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One of the original Thai restaurants in Dublin, Baan Thai is still going as strong as when it opened back in 1998. It seems to sit just below the foodie radar, going out their business in an unassumingly, consistently excellent way, kept busy by locals and those who've been coming here for decades. Mix and match meat, seafood and vegetables in a wide range of curries and stir fries, with crispy half duck, jumbo prawns and whole seabass some of their specialities. Baan Thai Website baanthai.ie Address Baan Thai Ballsbridge, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story One of the original Thai restaurants in Dublin, Baan Thai is still going as strong as when it opened back in 1998. It seems to sit just below the foodie radar, going out their business in an unassumingly, consistently excellent way, kept busy by locals and those who've been coming here for decades. Mix and match meat, seafood and vegetables in a wide range of curries and stir fries, with crispy half duck, jumbo prawns and whole seabass some of their specialities. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Stoneybatter's go-to spot for brunch, cake, coffee and the rest. A menu championing local and Irish produce, with inventive dishes like hash brownies with maple cured bacon, and carrot and walnut pancakes with banana and citrus curd. Slice Website asliceofcake.ie Address 56 Manor Place, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Stoneybatter's go-to spot for brunch, cake, coffee and the rest. A menu championing local and Irish produce, with inventive dishes like hash brownies with maple cured bacon, and carrot and walnut pancakes with banana and citrus curd. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

The third addition to Tang’s growing empire of feel good cafés, Tang say their aim is to make people happy with food, and if their pancakes, granola bowls and salad boxes exploding with colour don’t give you a lift, you might be dead inside. There’s a beautiful tree-shaded courtyard out front which is prime outdoor dining real estate, and plenty of inside seating too if the weather gods aren’t with you. Tang Cumberland Place Website tang.ie Address 2 Cumberland Street South, Fenian Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The third addition to Tang’s growing empire of feel good cafés, Tang say their aim is to make people happy with food, and if their pancakes, granola bowls and salad boxes exploding with colour don’t give you a lift, you might be dead inside. There’s a beautiful tree-shaded courtyard out front which is prime outdoor dining real estate, and plenty of inside seating too if the weather gods aren’t with you. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Mister S Everything tastes better with fire Posted: 17 Sept 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Mister S is the much anticipated second opening from Featherblade owners Jamie O'Toole and Paul McVeigh, who had a goal of bringing real, live-fire barbecue to Dublin - something the city has never had many options for. They brought Daniel Hannigan on board as head chef (formerly of Richmond and the driving force behind the Food For Thought charity dinners), and Tim Geeves, previously at London's famous and much loved barbecue restaurant Smokestak , as sous chef, and after some back and forth on the name, colour scheme, and a lot of work to turn what had been a blind and curtain shop into an upmarket but casual restaurant, they finally opened their doors at the start of September. (If you want to see exactly how much work has gone into this build, and be put off opening a restaurant forever, click on the " Our Journey " highlight on their Instagram page.) As you might have guessed, everything here is cooked over fire, even dessert, with the kitchen experimenting with different types of wood for fish, meat and vegetables, and there's something very raw and caveman-like about knowing your food has been licked by smoke and fire. These guys are also intent on delivering serious value for money, so 'nibbles' range from €6 - €8, and 'smoked and grilled' plates from €12 for carrots, freekah and salsa verde to €17 for smoked Angus shortrib. Considering their impeccable sourcing, with free-range pork from Andarl Farm in Galway, Waygu beef from Ridgeway Farm in Wicklow, and free-range organic chicken from Ring Farm in Kilkenny, these prices are pretty unbeatable in the city right now. Where should we go for a drink first? You won't be short of options around Camden Street, but we'd suggest Ryan's for a pint away from the madness, or Against The Grain if delving into craft beer is your idea of a good time. For a cocktail head to The Sitting Room , the bar with a "mid-century feel" above Delahunt (below), or for wine you could hover outside Frank's for a quick one. Where should we sit? There are plenty of seating options, all made from beautiful repurposed wood, that they've painstakingly burnt, oiled and brought back to life. There are booth type seats for four, single tables for two, and a counter with three seats facing out onto Camden Street that have 'solo diner' written all over them. There's also a long communal table hidden down the stairs at the back of the room that's perfect for larger groups. Mister S don't take bookings, but we were relieved to hear that they're using the Qudini app, so if they're full they'll take your name and text you when your table's ready. There are a lot of seats so we can't see this getting to ridiculous wait times (but may stand corrected). What's good to eat? Everything. We tried most of the menu over two visits and want to eat it all again, and again. The gambas served on flatbread drowned in bisque butter are haunting us on the daily. This isn't a dish to go for if you're butter-averse, but this is the land of butter, so why would you be (dairy allergies aside). The shells are used to make the intensely fishy, rich bisque, the gambas are fresh and fluffy, and at €8 this is just the dish to showcase the incredible value to be found here. Another dish you shouldn't miss is the organic smoked chicken with romesco, and if you don't get how rare it is to see organic chicken in a casual dining setting just take our word for it - it's going above and beyond, and only the teeniest amount of chicken produced in Ireland is organic. The thigh served in Mister S is smoky and juicy with crispy skin, sitting on a smoky, fruity, nutty romesco sauce, topped with almonds and olive oil, and will put paid to any notion that chicken is the inferior meat. Another dish of just charred mackerel with fennel and herb oil shows what you can get out of a cheap fish when you treat it right. Light, lukewarm and lovely. Unsurprisingly they really come into their own with the meats. The Andarl pork tomahawk is a very generous portion for €15, particularly considering the quality of the sweet, smoky meat. The meat from Andarl Farm is called 'velvet pork', a description that makes complete sense when you taste it. As for the smoked Angus shortrib, if anyone in the city is doing a better version we need to know about it. Getting a cheap cut of meat to taste this good takes time, skill and slow cooking, but it's a masterclass in why tougher cuts of meat and barbecue cooking are a match made in meat heaven. Don't miss all the crispy good stuff on the bone, and it's also served with smoked bearnaise, in case you needed any more reasons to plan a trip here. Sides include hispi cabbage with spicy sobrasada sausage and feta - what vegetable dreams are made of - and miso roasties with homemade smoked harissa (and loads of crispy bits at the bottom of the bowl), which will ensure that going back to regular roasties is a struggle forever more. Next time we'll be trying the sharing fish or steak, which was brill with langoustines, and côte de boeuf on the day we we were there. For dessert the bubble pudding is the one you're going to see everyone posting about. It's cooked on the grill in a cast iron pan, drowned in salted caramel sauce (which is still bubbling when it comes to the table) and finished off with a scoop of banana ice-cream. It's very good, but very large, so one to share is plenty. The other dessert on the menu right now is a strawberry and elderflower (picked by owner Paul's Mum) pudding, and while it's equally huge (and delicious), it feels slightly lighter on the stomach. What about the drinks? They've created a very smart, concise drinks list, with wine on tap and in bottle, cocktails, four beers and a cider. Everything's been carefully chosen to work with the food, and there are some serious wines on there, like Tenerife producer Envinate's garnacha, which we imagine would be a stellar pairing for loads of the dishes. We weren't expecting to drink white wine with barbecue but the surprise hit was a South African roussane/chenin blanc blend called Adi's House, which had the complexity, texture and acid to pair beautifully with dishes like the gambas and the pork. There are 8 wines by the glass and 18 by bottle, and we would love to see carafes introduced like in sister restaurant Featherblade. And the service? Great. Even though they've just opened it feels like a family operation, with everyone getting stuck in. Staff were warm and chatty and if they can keep up that level of hospitality under pressure and with a queue outside we don't think they'll have many unsatisfied customers. The verdict? We love Mister S, and don't think we've been this excited about a new opening since Variety Jones stormed onto the scene last Christmas. In Dublin's rapidly evolving food scene, it feels like a stake in the road, an important chapter in the growth of fast casual restaurants that could hold their own in any major city. Along with places like Lucky Tortoise, Chimac and Pi, Mister S are proving that exciting food of the highest quality can be delivered at every price point and in every setting, and are helping to reconnect all of us with what it means to eat Irish food. Mister S 32 Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2 misters.