, sweetcorn, avocado, pomegranate, mixed leaves, a tahini dressing, toasted sesame seeds and chilli flakes, which did not leave it lacking flavour. The falafel in the 'Sweet Falafel Sandwich' were more "fudge-like" than the lighter, crunchier ones they prefer, but flavours were sound, although the vegan cheese got a unanimous thumbs down from everyone. A seitan Southern burger served fried chicken style worked well, and they finished with pancakes and chocolate brownies, amazed at how unlethargic they felt after so much food. Maybe there's something in this veganism. Read his review here . In The Sunday Business Post Gillian Nelis finds great food at Ananda - read that here - and in the Sunday Times Ernie Whalley goes to the home of Bertha's Revenge gin, Ballyvolane House for a "chill-worthy" experience. Read that here . More next week.

It's finally here. The Big Grill Festival is happening this weekend from Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th August in Herbert Park. There is a lot to see (and eat), so we've put together our top picks for the weekend which might help you navigate things. The Food The restaurants pitching up at the site to cook over live fire include Clanbrassil House (famous for their in-house charcoal grill), Fowl Play (who only cook using live fire in their Hogan Place site), Smokasa, Kinara Kitchen , the Dublin Pizza Company , and Smokestak , purveyors of game-changing barbecue in London, whose main man David Carter will be cooking brisket tacos with sesame, cucumber and chilli on Friday and Saturday (do not miss them). On Thursday and Friday, Mark O’Brien from Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa will showcase Irish fish cooked using traditional fire methods. He’ll be serving Irish oysters with pickled wild garlic stems and smoked Irish trout with late summer salad and bread and butter pickles. Ramael Scully, former head chef of Nopi and owner of one of London's most talked about openings in the past year, Scully Restaurant , will be cooking smoked goat rendang on Saturday and Sunday, and Paul Flynn of The Tannery in Waterford will be there on Sunday, cooking smoked pork belly with Highbank Orchard syrup, with the help of Fingal Ferguson. John Relihan, one of the best pitmasters in Europe, will be cooking all weekend at his Mexican BBQ pop-up, Smokasa. Dishes include grilled Picanha steak, the Smokasa burger and Dirty Squash Tacos. Fowl Play , owned and run by two of the founders of The Big Grill Festival, Andy Noonan and Trev O’Shea will be cooking ‘The Bird Cage’, 6 hour fire-roasted free range chicken and game. Michelin starred chef JP McMahon from Aniar in Galway will also be there over the weeked cooking with Heineken Wild Lager, which he's paired with rib-eye steak with garlic pesto and roasted hazelnuts, and monkfish with asparagus and woodruff. Another one we definitely wouldn't want to miss is award-winning Brooklyn chef Billy Durney from Hometown BBQ , who's cooking smoked beef rib with pickles, white onion and toast on Saturday, and doing a barbequed smoked ribs demo on Sunday. Talks and Demos On Saturday, food writer and hamburger expert Nick Solares will host “The State of the Irish Hamburger” with Grainne O’Keefe, culinary director of Bujo and Tom Gleeson, owner of Bunsen . O’Keefe will also be cooking throughout the weekend with Clanbrassil House , where she's head chef, famous for their in-house charcoal grill which much of the menu is based on. On Saturday, charcutier, knife maker and one of Ireland’s most championed producers, Fingal Ferguson will give a demo on cold smoking at home, and on Sunday he's doing one on knives with Nick Solares. Also on Sunday, Jess Murphy from Kai in Galway will be cooking up the “Bucky BBQ”, smoked Buckfast goat shoulder basted breakfast rolls, and straight after that, Robin Gill's on stage with recipes from his new book 'Larder'. If you need a break from meat, DJ BBQ will be cooking Grilled Halloumi Burgers on Saturday. Jess Murphy will be cooking up her 'VeganAsFu%k' BBQ, which includes sweetcorn with Gochujang, miso roasted yellow courgette, grilled plantains, spelt naan with heirloom tomatoes and grilled peaches. Head chef of Cook’s Academy Jack O’Keefe will also be grilling cauliflower over turf and serving it with a cabbage and mint tabbouleh. Demos at the Bushcraft area over the weekend include Fire By Friction, Pit Spuds, Traditional Jerky Smoking, Pannising (using sticks to cook fish over fire) and bacon marshmallow smores by the Cupcake Bloke. And we'd be heading for the Cupcake Bloke 's stand at some stage anyway because you can't eat all that meat and not have dessert. Offside Offside, the private dining area will focus on nose-to-tail eating this year. Twenty seats are available for each sitting, with a surprise menu and curated drinks. Rama Basilio and Andy Noonan will be cooking ‘Parilla’, a four course Argentinian Asado, featuring paired wines from Mendoza. ‘A Wild Game Feast’ hosted by Nick Weston and Lucas Wooten, will use an array of locally foraged ingredients and wild game paired with wild cocktails and natural wines, and Weston will also serve the whole Dexter steer roast on the final day of the festival. Booze In terms of alcoholic beverages to wash down the feast of meat, there will be a huge range of craft beers available from Franciscan Well, Eight Degrees Brewing Co, Wicklow Wolf, and Brewtonic, to name a few, as well as cider from Dan Kelly's and Scott's Irish cider, and gin from 6 O'Clock. There will also be bands and DJs playing throughout the weekend, not that you’ll be bored with this line-up. This is definitely not a festival for light-eaters. Maybe don't have breakfast. Or dinner the night before. The Big Grill Festival Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Thu 16th Aug - Sun 19th Aug biggrillfestival.com

Vurgerface , the vegan burger pop up from graphic designer turned chef Sarah Boland, has taken Stoneybatter and the Dublin vegan community by storm since popping up last month in The Belfry 's beer garden, but their time is up so this is your last weekend to try a 'Classic John' or a 'Hot Chick' until they find a new home. Rarely has a vegan opening caused such a stir on our social accounts, but every other day we seem to be coming face to screen with happy vegans proclaiming that Vurgerface is " unreal ", " insane " and " next level ". Sarah decided to set up Vurgerface after going travelling and feeling like there was a gap in the Irish market for quality, plant-based street food. As a Stoneybatter local she drank in newly renovated The Belfry , and the guys there were looking to bring in rotating pop ups. Vurgerface is the first, but there will be a new one each month. After this weekend Vurgerface is going on the hunt for a permanent home in the city centre, and Sarah said she's confident they will find a good spot despite the city's current rental situation. For the sake of vegans across the city (and Vurgerface judging by some of the devastated people on their Instagram page) we hope it's soon. Vurgerface will be at The Belfry every day until Monday (opening hours below), and you can check out the menu here . *Edit: Since this article was published Vurgerface have been asked to stay on at the Belfry for another week until Sunday 26th August, and will continue to pop up afterwards, rotating with other vendors. They are also in talks to do something similar on the southside. That should cheer up all of those devastated vegan burger lovers. Vurgerface @ The Belfry 37 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Thu - Fri 17:00 - 22:30. Sat 16:00 - 22:30. Sun 16:00 - 22:00. Mon 17:00 - 22:00. Ph:+353838011001 www.facebook.com/TheBelfryStoneybatter

Lil Portie , the Caribbean kitchen that's been popping up across the city since June, is moving into a permanent space from September. Nick Reynolds, the guy behind Lil Portie, popped up in TwoFifty Square in Rathmines in July, and it went so well that he's moving in permanently in the evenings. With the city's current rental crisis we think this sounds like a very smart move for all concerned. Nick was born in Ireland but is of Jamaican descent (his granny carried around litres of scotch bonnet hot sauce), and his food also has a Latin American twist after spending six years in South America. Dishes on the menu over the summer included shredded jack fruit tacos, jerk prawn and chorizo gumbo, and roast okra stuffed sweet plantain. They were also serving dessert of caramelised plantain with lime and coconut crumble, and vegans are always catered for. Nick wants to serve foods that aren't commonly found in Dublin, like akcee, plantain, okra, chow chow and gungo peas, and plans to keep dishes that have proved popular since starting up, like Jamaican rice & peas, plantain nachos, and jerk basted pork ribs, as well dishes for the colder weather, like goat curry and oxtail stew. When asked about his plans for the new site he said, "I’ve been experimenting with the menu and how it all ties into the history of the Jamaicans and the Caribbeans, from the pre-Colombian indigenous tribes (arwarkas) who revered the deity Yúcahu (the god of cassava), right up to the end of the British empire." That's some heavy kitchen research. Lil Portie at TwoFifty Square hopes to start soft-launching by the end of August, and open three nights a week from mid-September, increasing to four from October. You can sign up to their mailing list for updates, or stay right here and we'll give you all the deets. lilportie.com

It's safe to say there's never been a better time to be vegan in Dublin. Every week there seems to be a new vegan pop up or permanent spot opening ( Veginity , The Garden of Vegan , The Electric Vegan and Vurger Face in the past few months alone), and now there's a whole vegan events series coming up with places like Ananda and The Shelbourne hosting events and dinners to show off their plant-based cooking skills. The ' Chef-Led Vegan Culinary Events Series ' is being organised by husband and wife Scott and Sivan Renwick from Vegan in Ireland , who run vegan based food tours of Dublin, and have been vegan for 10 years. It kicks off next Tuesday 21st August at Ananda with a demonstration and tasting by head chef Karan Mittal, followed by a four-course dinner (guests can take part in one or both). On Sunday 16th September, Chef Kwong Yew Liew from Kyoto will be giving a masterclass in vegan sushi, followed by a four-course dinner, and on Sunday 30th September there's a vegan cheese and wine tasting at Hugo's . Who says vegans have no fun? On Tuesday 23rd October, the Executive chef from The Shelbourne , Gary Hughes will give a talk and demo on making vegan treats, with a vegan afternoon tea afterwards, and on Tuesday 6th November you can learn how to make vegan cocktails and finger foods at Bow Lane so you're all set for your next vegan getogether. With the number of vegans in Dublin (and Ireland) growing month on month, we're expecting these to be sell outs, and of course non-vegans who are just interested in eating more plant-based foods are also welcome. The only people who might not be happy about this new events series are Bord Bia who are desperately trying to figure out a way to reverse veganism . Best of luck with that guys. You can get full details of the events and how to book here . Vegan in Ireland Culinary Events Series Various dates Aug - Nov 2018 veganinireland.com/irelands-chefs-are-going-vegan-vegan-in-ireland-culinary-event-series