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Kaldero 2 Finally Dublin has the Filipino food destination it deserves Posted: 16 Sept 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope Why are you back at Kaldero when you reviewed it last December? After our lacklustre review of the newest Eclective (formerly Press Up) opening Kaldero last December, someone in charge saw sense and did exactly what we suggested. They pulled the trio of consultant chefs nonsense (none of whom were actually cooking in the restaurant), and made their first ever sensible food move, by offering up the running of the restaurant solely to Bahay 's Richie Castillo and Alex O'Neill. The Filipino food-cooking couple had been looking for their own place for the past few years after the success of their food truck (dreamt up mid-pandemic), and countless pop ups at places like Hen's Teeth in Dublin 8, and Warehouse Market in Harold's Cross. At one point they announced they were opening in Dublin 15 , but it fell through. Its felt like a long struggle to get to this point, where they finally have a permanent location to show off Castillo's family recipes and others from the couple's travels, and the industry has rowed in behind its latest good news story . Where should we sit? The room is unchanged from our first review, with those ludicrously tiny tables for two still in situ. There's not much they can do about it without ripping up the whole restaurant, but if you do have the misfortune to be sat there, make it clear that you want no more than two plates at a time - anything more and your stress levels will get uncomfortably high. The red leather booths running down the centre of the room are the best seats, sitting four - six on each, and while we were initially told we couldn't sit there as a two, they later relented and told us we just needed to be gone by a certain time. There's a large area at the back that's screaming "group dinner", with all kinds of seating combinations possible. How has the menu changed? We're in unadulterated Filipino territory now, a real deep-dive into the Southeast-Asian country's dishes and cooking methods. Expect to see ingredients you might need an explainer on, like banana ketchup, humba glaze, and bagoong - staff, predominantly Filipino when we visited, will enthusiastically explain what they all are. The first section of the menu, "Pulutan", are snacks served with drinks in the Philippines, so get your order in for those and something to sip as soon as you sit - it'll make those tough menu decisions slightly easier. The 'Inihaw na Manok' (€4 each) are synonymous with Bahay at this stage, chicken thigh skewers barbecued on a custom Smokin' Soul grill, in a rich, tangy banana ketchup. A perfect cocktail accompaniment, although the lack of provenance/free range indication with chicken always gives us the ick. Okoy are deep-fried fritters usually made with shrimp, but these ones made from shredded leeks (€6) are of the "once you pop you can't stop" variety. Dipping crunchy handfuls into an aggressively vinegary sawsawan dipping sauce, we were brought back to the mouth-burning days of Mini Chips , when you just can't stop reaching for more. If ceviche/aguachile is on your death row dinner menu, don't miss the Kinilaw, meaning 'eaten raw' (€16). Chunks of Goatsbridge trout which have been cured in vinegar, come in a rich, vivid coconut and jalapeño sauce, with slivers of pickled red onion, citrusy Calamansi vinegar and shards of lumpia crackers (similar to spring roll skins), with more on the side for piling it on top of. We can't imagine any of these plates going back to the kitchen without being completely wiped clean. 'Sinigang' is a savoury Filipino soup or stew with sour tamarind as a core ingredient, so we were unsure what the connection was to the 'Sinigang' here (other than tamarind). Meaty, juicy, tempura oyster mushrooms (€12.50) come doused in tangy tamarind salt, with whipped tofu underneath for dipping. It's a nice dish, but a few bites was enough before we lost interest, and that price felt high for the portion size. 'Sisig' is a popular bar food in the Philippines - crispy pork parts fried with onions, garlic, chillies, soy, calamansi and more. This one (€17.50) has crispy pig's ear and pork jowl mixed through with spices and onions, while the egg yolk on top waits to be pierced and smeared through the lot. Delicious? Yes. Good for your arteries? Definitely not. Share to minimise the impact. We had the creamy, peanut sauce based kare kare (€25.50) with tofu on our last visit , and thought it was lacking in flavour. It's back here with oxtail instead, and the missing ingredient on the side - bagoong. The spicy, pungent, fermented fish condiment gives the mild nutty sauce the flavour kick it needs, and it's also great smeared on top of Castillo's essential garlic fried rice (€4.50). We love seeing under used cuts of meat like this too, which offer much better value for money. Adobo is probably the most well-known Filipino dish, but you're more likely to have come across it as chicken or pork, braised in vinegar, soy, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaves. Kaldero's squid adobo (with squid ink - €18) is a more elegant creation, with rich seafood flavour from the softest squid swimming in peppercorns, and more of that tang that's a thread amongst all of the food here. It's a must order for seafood fans. Our server talked us into ordering the stir-fried greens with garlic and soy (€6.50). It's a dish Castillo's father has always cooked him, and now he's brought the recipe here - if you needed a heartstring tug, this is it. It's just stir-fried cabbage, but there's a simple magic woven here - it's the kind of recipe we all need in our lives. For dessert don't even think about skipping past the leche flan (€8) with Mungo Murphy's seaweed salt, a burnished, silky, perfectly formed triangle of set caramel custard, only improved by the salty sprinkling on top. It's Castillo's granny's recipe, and granny could take on Uno Mas in the flan wars . Another of ube (purple yam) soft serve (€7) with Irish strawberries and elderflower vinegar was light and refreshing but too light on the vinegar - we could barely taste it and it all needed an acidic lift. What about drinks? The cocktail menu has taken a leap forward since our last visit too, with a light firmly shone on Filipino ingredients (there's been even more new additions since). We loved a spicy pineapple margarita with calamansi, a 'Mangga't Alat' with mango, rum and fish sauce, and a calamansi paloma with a burnt grapefruit wedge. A 'white Filipino' with vodka, Kahlua, coconut cream, condensed milk and pandan leaf should only be undertaken in place of dessert. How was the service? Almost everyone who served us was Filipino, and could give personal viewpoints on the dishes they were bringing and how they're served in the Philippines and in their own family homes. This would be a difficult thing to bank on, but it really added to the experience. They couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful, but did keep interrupting conversations to ask if everything was okay, which will undoubtedly irritate some people. Well-trained servers watch for moments of discomfort or diners in need before sweeping in. How much did you spend? €100 a head for far too much food (we brought some home) and two cocktails a piece, but if you're also on the cocktails you probably won't spend much less. Be aware also that as of publishing, the prices we paid were substantially higher than those on the menu on their website, with several dishes jumping by €2-3, and the sisig jumping from €12.50 to a whopping €17. What's the verdict on Kaldero #2 ? Finally the restaurant group known for middling food have made a smart kitchen move, and the talented Bahay team have somewhere to build on their fanatical following. Kaldero has gone from muddled melting pot to Filipino food headquarters, the only place in the city that you can eat food from this part of the world, at this standard of cooking, and that's exciting. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Turkish grill and pidehouse just a few metres from the Ha'penny Bridge. Weekend mornings sees a "royal breakfast spread" served with almost 30 different elements for €25 pp, while the rest of the day, sees pide, kebabs and Turkish salads served at big bang for buck prices. There's no alcohol but try the şalgam (fermented vegetable juice) or Ayran (a salted yoghurt drink). Sultan's Grill Website instagram.com/sultansdublin Address Sultan's Grill, North Lotts, North City, Dublin 1, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Turkish grill and pidehouse just a few metres from the Ha'penny Bridge. Weekend mornings sees a "royal breakfast spread" served with almost 30 different elements for €25 pp, while the rest of the day, sees pide, kebabs and Turkish salads served at big bang for buck prices. There's no alcohol but try the şalgam (fermented vegetable juice) or Ayran (a salted yoghurt drink). Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Loretta's Big flavours from a Sunday night sharing menu in a former bank Posted: 18 Oct 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Loretta's opening at the end of 2018 with promises of bringing "US-style comfort food" to Dublin 7. Chef/Owner Jimmy Wiley is originally from Colorado but has been living here for over 20 years, and was previously in the kitchen at 777 . Big flavours and family recipes seemed to be the name of the game and they've been quietly trucking away in Phibsborough ever since, admirably surviving Covid by running weekly takeaway meals - which we tried and enjoyed. They never seem to grab the neighbourhood restaurant headlines in the same way as some of their southside contemporaries, but lately we're hearing more and more people talk about how much they love it, and their Sunday night sharing menu seemed like the perfect excuse to give Loretta's another go. Where should we sit? The restaurant is in a former bank building and the room feels dramatic and modern, with its high ceilings, dark wood, tan leather banquettes and monochrome tiles. Shut your ears and you could be sitting in NYC. The best view of the open kitchen is from the tables in the back facing the bar, while the best natural light is in the front. People who love comfortable seats will love Loretta's, with every table having the option to sit on a booth or banquette, and there are plenty of large tables, ideal for groups or families. When we were there there was one extended family of at least eight eating together, while other booths comfortably seated families with small children, giving them plenty of space for colouring books or general arm swinging - and yes they have high chairs too. What's the food like? The Sunday night sharing menu is packed with eye-popping plates you'll want to order, but while the small plates and snacks are well-priced, the mains seem very expensive. €75 for duck, €65 for roast lamb leg, €45 for chicken, without a potato or vegetable in sight (all sides are extra) and they're all said to feed two. We'd advise you to ignore this, as what we had fed three comfortably with leftovers for sandwiches the next day, so if you do your division like this, suddenly the prices seem a lot more in line with the norm (even if the norm is sky-rocketing by the day). Choosing from the small plates menu will probably be agony, so your best bet is to bring your gang and try it all. The fermented potato blinis (a puffed up, fluffy, crispy pancake) comes topped with deeply coloured and flavoured cured salmon, watercress, and unlisted horseradish cream and slivers of candy beetroot, and if there's a better blini and salmon combo in Dublin we haven't eaten it. Parmesan agnolotti with pumpkin and black walnut was another simple dish made special. The pasta clearly homemade, the filling the perfect amount of Parmesan, and the pumpkin sauce, pickled black walnuts and crispy sage coming together for a party in your mouth. Lastly, the Korean-fried chicken drumsticks, and we can't understand why more people aren't shouting about these sticky, spicy, sweet, crunchy batons of beauty. People get on airplanes to eat chicken this good, and it's been sitting under our noses in Phibsborough the whole time. The only downside is it's not free-range chicken. For mains, as we said, things may look uncomfortably expensive, but go in with the mindset that one will definitely feed three, and if you're two you can bring the leftovers home, they have containers. The decision on which one to go for started well before we left home and took approximately two and a half hours, so check the menu before you get there. We decided on the wood-fired chilli with fermented green chilli, reasoning that the €55 price tag wouldn't sting as much as some of the rest, and this was a mammoth portion of pork. Just cooked and still barely pink, with tangy fire from the green chilli rub, and sitting in its own juices, there was also some puffed up pork skin on top, and any fears of "how interesting could pork rump actually be?" were wiped out sharpish. Also wiped out were any fears of it being tough or chewy. For sides, there's no question that the "Loretta's chips" are homemade, and cooked several times. Skin on, golden and very crunchy, they arrived perfect, but did lose their appeal as they cooled, becoming more chewy. Roast York cabbage with parmesan had been charred all over, crunchy and salty from the cheese and breadcrumbs, with that York cabbage sweetness underneath it all, while charred broccoli with a smoked Gubbeen sauce and truffle is up there with the best broccoli sides we've ever eaten. Whoever came up with this needs a payrise. There were three desserts, and we skipped the Basque cheesecake fearing it wouldn't top the one we'd had recently at Elliot's across the road. Instead we had a cherry “pavlova”, with caramelised white chocolate chunks and honey sabayon, which we found too sweet and not overly interesting. Much better was a buttermilk set cream with honeycomb, blueberry and fresh fig, which was light, creamy, fresh and full of fruit, without hurting our teeth. What about the drinks? The wine list has definitely taken a step forward since the last time we were here pre-covid, and now houses some interesting bottles like Frantz Saumon's pet nat rosé, Arianna Occhipinti's SP68, and even a Pineau des Charentes by the glass, but there's plenty of more conventional stuff too (which overtakes much of the btg list). We tried the Alsation Riesling which tasted like it had been open too long, but the staff offered to change it for something else (the Verdejo which was fine). The Samurai Chardonnay was much better, and if going red it would be Judith Beck's 'Ink', no question. How was the service? Pleasant but a bit perfunctory. Our waiter was new and very accommodating, but no one asked how our food was or came to check on us at any point, which felt strange, especially as the restaurant wasn't full. If they had turned the smiles and general hospitality up a few notches it would have been close to perfect. And the damage? €145 for enough food to comfortably feed three adults (or a family of four), with pork to bring home. What's the verdict? We were hoping Loretta's would be good, we weren't expecting it to be this impressive, this confident, this finessed - every plate came as a welcome shock and a slap of flavours to the face. Forget your Sunday roast, get thee and your people to Loretta's for sharing plates, and the best antidote we can imagine right now to the Sunday fear. Loretta's 162-165 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7 www.lorettas.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

A neighbourhood café from the former owner of V-Face which sat in the same spot previously. Vada's main focuses are on sustainable food and drink and creating zero waste, so water kefir is made in house from kitchen byproducts, meat and veg are locally sourced, and as little as possible goes in the bin. The menu changes week to week but you might find a porchetta sandwich, a coconut laksa, or a miso pumpkin salad, with something sweet for afters. Vada Website hellovada.com Address 30 Brunswick Street North, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story A neighbourhood café from the former owner of V-Face which sat in the same spot previously. Vada's main focuses are on sustainable food and drink and creating zero waste, so water kefir is made in house from kitchen byproducts, meat and veg are locally sourced, and as little as possible goes in the bin. The menu changes week to week but you might find a porchetta sandwich, a coconut laksa, or a miso pumpkin salad, with something sweet for afters. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Part of a new wave of coffee shop by day, wine bar by night openings, Two Faced's tagline is "we never close". The basic kitchen area is more for assembly than cooking, but there's plenty of cheese, meat and conservas (tinned fish) to keep you sated while you drive into the wide-ranging wine list. The central counter has a DJ booth at the end so the volume can be more "bar" than "wine bar", and the tables outside will be in high demand during warmer weather. Two Faced Website instagram.com/twofaceddublin Address Two Faced, Montague Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Part of a new wave of coffee shop by day, wine bar by night openings, Two Faced's tagline is "we never close". The basic kitchen area is more for assembly than cooking, but there's plenty of cheese, meat and conservas (tinned fish) to keep you sated while you drive into the wide-ranging wine list. The central counter has a DJ booth at the end so the volume can be more "bar" than "wine bar", and the tables outside will be in high demand during warmer weather. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Located right along the canal, Grove Road has an understated and easy-going vibe, great music, and is a serious contender for the best avocado toast in town, thanks to the addition of feta and the crispiest bacon known to man. They also serve brunch all day, seven days a week. Grove Road Website groveroadcafe.ie Address 1 Rathmines Road Lower, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Located right along the canal, Grove Road has an understated and easy-going vibe, great music, and is a serious contender for the best avocado toast in town, thanks to the addition of feta and the crispiest bacon known to man. They also serve brunch all day, seven days a week. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

You might be scratching your head when you get to Parnell Street, wondering where this elusive bakery is. Look under the Wok Station signage to the left and you'll see the tiny "blink and you'll miss it" location. These "Asian choux buns" are a benchmark in French patisserie, with Asian flavours like black sesame, Thai milk tea and matcha. There's loads of other Asian-style desserts in plastic containers, as well as all kinds of fruit teas, with everything to take away. Choux Bakery Website instagram.com/choux.bakery.dublin Address Choux Bakery, Parnell Street, Rotunda, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story You might be scratching your head when you get to Parnell Street, wondering where this elusive bakery is. Look under the Wok Station signage to the left and you'll see the tiny "blink and you'll miss it" location. These "Asian choux buns" are a benchmark in French patisserie, with Asian flavours like black sesame, Thai milk tea and matcha. There's loads of other Asian-style desserts in plastic containers, as well as all kinds of fruit teas, with everything to take away. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Caryna Camerino's eponymous bakery moved from Merrion Square to Blackrock in 2025, and now sits on the former site of Fable + Stey. It's a local haven for enjoying a coffee and a cake from the display piled high, and soup, salads and sandwiches are also available. Personalised cakes and treat boxes are also available by advance order. Camerino Bakery Website camerino.ie Address Camerino Bakery (Blackrock), Newtown Park, Stillorgan Park, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Caryna Camerino's eponymous bakery moved from Merrion Square to Blackrock in 2025, and now sits on the former site of Fable + Stey. It's a local haven for enjoying a coffee and a cake from the display piled high, and soup, salads and sandwiches are also available. Personalised cakes and treat boxes are also available by advance order. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Soup Ramen The best Dublin ramen discovery so far Posted: 3 Sept 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Soup Ramen opened on Dun Laoghaire's main - in need of some TLC - George's Street Lower in summer 2018, adding life and a bright pink neon sign to an unloved part of town. It also gave Dubliners another place to go for ramen, in a city brutally under-served (yes first world problems but still). It's a joint venture from two friends - chef Conor Hughes and front of house Will Shannon - and their brightly coloured Instagram feed has been taunting us for months, along with flurries of online praise for the food, but apart from one pretty good review from Katy McGuinness in the Irish Independent and minimal information on their own website we didn't have a lot to go on. So off we went to Dun Laoghaire. Where should we go for a drink first? If it's a nice evening head for the terrace in Haddington House (and a deckchair if you're lucky) for a drink looking over the sea. If the weather's not with you, pop around the corner to " The Bar " for a cosy pint, or if you're looking for a cocktail head for The Lighthouse , which also has one of the most impressive non-alcoholic drinks lists we've seen - as do all of Bodytonic 's bars. Where should we sit? There's outside and inside seating, but we can't say the ones outside have the nicest views in the city - if it's warm you probably won't say no. Inside is bright and airy with three large communal tables made from Beach and Cedar trees downed in Roundwood, Co. Wicklow, and two high tables which seat two each. There's also bar seating. It's a small space but they've used it well for maximum capacity. What's good to eat? Obviously you're coming here for the ramen so that's a no brainer. We went for the tonkotsu pork - the original and the best - but there's also grilled chicken or a vegetarian one (which can be made vegan). The juicy pork came chargrilled with those delicious blackened bits, on top of an incredibly flavoursome broth containing homemade noodles (they've started making their own since Katy 's review), spring onion, fermented vegetables and a soft, seasoned egg on top. Another thing that's changed since that review is that their eggs and chicken have been upgraded to free-range, which makes us (and her we bet) very, very happy. You can choose your own seasoning but we asked them to bring it how they liked it, and there was definitely a hint of coconut in there which might not wash well with purists but makes for exceptionally tasty ramen. We're always on the hunt for three things that are notoriously hard to get excellent versions of here - freshly made tacos, sushi and ramen, and for us this is the best ramen we've found here to date. It should be noted that owner Conor was in the kitchen on the night in question so you'd expect it to be as good as it's going to get if the boss is cooking your dinner. The rest of the menu features small plates/sides and three salads with optional extras. We'd ordered some small plates of deep-fried kimchi and fried chicken thinking they would come out first, but everything ended up on the table at the same time, leading to the inevitable eating half your food cold, so if you want them as starters and mains request it when ordering. We don't know where deep-fried kimchi has been all our lives but we're just glad we got there eventually. Deep-frying something so intrinsically good for you is a smart move (let's just ignore what high heat might do to all that good bacteria), and they're kind of like more tangy, more chewy onion rings, in a crispy batter managing to avoid feeling in any way greasy. The fried chicken was the only disappointment of the meal. The brown meat and batter were surprisingly soft and bland, and the fermented chilli mayo and mango butter didn't do much to liven things up. Our other main was the umami salad, which has rocketed into the top three salads we've ever eaten in Dublin. It comes with pickled shimeji mushrooms, cannellini beans, parmesan crisps, smoked seasame, seasoned egg, cured cherry tomato and shoyu dressing. Who knew there was no such thing as too much umami? You can add chashu pork, grilled chicken, fried chicken or 'grilled' halloumi which we went for, but it was actually cubes of deep-fried halloumi - delicious but not what we were expecting. Nevertheless, this is a salad that we're going to spend hours trying (and no doubt failing) to recreate at home. We also ordered the triple-cooked fries with house BBQ sauce and spice blend, which was a gigantic portion - fine if there are three or four of you but for two it's a bit much. They're skinny fries and the BBQ sauce was good and not overly sweet, but we'd skip them next time to try the side salad with pickled veg, unless we were with a gang. For dessert we couldn't side-step the blackboard special of sweet crisp bread with yuzu curd, basil mascarpone, yoghurt and strawberries, and we're hoping it makes a comeback with each strawberry season. The fried dough, which seems to exist in most Asian cultures in some form, was light and crisp, and a perfect vehicle for getting the basil yoghurt, sorbet, yuzu curd and semi-frozen strawberries into our mouths. It's also nice to see places putting as much thought and creativity into their desserts as they do their savoury dishes. Next time we're going for the gingerbread nachos with chocolate and chilli sauce, and black chai ice-cream. What about the drinks? That creativity also runs to cocktails, like sake, strawberry, lemon and tonic, and soft drinks, with homemade kombucha flavours including honey and habanero and kumquat and star anise. We tried a yuzu spritz with yuzu liqueur, dry vermouth and prosecco which was a definite upgrade from your bog standard aperol, and an apple and honey lemonade, which was equally lovely. The wine list is small but better than we were expecting from a scout online, with two whites, two reds and a prosecco, all decent, and none likely to cause chronic hangover (not guaranteed). They also do one beer - Kirin Ichiban. And the service? Full of smiles and checks that we were okay, although we would have liked to have been asked about the pacing of dishes when we ordered. Apart from that it was hard to find fault. The verdict? Soup has been on the to-do list for a while and we only wish we hadn't waited so long to get here. The ramen is best we've found in Dublin, and if this was our local we'd be in here every week - particularly over those long, dark winter months. We live in hope that Soup Ramen 2 is on the cards, so that more people get to experience the joy of really great ramen, that spectacular umami salad and the wonder of deep-fried fermented cabbage. Soup Ramen 28 George's Street Lower, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin www.soupramen.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Northside Dublin's loveliest fishing village is bustling with tourists 12 months of the year, and should be laden down with the city's best seafood, but you need to know where to eat here if you want the really good stuff. Howth Our Take Northside Dublin's loveliest fishing village is bustling with tourists 12 months of the year, and should be laden down with the city's best seafood, but you need to know where to eat here if you want the really good stuff. Where to Eat Baily Bites @ Kish King Sitric Mamo Octopussy's Póg Howth The Pier House

We love a good corner café, and Il Valentino probably deserves a medal for location alone. The glass-fronted café looks to busy Pearse Street on one side, and the more subdued and car-free Grand Canal Dock on the other. Their huge counter is always packed with rows of sandwiches, croissants, cakes, pastries and cakes, and they've had no problem competing with some of the bigger names that moved in a few hundred meters away. If the weather's nice try to grab a table on their outdoor terrace for maximum city break vibes. Il Valentino Website ilvalentino.ie Address 5 Gallery Quay, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story We love a good corner café, and Il Valentino probably deserves a medal for location alone. The glass-fronted café looks to busy Pearse Street on one side, and the more subdued and car-free Grand Canal Dock on the other. Their huge counter is always packed with rows of sandwiches, croissants, cakes, pastries and cakes, and they've had no problem competing with some of the bigger names that moved in a few hundred meters away. If the weather's nice try to grab a table on their outdoor terrace for maximum city break vibes. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Venezuelan-born Nigely Maasud came to Ireland with hopes of starting a tour company, but after realising the capital was lacking a bonefide 'churreria', she started making them with her mother. Their market stall eventually morphed into a Temple Bar café where the crunchy, airy churros are the main attraction (don't miss the Spanish hot chocolate to dip the plain ones in), but ice-cream, crêpes and savoury Venezuelan tequenos stuffed with cheese are more reasons to take a Temple Bar pitstop. Sweet Churro Website sweetchurro.ie Address 3/4 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Venezuelan-born Nigely Maasud came to Ireland with hopes of starting a tour company, but after realising the capital was lacking a bonefide 'churreria', she started making them with her mother. Their market stall eventually morphed into a Temple Bar café where the crunchy, airy churros are the main attraction (don't miss the Spanish hot chocolate to dip the plain ones in), but ice-cream, crêpes and savoury Venezuelan tequenos stuffed with cheese are more reasons to take a Temple Bar pitstop. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Ruby Tuesday Jerk chicken & goat curry come to Dame Street Posted: 19 Feb 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? A couple of weeks ago we came across an article in the Dublin Inquirer about a new pop-up in Berlin on Dame Street - Ruby Tuesday's Jerk Chicken . Previously home to Lucky Tortoise , the bar has been playing host to some interesting kitchen concepts over the past year, and the promise of a secret jerk sauce recipe learnt from a Jamaican relative was too much to pass up. The Ruby in question was born in Brixton to Ghanian parents, and anyone who's been there will know it's a thriving hub of Caribbean families, food and music. She came to Dublin for the weekend 14 years ago and loved it so much she moved here. She worked in telecommunications before debuting her cooking at a music festival 10 years ago, but only seriously looked into making it a career after being made redundant last year. She started serving food in Berlin in November, and you can read more about her in that great Dublin Inquirer piece. Where should we go for a drink first? It is in a bar, albeit one without an inspiring drinks selection, so it depends what you're after. There was a decent martini made, but they won't be winning any awards for their beer, cider or wine selection. If you're particular about your drinks (*waves*), you might want to walk 5 minutes to The Sidecar in the Westbury (below) for brilliant cocktails which come with fat, juicy olives, mixed nuts and teeny glasses of prosecco while you wait (swoon). For wine, Piglet and Loose Canon and both less than a 5 minute walk away, and for a good old fashioned pub you're just a stone's throw from The Stag's Head . Where should we sit? The bar has two main sections, one with the door out onto Dame Court which had a DJ blasting 90's hiphop on a Tuesday night, and the other where the Dame Street entrance and the kitchen are (thankfully you can still hear the 90's hiphop from here - JLO + LL Cool J + Jerk chicken = good times). We'd sit on the kitchen side for obvious reasons, ideally on the banquettes. What's good to eat? This is very inexpensive food, so we ordered way too much of it, and with enough left for two take