We've been #blessed this week with not one but two reviews of newly opened The Ivy on Dawson Street, and they're more different than an exclusive celebrity haunt and a rapidly expanding restaurant chain. The precursor to today's reviews was a tweet from Tom Doorley on Friday telling all and sundry that The Ivy had blocked The Daily Mail's photographer from taking the customary "waitress holds plates and smiles at camera" shot, or even a shot of the sign outside. Precious much? Lucky for them Tom had already filed his copy, although he did later admit he might have been too kind... He loved the theatre of The Ivy, with its "riot of botanical design" and elaborate rituals of setting fire to desserts, and overall seemed impressed with the food. His daughter loved her crispy duck salad, his tuna carpaccio was faultless, and a roast salmon fillet was cooked perfectly - "a revival of how things used to be done" - despite the accompaniment of unseasonal asparagus. The one item on the menu that's had us scratching our heads since The Ivy opened is the Flatiron chicken, which sounds like a dried up leathery definition of "wrong", but Tom's was moist and came with an "intense lemony jus", and "good very buttery mashed potato" (evidently a different chef cooked Leslie's). A chocolate bombe for dessert melted when hot salted caramel was poured over it (more of that theatre we always look for when dining out), and was "no hardship to eat", and he says the service was good but slower than is acceptable in a place like this. To the other side of the coin, in a review which couldn't be more different to Tom's, Leslie Williams in the Irish Examiner describes a "seriously underperforming kitchen", with "overcooked" scallops and slow-cooked lamb shoulder "devoid of moisture". The same flatiron chicken "had crispy skin but utterly dried out flesh", and he gave up chewing halfway through. A steak tartare with Dubliner whiskey and tabasco seemed to taste purely of English mustard, some of the meat had become "cooked" from the citrus, and there was no discernible taste of whiskey or tabasco. Chips were among the worst he'd tasted in years - "flaccid, soggy, inedible, and suspiciously evenly cut" - and while things picked up with his dessert of Apple Tarte Fine, they soared downwards again with a Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae - "under-ripe strawberries, dull vanilla ice cream, meringue so dense you could break your teeth and hard-tack shortbread without a hint of butter". Yum. A couple of things to consider here. 1) Tom Doorley was recognised, as was Gillian Nelis a few weeks previously, who also had a thoroughly delightful experience . Presumably Leslie William's wasn't, which brings back memories of Ruth Reichl's infamous double review of Le Cirque in The New York Times. 2) The menu is so extensive (almost 50 items on the all day dining menu alone) that there must be hits and misses, so to review it based on just one visit and two people dining leaves room for wild swings in experience. We imagine this is not the last we'll see of the The Ivy in the critic's reviews, so we'll wait to see who's team Tom and who's team Leslie. Read the latter's review here . Pizza was the other big topic of conversation this week. Ernie Whalley in The Sunday Times self-sacrificingly went to five pizza restaurants to find the best margherita in Dublin. We couldn't possibly tell you the outcome (for reasons explained here ) but if you want to find out you can do so here (or just hover over the link). Lucinda O'Sullivan in The Sunday Independent was also in the mood for pizza, and tried a lot of the menu (but not actually much pizza) at Pizza Yard in Ranelagh. She calls it a "hot and hip" place in the equally "hot and hip Ranelagh", and things got off to a great start when the "pro" in charge seated them away from all those pesky families with children at a "great window table". The Wild Atlantic pizza with lobster sauce, mozzarella, smoked salmon, avocado, sweet red onion, chives, capers, and toasted sesame seed and honey mustard sauce sounds like a complete mess, but she assures us it's "a winner". For mains, pan-fried rose veal with proscuitto, sage and garlic was also "a winner", and a seafood linguine with prawns, calamari and parmesan (giving the middle finger to the no cheese with fish rule ) was perfectly al dente with a good tomato sauce. Desserts were deep-fried pizza fingers with honey, chocolate and fruit, and chocolate mousse, but she leaves us in suspense as to how they tasted, with the exception of the "lovely strawberries" on the mousse. She says service was "excellent and friendly", and seems totally delighted with the trip. (Review not currently online). In the Irish Independent , Katy McGuinness was trying out dinner in The Fumbally , more known for its fresh, seasonal breakfasts and lunches. One of our all time favourite things to read in a review is "we ordered everything on the menu" (how else can you do it justice?), and Katy came through. Despite practically everything arriving at the same time and the fact that the table wasn't big enough to hold it all, she thought it was "a beautifully balanced meal that I'd defy anyone not to enjoy". High points included "heroin bread" (otherwise known as Le Levain ) with fennel butter, a smoked Gubbeen melt - "a cheesy potato-y version of arancini" - and Porco Tonnato, a version of vitello tonnato with shaved porchetta instead of veal, topped with tuna sauce and capers. Green beans came with labneh and a Lebanese chilli oil, and McNally Farm roast potaoes came with lovage aioli - "a fine accompaniment for the organic spuds". Dessert was "the pavlova of your dreams" - "chewy, with a hint of burnt sugar, strawberries and toasted hazelnuts". She describes the dishes as "healthy-tasting without being in any way punitive", and "exactly how we all want to eat at the moment, making the best of local and seasonal ingredients but not being so hamstrung by locavorism that the kitchen can't use lemons and olive oil and pomegranate when they bring something to the flavour party". Read her review here . Finally for the reviews we can pass comment on, Catherine Cleary in The Irish Times went by train, bus, boat and taxi to Inis Meáin off the coast of Galway to find "exquisitely-sourced food thoughtfully and calmly cooked" at the Inis Meáin Restaurant and Suites . She gives it a hard to beat 9.5/10 and says the restaurant has the "world's best view". Sold. She describes her first bite of raw Inis Meáin scallop with toasted hazelnuts, finely diced chives and pansies as "a statement of intent: you will be tethered to this land and seascape in the simplest and most delicious way possible." A "perfect" lobster tail followed, then beetroot carpaccio with a "ballad-worthy" crème fraîche, then crispy turbot with "flesh white as seafoam". A finale of stewed apricots came with "extraordinary ice cream" made from their lemon verbena patch. She ends by saying that "at the risk of gushing like a blow hole I love every moment of our meal in the Inis Meáin Restaurant. Elements of earth and ocean sounds like a marketing cliche but that’s what’s here." She calls it "a memorably beautiful meal", and we're probably not the only ones thinking about a road trip right now. Read her review here . In case you're interested, Gillian Nelis in the Sunday Business Post reviews Harte's of Kildare and finds it a "gastropub less ordinary with a genuine grá for local produce". You can get the full uncensored content here (subscription only). More next week.

Our timeline seems to be filled with nothing but epic looking desserts at the moment. From the ultimate puff pastry to the next big trend in desserts, here are 5 things we'd go out of our way to eat this week... 1. This Work of Art at The Greenhouse We're not sure we could even bring ourselves to eat this raspberry, peach and pistachio sablé breton from the lunch menu at The Greenhouse . We might just sit and gaze and it for a while... (and take 25 different photos for Instagram, obvs). www.thegreenhouserestaurant.ie 2. Aoife Noonan's Latest Masterpiece at Glovers Alley Another work of pastry art from dessert chef of the moment Aoife Noonan in Glovers Alley . Raspberry, lemon verbena and caramelised puff pastry (how did we not know this was a thing?) with mango lime sorbet and fresh raspberries. We think they should open a little pastry cart in Stephen's Green. gloversalley.ie 3. This Dressed up Chocolate Mousse from Hey Donna There's only one dessert on the menu at Hey Donna so they had to make it a good one. This chocolate and miso mousse with mandarin and ginger yoghurt, spiced hazelnuts and mandarin oil looks like a great way to finish off a Middle Eastern spread. Plus miso in desserts is going to be the next big trend (for good reason). You heard it here first. www.heydonna.ie 4. The Cupcake Bloke's Homemade Mikados We're not sure a bakery has ever been met with as much anticipation as the first bricks and mortar opening from The Cupcake Bloke in Rialto, and the 'bloke' in question, Graham, seems to be specialising in nostalgia lately with the creation of these homemade mikados. They look exactly like the originals but bigger and better, and we wouldn't feel anywhere near as bad about ourselves after eating one (or two - I mean if we're making a trip to Rialto). www.thecupcakebloke.com 5. The DIY Cheesecake from Mad Egg Two mentions in one week for the only dessert on the menu at Mad Egg , but we love this hot mess of a cheesecake that you can customise with chocolate sauce, nuts, oreos and caramel. Katy McGuinness said it reminded her of ice-cream cakes that she used to throw together for her children's birthday parties, which is an excellent endorsement if you ask us. www.madegg.ie

Mad Egg , the premium fried chicken shop which has been flooding Instagram since it opened just 15 weeks ago (feels like longer), has opened a second site on Millennium Walkway behind the Jervis Shopping Centre. The menu is the same as the Charlotte Way branch, with the addition of new chicken tenders with salsa, guacamole and citrus sour cream, which will also shortly be added to the Charlotte Way menu. The guys behind Mad Egg , Conor Sheridan and Stephen O'Reilly, found the current property market challenging to say the least, but the success of the first Mad Egg meant that landlords were more willing to talk to them - so much so that a third site is on the cards before Christmas, with two more central sites currently in contention. They hope to expand into the suburbs after that. Mad Egg's schtick centres around the provenance and quality of their chicken, which impressed Katy McGuinness when she reviewed them in June. It's bred for them by John Smith in Navan, who was the first certified free-range chicken farmer in Ireland in the 1970's. The chicken is tea-brined for 48 hours before being double dipped in spiked buttermilk and their in-house seasoned coating. The buns were created for them by Coghlan's Bakery , who also make the burger buns for BuJo . The menu is simple, consisting of five chicken burgers with various toppings, a veggie burger with a cauliflower, sweetcorn and shallot fritter patty (which sounds a lot better than that hideous sounding veggie sandwich from Five Guys ), four versions of chicken tenders, sides and their much-loved-by-Instagram DIY cheesecake, which, you guessed it, you decorate yourself from a variety of toppings. Beer is king on the drinks list with a variety of craft beers in can and bottle, and the soon to be introduced "Mad Yoke" house brew, which is being specially made in conjunction with Hope Beer in North Dublin. It's a blonde ale which they say works great with the food. They also have wine if beer's not your thing. Stephen from Mad Eg g says that luckily they haven't been affected too much by the current chef shortage in the city, and have moved some staff around to make things work, but that might be a different situation as the brand expands. Mad Egg is now open, seven days a week for lunch and dinner. There's ample outdoor seating so if you want to make the most of it get there before this freak Irish summer disappears. Mad Egg 6 Jervis House, Millennium Walkway, Dublin 1 Mon - Wed 12:00 - 21:30. Thu - Fri 12:00 - 22:30. Sat 13:00 - 22:30. Sun 13:00 - 21:00. 01 872 6728 www.madegg.ie

We knew this couldn't last forever didn't we? It's been an interesting week for All The Food , as two newspapers have "politely" requested we no longer feature their reviews. So unfortunately there won't be much more of Gillian Nelis or Ernie Whalley around these parts (although it should be noted that the critics in question had nothing to do with it). So then there were five... In The Irish Independent , Katy McGuinness had a mixed experience at newly-opened vegan restaurant Veginity on Dorset Street, which we thought Catherine Cleary would beat everyone else to. She says her review was between that and another recent vegan opening, until a friend visited the latter and sent her a picture of the "rank" nachos. If you read this site regularly you'll be able to make an educated guess about where that was. Back to Veginity, she liked the vibe, the pleasant staff and the comfortable chairs, but found the acoustics "terrible", particularly with the shrieking diner at the next table. Home-baked ciabatta with fermented coconut cream cheese and a mint and coriander chermoula was "pleasant", while beetroot kibbeh tasted of "nothing much", but did come with pineapple bulgur, sriracha salsa and confit garlic aioli that was "standout good". Her favourite main was XO king oyster mushrooms with fermented choi sum, kimchi Chinese cabbage and marinated shimeji. Another of miso aubergine came with delicious noodles but "slimey and unappealing" tofu, and her least favourite was a Kentucky-fried Kiev waffle with chicken nugget shapes of soy protein, mushroom gravy, confit peppers, banana shallots, red cabbage slaw and caramelised apricots. Too much on one plate according to Katy, and she never wants to see those nuggets again - "vegan's deserve better". Desserts were a "good" brûlée citron cheesecake and a chocolate based creation that she calls a "hideous disaster" - no mincing of words over here. Overall she says "the food is not awful - and there are some spectacularly good elements", but she thinks it could be better. We've always loved Mark Senn's food so think this might just be a case of needing a few months to settle in. It certainly seems to be getting good reviews from the vegans. Read her review here . In the Irish Daily Mail, Tom Doorley was dining with the "well-upholstered, moneyed, older folk" at Peploe's on Stephen's Green. After mixed experiences in the past, it was positive reports about new head chef Graeme Dodrill, who'd recently been persuaded to come home from Dubai, which convinced him to go back. As a table of four they tried a good subsection of the menu, including "delightfully raw and moist" seared tuna, devilled kidneys "worthy of a very grand Edwardian country house party", a "dense, intense" foie gras terrine, and "very tender" grilled octopus. The Peploe's stalwart of spaghettini with monkfish, Dublin Bay prawns, chilli and tomato had been "brought to a new level ... 24 carat bistro cooking", while plump scallops with Comté cheese and creamy spinach was "as good as it sounds". His fellow diner's soufflé was so good he didn't get a taste, a crème brûlée was "silky" and "vanilla-scented", and he says "there's no doubt that Peploe's has upped its game". (Review not currently online) In The Irish Times Catherine Cleary was eating food grown a few metres away at Enniscoe House in Mayo, which looks and sounds like the most delightful country escape, and which she calls "a reminder of things almost lost, now surviving in quiet corners of Ireland." Swoon... She went hoping to taste "this summer of summers" in the food, and found it in a carrot and cumin soup, and the green salad that accompanied a chorizo and black olive quiche and a red pepper and anchovy tart - "the simplest gathering of tasty things on filo pastry". The best main was salmon with a lemon cream and "the best potatoes I’ve had outside of my Dad’s home-grown new season Queens", along with fresh broadbeans and "duff" watery cauliflower which should have been roasted. Summer fruits with baby meringue for dessert was a "tumble of gooseberries, red black and white currants all bursting with sweet tang and a beige meringue chewy in the middle," and should be given a glass case in a museum of food memories. She says that places like Enniscoe House , where cooks started with the question “what’s good or plentiful today?”, is where delicious things begin. Read her review here . In the Sunday Independent, Lucinda O'Sullivan returns to reviewing with a trip to the much-fêted Mews in Baltimore, where the service was so lovely she almost burst into tears of joy - it should be noted this emotive outburst came off the back of three awful service experiences in a row at the hands of "smart-ass gobshites in hotels". Mews is easily in the "top 5 Irish restaurants we want to eat in" and unsurprisingly they managed to leave Lucinda mesmerised like everyone else who's walked through the door, with their "Nordic-style" foraging, fermenting and drying. We recently heard that the furthest away ingredient on the menu is Gubbeen cheese, at a whole 36km - that's some serious "eat local" credentials. She describes it as "Noma-style", with the head chef describing each dish at the table, and it sounds like a love letter to what Cork's produce - crispy Irish kelp, wild fennel emulsion, wood sorrel, sycamore sap, wild garlic, yeast emulsion, mackerel, rhubarb compote, mussels, lamb, ice cream made from Gloun Cross milk. She calls it a "truly delightful experience", and if you didn't want to visit before you will after reading this. (Review not currently online) In the Irish Examiner , Joe McNamee is on holidays in France reviewing Michelin-starred La Table Saint Crescent in Narbonne. He praises the "excellent" €20 children's menu (not something we've seen in a Michelin-starred restaurant before, maybe because most of the ones here actively discourage children being brought in with claims about inadequate insurance or the inability to cater for them), and he says he would have happily eaten their buttery mash, "delicious" chunks of chicken with the skin still attached, and deep-fried polenta chips in any of the other bistros they visited. The adult set lunch comprised of a starter of sauteed mushroom and Faugeres onions in a "robust" comte sauce, topped with a barely poached and egg white foam, and had "rich, complex flavours delivered with a lightness appropriate". Sea Bream had flavours of the "soupy, salty Med" and came with roasted summer veg in a rich fish-head soup with sauce vierge. Dessert of choux pastry with "bracingly bitter" angelica ice cream, vanilla cream, strawberries and fig sauce was "pleasant, sweet but hardly earth shattering." He calls it a lovely lunch with "sound cooking" and "good flavours", but says he could name ten non-starred Irish restaurants producing better food, with "vastly more innovative cooking of infinitely superior local ingredients." It begs the question of whether a restaurant can be accurately judged on the basis of a single set lunch, but equally should standards waver when trying to fill in the gaps between dinner services? We can think of plenty of restaurants where the standard between lunch and dinner, or set and à la carte wavers dizzyingly (not to mention those partaking in the voucher culture and the often reduced-quality offering associated with that). It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect an award-winning restaurant's standards to be at the same level at every time of the day, but when that's not the case, which should they be judged on? Their best or their worst? Read his review here . For public interest's sake we'll tell you that Gillian Nelis in the Sunday Business Post reviews The Ledbury in London, (read that here ) and Ernie Whalley in the Sunday Times reviews live-fire experts Fowl Play in the Square Ball Pub (read that here ), but that's all we could possibly say on the matter. Pics below for reference but NOT A WORD MORE. More next week.

Beatyard is back in Dun Laoghaire harbour this weekend with headline acts including The Jacksons, Le Boom and Daniel Avery, as well as talks, exhibitions and boat parties, but most importantly, loads of great food and drink. Eatyard ', the food festival within the festival, will host food stalls, demos, tastings and pop-up bars, including a pizza and prosecco bar from the Big Blue Bus. A dedicated cheese and wine bar will hold tastings all weekend, Brewtonic will be serving their own Dublin-brewed craft beers, and Hollow and Fentimans will have a bar in the Banter and Shaw space. Jameson are back with their whiskey bar, and Beefeater Gin and Fever Tree Tonic are also pitching up stalls. Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits will be there too in case you feel tipsy just listening to that line up. Food stalls throughout the weekend will include Corleggy cheese , The Wooden Pig Charcuterie , How Bao Now , Jaru , Box Burger and Camerino Bakery . Coffee will supplied by Cloud Picker . Along with their crisps and cans pairings, Eatyard will hold their “ Crisp Sambo Championship ” on Sunday at 3pm, with the winner crowned from six finalists. Judith and Susan Boyle, of Two Sisters Brewing , will host a tasting and talk about Champagne on Sunday at 5pm, and Quintessential Wines will give a talk on natural wines on Saturday at 3.30pm, both on the Eatyard Stage. There's also a "debunking wine” talk and tasting from Wines Direct on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm on the Eatyard stage, and a “Wine + Cheese, Do’s, Don’ts, Maybes” talk and tasting from Wicklow Way Wines , the people behind the Irish fruit wines ‘Móinéir’, which everyone who's anyone seems to be drinking at the moment. There's loads more happening over the three days, with talks in the 'Banteryard' including a discussion Irish food culture with the guys behind the " With Relish " podcast, a 'Kidsyard' with balloon modelling and an Imaginosity area, and of course tonnes of live music. Now all we need is the summer to come out of hiding. Beatyard Fri 3rd - Sun 5th August Dun Laoghaire Harbour (Old Stena Ferry Terminal) Fri 16:00 - 22:30. Sat - Sun 12:00 - 22:30. Tickets - Children 0-2 free, under-15s €5 per day, Adults €59 per day, €150 for the weekend www.the-beatyard.com

We had the fingers crossed for a review of newly opened The Ivy this weekend, and trusty Gillian Nelis delivered in the Sunday Business Post . We've been expecting most of the critics to go into this one with their backs up (due to the fact that The Ivy of today is a long way from the London-institution it once was, and seems to be expanding at Jamie's Italian-style speed with over 30 locations currently and more in the planning - lest we mention that ivy-covered bus), but she loved it. She loved the "gorgeous onyx-topped bar", the "over the top" design with its flowery ceilings and "ultra-snazzy loos", and most importantly, the food. A starter of buffalo mozarrella with (under ripe) sliced peaches, Nocellara olives, smoked almonds, pesto and mint was "a lovely summer starter", and another of asparagus came "perfectly cooked" with "top-notch" truffle hollandaise. Truffle arancini were "crispy and delicious". Main courses sound steep with halibut on the bone in chimichurri and a grapefruit salsa costing €32.95, but GN thought it was "beautifully cooked" and "full of flavour". A 12oz ribeye came in at a staggering €33.50 with nothing but watercress on the side. Extras of "fantastic" chips and bearnaise sauce costing €4.50 each (!!) brought the total for steak and chips up to €42.50. Deep pockets needed, and she calls it "scrooge-like" to charge that much for a portion of sauce. A side of tenderstem broccoli with lemon oil and sea salt was "fine", while another of tomato and basil salad with PX dressing was "lovely". Her all-time favourite dessert of Rhum Baba (the biggest she'd ever seen) would easily have fed two, and an apple tart fine was a "solid iteration" of a classic. She thought the young staff coped admirably with how busy the place was, and ends by saying "If you prefer your food with a side order of introspection and a dollop of self-importance, you are going to hate The Ivy. If, on the other hand, you’re after some good grub, a bit of a giggle and some top people-watching, I suspect you’ll really like it." Read the full review here . In The Irish Examiner , Leslie Williams was close to twerking with joy after his trip to Pi on George's Street, on the back of our tip-off a couple of weeks ago. He calls the pizzas "as good as I’ve ever tasted", and by the looks of Instagram over the past few weeks it seems like most of the city agrees with him. Poor Pi are having a bit of a rubbish weekend with a chimney issue forcing them to close all day Saturday (back open today), so hopefully this perked them up. He calls all three pizzas that they tried "glorious" - a 'Margharita' was "textbook", a 'Salsiccia' had Gubbeen Chorizo "softened by the milky richness of the Toonsbridge cheese" and livened up with chillis, and high praise for the 'Zuccha' which "made me re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about courgettes, their light subtly bitter flesh rounded out by the Salsa Verde and the ever so slightly funky Ricotta." He says that Pi nails the key to great pizza - bounce - and also managed to avoid the all too common burnt base. He thought dessert of vanilla ice cream with olive oil was "genius", even if the ice-cream could be made creamier and more vanilla-y, and was impressed by the craft beer selection, but thought they could do with a wine fridge as the Rioja was warm to be point of being "like soup". He calls Pi "an informal but carefully conceived and wonderfully executed pizzeria", and gives the food 9/10. It's going to be hard to de-throne this one we think. Read his review here . Read ours here . In the Irish Times , Catherine Cleary is on flying form when describing the setting in which she found "probably the best street food I’ve eaten in Dublin", at Vietnom , in the back of the Glimmer Man pub in Stoneybatter. She suggests the 'beer garden' might be more accurately described as a 'beer yard', with the dominant form of plant life being tobacco, under a plastic roof that "no amount of Mayfair instagram filtering could massage into something beautiful". There are boxes of timber under seats, "as if someone's stockpiling builders' offcuts for the fires to ward off the zombie apocalypse". It was mainly provenance which drew her to the vegetarian Vietnamese food truck, the fact that they grow some of their own vegetables, and order others from every provenance lover's fav - McNally Family Farm . The meat-free banh mi were "a pleasure rather than a penance", with honeyed mushrooms, crispy peanut shallots and pickled vegetables in "great" sourdough bread. A tostada came with "excellent" crispy potatoes and "sweet and juicy" rainbow chard. The clincher was the organic summer roll - a fresh green cabbage leaf wrapped around carrot miso, paneer and a mild, sweet kimchi: "It’s a texture and flavour bonanza and probably the best street food I’ve eaten in Dublin." Big words, and echo Katy McGuinness' review from a few months ago where she also praised the "vibrant fresh flavours" and "feel-good food". Read Catherine Cleary's review here . In the Irish Daily Mail, Tom Doorley was revisiting Luna , with the fear that new head chef Vish Sumputh (who recently moved from Chapter One ) might have messed with (or even removed) his favourite spaghetti and truffles. Imagine the carnage. Luckily it was still on the menu, and was miraculously better than before, with even more truffle - praise the lord. The general theme of the review is one of immense satisfaction, with Tom saying "there's nowhere quite like Luna", and although he does admit it's expensive, "it keeps drawing me back". Beef carpaccio was "melt in the mouth" and came with charred white turnips and pickled quail eggs, and a watercress risotto with snails, broad beans and capers had a texture that was "in true Italian fashion, between solidity and soup", and was "quite possibly the best" he's had in Dublin. While he thought the truffle spaghetti was well worth €30 a plate, a ragu bolognese with agnolotti was "fabulously intense" but too salty, "approaching levels of salinity found in the Dead Sea." With no desserts mentioned, the bill for two came to €160 which he admits is steep, but says that with Luna "you go knowing that it will be dear, but you also know that the cooking will be all about great raw materials that are handled with confidence born of experience." He recommends the pre-theatre menu, which at three courses for €30 is significantly more affordable. (Review not currently online) In The Irish Independent , Katy McGuinness was at Ard Bia at Nimmos in Galway, where she found the lunchtime offering "simple, generous and executed with heart as well as skill". Summer pea, spinach and mint soup with toasted seeds and homemade soup was ridiculous value at €2.50 for a generous half-portion, and Atlantic fishcakes had good flavour and a nice balance between smoked and unsmoked fish. A "juicy and full of flavour" rib-eye steak burger came with garlicky wedges and crunchy slaw and was "elevated by heirloom tomatoes and plentiful sorrel aioli". Some of the desserts on display were melting in the heat (forever remembered as the summer of '18) but a chocolate fudge and ganache cake held up well, and a tart of gin and almond was lacking in gin but with pastry that's "the real deal". She ends with a plea for race-goers who book restaurant tables in Galway to please show up, as they can't afford to be burned like in previous years. And no one wants to see a reenactment of this .​ Read her review here . In the Sunday Independent, Lucinda's lists just keep on coming (we're guessing she's taken July off). This week it's where to find the best street food around the country. In Dublin it seems the answers lie predominantly at Irish Village Markets , in their locations at Mespil Road, UCD, Spencer Dock and Sandyford, where she recommends Kerala Kitchen 's "fabulous, fresh Indian street food", How Bao Now 's Taiwanese bao buns, and Say Fish for fish and chips. Also mentioned are Eatyard for burgers, chicken wings and smoothie bowls, Blackrock Market for 3 Leaves , Shaka Poké and Arctic Stone ice cream, and Veginity , newly opened on Dorset Street (which we're also eagerly awaiting a review of - if anywhere has Catherine Cleary written all over it...). The other hot street food spots in Dublin according to Lucinda are the earlier mentioned Vietnom in Stoneybatter, and the Spillane World Markets in the People's Park Dun Laoghaire, Merrion Square and Herbert Park. Street food in Dublin has a way to go before we can compete with the offerings in most other capital cities, but Eatyard and pop ups like Vietnom and Veginity are doing trojan work in convincing Irish people that they don't need delph and a chair with a back to enjoy eating out. The big gap in Dublin's dining scene right now is "fast, cheap, good", and that's where street food comes in. Plus if the property market keeps going the way it is, street food might be all that most people can afford soon. There's a cheery thought to end on. More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