home boxes, it came to €17 a head. What we didn't realise was that a lot of the ingredients are in the same dishes so we ended up with four lots of fried plantain and a lot of uneaten rice, but we do like to try all the food. The plantain was surprisingly one of the highlights, and we all struggled to stop eating them - like a marginally healthier version of bar crisps. Ruby was not divulging what they were fried in, despite our pleas, but this is good stuff. From the snacks we also ordered the jerk chicken wings and the Jamaican beef patty. The patty was another resounding win and disappeared as quickly as it was put down. We'd go back for this alone. The jerk sauce on (mostly under) the wings was great, but we'd have preferred them to be cooked low and slow to render the fat down, making the skin nicer to eat, although this didn't bother others. We tried four of the mains, and the Jerk chicken with jollof rice and more of those fried plantains was the unanimous favourite. This time the fat was mostly rendered and the chicken was falling apart. So many good flavours and a nice kick of spice balanced by the milder rice and the sweet plantain. The oxtail stew with dumplings, butter beans and carrots, served with more rice and the meat on the bone, was a really rich, comforting dish with layers of flavour - this was obviously not cooked in a hurry and just what you'd want on a cold night. The other two dishes were fine, but wouldn't have us rushing back. Caribbean fishcakes were a bit 'nondescript fish and potato', and Jollof rice with Caribbean salsa and more fried plantain was a bit of a damp squib - but maybe we were rice and plantained out by that stage - certainly the vegans will be happy to be included. We were totally gutted to find out that the curry goat is only available at the weekend and plan on going back for that. We definitely over ordered with three snacks and four mains between four, but they do have takeaway boxes so you can take leftovers home - which you definitely should, down with food waste. What about dessert? There are currently no desserts on the menu, so you could head back down to Loose Canon for a cheese plate, or across the road to the recently opened Sweet Churro in Temple Bar, for the South American version of doughnuts filled with dulce de leche or chocolate. And the drinks? As stated earlier, it's not the most inspiring drinks list in the city. If you're happy with the usual suspects or spirits and mixers you'll be fine, otherwise you may want to get in, eat, and get out. We would have loved to see some Caribbean inspired drinks on the menu to go with the food, and think they're missing a trick. And the service? Ruby is like the mother hen, lavishing food on people and simultaneously blushing and giggling when they tell her how much they loved it. Bar staff were equally lovely. Our only complaint was that all seven items arrived to the table at the same time, which was way too much for the table to hold and for us to try to eat without a lot of it getting cold. So if you want snacks first followed by main after, make sure you tell them that. The verdict? "Authentic ethnic food" which also tastes great (not always a given, there are plenty of bad Irish stews made in this country on a nightly basis) is the holy grail for pavement pounding food-aholics. This tasted both authentically Caribbean and very tasty, and when you add in fast and cheap it's definitely worth using a meal token on. You could come out of here well fed for €10, and have a new cuisine to add to your repertoire. And if you go at the weekend, get the goat curry. Ruby Tuesday's Jerk Chicken Berlin D2, 14-15 Dame Lane, Dublin 2 www.facebook.com/RubyTuesdayJerkChickensaucedublinstyle New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Osteria Lucio Solid Italian cooking centred around quality ingredients Posted: 3 Oct 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Most people in the city know Ross Lewis as the chef-patron of Michelin-starred Chapter One , but not many seem to know that he has another restaurant - a modern Italian in Grand Canal Dock that he opened in 2015 with friend Luciano Tona, also a Michelin-starred chef, from Italy. The restaurant's blurb says that Osteria Lucio is in the style of cooking that Ross would do for family and friends (and we certainly wouldn't say no to dinner round his), and they had some very positive reviews under their belt early doors, but since then seem to just be quietly getting on with what they're doing. For those of us not working or living in Grand Canal Dock, it can seem like a different world. It looks different, people dress different, it's very windy. There aren't a whole load of reasons to head that way (tickets for a show at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre or getting a job in Facebook seem to be the most common ones), but people kept telling us how good the food in Ross' 'other' restaurant was, so we braved the elements to check it out for ourselves. Where should we go for a drink first? There's not a whole pile on the doorstep, and the bar here is really lovely, with interesting wines and a nice aperitivi list, so we'd probably come straight here for a negroni or an aperol spritz. Otherwise you could have a plum and gingerbread daiquiri overlooking the water at Charlotte Quay , or take a short walk down to Beggar's Bush and have a pint in The Old Spot or The Bath Pub . Where should we sit? There are three distinct seating areas - the bar, high tables in the front opposite the bar, and the main room which is cosy and cavelike, and definitely the place to sit if you're looking to engage in intimate conversation. The front area with the bar is a bit buzzier, and great for small groups or lively catch ups, and the bar counter would be great for solo-dining or twosomes who like to chat to the bar staff. What's good to eat? We tried dishes from the pre-theatre (two courses for €25, three for €30) and á la carte menus and everything was very good. Nothing was over complicated, and it's clear they're using quality ingredients and not messing with them too much. Bruschetta on menus here usually has us yawning, but this one, with courgette pesto, tomatoes and olives on perfectly charred bread, was as good an example as we've had in ages. The same focus on quality produce was obvious in another starter of breasola with rocket, datterini tomatoes, pesto and parmesan, which was the perfect precursor to the carby mains. Gnocchi for mains (from the pre-theatre) was of the boiled, not fried variety, and practically melted in our mouths. It sat in a rich ragu of Irish lamb, with dollops of soft goat's cheese and fried parsley on top. The portion was huge, so much so that we took some home. Pizzas (also on the pre-theatre) are thin and crispy, and our Quattro Formaggi with smoked scarmorza, mozzarella, tallegio and gorgonzola was a cheese fiend's dream, our only complaint being that the blue tended to overpower everything else (as it does). Again this was a very generous portion, so come here hungry or prepare to take some home. From the á la carte menu, we loved the Irish beef striploin with shaved cabbage, tomatoes, parmesan and herbs, and if you don't want to roll out in a carb coma this is an excellent choice. The meat was cooked and seasoned perfectly, a combination which is surprisingly hard to find, and this is the dish we've re-imagining eating most since our meal there. The only thing we didn't try was the handmade pasta, but we plan to rectify that very soon, and would be very confident the quality of ingredients would shine through like it did with everything else. For dessert we had to go tiramisu (when in Rome), and it arrived with properly soaked sponge, creamy mascarpone with an espresso crumb and three chunky shards of milk, white and dark chocolate sticking out of it. Hard to think of a better ending to a really enjoyable meal. What about the drinks? As we mentioned earlier, they have a traditionally Italian aperitivi list, with the old reliables like aperol spritz, negronis and bellinis, and some other really interesting sounding cocktails, like 'The Grounds Garden', with vermouth bianco, dingle gin, saint germain, teapot bitters and prosecco. We'd quite like to slowly make our way through the whole list. The wine list is all Italian and has clearly been put together with thought and care. There are no nasty brands, and enough recognisable small producers to provide immediate assurance about the general calibre on offer. We tried a Sicilian blend of Cataratto and Grillo which tasted like honeyed melon and was a really good match for both starters, as well as a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, which was all red fruits and spice, and perfect with both the lamb gnocchi and the steak. Another red, a blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese, from renowned organic/biodynamic wine producer Fattoria San Lorenzo, was one of those natural wines that makes you feel like you're doing your body a favour (trust us on this), and was full of cherries and funk. Everything was so reliably good that we'd be happy to close our eyes and see where our finger lands next time And the service? Totally charming. Our Italian waiter was full of smiles and advice, letting us try wines before committing to a bottle and just providing one of those perfect service experiences where they're there when you want them and not when you don't. Everyone else who came near our table was equally lovely, and they came across as an experienced, confident operation. The verdict? This is a really solid, modern Italian where the fuss is left at the door, and the focus is on the ingredients. They're not shouting about what they're doing, and obviously don't need to. The place was packed on a Monday night, and a waitress told us it was actually quite chilled in comparison to other weeks. Dublin needs more restaurants like this with less jazz hands, and more quiet confidence that what they're offering is worth the trip to get there. Osteria Lucio The Malting Tower, Clanwilliam Terrace, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 osterialucio.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

One of the best Dublin districts for food, we've previously had to split some of our guides into "North Dublin", "South Dublin" and "Dublin 8". Brilliant for brunch, spectacular for stars, and plenty of cafés and casual dining in between. Dublin 8 Our Take One of the best Dublin districts for food, we've previously had to split some of our guides into "North Dublin", "South Dublin" and "Dublin 8". Brilliant for brunch, spectacular for stars, and plenty of cafés and casual dining in between. Where to Eat Bakeology Bar Pez Bastible Coke Lane at Lucky's Coke Lane at The Circular Daddy's Fayrouz Flower & Bean Gaillot et Gray Groundstate Coffee Kari Konkan Legit Coffee Co Notions @ Two Pups Rascal's Brewing Co. Ryan's of Parkgate Street Space Jaru Spice Village Spitalfields The Fumbally Two Pups Variety Jones