Cookes, the new 125-seater restaurant in Dundrum town centre from Chef Johnnie Cooke, opens to the public today, along with a 60-seat cocktail bar. The food is Mediterranean influenced, with dishes like Crispy Octopus a la Plancha, Lobster Pizza and Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib, as well as signature cocktails including a Dillisk-infused Bloody Mary. The kitchen will be led by Johnnie, alongside a team of chefs including Lee Doyle (formerly The Exchequer ) and Ros Morgan (formerly The Legal Eagle ). Cooke's will open 7 days a week and will serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, as well as brunch at the weekends. Johnnie Cooke is best known for owning and running Cooke’s Cafe in Castle Market for 17 years, famous for bringing Californian influenced Mediterranean food to Dublin and feeding celebrities like Bob Dylan and Naomi Campbell, before it closed in 2009. He now operates " The Restaurant by Johnnie Cooke " and the "Green & Bean Café and Bar", both in Brown Thomas . Cooke's is in the first floor space above Harvey Nichols , which was formerly occupied by the Harvey Nichols restaurant, and before that by Niall Sabongi's Rock Lobster. The Harvey Nichols restaurant closed in August 2016 after making reported losses of around €15,000 a month. The space has been vacant since. Cooke hopes that his ethos of believing in "the best ingredients (locally-sourced & organic wherever possible), clean presentation, a love of good food and a kinship attitude to feasting" will make Cooke's the one that sticks. Also look out for details soon to be announced of a summer series afternoon tea with Veuve Cliquot Rosé. Cooke's 1st Floor, Pembroke District, Dundrum Town Centre Mon - Fri 10am - 10pm. Sat - Sun 9am - 10pm. Bookings - cookesrestaurant@johnniecooke.ie Ph: (01) 2962441 www.johnniecooke.ie

The Botanic House in Glasnevin re-opened yesterday with a new seafood-focused menu, after being shut since early 2014. The owners of Aqua in Howth have taken over the lease after they saw an opportunity to bring quality seafood to Glasnevin, and have been working with the owners of the site since last year to give the beautiful building a new lease of life. Keeping with Aqua’s ethos, Botanic House will have a strong focus on classic seafood, cooked simply. The new menu features moules mariniere, crab salad with local smoked salmon and hot native shellfish with a bouillabaisse sauce, and battered fish comes with triple cooked chips - always a good sign. The ingredients they're using look good too, with organic salmon, Toonsbridge mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes amongst those listed. Desserts are pretty classic with creme brulée and apple crumble, and there's an Irish cheese board. There's a full cocktail list, including the “Bombay Botanic” and the new fit out looks cosy, particularly the armchairs by the fire. In an area where good eating options are sparse, we think The Botanic House is going to be a very welcome addition to Dublin 9, and wih the pedigree of Aqua behind it, we'd bet there'll be a critic in here before you can say crab salad. The Botanic House 26 Botanic Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 Food served Monday - Sunday 12pm - 9pm botanichouse.ie

We're all about the breakfasts this week, with pastries, breakfast sandwiches and nice looking things on toast practically jumping off our timelines. Here are five of the best looking breakfasts in town right now. 1. Yellow courgette, St Tola Goat's Cheese and Lemon Thyme Danish from Scéal Bakery In conversations about where to find the best pastries in Dublin, Scéal comes up over and over again, and this savoury danish with McNally Farm yellow courgettes, St Tola goat's cheese and lemon thyme looks perfectly seasonal and totally delicious. Find Scéal at the Stoneybatter Farmers Market every Saturday. www.scealbakery.com 2. The New BuJo Breakfast Sandwich Just when we thought BuJo couldn't get any better, they've gone and introduced a breakfast sandwich at weekends. With a toasted brioche bun from Coghlan's bakery, a Ballygarvey free-range egg, Oliver Carty's Beechwood smoked bacon, a Hampshire rare breed sausage patty, molten cheese and a choice of three sauces, we never want to hear the words "egg mcmuffin" again. They're also serving freshly squeezed orange juice and 3fe coffee. So now it's never too early for a BuJo . Only available Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 12pm. bujo.ie 3. The Fat Fox Maybe more of a brunch (but you can eat whatever you want whenever you want it), this mushroom toastie with grilled cheese, chilli aioli and spinach from The Fat Fox has enough vegetable goodness to set you up nicely for the day. Plus, look at that cheese. www.instagram.com/thefatfoxcamden 4. Mushrooms on toast from Two Boys Brew More mushrooms from Two Boys Brew , this time herby ones on sourdough toast with pea & garlic puree, a free range soft poached egg, shaved parmesan, pickled red onion, crushed hazelnuts and crème fraiche. Outstanding breakfast game. www.twoboysbrew.ie 5. This health-giving vegan cupcake from Kaph Sometimes cake is all that will do for breakfast, but instead of one of an innately unhealthy, sugar and flour packed one that will leave you starving an hour later, we'd be heading to Kaph for this vegan cardamon and almond cupcake, with a sour cherry jam filling, topped with coconut cream. They're from Wild Sage Bakery and we'd have high hopes that they taste as good as they look. www.kaph.ie

What a week for the Sunday Independent to publish an article on where to find the best pizza in the country (presumably written weeks earlier) and not mention the place that's completely dominated social media for the past 10 days - Pi . If ever there was an argument for holding something back until said newbie could be sampled, doing a swift rewrite, or the relevance of a piece that appears dated even before it's been published, this is it. No mention of Katy McGuinness' fav Sano either, which she last week declared the best pizza in Ireland (and that wasn't the first time we heard it spoken about in those terms), or another constantly talked about contender for best in the city, Dublin Pizza Company. Some solid recommendations on Lucinda's list nonetheless, with Osteria Lucio , Gaillot et Gray , Forno 500 and Cirillo's all getting a place in the top 20. The other Dublin spots which made it are Fellini's in Deansgrange, Shovelhead in Monkstown and Pizza Yard in Ranelagh. Better luck next year Pi . After Katy McGuinness ' winning meal at Sano last week she was probably due some bad luck, and she got it with the coddle pizza at The Baths at Clontarf . She calls it "a truly terrible idea" and "an awful pizza. Don't whatever you do, order this dish, not even for fun." The whole experience got off to a bad start with a request for an outside table denied (only drinks served on the terrace bizarrely), before being were shown to a table "from which every possible view of the pool or the sea is obliterated - by walls, by masonry, by a tea station, and by a huge banquette in the middle of the adjacent conservatory-type structure." Sure why would you need to see the actual sea when you have a beach hut, nautical lighting and a seaside mural in the dining room. Sure you could be on a boat. The other brunch dishes they tried fared slightly better. Eggs Benedict on a soda farl with bacon and spinach had good hollandaise but too much bacon. A lobster roll was a "serviceable iteration" but the amount of lobster felt stingy and the accompanying chips weren't crisp enough. It was the coddle pizza however that was the stomach churner: "It looks terrible - pale, the cheese barely melted, the pieces of organic bacon limp and flaccid. It looks as if it hasn't yet been in the oven. But it has." Mmmm... Desserts of an "uninspiring" knickerbocker glory and a "bland" affogato were "sweet, creamy, forgettable", and she says that "in such a magnificent location, both the décor and the food at The Baths are a disappointment." The Baths have been swimming (sorry) in controversy since they opened a few months ago over their failure to open the public swimming baths (the whole point of the project and why they were allowed to proceed in the first place) and are currently being investigated by Dublin City Council investigation for breaches to their planning permission. They've been given until September to make changes - maybe removing the coddle pizza is one of them. Read her review here . In the Sunday Business Post , Gillian Nelis had a much more successful trip to The Cliff Townhouse on Stephen's Green, which she calls "good for the soul and good for the stomach". She describes head chef Sean Smith as "one of the best fish and seafood chefs in the country", and the dining room as "one of the nicest places to eat in the city". West coast scallop ceviche with lime, chilli and orange was "a well-balanced, delicate starter", while cured mackerel with rhubarb, beetroot and blue cheese was "a much more robust affair", which she loved, but would have liked a bit more blue cheese. Her main of brill was gorgeous to look at and gorgeous to eat, and came with girolles, pea purée, fresh peas and a "divine" clam and mussel sauce. Her other half's main of halibut with asapargus and hollandaise wasn't going to win any awards for creativity but was "well-cooked nonetheless". Full from the "lovely" treacle bread they'd filled on up earlier, they shared a dessert of crème caramel with "just the right amount of vanilla", rum-soaked raisins and sugared puff pastry, and she says that the pricing at The Cliff Townhouse is one of the things she likes most about it. While you can go all out with champagne, lobster and caviar, you can also eat relatively inexpensively with a fish pie for €18 or a pot of mussels for €13.90, and "given where you’ll be eating – in the centre of a city that, let’s face it, is getting jaw-droppingly expensive – that’s more than fair." Read her review here (subscription only). From the good back to the ugly, it was another shocker of a meal for Joe McNamee in The Irish Examiner , who was at Bobo Café in Cork, on the grounds of UCC. He describes the pedigree of the owners (one management, one chef) who are "seasoned operators", with the chef's food in other premises having "never been less than very good", so the consistently unseasoned, flavour-lacking food came as a surprise. Good black pudding comes with chard, poached eggs and and cherry tomatoes but is "overcooked and dry, almost a crumbling biscuit". Other components on the plate are fine but the fresh chard is "entirely unseasoned". Poached eggs on sourdough come with a "pleasing guacamole", but once again the black pudding is overcooked. Another plate of potato cakes "again lack any semblance of seasoning", and the salsa it comes with is "anaemic, devoid of depth or punch." Joe opted for Chilli Tempeh, Beans, Patatas Bravas & Beets. The tempeh and beans were well cooked with perfect texture, "but again seasoning and flavour are mysteriously absent." He could taste no chilli whatsoever, and the patatas bravas needed serious seasoning. He also thought that service needed to be addresses, "urgently", with staff not even acknowledging their arrival, offering to seat them or asking why three quarters of his meal remained uneaten. It's a pretty damning review for Bobo , but even still we were surprised to see this post within hours of it being published yesterday, saying that due to circumstance beyond their control the restaurant would be closed for the weekend but would be back with a new menu on Tuesday. It could be a coincidence, but perhaps more likely that the people in charge took their eye off the ball and this swift kick up the backside has catapulted them into fire-fighting mode. Anyone who cares enough to close a restaurant is likely to come back with something bigger and better, so we look forward to getting the verdict on the new menu (if Joe can be convinced to go back). Read his review here . In the Irish Times, Catherine Cleary 's clean-eating lifestyle continues with a trip to Grow HQ in Waterford, which she describes as sounding like "a militia encampment for barrow pushers and gnarly-knuckled folk who know how to pinch out the side shoots on a tomato plant." She doesn't review a lot of the food as she went with her two children, so the menu consists of a cheese toastie, artisan sausages on a blaa and her beet platter, which was that week's "veg hero" prepared five ways. She liked four out of the five, but suggests they "scale back the hashtag gimmick of one veg five ways and just do one luscious thing with it every day." Her favourite was the sausage-shaped fritter with spiced yoghurt, followed by a beet gazpacho that "tastes great" with the sourdough crusts she foraged from her son's plate. The offending item was a risotto "more watery than a risotto ever should be", and tasting neither of the fennel or Knockanore cheddar that it was supposed to. Desserts of gingery nutty carrot cake and a chocolate chip cookie came with "gorgeous" and "terrific" ice creams, and a beet and chocolate brownie made up for its health components with "lashings of sugar and dark, dark chocolate". She calls it "a great pitstop", but advises that "with an idea this beautiful, less is more." Read her review here . Finally, in The Irish Daily Mail, Tom Doorley went in search of seafood in Schull, West Cork, and ended up at L'Escale fish and chips, which he says aims to be all things to all people, but is "a big, happy place" with food that "isn't bad". A seafood platter had oysters with good flavour but which could have been juicier, Dublin Bay prawns which were overchilled, causing them to lose a lot of their sweet flavour, and crab meat which was good, "if lacking a wow factor". A whole lobster was "exceptionally good", the only downside being the commerical-grade mayonnaise and "ordinary" baguette it was served with, and monkfish served in a crisp batter was so fresh it "almost mimicked the best kind of prawn". Chips were nicely crisp and wines "remarkably cheap", and he says that while parts were excellent, "with a bit more attention to detail it could have been the stuff of dreams." (Review not currently online) More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

Restaurant wine lists in Dublin seem to be getting better every month, and there are now plenty of options for drinking exceptionally well around town - Piglet , Forest & Marcy , Etto and Fish Shop to name a few. But sometimes you're feeling a bit broke, want to eat ethnic food with a bottle of something decent or want to break out an extra special bottle that you just couldn't afford (or wouldn't pay for) on a restaurant wine list. That's where BYO comes in very handy. A long overused how-to-drink-great-wine cheat in the wine trade, it's something a lot of regular diners don't think about, but should. These 12 restaurants all have free or very low corkage and most importantly, good food 1. 3 Leaves 3 Leaves in Blackrock Market started as a stall, before moving into one of the market shacks, and was very quickly being talked about as some of the best Indian food in Dublin, despite being its simple surroundings. Chef Santosh Thomas and his wife Millie have been positively drowning in praise from the critics for the past few months for their take on Indian street food, and as they don't currently have an alcohol licence it's free to BYOB (dinner time only). www.3leaves.ie 2. Pho Viet Some of the best Vietnamese food in the city with excellent savoury pancakes, Pho (noodle soup) and Bun (rice vermicelli with a combination of meat, spring rolls, fresh vegetables and herbs). Corkage is €5 on wine and €1 on beer. www.phoviet.ie 3. Ku Raudo One of the better sushi places in the city, particularly when it comes to the special rolls, like the Dragon with katsu prawns, avocado, capellin roe (masago), eel & mayo sauce, or the Spider Special with deep-fried soft-shell crab, lettuce, capellin roe and Japanese mayo. Corkage is free. Read our Ku-Raudo once over here . www.facebook.com/kuraudosushidublin 4. Shouk Delicious, Middle Eastern, purse-friendly food in Drumcondra that's predominantly vegetable based (but don't panic, they do have meat). Pittas, falafel, mezze and flavour-packed salads are always on the menu as well as rotating specials, and corkage is €4 per bottle. www.facebook.com/shoukdublin 5. Musashi Musashi now has 5 locations across Dublin, and the quality doesn't seem to have been affected, with sushi aficionados frequently mentioning it as one of Dublin's top spots. A hot tip is to go mid-afternoon when they've sold out of lunchtime stock and are making it fresh. Corkage is €6 per bottle and only available in the Capel Street and Parnell Street branches. www.musashidublin.com 6. M & L Chinese One of the few places in Dublin to get authentic Sichuan food, the dumplings and fried green beans with chilli have caused many addictions to be formed over the years (raises hand). Corkage is €5 but go easy on the chilli oil if you're taking something nice. Read our M & L once over here . mlchineserestaurant.com 7. Eatokyo Sushi, gyoza, katsu curry and noodle dishes are all on the menu at Eatokyo on Wellington Quay, although a couple of critics in recent months have recommended veering towards the hot dishes over the sushi. Corkage is €8. www.eatokyo.ie 8. Rotana Café Casual Lebanese restaurant in Portobello serving charcoal-grilled kebabs, falafel sandwiches and mezze platters at very good prices. Corkage is free when you have two courses. rotanacafe.ie 9. Café Azteca Mexican food with a few Irish influences near Christ Church Cathedral, run by Mexican Hugo Camacho Romero. For the real deal try the Tacos al Pastor or the tamales filled with meat or cheese and poblano peppers. Corkage is €5. www.azteca.ie 10. Michie Sushi When it comes to sushi in Dublin, Michie is easily the grandaddy of them all, and has been serving picture perfect temaki and futomaki to the residents of Ranelagh and beyond for more than 15 years. They also do hot dishes, but the sushi is the star. Corkage is free. www.michiesushi.com 11. Pho Ta Delicious, flavour-filled Vietnamese food in Temple Bar with the friendliest staff. Try the unusual looking (but amazing tasting) steamed rice paper rolls with prawn (above), the cold beef salad or the crispy fried rice noodles with chicken or prawn. Corkage is €5. pho-ta.business.site 12. Keshk Café Casual, no-frills Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food in Ballsbridge, with all meat cooked on a charcoal grill and the lamb moussaka coming highly recommended. Corkage is free. www.keshk.ie

Since Lucky Tortoise first brought Dim Sum to Ranelagh in 2017, first in The Hill pub, then in Hobart's café, we've been waiting for them to secure a permanent site of their own, so were very happy to hear that they're almost there - great news for Dublin's 'cheap eats' scene. In the meantime the team have taken over the kitchen at Berlin D2 bringing a new " Eat With Your Hands " menu to Dame Lane, and due to "a mountain of emails", they're bringing Lucky Tortoise back for three nights next week, with a 'Lucky Tortoise Summer Party'. From Thursday 26th - Saturday 28th July they'll be serving classic Lucky Tortoise dim sum like Okonomiyaki and Prawn Siu Mai as well as new dishes that will be on the menu in their new location. They're also doing a Lucky Tortoise brunch menu on Saturday, will be trying out cocktails from their new drinks menu, and they'll have live music and DJs over the three days. If you miss the summer party, you can try the "Eat With Your Hands" menu seven days a week at Berlin D2 from 16:00 - 21:30. The new menu takes inspiration from several cuisines and includes dishes like Vietnamese mussels, Korean spiced chicken and crab and scallion sushi rolls with soy wasabi remoulade. They don't take reservations and you order at a counter, so good if you're in a hurry or just want something low fuss. You can book a spot at the Lucky Tortoise Summer Party by emailing eat@luckytortoise.co, but the Saturday brunch is no reservations. The regular bar food menu at Berlin D2 is walk in only and available seven days a week. "Eat with your hands" at Berlin D2 14-15 Dame Lane, Dublin 2 Mon - Sun 16:00 - 21:30 Lucky Tortoise Summer Party - Thu 26th - Fri 27th July, 16:00 - 21:00. Sat 28th July 12:00 - 16:00, 17:00 - 21:00 twitter.com/berlincafed2 www.luckytortoise.co

Another win for cheese fans today with the news that Dublin's recent cheese-related pop up Meltdown has opened in a permanent location in Temple Bar. The new site is located at 2 Curved Street, and has indoor seating, an outside terrace and a roof garden. As well as the original pop-up's cheese toasties and cheese boards, they're also serving breakfast, seasonal salads and ice-cream. Breakfast options include the 'Breakfast of Champs' with bacon, egg mayo, raclette, scallions, tomato and country relish (presumably on bread), avocado toast, and yoghurt with granola and berries. The new toastie menu includes the 'Mac Mama' with macaroni and cheese, bacon, scallions and Monterey Jack cheese, and the 'All the Cheese' with raclette, gruyere, cheddar, pickle and whole grain mustard. They're also serving ice cream cones with flakes and sprinkles, and sundaes with brownie, butterscotch and pecans. The Black Box, a community arts space is above the restaurant and they hope to see it used for exhibitions and events, and to raise awareness of important issues in the city. To launch the opening, Meltdown are having a 'Secret Garden Party' this Saturday from 3pm - 11pm and are promising "crazy ice cream collabs, prosecco, bags of cans and Buckfast as well as three DJ set". Tickets are €10 and can be bought here . Meltdown 2 Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Sun - Wed 8am - 7pm. Thu - Sat 8am - 9pm. www.instagram.com/meltdowndublin

There were a record two declarations of where to find the best pizza in Ireland this week. One from us for the brilliant Pi which recently opened on George's Street, and the other from Katy McGuinness in the Irish Independent , for Sano Pizza in Temple Bar, which seems to be climbing the cool charts at the moment. She thought the pizzas were "quite simply the best I have eaten in Ireland: chewy, generous, blistered, full of flavour, gorgeous," particularly the 'Sapori del Sud' with fennel sausage, nduja and friarielli (Italian broccoli). Starters of antipasto, artichokes and sunblushed tomatoes were good, but cherry tomatoes with basil and EVOO lacked flavour, and dessert of berry tart and ice cream was barely passable. A carafe of merlot was "more than pleasant" and she calls Sano "really, really cheap", with pizza ranging from €6-9, and "really, really good". She find the smiley staff "a delight", and ends by saying, "I don't know how they make food this good for these prices but I am delighted that they do." She gives it 9/10 for food and 10/10 for value. The battle of the pizza places continues. (Review not currently online) In the Irish Times , Catherine Cleary was revisiting an old classic at Pearl Brasserie , which she calls "a gem". She describes how she came upon a recommendation for it via human conversation, as opposed to social media trawling (doesn't that sound lovely), and says the basement restaurant is "full of nooks and crannies", with several tables "set into upholstered vaults not much bigger than MRI machines, padding on their curved ceilings to prevent post-dessert concussion". The menu is a mix of the expected and the not so expected. Lamb shoulder with couscous, spring onions, yellow raisins and a spicy jus is luscious and a mix of "lightness and heft", and a crab meat tian with cucumber and gazpacho is "pure Mediterranean holiday in food form". Salmon is "light and deftly done", with crisp skin, dashi, spinach, cucumber and clumps of spicy tofu that look and taste like tempura oysters. More fish, this time sea bream, was "expertly cooked" and served with a subtle cardamom puree and yellow "heritage” carrots "that look great but aren’t particularly carroty". A chocolate and hazelnut tartlet is one of her favourite things; enough "to satisfy a sweet tooth craving without sending you slumped into the territory of too much". They finished with a "perfect espresso" and petit fours which included a pistachio financier the size of a swollen button - "another sign of a talented pastry section." She says that Pearl Brasserie is "well worth a revisit", and is "heart warming without the coronary when the bill arrives". The bill for two with one glass of wine came to €76.50, but we can't help thinking this could easily have gone up to coronary status if there was more alcohol consumed. In the Sunday Business Post , Gillian Nelis was craving steak, and after a twitter request for recommendations (none of those old-fashioned human conversations over here thanks very much) she ended up at The Chophouse . They were eyeing up the côte de bœuf so went light on starters with Carlingford oysters in a "very-good" Thai style sauce, and salmon cured in Hendricks gin and grapefruit, with fennel and grapefruit salad, pickled cucumber and a "punchy" wasabi aioli. She praises the "top-notch" seedy brown bread, which she recommends ordering a day in advance to take home. The côte de bœuf, (a kilo of it for €70), came with garlicky green beans (which had a "pleasing crunch"), chips (crispy), onion marmalade and pots of béarnaise, pepper sauce and garlic butter (all "perfectly made"). The meat itself, which had been dry-aged for at least 35 days, was "more than a generous portion" and there was "no doubting the quality", but she thought it should have been let rest for longer before leaving the kitchen. Regardless, it was "truly delicious". Despite being stuffed with half a kilo of meat each, they tried one dessert (reviewer's duty), and the chocolate and praline tart with coffee ice cream was "so light and tasty" that they left nothing behind. She thought the bill of €160.50 was "more than fair" considering "that really wonderful beef, the top-drawer dessert and the excellent service". Read her review here (subscription only). In the Sunday Independent, it's another list from Lucinda - this time Ireland's best dining destinations. There's loads of fodder for a foodie weekend away, including Cork's Ichigo Ichie , Mews and the newly opened Restaurant Chestnut , Nevin Maguire's MacNean House in Cavan, and the Michelin-starred Wild Honey Inn in Clare, but seven of the twenty are in Dublin, so loads if you're staying put too. In Dublin she recommends Chapter One , where Ross Lewis showcases the "very finest of what Ireland has to offer", Etto which "impresses even top chefs who can't get enough of its casual Italian grub", and Glovers Alley , whose "French-style food deserves Michelin recognition". Also included on the list are Heron & Grey , the "tiny oasis in Blackrock market" which is "almost as famous for the difficulty in getting a table as it is for the Michelin star which launched them into an exclusive stratosphere", Pickle for its "great North Indian food that you won't find elsewhere", and Ireland's only two-star Michelin Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud , which she says should be on any foodie's checklist. The "little city jewel" that is The Greenhouse also gets a nod, with LOS saying the one Michelin-star restaurant should have two. (Article not currently online.) In the Irish Examiner , Leslie Williams was in Dingle, one of his "favourite places to eat fish". He recommends the Reel takeaway for proper chips and crispy batter, or Out of the Blue if you're feeling posh, like he was. He praises the restaurant's opening gambit of "No Chips, Nothing Frozen, Always Fresh or Alive… if there is no fish available we don’t open!", and describes it as "filled with happy diners (as always)". Fried plaice with tomato and anchovy salsa was "perfectly cooked with the bright fresh flavours from the salsa", steamed mussels in a tomato compote had "ripe sweet tomatoes" and a "good use of herbs", and flash fried squid with chilli, ginger and coriander was a "virtually perfect starter fish course". The only snag came when his wild salmon was delivered cooked through rather than flash fried as requested, but it was whipped away and replaced with a perfectly rendered version "that allowed this most glorious of fish to properly show off its oily-sweet deliciousness - backed up nicely by sweetly caramelised onions, herbed new potatoes and a light buttery-citrus hollandaise." They finished with a "good" Baileys chocolate mousse and a "textbook Île Flottante", and he advises getting down to Kerry before the weather breaks (might have missed the boat on that one). Read his review here . Finally in the Irish Daily Mail, Tom Doorley managed to bag a table at the aforementioned Ichigo Ichie , the Japanese fine-dining restaurant from Takashi Miyasaki and Cork's dining destination of the moment. It's had nothing but praise from the critics who've visited so far, and nothing changes with Tom's visit. He says that the problem with reviewing Ichigo Ichie is 1) he's no expert on Japanese food, and 2) he can't do justice to the meal within the allotted space, but he gives it a go anyway. Highlights of the extensive tasting menu included some meaty slices of Faroe Island prawn with yam, cucumber, and a "profoundly savoury but faintly sweet barley ko-ji miso". Plum tomato, sun-dried tomato and porcini mushrooms in a clear bonito (tuna) broth with Japanese parsley was a "rather fabulous exercise" in umami, and a dashi egg custard with "meltingly tender" chicken thigh was "a deeply comforting, slippery, very savoury experience". The only dish that didn't work for him was the "rice, corn, eel, sansho pepper", which he calls "good" and "beautifully presented", but he wasn't a fan of sweetness meeting fishiness. A pre-dessert of watermelon mousse was "brilliantly flavoured", "creamy, light, intruiging", and he says the bill of €225 for two was "worth every cent". Get booking your train tickets. (Review not currently online) More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

Natural wine lovers of Dublin rejoice, the city finally has a dedicated natural wine bar and shop, which also sells cheese and meat. Set up by the guys behind Meet Me In The Morning , Brian O’Caoimh and Kevin Powell, Loose Canon Cheese and Wine is a passion project that's long been in the works, and finally came to light with the securing of a prime location in George's Steet Arcade that faces onto Drury Street. Loose Canon will have around 50 rotating wines on the shelf and six available by the glass at any one time (although for the moment they won't be pouring until 17:30), and you'll also be able to open anything off the shelf for a small corkage fee (which should be in the region of €10). They're also serving cheese and charcuterie boards if you want something to eat alongside your glass of cloudy prosecco or chilled red. Cheeses are predominantly Irish and always seasonal, and meats have been sourced from Gubbeen, The Wooded Pig and Broughgammon Farm. There are no seats for the time being, but you can perch at a counter and feel very European while you watch people watch out onto Drury Street. Loose Canon Cheese and Wine will open seven days a week from 10:30am until 10pm, Wednesday to Monday. Tuesdays they'll close early so that they have a night off. One of the biggest draws about this place is going to be for the trade who are always looking for somewhere to go on Sunday and Monday nights when they're off, so expect it to be heaving with restaurant and bar staff then, but we're expecting it to be heaving most nights. If you've ever wanted to know more about what exactly natural wine is and why it has such a cult following around the world, you're likely to get it after a night in here. Loose Canon Cheese and Wine 29 Drury Street Wed - Mon 10:30 - 22:00. Tues 10:30 - TBC. www.instagram.com/loosecanoncheeseandwine

Yes we're all a bit anxious that the sun's still shining. The grass looks like hay, we've had to hide the hosepipes and the washing machine's been on nonstop cycles because a) we don't have enough clothes for this heat and b) it's great drying weather. On the positive side, it's a perfect time to go out to eat and pretend you're on holidays, so with that in mind here are five things we want to eat this week that have summer written all over them. 1. Honey Honey's overnight oats What we want in this heat is a good cold breakfast, and these overnight oats with chia seeds, apple, coconut, almonds and raspberries followed by a long walk on Portmarnock beach sounds like a perfect start to the day - or even better, grab them to go and eat them on the beach. www.facebook.com/pg/honeyhoneycafe 2. Gazpacho at Urbanity Coffee Irish people aren't really used to the idea of cold soup, but this could be the summer we make gazpacho happen. This herby version from Urbanity Coffee made using vegetables from McNally farm in North Dublin looks like the perfect introduction. urbanitycoffee.ie 3. The ultimate summer salad from The Woollen Mills This salad of grilled peach, Kearney blue cheese, roasted hazelnuts, pickled red onion and baby gem lettuce looks like an inspired combination. thewoollenmills.com 4. Grilled Octopus at Osteria Lucio Quite literally haven't stopped thinking about this since it popped into our feed. Daily day-dreaming about sitting on the terrace outside Osteria Lucio with a cold glass of white wine and this grilled octopus with artichoke, farro, olives and herbs. osterialucio.com 5. This perfectly seasonal dessert from One Pico Pistachio financier, white chocolate namelaka (like a firm ganache), raspberry sorbet and fresh raspberries. We feel cooler already. www.onepico.com

Just when you thought you'd seen the last of them, they're back. Catherine Cleary is critic six of the featured seven to visit the scary Norwegian crabs at Sole . After four other reviews ranging from lukewarm to complete annihilation (and a single gushing endorsement from Lucinda O'Sullivan ), we can only imagine their faces when the ice queen herself walked in - batten down the hatches and say your prayers territory - but she was surprisingly nice about the expensive, imported seafood. She describes the menu's opening essay about Ireland having some of the best seafood in the world as "all that fish-frottaging stuff that small places like the Fish Shops on Queen St and Benburb St and the Klaw mini empire have been doing for a while now but dressed up in a posh room", before turning the page to see Mediterranean-farmed sea bass as one of the menu's main dishes. Strike one. She calls their self-titled inclusion of “unique flavours from global waters” a "having-your-cake-and-eating-it approach to food from the sea." Despite this she enjoyed two "terrific dishes", even if the standard did go through "more dips than a night ferry in a storm." Fat, juicy, tiger prawns had been expertly charred and tasted like they'd come off a beach barbecue, and a whole brill roasted in butter was the star of the night, its flesh "virtually confited, pulling away from its spiney web of bone sweet and juicy as good chicken." Lobster cakes (below) had nice lobster meat but too much dill, and a half lobster was one of the smallest she'd ever seen in a restaurant. Seabass was "expertly fried" with crisp skin and came with tempura oysters ("the nicest mouthfuls on the plate") and blue potatoes ("which look good but taste about as special as supermarket roosters"). A side of broccoli and black garlic was bitter, with a "mushroomy honk that someone at the table likens to licking a mouldy shower wall." Yum. She ends by saying that "Sole is an encouraging sign that one of our best raw ingredients is finally being given pride of place", and that she hopes they'll get into the swing of things. Can't help thinking it could have been a lot worse. Read her review here . In the Irish Independent Katy McGuinness was at Fowl Play , the open-fire barbecue joint at the back of The Square Ball pub on Hogan Street which always seems to be filled with rugby players . Run by Trev O'Shea and Andy Noonan, the guys behind the Big Grill Festival , and billed as Dublin's "only dedicated live fire chicken joint", we feel like this one's been creeping up lately, with more and more people talking about it. Katy describes how the kitchen cooks over natural charcoal and Irish oak using a wood-fired rotisserie and a smoker brought from Houston, Texas, with no gas or electricity - we're already interested. Bar snacks are "fun", with padron peppers grilled over charcoal and flavoured with preserved lemon and sea salt - "I could eat them all night". Croquetas wth smoked chicken and chorizo are "tasty" and they loved the fried pickles (frickles). Filipino-style pork belly is "sweet, sticky and delicious". After being dissuaded from ordering "way too much" by the server - know the feeling - they went for the chicken burger and the pitmaster's platter. The burger made with boneless, free-range thighs, tomato, lettuce and Alabama white BBQ sauce on a toasted brioche bun is "fantastic, confirming that the humble thigh is really the best, most flavoursome bit of the bird". Two flavours of chicken wings on the platter tasted great but they'd have liked crispier skin, and rotisserie chicken had good flavour but was dry. A smoked turkey dog "doesn't have a whole lot to say for itself". Sides of tenderstem broccoli with sesame seeds and slaw with crushed peanuts and a lemon yoghurt dressing are "fresh and vibrant", but fries in a house rub are "flaccid" and didn't need the "over-powering" seasoning. She calls it "a fun, unpretentious venue with food to match", and gives the food, ambience and value 8/10. Read her review here . In the Irish Daily Mail Tom Doorley had the only occupied table at newly opened Everett's in Waterford one Saturday afternoon, which he found "shocking when you consider what type of food is being served here." He describes the calibre of people that chef Peter Everett has worked for ( Ross Lewis , Graham Neville , Michael Quinn ), saying that pedigrees don't come much better. The still warm bread made it clear that "this is what you might call a destination restaurant", with an "ethereal baguette" and a dark, treacly, nutty soda bread that "you could live on". A starter of rillettes were "silkily smooth" and "gloriously concentrated", enhanced by the earthiness of baby beetroot and the sharpness of cherries. A dish of cod with a prawn and brandy bisque was "beyond my ken in terms of how perfect it was", fish "cooked to the nanosecond of just-doneness" sitting in "the most concentrated, rich bisque imaginable". Slow cooked lamb neck with a mint and mustard crumb, "impeccable" boulangère potatoes, garlic, broad beans and wilted lettuce was "pure Gallic indulgence". An Irish cheeseboard was in "excellent condition" and included the Wexford take on Époisses, Humming Bark , and a "blissfully beautiful and simple dessert" with a purée of fresh peach, burnt butter sponge and a "hauntingly exotic" elderflower sorbet was "the best pudding I've had this year". He calls Everett's "a gem", and advises beating a path to its door, echoing Lucinda O'Sullivan's review a few week's ago. (Review not currently online) In The Sunday Business Post , Gillian Nelis was praising the "cool classics" at Michelin-starred The Lady Helen in Mount Juliet Hotel, Kilkenny. They delved into the nine-course surprise tasting menu, which she thought had the balance "just right" between light and rich dishes. King crab and mussels in a rockfish sauce had "pleasingly garlicky dots of rouille", and foie gras had been liquidised and served in gel spheres for a "contemporary take on a classically flavoured dish". The dishes of the night were turbot with baby gem, peas and Alsace bacon, and a "gorgeous" plate of Anjou squab pigeon with almonds, a "deeply-flavoured" jus, hen of the woods and York cabbage, which was "full of flavour". Desserts of banana, tonka bean and calamansi (is it just us or is calamansi the ingredient of the moment - third time seeing it this week), and a richer tiramisu-style affair with a "fantastic" coffee ice cream rounded off the meal. She calls it a tribute to chef John Kelly's dish selection that they managed to finish it all, and that while they were full they weren't uncomfortably so. It certainly sounds like she enjoyed it, but there's a fair amount of qualifying that restaurants must be cognisant of its customer base, and that The Lady Helen will always have a more classical offering than somewhere like The Greenhouse (just in case you were getting too excited), but she does say that the kitchen is doing "some interesting things here that are adding a more contemporary note". Read her review here (subscription only). In The Irish Examiner , Joe McNamee (who moonlights as a soccer mom/bottle washer) was glad to escape his household duties with a trip to The Square Table in Blarney, Cork, which he says tends to surprise first time diners. He calls it “elemental in its low-budget decorative simplicity” and “a sweet if unremarkable little space”, but with “deeply flavoursome dishes, that make for very pleasurable eating”. Crispy egg with hollandaise and Ballyhoura mushrooms was “an old school comforter of the first order”, and roast monkfish with crab tortellini, coconut milk, chilli and pak choi was “light and bright” with “al dente parcels of sweet, fresh crabmeat”. An Angus aged Rib Eye was a “gorgeous slab of charred beef, rare pink in the middle”, with chips that were more like girders, too big to deliver “crispy chip-ness” but delicious dipped in Béarnaise sauce - to be fair, is anything not delicious dipped in Béarnaise sauce? Potato gnocchi with ‘metallic’ local spinach (not sure how appealing that sounds) and a fudge-y Coolea cheese sauce (better) was wonderfully satisfying, and desserts of chocolate brownies (excellent), salted caramel ice-cream (good) and rhubarb with buttermilk foam and crunchy speculoos (sound - a spiced dutch biscuit) all went down well. He ends with a bit about the twins Martina (chef) and Patricia (front of house) who own and run The Square Table , talking about Martina's "stellar" CV, and the fact that ex-bosses Ross Lewis (Chapter One) and Graham Neville (Dax, Restaurant Forty-One) travelled down for the opening night several years ago, such is the esteem they hold her in (interesting that both Martina and Peter Everett are of the same progeny). He calls the food "simple, unpretentious", with "superbly-sourced produce, cannily rendered with sound technique", and debates legging it after some tourists who looked at the menu and walked on to tell them what a mistake they're making. Read his review here . In The Sunday Independent, Lucinda 's summer of lists just keeps on giving, this time with the country's top 20 gastropubs. We were a bit surprised to see neither RAI winner of best gastro pub in Dublin and Ireland, The Legal Eagle , or Michelin-recommended The Old Spot on there. Instead she names The Bull & Castle , Davy Byrnes and the Queen's Bar and Steak Room as the best spots in the capital for pub grub. The Bull & Castle is a "retro-hip" (answers on a postcard) gastro pub, with "great beef cooked to perfection" and a "fabulous wine list", while the Queen's Bar and Steak Room is "a great spot for al fresco eats" in Dalkey, where she advises people to "sit back and watch the comings and goings of the rock stars and arty types who inhabit the village". Not sure Bono spends his days walking up and down Castle Street but you never know. She calls Davy Byrne's a "legendary literary pub" with a "touch of class", which serves pheasant in season and is a "must-visit for tourists following the path of Joyce's Ulysses". She also praises its "gorgeous art-deco-style", "great food" and "tonnes of character." For our money, as well as the ones mentioned earlier, we'd have added L. Mulligan Grocer , The Exchequer and The Chophouse to that list. Let us know where else we've missed. More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

Everyone who's anyone is talking about how Dublin is at 'peak restaurant', and how we can't handle any more openings. They're right in that there is a chronic chef crisis , and a general lack of hospitality staff across the board, but like any city it's survival of the fittest, and more (good) openings will only lead to better food across the board as places have to up their game. Four new restaurants have opened in the past week alone (two vegan - a trend that's not going away) and we like the look of all of them. Pi Pi opened on George's Street yesterday with a day of free pizza and suggested donations to the Peter McVerry Trust in lieu of cash (which they also matched). Pizzas are Neopolitan style (puffed up and blistered) and cooked in a traditional wood-burning oven made by cult-oven maker Stefano Ferrano , whose handiwork can be found in some of New York's most highly-rated pizzerias. The man behind Pi is Laois man Reg White, who used to be an auctioneer before jacking it in to do a three-month course at Ballymaloe. Since then he's worked in restaurants in Ireland and the states, and was a tutor at the Dublin Cookery School. He says he's intent on making Pi the best pizza in Dublin. We've got a good feeling about this one. Pi 10 South Great George's Street www.pipizzas.ie Veginity Vegans of Dublin (and probably readers of this website) won't need an introduction to Mark Senn, the man who officially made vegan food sexy. Between the cauliflower wings (so much better than you can imagine) and the vish and chips (likewise), vegans (and non-vegans) have been rocking up to his stand at Eatyard, and previously his food truck in Portobello to get their plant-based fix for the past few years. They were on the hunt for a permanent location for a while, and ended up finding one just north of the city centre on Dorset Street. These guys really know flavour and the new menu features dishes like beetroot kibbeh with pineapple bulgur sriracha salsa and confit aioli, and XO king oyster mushrooms with fermented choi sum, kimchi and marinated shimeji. Who would miss meat? Veginity 101 Upper Dorset Street, Dublin www.veginity.com Stella Diner The latest in the Press Up empire, this US style diner looks fun with free refills on coffee, all day buttermilk pancakes and cocktails with bacon. Typically no expense has been spared with the fit out and seating is in leather booths or at the counter. The menu has a whole section for breakfast sandwiches and another for pancakes, as well as hot dogs, burgers and meatloaf, and the dessert counter serves everything you'd expect from a diner, with apple, blueberry, key lime and Mississippi mud pies. Read more about Stella Diner here . Stella Diner 211 Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 stelladiner.ie The Garden of Vegan Musician Sharon Shannon's Garden of Vegan food truck has been appearing at festivals since 2006, but earlier this year they started a campaign to raise €30,000 for a permanent site in Ranelagh. They opened at the weekend and the vegans of Dublin have been flooding in to try the 'Burger with Attitude' and the fiery vegetable hot pot. The cartoon vegetables which cover the walls (inside and out) make it look more like a children's play centre instead of a health food café in Ranelagh, but the food is getting great reports in vegan groups on Facebook. We've recently found out that there are two more vegan restaurants due to open in the coming months, so if you're wondering why the sudden movement to plant-based eating you'll soon have plenty of options to get involved. In the meantime here's a good list to get started with. The Garden of Vegan 51 Elmwood Ave Lower, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 www.thegardenofvegan.ie

There’s a general feeling of dissatisfaction amongst the reviews this week, with even the mainly positive ones having plenty to nit-pick about. From “ill-conceived” dishes to servers “stressed to the point of exhaustion”, there appears to be room for improvement across the board. Maybe the unusually good weather has been throwing a few kitchens off focus, or maybe it's a result of the city's chronic chef shortage . The most disappointed of the lot was Tom Doorley , who was at newly revamped gastropub Doyle's Corner in Phibsborough for the Irish Daily Mail. From the slates, wooden boards and "awful little saucepans" in place of plates and bowls, to the lamb dish that made him repeatedly ask "why?", it's clear why he calls the experience "a gastro pain". Ham hock and Gubbeen croquettes didn't taste of Gubbeen, the lamb breast in question was cooked poorly and served with the inexplicable accompaniments of prune and orange, and pork belly was "tough" with an over-reduced jus and "toffee apple" that could have been a dessert. Thankfully the mash was "good gastropub stuff". Oxtail lasagne "wasn't bad" (high praise) but he felt the tomato sauce had been rushed. Pannacotta came in a jar (why?) and was "passable", and while he was relieved that a passion fruit cheesecake came in an actual bowl instead of on a wooden board, it was too sweet. A final cheeseboard was in good condition and the best part of the meal, and he calls the service "utterly charming". Can't see him racing back. (Review not currently online) Things were going better for Katy McGuinness who's been biding her time before paying Glovers Alley a visit for the Irish Independent . After a recap of the “clumsy” launch and “Irish begrudgery” that followed, she details the seven-course tasting menu. Snacks were “gorgeous”, particularly the crisp chicken skin topped with taramasalata, “a brilliant explosion of texture and flavour”, a Parmesan and black olive bread roll was “deeply savoury and quite excellent”, and the smoked cheddar dumplings were “punchy and original”. Less impressive was the beef tartare which was “curiously lacking in flavour”, and a dish of scallop, pig’s head, onion bhaji, curry and coriander which was “ill-conceived”. A pre-dessert of grapefruit granita with sheep’s yoghurt was delicate and restrained, and they finished with “the prettiest tart” of strawberries, lime leaf, olive oil, Thai basil and meringue, followed by “delightful” petit fours. She calls the experience “good in parts”, and ponders whether the problem is in the attempts to be international when Irish food is finally discovering a sense of pride in place, but she does think that Andy McFadden is adding something different to the city’s restaurant scene. Read her review here . Read our take on Glovers Alley here . To take a slight break from the room-to-improve brigade, Leslie Williams didn't have much to criticise after visiting Sandymount burger destination BuJo . He calls the standard, chargrilled burger a "rather joyously simple affair", with the meat "beefy and juicy with just enough texture" and balanced, well-judged fillings. A summer special with Tipperary Brie, charred baby gem lettuce, beechwood smoked rare breed bacon, Sriracha Mayonnaise, and Piquanté cherry peppers was "arguably even better", and chips were "decently crispy", if not outstandingly so. He also enjoyed the panko pickles but thought they could use a lighter crumb. He praises the "grown-up drinks list", featuring a beer pairing for the burger special with a "smoky bacon flavour", and their "quality wine on tap". He calls the staff cheery, the atmosphere enjoyable and the burgers excellent, and says every suburb should have a BuJo . Read his review here . And now to resume normal service, Catherine Cleary in The Times risked the wrath of South Dublin by suggesting that suburban stalwart Cavistons could do with a refresh. She seems to find it quite unexciting, remarking that sardines didn't come with samphire or sourdough (more first world problems), and instead simply with lemon and salt. Smoked salmon is "soft and sweet rather than the oily shoe leather this once-rare treat has become in the hands of the supermarkets and sandwich bars", and pea shoots "taste properly of peas". Seared scallops didn't live up the the caramelised edges she was expecting, and came in a white wine and cream sauce topped with an edible flower (which tasted like a flower). Tuna however was "luscious", marinated and seared so "its centre is still vivid, retaining the soft texture and flavour that makes cooking tuna till it turns putty brown all the way through such a food crime." Overall she enjoys visiting somewhere with a long history of getting fish right, but thinks "a younger shoal of chefs is nibbling at Cavistons unique selling point" (presumably she's thinking about Niall Sabongi's Klaw restaurants and Gaz Smith's Michael's in that mix) and suggests that they could do with a shake up - not that the locals will probably thank her for that sentiment. Read her review here . In the Sunday Business Post , Gillian Nelis is impressed at the lighter options at Saba Clarendon Street for those looking for balance in their diet. A starter of smoked trout mieng kam is "a gorgeous mix of Goatsbridge smoked trout from Kilkenny chopped up very finely, then served with shredded roasted coconut, peanuts, ginger, shallots, lime and chilli", bound with tamarind paste, palm sugar sauce and served on betel leaves. She calls it a "perfect summer starter", and it's gone onto our "must-eat" list. The balance came with Vietnamese spring rolls which she found too heavy but her guest loved, and beef phad prik sod was "a generous portion of tender meat and nicely crunchy vegetables." A green curry with monkfish was another bum note, with a sauce that was "bang-on" but fish that was "rubbery and unpleasant". A dessert of strawberry and rhubarb cheesecake was "summery and delicious", with excellent lemon sorbet, but caramelised pineapple with cinnamon and star anise was let down by the "over-sweet" syrup it was served in. Service was "fantastic" and she praises Saba's ability to adapt over time, even if it sounds like it was 50/50 on the food. Read her review here (subscription only). Finally, in the Sunday Independent, it's another of Lucinda 's lists, this time 20 great places to eat seafood, four of which are in Dublin. Unsurprisingly she mentions everyone's favourite two places for seafood in the city right now, Klaw Seafood Café and Michael's . Cavistons noticeably doesn't get a mention - maybe CC is right about that shoal of younger chefs. She calls Michael's "a mecca for foodies, who clamour for tables to devour great big plates of crustaceans including giant lobster claws, prawns and lobster, which come directly from small independent fishermen in Howth." She also praises the Klaw group of restaurants, particularly the Seafood Café whose owner Niall Sabongi, "has taken centre stage in the Dublin seafood scene with his cool, casual, fish-shack-style restaurants." Sole on South William Street also gets a mention for their "great seafood, service and style", and Aqua in Howth for their award-winning seafood and "spectacular views". That should be enough to satisfy your seafood cravings throughout the summer. More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

The Stella Diner opened yesterday in Rathmines next door to The Stella Cinema , promising to bring a "taste of Manhattan" to Rathmines village. Both are owned by Press Up Entertainment (Roberta's, Sophie's, Wowburger), who also plan to open an Asian restaurant on Pleasants St, an upmarket bar and restaurant in the former Residence building on Stephen's Green and a hotel in Ranelagh this year. The all-day menu features buttermilk pancakes, corned beef hash with home fries and meatloaf with gravy and mash, as well as a dessert counter with apple, key lime and Mississippi mud pies, and free refills on filter coffee. Sounds like Stateside holidays - here's hoping Stella does a better job than most highway diners. Cocktails are inspired by their neighbour next door with names like "There's something about Bloody Mary", "Clockwork Banana" and "O bacon where art thou", with bourbon, bitters and bacon. Wine is from Press Up owner Paddy McKillen's vineyard Château la Coste in Provence As usual with Press Up, the fit out looks pretty special. The exterior facade and doors are an original feature, and still has the name of its first tenants engraved above the door - Bank of Ireland. Seating is in leather booths or at the counter. The Stella Diner opens seven days a week from 8am - 10pm. Reservations are only taken for groups of six or more. The Stella Diner 211 Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 Ph: 01 4967063 stelladiner.ie

Provenance seems to be the theme this week, with almost every restaurant praised for their Irish lobster, Connemara mussels or free-range, Irish chicken. In The Irish Times , Catherine Cleary was in Green Man Wines in Terenure trying out ex- Fia head chef Keith Coleman's new menu, who's currently there doing a residency. She gives it 9.5/10, and the descriptions of the dishes sent us into a mild panic that we wouldn't get there before said residency ends (no date as of yet). They ate smoked Lough Neagh eel with pickled turnip, butter and mustard on charred Scéal bread ("like the perfect Croque Monsieur ... oozy and comforting"), charred Wye Valley asparagus "laced with skin grafts of Gubbeen lardo" and marigold petals, and slices of Goatsbridge trout with juniper and a crème fraîche "thick and silky as expensive face cream." Onglet with quartered white turnips is "spectacular", with meat "cooked so briefly it hasn’t tightened to sinew and yet it’s not so underdone that its organ honk hits you", and they finished with woodruff custard, rhubarb, strawberries, buckwheat groats and shortbread made with savoury (a herb with a flavour somewhere between thyme and rosemary). She calls it a place to bring wine and food lovers together, with "plates of brilliantly creative food in a casual friendly place." If you're wondering what she drank in the wine shop/bar with possibly the best wine list and the best value in the city (€8 corkage on everything so the more expensive the bottle the better the value), the answer is an elderflower spritz. If you go (and you should) don't make the same mistake. Put yourself in the hands of the ultra-knowledgeable, ultra-lovely staff and have the full Green Man experience. Read her review here . In the Irish Independent Katy McGuinness is praising the premium fried chicken (free-range and Irish) at Mad Egg just off Camden Street. After apologising profusely for her use of the word "moist", she describes how the chicken is brined in tea to tenderise it, then dipped in buttermilk and fried in rapeseed oil, ending up "impeccably moist (sorry) and flavoursome within, and properly crisp on the outside." Her Heart Breaker chicken sandwich is doused in 'dripping cheese, house hot sauce and pickles', which somewhat obliterates how good the fried chicken is, so she suggests sticking to the more subtle OG, with lemon and herb mayonnaise, lettuce and pickles. Chicken salt fries are "excellent", but mac and cheese with candied bacon and charred corn with jalapeno butter are both lacking in flavour, and on a menu as short as this "there's no room for duds". A dessert of DIY cheesecake is "quite good", with a selection of toppings to choose from, and remind her of thrown together ice-cream cakes at children's birthday parties. She ends by saying she very much likes what Mad Egg is about: "At a time when the future of middle- market restaurants is under threat, it's down to places in the fast casual sector such as Mad Egg to up the ante in terms of sourcing and provenance." Read her review here . More provenance praising from Lucinda O'Sullivan in the Sunday Independent, who was enjoying Irish lobster at China Sichuan in Sandyford. It came in a ginger and scallion sauce on a bed of egg noodles and she calls it "absolutely superb", allowing the flavours of the lobster to "sing through". Her and her husband also enjoyed soft-shell crab with toasted almonds and chilli flakes, aromatic duck with pancakes, and haozan beef, which consisted of "tender, succulent pieces of mature rib-eye" pan-fried and coated in a powerful teriyaki and sake sauce. She also praised the Chinese 'turnip cake' pieces, which were "mouthwatering, light, sweet". They skipped dessert, and for anyone thinking of going, she recommends ordering a variety of small dishes with one whole fish main and creating your own tasting menu, which would be "very hard to beat". (Review not currently online). In The Irish Daily Mail, Tom Doorley is the latest critic to give 3 Leaves in Blackrock a storming review (is there anyone who hasn't?) calling the food "spectacularly good", "multi-layered" and outstanding value, with lunch for two coming to €20. For that princely sum they ate Dal Masala - mildly spiced lentils topped with "divinely savoury" gram flour puffs, mixed veggie - a salty, spicy combination of vegetables including aubergine and potato, and an "unusual" chicken lazeez - "strikingly fragrant" chicken cooked in cream with spices that included the source of a "haunting perfume", Sandalwood. Beef do raza had perfectly tender meat in a "rich, spicy, earthy sauce" with caramelised onion and "pretty, multi-coloured basmatic pilaf rice", and he says that a meal of this quality with a bill of €20 was "stupefying". He says that the essence of 3 Leaves is to do things from scratch, and that "this kind of vision and application, coupled with such democratic prices, is still a rarity and needs to be celebrated." (Review not currently online) In The Sunday Business Post Gillian Nelis finds the Middle Eastern menu at Hey Donna a "delight", with a "bright and buzzy" room, "friendly and efficient" staff and an interesting drinks menu. Hummus was "great", while baba ghanoush was "nicely smokey but a tiny bit underseasoned" (which incidentally is exactly what Catherine Cleary said when she reviewed it last November). She really likes the word "dunk", and used it four times throughout the review when talking about the "dunkable" grilled flatbread, and the "lovely" whipped feta and garlic toum - which she advises avoiding if you have an early meeting the next morning - "the most garlicky garlic sauce ever created". A Berber-spiced “chicken nugget” with cumin and coffee mayo was "really gorgeous", and seared lamb’s liver was a "triumph: perfectly cooked and full of flavour, this is the dish to change the mind of the liver-phobe in your life." The only thing that didn't hit the spot was the butter lettuce with whipped avocado, a nut and seed crumb and calamansi vinegar which was "only okay". The single dessert option of chocolate and miso mousse was one of the nicest she's had in ages, "small but extremely satisfying" and topped with a pistachio crumb, pomegranate seeds, slivers of roasted coconut and raspberry and rose mousse. It's also vegan , using chickpea water to create an "incredible creaminess". She ends with a plea to founder Joe Macken to open a few more Hey Donna 's around the city. Read her review here (subscription only). Finally, in Cork Joe McNamee was checking out The Oyster Tavern , which is looking very shiny and new after last year's revamp, and after an initial food offering which "stumbled", he was hoping that since the recruitment of ex- Fenn's Quay proprietor Kate Lawlor, things would have improved. Unfortunately for Joe she was on holidays, and it seems to have affected what came out of the kitchen. A trio of ‘old school’ starters contained prawn cocktail with "surprisingly bland prawns", unremarkable Golden Fried Scampi and spiced beef carpaccio which tasted solely of sugar and cloves. A main of baked lemon sole was "tasty" and "perfectly-cooked", but came with chive mash which "founders on the tired remnants of last year’s potato harvest", while an "excellent" 10oz Ribeye on the Bone was "savoury meat with decent ‘chew’", accompanied by crispy chips, juicy mushrooms and a whiskey jus. A rhubarb crumble for dessert was "overly sweet", and he feels that the cheaper end of the wine list could use some imagination. He wonders at the kitchen’s place in the grand scheme of things, "quite obviously second in line after the bar/beverages side of the operation", and thinks the menu reads as if assembled by committee. He ends by saying he would like to see Lawlor given free rein to make her more usual "wholesome, tasty dishes made from excellent produce." More next week. * 1st August 2018 - A previous version of this article featured Ernie Whalley's review for the Sunday Times. This has been removed at the newspaper's request

Anyone who thinks veganism is a fad is "a dinosaur, living in denial", according to London chef-restaurateur Alexis Gauthier, who's just announced that his fine-dining restaurant Gauthier Soho is to go fully vegan within the next two years. Citing an impending "global environmental catastrophe", and the fact that restaurants need to set an example, it's a bold move, and one that further cements the growth in plant-based eating across the western world. Dublin tends to follow trends that happen in London (which tends to follow New York), so expect vegan dining options here to grow rapidly over the next 12 months, but there are already some brilliant places to eat plant-based food. While going full-time V might be too restrictive for most of us, sometimes you might just want to up your veggie intake or give your stomach a break from processing meat and dairy, so whether you're vegan or just vegan-curious, here are 12 of the best places in Dublin to eat plant-based food without losing out on flavour... 1. Veginity / Vish Shop If you haven't tried Australian Mark Senn's vegan food before, either at their old veginity food truck in Portobello or from ' Vish Shop ' at Eatyard , you need to sort that out. The vish and chips, made from cassava and seaweed, is the best fish substitution we've had, and the cauliflower 'wings' are a game changer, giving chicken a serious run for its money. They're in the process of opening a permanent site on Dorset Street, just north of the city, and we'll be first in the queue. 2. Shouk Delicious Middle Eastern, purse-friendly food in Drumcondra that's predominantly vegan, with pittas, falafel, mezze and flavour-packed salads. It's BYO too (€4 per bottle) so you can bring along your favourite vegan-friendly wine. www.facebook.com/shoukdublin 3. Pho Viet Some of the best Vietnamese food in the city with a whole page on the menu dedicated to vegan and vegetarian dishes. Try the savoury pancake filled with bean sprouts, carrots, onions and peppers with their homemade dipping sauce, or the vegetarian bun (noodle bowl) with spring rolls. www.phoviet.ie 4. Fallon & Byrne The dining room above the high end food hall recently introduced a vegan-friendly menu , with dishes like roasted globe of artichoke with tomato pesto and pine nuts, and chocolate and peanut parfait. Plenty of vegan friendly wines too. www.fallonandbyrne.com 5. Sova Vegan Butcher One of the go-to's for vegan's in Dublin for the past few years, Barto Sova's ever changing menu at Sova Vegan Butcher  includes things like mac n' cheese, seaweed chowder with samphire and strawberry and cashew nut cheesecake. www.facebook.com/SovaVeganButcher 6. Vietnom Vegetarian/vegan Vietnamese food with touches of Mexican, like Saigon tostadas and bánh mì with honey-basted mushrooms, peanuts and shallots. Find them in a food truck at the back of The Glimmerman pub in Stoneybatter from Thursday to Sunday. vietnom.ie 7. Cornucopia Probably the place most people thing of when you say "vegetarian restaurant", Cornucopia has been feeding Dublin's vegetarian and vegan population for over 30 years. Soups, salads, stews and enchiladas with vegan cheese can usually be found at the counter and portions are generous. www.cornucopia.ie 8. Brother Hubbard One of Dublin's most interesting places to grab breakfast or lunch, you always find vibrant, flavourful vegan salads and sandwiches, and they've organised several vegan supper clubs over the past year. Sign up to their mailing list to get news about the next one. brotherhubbard.ie 9. Happy Food by Yoga Hub A vegan destination since it opened on Camden Place a few years ago, Happy Food now have a second location in Castleknock, and serve up vegan burgers, pad thai and tofu ribs (apparently much better than they sound). A yoga class beforehand will take your health-related zen to a new level. 10. Peploe's The swanky bistro opposite Stephen's Green is more known for long business lunches than a focus on sustainable eating, but recently introduced a vegan menu , and it looks good, with dishes like roasted cauliflower with satay chili dressing and miso-glazed aubergine. www.peploes.com 11. Chameleon Long-standing Temple Bar restaurant serving Indonesian food tapas style in various 'Rijst Tafel', with a vegetarian/vegan option that sounds almost better than the meat. Balinese yellow curry, sesame fried vegetables and Bami Goreng are some of the herb and spice-packed dishes on Chameleon 's menu. www.chameleonrestaurant.com 12. Umi Falafel Falafel, mezze plates and salads on Dame Street. A visiting vegan from New York recently told us she visited here twice on her trip to Dublin and thought it was the best Middle Eastern food she's had outside of the Middle East. Nuff said. umifalafel.ie