Wine shop and bar from the brother/sister team behind Honest 2 Goodness wine importers. A sweet place to sit for a glass of something from their short, interesting wine list, alongside simple plates of cheese, charcuterie, hummus and pâté. An outside seat on a warm evening is something special, and there's plenty inside you'll want to buy for home. Mosaic Wines Website mosaicbotanic.ie Address 49 Botanic Avenue, Botanic, Dublin 9, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Wine shop and bar from the brother/sister team behind Honest 2 Goodness wine importers. A sweet place to sit for a glass of something from their short, interesting wine list, alongside simple plates of cheese, charcuterie, hummus and pâté. An outside seat on a warm evening is something special, and there's plenty inside you'll want to buy for home. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Madame Pho Website madamepho.ie Address Madame Pho, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Legit Coffee Co. Upping the Northside's brunch game Posted: 14 May 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Legit Coffee Co. started on Meath Street in the Liberties, Dublin 8 in 2015, after French man Daniel Vossion saw a gap in the market for a café serving interesting food and good coffee. They were accepted into the area with open arms, and even made it into the Lonely Planet's guide to Dublin , and last summer opened their second location in Phibsboro, where Daniel and his partner live. Between here, Two Boys Brew and Loretta's , Phibsboro is relatively spoilt for brunch these days, but there's something about the quiet confidence of Legit that we really liked the look of - the sleek food images on their Instagram page probably helped. They open as a café seven days a week, with breakfast, lunch and brunch every day, but it's the latter we were interested in, as we are clearly a city obsessed with it - every time we even mention the B word the website goes mad. Consider us fulfilling our civic duties. What’s the room like? There's a good amount of seating, at regular tables, at a high table and in the window. They also have highchairs if you're coming with a child in tow. The whole thing is very industrial chic with greenery dispersed throughout, and there's more natural light in the front, the back suffers from a lack of windows. We loved the window seats in the front for the people watching (and the view of Mountjoy Prison, you never know you'll see coming out), but the back is calm and private and there's good distance between tables if you're coming for a gossip. What's good to eat? One of the things we really liked about Legit Coffee Co is that the brunch menu isn't full of the same sad greatest hits seen on most menus, and everything has a twist. We thought the pulled pork benedict was genius, with two eggs on toasted brioche with caramelised apple and hollandaise. Pulled pork is usually a take it or leave it affair, and we thought it might be too salty, but it was expertly balanced and the brioche was better than any English muffin. We also really loved the rolled up French toast, stuffed with berries, apple and cream cheese, before being dipped in egg and milk and fried, then drizzled with maple syrup - something that's going to be attempted (for better or worse) at home very soon. The eggs and greens deserves a round of applause for making breakfast time cabbage taste good, and is a nifty way to get your five a day, with avocado, spinach, beetroot hummus and pomegranate. It was also just very tasty without feeling like too much food or that you were over doing it (not looking at you pulled pork benedict), which is good because you need to leave room for cake. A halloumi plate was another out of the ordinary option, with a homemade flatbread, soy portobello mushroom, garlic hummus and mixed salad. The menu said it also came with slaw and pickled onions, neither of which were on the plate when it arrived, but on asking, the pickled onions materialised. We were told the slaw had been replaced with salad, but we think slaw would have been better. It was a nice alternative to a full Irish, but the halloumi was quite chewy (an upgrade to Toonsbridge would be just the job) and it really needed the bite of the onions, so if we hadn't gotten them it would have felt a bit flat. It is also a lot of food so only order if hungry. Definitely save room for cake, all of which are homemade. The canelé, with either salted caramel, dulce de leche or chocolate are the best we've had here (maybe ever), and the 3 layer flan, on staff recommendation, had really interesting consistencies, and was smooth, creamy and delicious. Neither tasted too sweet. What about the drinks? The excellent house coffee is from Baobab Coffee Roasters in Kildare, with regularly changing guest roasts, and they do speciality teas from Wall & Keogh. Cold pressed juices are made fresh in house and worth the €3-€4 price tag. And the service? Everyone's so nice in here that at times we've thought they must all be the owner. You order and pay at the counter and they bring the food to you, but they're more than happy to take time to talk you through the menu or make recommendations. And they smile, a lot. There's just a very welcoming vibe to the place. The verdict? Legit has become one of our favourite places for brunch in Dublin, due to the unfailingly excellent coffee, inventive, delicious food, lovely staff and ample seating space. The next time you're near the North Circular Road make a beeline for it - or just make this your next brunch destination. It's worth any effort it might take to get there. Legit Coffee Co. 394 North Circular Road, Dublin 7 www.legitcoffeeco.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Hand-pulled noodles and homemade dumplings draw the crowds to Lee's on Parnell Street, where dishes come from various regions in China including Sichuan & Chongqing. It's a big hospitality favourite so expect to find it packed on Sunday and Monday with chefs, restaurant managers and FOH on their days off. Lee's Charming Noodles Website @leescharmingnoodles Address 105 Parnell Street, Dublin 1 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Hand-pulled noodles and homemade dumplings draw the crowds to Lee's on Parnell Street, where dishes come from various regions in China including Sichuan & Chongqing. It's a big hospitality favourite so expect to find it packed on Sunday and Monday with chefs, restaurant managers and FOH on their days off. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Deep dish Detroit-style pizza served out of a hatch on Dame Lane, at the back of cocktail bar Pawn Shop. A quick, inexpensive option for something tasty on the go, with the carnitas of doom, and the pancetta and pineapple taking all the headlines. You can sit at a few unstable tables outside, or take your slices into the bar. Doom Slice Website doomslice.pizza Address Doom Slice, Dame Lane, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Deep dish Detroit-style pizza served out of a hatch on Dame Lane, at the back of cocktail bar Pawn Shop. A quick, inexpensive option for something tasty on the go, with the carnitas of doom, and the pancetta and pineapple taking all the headlines. You can sit at a few unstable tables outside, or take your slices into the bar. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Table 45’s owners, Daniel and Daniel, lived above the restaurant when it was The Square Ball, but when that business moved out and they risked losing their home, they decided they’d take on the whole building instead. Inspired by the Chilean Daniel’s home country, they’re now serving tapas, cocktails and South American hospitality to an audience who are utterly endeared with them. They push the fact that they’re Queer and dog-friendly, and are a safe space for everything to enjoy good food and a warm welcome. Table 45 Website table45.ie Address Table 45, Hogan Place, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Table 45’s owners, Daniel and Daniel, lived above the restaurant when it was The Square Ball, but when that business moved out and they risked losing their home, they decided they’d take on the whole building instead. Inspired by the Chilean Daniel’s home country, they’re now serving tapas, cocktails and South American hospitality to an audience who are utterly endeared with them. They push the fact that they’re Queer and dog-friendly, and are a safe space for everything to enjoy good food and a warm welcome. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Did we even smash before Dash? Get into a heated debate about Dublin's best burger with anyone in the city and Dash will top the list again and again. Double and triple smash burgers, chicken tendies, fries and sauces make up a simple menu that needs nothing else. Dash Burger Aungier Street Website dashburger.ie Address Unit 2, College Court, 6-11 Kevin Street Lower, Portobello, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Did we even smash before Dash? Get into a heated debate about Dublin's best burger with anyone in the city and Dash will top the list again and again. Double and triple smash burgers, chicken tendies, fries and sauces make up a simple menu that needs nothing else. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Comet The most exciting, original restaurant opening in Dublin this year Posted: 8 Jul 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the 411 on Comet? The prodigal chef returns home from Denmark with a grá to settle at home and dreams of achieving big things on home turf. Wexford-born Kevin O’Donnell came up through the ranks of Dublin dining, working at Bastible and Klaw, before decamping to Copenhagen and achieving very big things. Gaining a job at two Michelin-starred Kadeau , he worked his way up to head chef at Kadeau 's summer beachside outpost Bornholm (which has one Michelin star), before being appointed head of research, development and "special stuff" across both restaurants, which doesn’t happen without a lot of talent and an equal amount of graft. O’Donnell’s now wife Laura Chabal also worked at Kadeau as Communications Manager, but the couple, like most in hospitality, dreamt about what they could create on their own, and Ireland was calling. They moved home in 2024 and started testing the water with their Comet supper club , which had a few run outs at the Fumbally Stables, as well as doing some private catering while they figured out a plan. That plan was hatched with old employers Bastible , who came on board to back Comet the restaurant. Remember La Ruelle , the wine bar behind what's now Pablo Picante on Dawson Street? The wine list (or room) was never our vibe, so we can't say we were heartbroken to see them go. The site though on Joshua Lane (named after Joshua Dawson who sold the land it sits on to Dublin corporation for £3,500 in 1715) has the most central of locations, and despite a lack of passing trade, we were surprised to see it sat empty since last year – until Comet swooped in to turn on the lights back on. What table should we be asking for? If you're a table of six (or maybe less depending on how busy they are) you'll want the oval table in the window - the only one with decent natural light and the perfect shape for group conversations. Thankfully acoustics in here are better than the lighting - be aware that if you bring that older person in your life who wears reading glasses they will complain about needing a torch to see the menu. Otherwise the room is roughly split in two by a room divider on the left and the bar counter on the right, with natural light diminishing the further back you go, but a mirror cleverly installed on the back wall to combat this. We generally like to be at the front and have a better view of the whole room, but if you're meeting someone to conduct an illicit affair, ask for a corner in the back, or just behind that divider. What's the menu like? A genuinely original (for Dublin), European bistro-style, love letter to local sourcing, pickling, smoking, fermenting and doing very clever things to get the maximum possible flavour from very lovely ingredients - no BS included. Start with the "Comet" aperitif while deciding what to order - the white vermouth on ice with a guindilla chilli pepper and a dash of the brine mixed through is an electric opener, and the perfect signature serve. There’s a “4-course carte blanche” option for €78, but it’s a bit confusing as to exactly what you’ll get. They told us two snacks, two starters, a fish course each (red mullet instead of the pollock on the menu), a main to share, and two desserts, but it’s all a surprise, and with no details of what’s on there it’s impossible to know whether it’s better or worse value than ordering à la carte , which is what we ended up doing. Don't pass on olives and pickles (€8) thinking you've had them a million times - not like this you haven't. Warm olives arrive so smooth and glistening in olive oil (the really good stuff) you can almost see your reflection in them. A unique assortment of pickled gooseberries, artichoke, asparagus, and onion sit beside them, and between the rich olives and tangy pickles it's a mini flavour riot. Anchovy and meyer lemon toast came next, covered in a sorrel leaf which we struggled to see the point of (other than the fun of lifting it up to see what's underneath). This one needs a chilli warning - that heat wasn't mentioned on the menu - and while those mink brown anchovies are in our all time top food lists, we didn't love this enough to think about it much afterwards (especially for the €9 price tag). Onto starters/small plates, and a smoked pork cheek and black kale skewer (€22) arrived concertina-style in the most perfect rectangle. The pork, from Fiorbhia Farm in Laois is cured in shio koji ( here's an explainer ), hot smoked, then glazed with pork fat, collatura (an Italian fish sauce made from anchovies) and fermented habanero. The tangy, earthy kale up against the ultra-thin smoky pork, dragged through the toasted yeast emulsion on the side makes for a dish where the above average price tag is easily justified. " Peas, broad beans and pistachio " wouldn't have been on our order sheet if owner Chabal hadn't told us it was her favourite, and gosh were we glad we listened. Peas and beans from Abercorn Farm and Castleruddery in Wicklow tasted like they'd been plucked from the ground moments earlier, podded by nuns who yodelled as they worked. Tossed through with pistashio and fermented plum, and sitting on a puddle of crème crue (another name for crème fraîche), this is the kind of dish you want to never come off the menu, but you know it has to – that’s what makes seasonal eating so special. When you get to mains DO NOT look past the quail on toast - currently a top contender for the best thing we've eaten in 2025 (or ever?). French quails are deboned, given a sweet Asian glaze (confit garlic, cider vinegar, soy), stuffed with leeks, melded to homemade sourdough, and sat in a pool of Vin Jaune sauce – this is gamebird witchcraft and we were suitably spellbound. You might start off with a knife and fork, but a few bites in and you'll be making a show of yourself gnawing every last sliver of meat from the remaining bones - a finger bowl would be handy. If we don't see this on the Michelin Inspector's dishes of the month some time soon we'll be questioning whether they know what they’re talking about. The fish dish was pollock cooked in beef fat (ooooof for us, controversial for pescatarians) served with girolles and toasted hazelnuts, in a buttery sauce made with the mushroom cooking liquid and fermented white asparagus juice. Anything sitting side by side with that quail is going to pale in comparison, but the mouthfuls where you got a bit of everything were pretty special. As fish dishes go, this isn't light, and those (crazy people) who don’t like too much butter may want to pick something a bit less rich. Pommes boulangère usually looks like more like a gratin than a potato rose, but we prefer this version. Cooked in chicken stock and so soft that a knife glides from top to bottom of the waxy potato stripes, it tasted like the best Christmas potatoes, without veering into carbocide territory. Yet another impressive kitchen turn. In too many bistro set ups like this, desserts are an obvious afterthought. Something spoonable, something freezable, always simple and negating the need for a pastry chef. So Comet's three options plus an out of the box cheese course is more cause for applause. We usually skip the cheese course - we eat enough of it at home for a fraction of the price, why bother with the premium restaurant surcharge - but Comet is where habits will be broken. Are we going to cook the softest warm oat pancake as a base, make a marmalade-from Cedrat, an ancient citrus fruit imported from France, and generously shave nutty, caramel, crystal-flecked Coolea (an Irish gouda-style cheese) over the top? No we are not. We're good, but we're not that good. This is that good. A fig and brown sugar tartlet had the kind of ultra-short, crumbly, cocoa-filled pastry that only the most skilled Granny can produce. Filled with slices of ripe fig and topped with a silky, coffee crème diplomat (there’s cold-infused coffee oil in the crème), it's the kind of thing you could imagine Cedric Grolet serving you after a Parisian pilgrimage, while you tell yourself it’s a perfectly acceptable breakfast alongside a Café au Lait – fruit and coffee = breakfast. What about drinks? This is a wine venue - there's a few aperitifs and some NA options but no beer or spirits as we type. There's a short, sharp by the glass list, with a single sparkling and rosé, three each of white and red, and a couple of dessert options. It's considerably cheaper to drink the same wines by the bottle, with small glasses (125ml) at a premium price, so you will pay more for variety. There are no bad choices on this list - everything's been carefully chosen to take up a treasured slot, and the minimal intervention lean in much of the bottles is the perfect fit for the thoughtfully prepared food. If you tend to stick to the more common grapes and are unsure which of the by the glass options you might like, ask for a taste. And if you're in the wine drinking big leagues (and/or the salary big leagues) ask for the cellar wine list ( also online ). This is the kind of starry-eyed selection we’re more used to seeing in London or Paris, and this alone will draw a very specific type of diner (the type we’d really like to be friends with). How was the service? With two owners on the floor, and with us getting clocked immediately, it was never going to be anything but lovely. Dishes arrived with perfect timing, and we weren’t rushed off the table afterwards (this will depend on whether there’s a booking after you though). If Chabal is on the floor try to grab her for food and wine recommendations. There’s nothing quite like getting your hands on the person whose passion project you’re watching unfold. What's the financial committment? Comet has placed itself in the upper tier of Dublin pricing, in line with Library Street, Kicky’s, Uno Mas, and with the extreme amount of work to extract maximum flavour in the kitchen, it couldn’t be any other way. There’s no doubt the Michelin inspectors will be sitting down to dinner soon, and it’s hard to imagine a chef who’s coming from a multi-starred stable not wanting to get one on his own terms. While the prices might mean this is special occasion territory for most people, they won't care too much if it’s worth it. We paid €125 per person for a snack, starter, main, dessert/cheese, and four drinks each (including an aperitif and coffee), before tip, and we’d pay it again, and again. What's the verdict on Comet? It’s always hard to make big statements after just one meal, but here we go anyway. Comet , is the most exciting, original opening in Dublin this year (and we might include 2024 in that too). Maybe someone will say restaurants like this are 10 a penny in Copenhagen, maybe nothing is really original any more, but looking at the existing landscape of Dublin dining , Comet has landed with something entirely different. This is such confident cooking, sourcing only the best and fusing it with bold flavours developed through time-intensive methods. This is a team on a mission, with no evidence of fumbling or second-guessing themselves (maybe they’re hiding it well). There’s no hint of bean-counting or cost-cutting either, but you’ll pay for this kind of investment in flavour, and we suggest you do before word spreads and those 30 or so seats become perpetually booked up. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Madame Pho The Belfast-born Vietnamese chain is expanding rapidly, but it needs a Pho-King rethink Posted: 29 Oct 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Madame Pho? Established in Belfast in 2020 by a second-generation restaurateur, Vietnamese street food chain Madame Pho has seen explosive growth since its sale to new management last year, with four new openings in the North of Ireland in the space of just six weeks – a manic pace by any standard. Not content with keeping that many plates spinning, they’ve now begun an incursion south of the border, slipping into the Exchequer Street spot vacated by Ukiyo’s recent shock closure . Their livery can also be seen on the Thomas Street Boojum that’s lain idle since lockdown, due to open before the end of the year, with the sheer speed of scooping up long-term dormancies and high-profile casualties showing the surplus of ambition here. Where should we sit? The layout isn’t wildly different to what was there in Ukiyo, with the ground floor bar scaled-back to make room for a few additional two-tops on the floor. A fresh lick of paint, wood wall panelling, and Vietnamese light fixtures and décor join colourful new chairs and banquettes for a casual reinvention of the space that’s fresh but familiar. The basement level is a bit more lavishly appointed, with a less crowded layout and more upmarket banquettes retained from the previous tenant – we’d bet on this space getting a lot more use in the evenings. The wraparound booth tucked in the corner has to be our top pick if you’re in with a crowd. What’s on the menu? We got stuck straight in with the Vietnamese mainstay gỏi cuốn (summer rolls), plump parcels of rice paper-wrapped prawns, vermicelli and shredded veg. With a fair serving of fat prawns and a pleasant tang of pickled daikon, these are a strong start and a solid option for a quick snack on the go. Peanut sauce on the side isn’t our top pick for pairing at the best of times, but all the less with the one-note flavours of this version. It makes more sense, if equally little impact, with their chicken skewers. The menu lists these chargrilled chunks as satay-marinated but until we dipped in the sauce there wasn’t the slightest taste of peanut. Or, on that note, much to taste at all – under-seasoned and over-cooked, they were a bland block of middling meat with neither the fatty flavour nor crisp coating we’d expect. Wings were a massive improvement - tender, juicy meat basking in a sticky-sweet caramelised glaze for a showcase of all the skewers are not. The umami-rich tang of fish sauce is balanced with sugar and soy, with garlic and chilli bringing more assertive flavour. The little side serving of sriracha mayo will satisfy those seeking a more prominent kick, but it's a glaze that needs no adding to as far as we and our licked-clean fingers are concerned. The bánh mì marks a major bump in the road, with Madame Pho’s take on maybe Vietnam’s most famous street food staple not likely to have anyone booking a flight. The new owners have said they’ll be shipping their baguettes from Belfast until they find a suitable substitute down south, but short of cheaper prices up north we couldn’t detect anything in this basic bread worth importing – Dunnes across the road does them just as well. We’d believe you if you told us the “Vietnamese ham” came from there too, with little to note in the paltry pink slices. BBQ crispy pork neck has been pummelled to a thin, tough texture, with the coating joining the chicken skewers in the gravely under-seasoned stakes. We’d forgive some of this in a cheap and cheerful lunch joint; at €14 it’s a big misfire. The curry makes for a modest return to form, a substantial serving that’s creamy and rich with coconut milk and mild spice, studded with your choice of meat or veg. We went with roast duck and found more favour in the thin, tasty breast slices than the chunkier cuts, more flavour needing to be rendered from the fat. Still, the sum total worked well, with coriander and lemongrass lending a freshness and balance to the bowl. You could do a lot worse. Just how much worse we soon sampled, as we slurped up the broth from the Pho King and almost let it spill right back into the bowl. The menu talks a great game of deep sweetness and fragrant flavour derived from an eight-hour simmer, but perhaps they forgot to flick on the heat – this was as bland as it gets, less bone and marrow than… water and water. Short of the rich depth of a proper broth, the four kinds of meat are left to carry the can and they are, putting it mildly, not up to the task. With no hint of suppliers or provenance across their menus or sites, it's safe to assume Madame Pho isn't working with Ireland's best produce. Sliced beef hasn’t a trace of the medium rarity claimed, from-frozen meatballs have a denseness that’s deeply off-putting, chicken chunks are of a chewiness we’d sooner starve than relive, while more of those fat, farmed prawns practically come off as gourmet by contrast. We started to eat the side of sliced chilli by itself just to feel something, and left the bowl behind. Pho, the menu explains for those not in the know, is pronounced in Vietnam as “fuh” – we think this dish needs a Pho-King rethink. What are the drinks like? Vietnamese-style coffee is a big part of the pitch and happily more successful than some of the efforts elsewhere. Our iced black offering, drip filtered over a thick layer of condensed milk, was deeply tasty, and these are likely to sell well. Cocktails are an effort to parlay fast food vibes to a slower, more spenny atmosphere come evening – the relatively keen pricing at just under a tenner a pop should do a solid job. The Pho Signature we sampled was decidedly fruit-forward, with apple and passionfruit bringing a leading sweetness to hide any real trace of vodka or lime. Four Asian beer options and a short but sweetly-priced wine bottle list won’t rock the boat for anyone. How was the service? Like lightning – we were seated and served so quick we’d barely got our coats off by the time the food arrived. This is a machine well-oiled and well-intent on turning tables over as quick as it can. That’s not to say there’s any sense of being rushed, though the onslaught of food could leave you scoffing your starters for fear the curry will go cold. Textbook brand expansion is on full display, with a few Northern accents on the floor a sure sign that experienced staff from across the business have been parachuted in to see the new opening over the line. It’s all very slick, smooth and served with a smile. And the damage? Madame Pho’s owners have noted the far higher cost of doing business down south, with overheads running anything from 20 to 50% above what they’re dealing with in Belfast. It was a pleasant surprise then to see coffees and starters running in and around the same price both sides of the border. It’s a pretty good deal. That’s not a theme that holds up across the mains, alas, with the banh mis, phos and curries clearly making up the margins. Substantial mains will see you starting off at €18, while the cheapest banh mi comes in at €11. That makes for street food speed at sit-down spend, with the wildly varying quality making for occasionally very bad value. What’s the verdict on Madame Pho? Badly dropping the ball on your namesake dish is a very big stumble to recover from, and the Dublin debut of Madame Pho is already clocking up the sceptical user reviews to show it. There’s a lot of good will going for the OG Belfast branches, but everywhere we looked here we saw creaking signs of an overly cynical effort to cash in on a big brand name acquisition under this new management. Part of the case they’ve set out for expansion to these parts is a relative lack of competition in the Vietnamese food space, but what’s true in quantity isn’t at all in quality. At a ten minute stroll across the Liffey, Capel Street’s Aobaba is the one to beat at a far lower price point, with honourable mentions for Pho Kim and Pho Ta – Madame Pho isn’t just not in the same league, it’s not even playing the same sport. Even up against less established players in the market it falters, with Little Geno ’s bánh mì head and shoulders above for a full three euro less. The real USP Madame Pho offers is quick and cheerful service with enough space that you’re near-guaranteed a walk-in seat. In a city with restaurants that are often heaving and booked out weeks in advance, that might be enough to keep a hold of this corner for now, but it’s not likely to generate the same affection and repeat custom. There is much more of the business of food here than the pleasure, and maybe that's a sad sign of the times. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

One of our top picks for Turkish food in the city, offering some of the best value around for very generous portions. Meat is cooked on the mangal – the beating heart of Turkish barbecue – and served with homemade breads, dips and assorted mezze. Casual space full of ex-pats missing the taste of home, and there’s no alcohol but you could head to The Sackville Lounge or Bar 1661 afterwards if you’re out for the night. Sofra Website instagram.com/sofra.dublin Address Sofra Cafe & Grill Restaurant, Liffey Street Upper, North City, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story One of our top picks for Turkish food in the city, offering some of the best value around for very generous portions. Meat is cooked on the mangal – the beating heart of Turkish barbecue – and served with homemade breads, dips and assorted mezze. Casual space full of ex-pats missing the taste of home, and there’s no alcohol but you could head to The Sackville Lounge or Bar 1661 afterwards if you’re out for the night. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Rathmines keeps moving on up with the opening of Lottie’s, in the space that was previously Lenehan’s, from Domini Kemp (ex-Itsa Cafés, The Commons at MoLI) and Brian Montague (The Winding Stair group). Bagging Mister S’s former head chef was a move showing clear intention to be part of the A grade of Dublin restaurants, yet the original menu manages to appeal to a wide range of diners, without compromising on quality or interest. Prices are very fair and the large space has plenty of areas for groups and gatherings. Lottie's Website lotties.ie Address 7-9, Rathgar Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Rathmines keeps moving on up with the opening of Lottie’s, in the space that was previously Lenehan’s, from Domini Kemp (ex-Itsa Cafés, The Commons at MoLI) and Brian Montague (The Winding Stair group). Bagging Mister S’s former head chef was a move showing clear intention to be part of the A grade of Dublin restaurants, yet the original menu manages to appeal to a wide range of diners, without compromising on quality or interest. Prices are very fair and the large space has plenty of areas for groups and gatherings. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure