Ethically sourced food, elevated to new levels of deliciousness by their clever staff have had Dubliners converging en masse to Dublin 8 since The Fumbally opened in 2012. High ceilings, mish mashed furniture and a “let’s all be friends” vibe make it feel like you’re in someone’s living room, in the best possible way. The Fumbally Website thefumbally.ie Address Fumbally Lane, The Liberties, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Ethically sourced food, elevated to new levels of deliciousness by their clever staff have had Dubliners converging en masse to Dublin 8 since The Fumbally opened in 2012. High ceilings, mish mashed furniture and a “let’s all be friends” vibe make it feel like you’re in someone’s living room, in the best possible way. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Italian/Irish neighbourhood restaurant in Stillorgan, with an impressive focus on provenance and a local, friendly vibe. Riba Website ribarestaurant.ie Address 4 Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Italian/Irish neighbourhood restaurant in Stillorgan, with an impressive focus on provenance and a local, friendly vibe. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Vibrant, authentic Thai food in Ranelagh that hasn't been dumbed down for Irish palettes (but they will adjust spice levels for the more mildly inclined). Exciting, dynamic cooking from an all Thai kitchen team. Nightmarket Website nightmarket.ie Address 120 Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Vibrant, authentic Thai food in Ranelagh that hasn't been dumbed down for Irish palettes (but they will adjust spice levels for the more mildly inclined). Exciting, dynamic cooking from an all Thai kitchen team. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Mr Dinh Daytime-only dim sum on Capel Street Posted: 20 Aug 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Mr Dinh sits at the far end of Capel Street, close to Parnell Street, in a site that formerly housed Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi Hanoi. We've been unable to find out whether the owner and manager of Mr Dinh are the same as Hanoi Hanoi, but they're both from Vietnam. This is not a restaurant we would have made a beeline for, due to their 'Asian fusion' menu featuring Japanese, Hong Kong, Malayasian and Thai cuisine - in our experience muddled menus usually don't make for spell-binding eating experiences - but then the Dublin restaurant whisper network started talking about Mr Dinh's daytime-only dim sum. If you speak to anyone from Hong Kong (or anyone who's versed in their food) about where to get good dim sum in Dublin you're likely to hear three names - Good World , Ka Shing and Mr Dinh . We hear that the pendulum swings between all three of them as the favourite depending on the week, but that amongst a certain group of Asian ladies who dim sum, Mr Dinh was currently in the lead. Dim sum is a day time food in Hong Kong, with small plates of everything from dumplings to turnip cake often accompanied by Chinese tea, and Mr Dinh only serves dim sum until 5pm, so it's lunch or a very early dinner if you want to get in on the dim sum action here. Where is there to go for a drink around here? If you're planning on having one of those long, drawn out lunches which turns into a boozy afternoon - great plan. We'd head around the corner to Bonobo in Smithfield, particularly if the sun's out and you can wile away a few hours in their beer garden. Otherwise McNeill's on Capel Street is great for Guinness and trad music, or if you're having a dry day but still want to stay out, head for The Virgin Mary for non-alcoholic cocktails. Where should we sit? There's plenty of space over two rooms so you should have your pick. If you're in a group the round tables complete with lazy Susans are great for avoiding awkward arm-stretching, but if you're looking for privacy you can easily slink into one of the corners on either side. What's good to eat? There are 32 types of dim sum on the menu, featuring everything from prawn dumplings to chicken feet (not recommended, even for lols). Of everything we tried our favourites were the pan-fried pork dumplings (deeply-flavoured with a perfect chewy, meaty texture), pan-fried vegetable and meat buns (light, slightly blistered dough filled with more flavoursome pork and green vegetables), and baked BBQ pork puffs - although the latter were barely warm and very sweet - proceed with caution. Prawn dumplings Chaozhou style were better than prawn and Chinese chive dumplings, whose thin, slippery wrappers had gotten completely stuck on the steamer, causing them to fall apart, and soup dumplings disappointed due to a lack of soup. Steamed turnip cake with a type of Chinese sausage split the table - you definitely have to be on board with the gelatinous texture and slightly too oily exterior, but we were, and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf was very sticky, with a layer of something like a thick gravy with pork pieces and sweetcorn between two slabs of rice. Enjoyable at the time but not particularly memorable. Steamed BBQ pork buns were decent, but we've had better in the city (looking at you Lucky Tortoise ), and again that overly sweet BBQ filling could have done with easing off on the sugar, and BBQ pork cheung fun (rice rolls) had the sweet/savoury balance much more on point, although they could have done with a bit more filling. Pork siu mai were slightly bland and a bit too pink for our liking, and they weren't finished. What about the drinks? We've yet to encounter an Asian restaurant in the Capel Street/Parnell Street area with anything of interest to drink, and unfortunately Mr Dinh lives up to the stereotype. Wines come under the heading "avoid", and beers are basic. Under some grilling they said they would allow BYO at around €10 per bottle of wine, but wouldn't commit to a corkage charge. Definitely worth considering if you want something stronger than Chinese tea with your dim sum. And the service? Friendly but pretty perfunctory. The manager was very happy to answer a myriad of questions, and tell us about the exciting new Malaysian, Japanese and Thai menu changes to come on the main menu in a couple of weeks, but sometimes the staff bringing the food just dropped them on the table without telling us what they were. They always came back with a smile though when we called them to ask what type of dumplings we were about to eat. The verdict? Mr Dinh is dishing up decent dim sum and while it's unlikely to change your life it's very cheap, very filling and parts of it are very tasty. For €25 a head we had more food than we could eat - you could easily leave well fed for €15 - and if you're someone who likes small portions of multiple dishes and sharing food for the purposes of getting to try more, you'll have fun working your way through the menu here. Even if you get the odd dud you're unlikely to feel hard done by at prices like these. For us the dim sum debates rages on. We've already given Ka Shing the once over, so Good World's next on the list to complete the holy trilogy. Look out for that one some time in Autumn. Mr Dinh 101 - 102 Capel Street, Dublin 1 mrdinh.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Neapolitan-style pizza, great drinks and a brilliant beer garden has made Bonobo one of the best additions to Dublin 7 in years. Anywhere that puts potato on a pizza and has a top-shelf tequila and mezcal list gets the ATF seal of approval. Bonobo Website bonobodublin.com Address 119 Church Street Upper, Inns Quay, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Neapolitan-style pizza, great drinks and a brilliant beer garden has made Bonobo one of the best additions to Dublin 7 in years. Anywhere that puts potato on a pizza and has a top-shelf tequila and mezcal list gets the ATF seal of approval. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

The Hoxton's second Cantina Valentina (their first is in Belgium) has brought the Peruvian food we've been waiting for to Dublin. Feast on all all the ceviche after watching it being prepared at the raw bar, wash it down with pisco sours, and end with traditional Peruvian desserts. The cosy dining room is laden down with South American touches, and it's essential to retire to the hotel's Library Bar upstairs after dinner for just one more... Cantina Valentina Website thehoxton.com/cantina-valentina Address 1-5 Exchequer St, Dublin, D02 E044, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The Hoxton's second Cantina Valentina (their first is in Belgium) has brought the Peruvian food we've been waiting for to Dublin. Feast on all all the ceviche after watching it being prepared at the raw bar, wash it down with pisco sours, and end with traditional Peruvian desserts. The cosy dining room is laden down with South American touches, and it's essential to retire to the hotel's Library Bar upstairs after dinner for just one more... Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Moenjo It's worth weathering the heat for this provincial Pakistani cuisine and house-ground spice Posted: 30 Jun 2026 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What’s the story with Moenjo? It takes us a minute to clock it. These aren’t snare drum remixes of Bollywood classics we’re hearing over the stereo, but the hit originals up against the backing track of spice grinders in full flow. On a day we later learn didn’t quite top the record heat for Ireland (but sure felt like it), there’s not much appetite out there for the heavily spiced meats that make up Moenjo ’s menu, so this quiet kitchen is making masala while the sun shines. That little touch is our first hint that something special’s afoot in this recent Rathmines arrival paying tribute to the Indus Valley civilisation. The who? It’s an ancient civilisation that was centred in modern-day Pakistan, active at around the same time as those better-remembered Egyptian folks. Their unearthed capital of Mohenjo Daro, from which the name and an awful lot of the wall décor in here comes from, is a marvel of early urban planning and especially plumbing infrastructure, but it isn’t the WC we’ve come here to check out. What are they cooking? Already a distinctly carnivorous cuisine compared to neighbouring India, Pakistani food doubles down on meat in the Sindh province that Mohenjo Daro sits in – think thickly-marinated chunks and slow-cooked curries. Versus Dublin’s more common catch-all menus that compress the world’s fifth-most populous country’s varied cuisines into familiar favourites, they’re leaning into regional heritage here with a focus on Karahi BBQ and Sindhi specials. On-the-way-to-stale poppadoms puncture the promise until the waitress gets wind and whisks out a shatteringly crisp fresh batch, far more worthy of these interest-piquing chutneys and raita. Syrupy-sweet mango and pungent red chilli hit all the marks, but it’s the green that has a note none of us can quite place, buried amongst the mint freshness and green chilli kick. Our server’s chipper skip to the kitchen to find out yields to a sad trudge back – the chef won’t tell. Secrets of Fatima would be easier extracted than these ingredients - if not for empty tables all round, we’d be tempted to think competitor restaurants were sending in spies. A second helping is sent out by way of appeasement -we gladly give in. The handsome wooden partition that’s gone up to block off the kitchen since we first poked a head in soon after featuring the place in our Ramadan roundup is presumably in answer to customer feedback on smoke levels, but it hides any sight of the charcoal grill and tandoor. Tasting does for believing - a shared platter for one (€24, ask them to swap out chicken wings for malai boti) is how you should kick-start things, with a quick-stop tour of the kitchen’s marinades and masalas. Here the yogurt tang and fresh-cracked peppercorn complexity of the boti, there the caraway-flecked warmth of seekh kebab, everywhere rendered fat floods as charcoal-charred edges give way to soft, sweet meat beneath. Expect to argue over the soaked sliced onion bed beneath, ripe for piling atop torn shreds of wholewheat roti. This is a hands-on affair, the only cutlery needed being the silver serving spoon you’ll practically snatch out of each others’ greedy mitts. Watch how it ladles up the Nihari (€16.50), the national dish of Pakistan and one rarely done justice in Ireland when it turns up at all (even Daata doesn’t do it). This is a dish that needs hours at low-and-slow, and the gelatinous gravy speaks for itself, melted fibre of mutton chunks and marrow fat as clear to see as they are to taste – rich isn’t the half of it. It’s only the bittersweet complexity of birista onions, like crisper caramelised, and slow-build spice layers that keep this from comatose territory. Sindhi Karahi with chicken (€20) is sharper still, the most spice-forward of the three takes on Karahi that they offer here. Sautéed onions and the thick tang of added yogurt set the regional variant apart, with extra oil infused with whole spice flavour – the more pillowy roghni naan is the choice to make with this one (most mains come with a choice of rice or any of the various breads). Staff are trigger-happy with a spiel on the trio’s varied flavour profiles, an education in itself ever before the full-flavoured dish is dropped down before you. They’ll just as eagerly extoll where Sindhi Biryani (€19.50) differs from the others you’re likely to have tried, namely yet more yogurt tang to offset the slight sweetness of dried plum. Steaming leaves the lamb more meltingly tender here than in the Nihari, practically puddled in the saffron and turmeric-scented rice - you can’t but slow and savour. On so meaty a menu you’d be forgiven for thinking the slim veggie section just a token touch – lifting the lid on the daal fry (€14.45) puts paid to that. Stewed split pigeon peas put up the lightest level of resistance to the bite in a sauce that’s creamy and complex from the tadka’s spice. Get a garlicky ghee-brushed naan from the tandoor to scoop it all up, with sharpness and structure to tease out its tasty layers. Anything to drink? Only on the N/A front – it's wholly halal in here. You'd be in need of some reprieve from such steadfast assault on spice tolerance even in the depths of winter. Muddling through as muggy a day as it gets, we practically inhaled our lassi (€4) in one gulp. Few won’t be all-in on the mango, ripe and refreshing with real fruit flavour, but braver sorts should try salt, with a savoury character that’s as much a complement to the curries as the coldness is a fresh foil. How’s the service? About as good as we’ve had all year – it’s easy to lavish attention with only one table to cover, but we felt utterly spoiled from the second we sat down. Deep-dive questions on recipes and regional variants were answered with as much enthusiasm as they were asked (by the floor staff if not the chef), and from subbing on the shared platter to the spread of spice levels across choices, we had the sense of a real keenness to share Sindhi cuisine. What’ll it cost us? Not much. Sharing a platter and doing your level best to keep others’ forks out of your main with a lassi in hand will see you spend less than €30. And even if outside isn't a sweltering summer's night, that'll be food enough to send you out the door sweating. What’s the verdict? The let down look on our server’s face as we assured her we couldn’t conceivably manage even free tea with the heat that was in it sums up the sense of hospitality here - they really want to share a comprehensive experience. In the sound of spice grinders going, in the scents they send sailing through the air, in the deeply-flavoured fruits of that labour, there’s an exceptional one waiting. Archaeologists at Mohenjo-Daro haven’t yet unearthed what it was that brought the Indus Valley civilisation down. After one evening’s indulgence we have to think they ate themselves to death. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The city's (maybe the country's) foremost dining experience. Formerly head chef at The Greenhouse on Dawson Street, Mickael Viljanen went into partnership with Chapter One owner Ross Lewis in 2021, taking over the stoves of the one-Michelin starred kitchen, and just months after reopening they were bestowed with a second. A meal here is a rollicking rollercoaster of tastes, visual feasts and pure joy from first bite to last, and while the dining room has had a makeover, the famous Chapter One service is as warm and inherently Irish as ever. Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen Website chapteronerestaurant.com Address 18-19 Parnell Square North, Rotunda, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The city's (maybe the country's) foremost dining experience. Formerly head chef at The Greenhouse on Dawson Street, Mickael Viljanen went into partnership with Chapter One owner Ross Lewis in 2021, taking over the stoves of the one-Michelin starred kitchen, and just months after reopening they were bestowed with a second. A meal here is a rollicking rollercoaster of tastes, visual feasts and pure joy from first bite to last, and while the dining room has had a makeover, the famous Chapter One service is as warm and inherently Irish as ever. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Opened by couple Jay and Damien in 2015, Legit Coffee Co is heavily influenced by the owners’ Brazilian and French heritages, with Brazilian coffee and French pastries, but there’s plenty going on with their savoury options too, like pulled pork Benedict, and homemade sausage rolls with Emmental cheese. Everything is made in house, and it’s a cool, calm room to hide away in over breakfast, lunch or a mid-morning coffee. Legit Coffee Co Website legitcoffeeco.com Address Meath Mart, 1 Meath Street, The Liberties, Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Opened by couple Jay and Damien in 2015, Legit Coffee Co is heavily influenced by the owners’ Brazilian and French heritages, with Brazilian coffee and French pastries, but there’s plenty going on with their savoury options too, like pulled pork Benedict, and homemade sausage rolls with Emmental cheese. Everything is made in house, and it’s a cool, calm room to hide away in over breakfast, lunch or a mid-morning coffee. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Borgo The new 'Osteria Locale' that has Dublin 7 heaving Posted: 2 Sept 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Borgo? The lights went out in Loretta's in Phibsborough almost two years ago, and since then we've lost count of the amount of DMs telling us every other restaurant operator in Dublin was taking over the site. We were beginning to give up hope that anything new would ever materialise, when we got word at the start of summer what was coming, and it was way better than the rumours. Sean Crescenzi and Jamie McCarthy have built a rocketship-style CV over the past few years, starting slowly with Crudo in Sandymount (formerly Dunne & Crescenzi , Sean's parents' business) then the short-lived (and unfortunately named) Happy Endings , before taking off like a missile with Achara , H era (plus bar Juno ) and now Borgo in quick succession. Usually we get nervous watching operators who are onto a good thing move too fast, wondering how they'll keep standards high when spreading themselves so thin, but we've yet to see cracks forming. The opposite actually, with Hera added to the Michelin guide just last week - getting the Michelin man to Dorset Street deserves an award in itself. Borgo pitches itself as an " Osteria Locale" drawing inspiration from across Italy (where the Crescenzis hail from and somewhere both of the owners love), a casual place open to all budgets and tastes, but with everything done to the highest standards. These guys are nailing fresh, contemporary casual in Dublin right now, giving people what they want before they knew they wanted it, and not falling down in any area like wine, service, toilets, how many others can we name... It's beginning to feel like everything they touch is destined for success, and after letting them settle in for a couple of weeks we headed over to the Dublin 7 borgo to see if this is another bull's eye. Where should we sit? The room has had just enough of an update to make it feel like Borgo and not the building's former inhabitants Loretta's (whose owners were in for dinner on the evening we visited - no one recognised them, which made us feel totes emosh). There are pops of colour from neon artwork, a new ambient lighting scheme, panelling that's been painted dark green, new dark walnut panels added above, and half "café curtains" across the front window to let all the light in while maintaining dining privacy. It's got bags of character, and feels like it's been sitting on this corner of Phibsborough for years. Our favourite seats are the curved leather banquettes - your own little corner PDR, ready for you to sink in and veg out for your allotted dining time. There's one at either end of the main window at the front, and others in the centre and against the other wall facing the North Circular Road. If you like seeing your food being made, the kitchen here is wide open, with a view directly in from the back of the room. Either way, make sure to stick a head in on your way to/from the toilet. We should preface all this though by saying that if you want a table at Borgo any time soon, you'll be taking whatever you can get - they are currently being swarmed and it'll take a while before things calm down enough for you to dictate your table. What's the food like? Far too tempting. They could have done half this amount of plates, but then you might not be as eager to go back so soon. Between spuntini (snacks), pizzette (sourdough flatbreads, not pizza), antipasti, pasta, and wood-fired proteins, we can't think of anyone who wouldn't be able to eat how they want here. Got kids? Their children's menu is €10 for a juice, a pasta or pizzette, and ice-cream with chocolate biscuits for dessert (Crudo does similar). Can any other restaurant operating at this standard compete with that? Is there any surprise that it was packed with families at 4pm? ATF's Ronan covered our ATF Insiders preview , and said the focaccia and onion whey butter (€5) needs to be tasted. As usual, he was right. This. Is. Focaccia. The best we can remember eating in Dublin, maybe ever? The crumb, the crust, the flavour, the salt flakes on top, the perfect slick of oil underneath, and that lighter than air onion whey butter... Perfection spread on perfection. We don't usually recommend filing up on bread when there are so many other appealing things to eat, but we make an exception for Borgo. They serve Connemara oysters (€4 each) two ways - one with a bergamot mignonette, and another that's getting all the headlines, topped with a Carbonara-style sauce and cooked in the woodfired oven. It's not one for oyster purists, who'll find the briny, earthy notes lost under the cheese - it's more of an easy introduction for someone who wants their first taste. For our money it'll be the citrussy bergamot mignonette every time. Padrón peppers with Tallegio custard (€6) has been a headline grabber for sheer creativity, and while we would happily, mindlessly eat these as part of any meal, the peppers weren't charred enough and the cheese sauce didn't have the right consistency for dipping - you'll need a utensil to scoop. It was all very pleasant, but not a must order for us. You know what is a must order? Repeat after me: " I will order the gambas ". Say that 10 times, turn around and touch the ground, then go to Borgo and order the gambas with garlic, chili, lemon and more of that focaccia (€18). The tender, luscious gambas, silky from soaking up that impeccable sauce with just the right amount of sweet garlic, spicy chilli and lemon to lift it all up to the heavens. You'll want every last crumb of that focaccia to wipe the plate clean, and don't forget to suck the heads. They've been at pains to convey that the pizzette (€10-€12) are 48 hour sourdough flatbreads, NOT pizza. They arrive puffed up and ready to be cut, torn or just shoved in your mouth, and Mark's oyster mushrooms with stracciatella and aged balsamic was the one to fight over. Another with lemon ricotta, guanciale and Cloonbrook reserve was good too, but we did find the toppings swamped by so much dough. The pasta section is somewhere Borgo excels. Our tortiglioni with milk-braised pork ragu, crumbs, herb oil and Cloonbrook reserve (€21) was on a par with similar ones we had in Bologna on our recent trip there . Don't be afraid of tomato-less ragu - you won't look back. Maybe the dish of the night though was their agnolotti stuffed with ricotta, topped with prosciutto, 24-month old Parmigiano Reggiano and hazelnuts, in a butter sauce (€22). If ever there was a testament to bringing together the best regional ingredients, and letting each of them sing for what they are, here she is. You could not pull this off with substandard produce, and they're not trying to. It's worth nothing that ATF's Ronan loved the amatriciana on his visit, and we both wished we'd ordered the seafood pasta when we saw it travel to other tables. The pasta section is where it's at. If you're more protein than carbs (we're both), you can eat meat or fish from the wood-fired oven. They wanted a good value steak so went for bavette, which comes with cavolo nero, carrot purée, and tarragon and balsamic jus (€28). If you add a side of potatoes you'll be at €35, so it's not a "cheap steak" but by God it's a good one. Whatever they've done to that meat in advance of cooking we need to know about - it melted like fillet, but with that added texture from the coarser grain, the steak browned outside, and served medium/rare inside (chef's recommendation). The accompaniments were pleasant, but could be more exciting. You know what was exciting? Those Ballymakenny Queens with herb cream and Cloonbrook Reserve (€7) - just don't go for a medical any time soon after consuming them. Gnarly, deep fried potatoes are arrestingly crisp, every side is a good side, with piping hot fluffy insides and all the extra flavours to take them from an A+ to an A++++++. BBQ Abercorn rainbow chard (€6) couldn't help but be dull in comparison - we didn't get any barbecue flavours, nor peach in the advertised dressing, but it's always good to get those Irish-grown greens in. No self-respecting Italian has a dessert section without a solid tiramisu, and Borgo's is a monster slice for €9. It's falling over with creaminess, coffee and chocolate, but some of the sponge was too dry and needed better soaking. A very minor infraction. Get one for the table. The bigger hit here is the polenta cake with brown butter peaches, mascarpone and basil (€9). It's another very generous slice (a whole one might kill you) but everything about the textures, flavours and scents of this scream "summer! Don't go!" What about drinks? If you're partial to a negroni order the 'Negroni Sporco' once you're sitting. It's like a Negroni Sbagliato but with Lambrusco instead of Prosecco, and a fat olive perched on top. There's also the 'Borgo spritz' and the 'Pesca spritz', and it was a tough choice. When it came to the wine list we couldn't see past LAMBRUSCO BY THE GLASS. Have the sparkling red wine with the antipasti, have it with the pizzette, and let yourself see the light. The wine list is mainly Italian, with some random bottles in there from France and Spain (presumably for those who can't see past Rioja and Sauvignon Blanc), and it's very much a regional deep dive, so if you're confused just tell them what you usually like, what you want to spend, and let them help find you a bottle. We tried both the house Nero d'Avola and Grillo (both €7.50 a glass or €33 a bottle) and thought they both punched above their weight for those prices. How was the service? They couldn't have been nicer. We walked into a room that was the definition of "buzzing", every seat taken, animated conversations all around, well-behaved children everywhere, friends and families delighting in their new regular, and somehow they managed to effortlessly take care of everyone with kindness and grace. They also let us put in an initial order, then add more on - it's that kinda place. We weren't aware of a time limit on our table, but almost as soon as we got up after two hours, a family of four swept into our seats. If they were under pressure to move us on, they never let on or made us feel rushed. What should we budget? As you know we are greedy little so and sos and ordered waaaay too much - to the point of stomach pains. You don't need to make yourself sore from over eating, you can just go back another time like a normal person, so we reckon €50 a head will see you very well fed, but it's very easy to spend more if you let your eyes do the ordering. What's the verdict on Borgo? More Osteria Locales for Dublin please. More of this seemingly simple cooking with layers of flavour and the best ingredients available to the kitchen. It all seems so simple, yet is so often overlooked in favour of Insta-pretty plating and maximising GPs, hoping customers won't taste the difference. We've said it before that these guys seem to have the formula for what people want right now, and what they're willing to pay for it, and it looks like they've pressed yet another diamond with Borgo. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Bar Pez The Fish Shop team bring seafood small plates and all the wine to the city centre Posted: 8 Aug 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Bar Pez? It's a new wine bar on Kevin Street Lower (just after Aungier Street when you're walking out of town) from the same owners as Fish Shop in Smithfield and Beach House in Tramore. They are very keen to stress that this is a bar , with seafood-focused wine and small plates, and while there's no doubt that the wine list is the star attraction here, we (and everyone else) clearly had high expectations for the food, based on Bar Pez's siblings. Where should we sit? The interiors are reminiscent of a ski lodge, with timber-lined walls, faux oil lamps, and mismatched artwork. There are four solid tables for four (which can't be adjusted for smaller or larger parties), and counter seating on high stools. This is not a venue that's going to work for groups, unless some of the party are happy to stand, or be split across different areas. (Bar Pez) Counter seats either face into the basic kitchen, or onto a wall of wine. There's also a perch in the centre of the restaurant that two or three could stand at if you just wanted a quick glass and a plate of something tasty on route to somewhere else. What's the food like? There's been a bar and/or a kitchen menu depending on the day over the last few weeks, the kitchen menu appearing more towards the weekend. The bar menu is basic, with almonds, anchovies, gildas and a couple of toasts, while the kitchen menu adds some mostly fish-based small plates. A gilda to start is compulsory, and it's the same olive/anchovy/pickled green pepper one as you'll find in Fish Shop, but 50c more expensive at €3.50 (Fish Shop's are €3 each - the rents must be higher around here). On the gilda index it's cheaper than Uno Mas (€4) but more expensive than Row Wines (€5 for two), and it's a strong, salty, pickled mouthful to accompany your first drink. Anchovies on toast (€4.50) consisted of three, half, salty, Cantabrian anchovies, generously doused in good olive oil, with a piece of toast for spooning on top of and mopping up with. Simple but satisfying, and a great accompaniment for the UBE by the glass (more on that below). Lobster toast (€9.50 from the bar menu) was easily the best thing we ate here, with lobster meat, mayo and what looked like espelette pepper flecked through it, and chives on top, the little additions enhancing the lobster's flavour and not masking it. Peas, broad beans and ricotta was a light, summery combo, with mint tossed through it and deep green olive oil pooled at the bottom, but a bit more seasoning would have made it even better. Courgette, crab and basil was another of our favourite dishes - akin to a courgette sandwich stuffed with a perfectly seasoned mound of crab meat, and sweet, pungent basil. We noted on a second visit that it had increased in price from €12 - €13, and the portion was less generous - margins not stacking up perhaps. As you would expect from the people who gave us Fish Shop, the fried fish and aioli was battered and cooked to five-star standards, but it needed better draining, and we found ourselves blotting it with serviettes to take some of the oil off. We'd buy their smooth, ultra-garlicky aioli in jars if they'd do us the courtesy of starting a retail line. Mackerel with peach and fennel (€19) had exactly-cooked, clearly fresh fish, but missed a trick with the flavours. While the peaches were beautifully ripe, mackerel is better suited to a more tart companion, like gooseberries or rhubarb, and without the acid to cut through the fish, it tasted more flabby, and wasn't lifted up like it could have been. Expect one dessert, and when we visited it was a beautifully moist yet burnished apricot and almond tart (€9.50). The tart had deliciously short pastry and excellent flavour, but the fridge-cold, single cream poured around it felt lazy. This tart deserved a blood-temperature crème anglaise - even a whipped cream with vanilla would have been an improvement. What about drinks? The by the glass list features plenty to keep you occupied over a few hours, including electric ATF favourite 'UBE Miraflores' from Cota 45, the flinty, volcanic 'Trenzado' from Suertes del Marqués, and a couple of grower Champagnes, as well as rosé, orange and red options. There's a 125ml and 175ml price, so be sure to tell them what size you want, or you could end up with an unexpected €17 glass of wine on the bill. There's no sherry, by the glass or bottle, which feels like the missing link. Maybe they'll add it in time. If you consider yourself a wine devotee, the very lengthy bottle list may stop you in your tracks, with sections on 'Oceans', 'Rivers' and 'Mountains' to pore over. There's little under €50 though, and the same punchy margins as most other places around town. There did look to be better value in the very high end of the list, with some bottles not a lot more than retail prices (e.g. Etienne Sauzet's Puligny Montrachet 2020 which is €102 retail but €150 to drink here, or Arnuad Ente's Bourgogne Blanc 2018, which we found in Hedonism Wines in London for £298 but it's €360 to drink here - a relative bargain if you've got the desire and the funds). There's also a Coravin list for those wanting to try spennier wines without committing to a full bottle. We tried the delicious Vincent Dancer Bourgogne Blanc (€20 for a 125ml), but on our first visit glasses went as high as €70. How was the service? Great at the start when it was quiet (around 5pm) and generally very pleasant, but derailed as they got busier. They don't take bookings (it's just a bar remember), but every few minutes the door opened and faces walked in hopefully, to be told there was nothing available. They weren't taking names or numbers, prospective diners were just told to wait outside, and looking out the window at the growing, unmanaged crowd was anxiety inducing. As the bar filled up our wine glasses remained empty, and we had to strain and crane to get anyone's attention for anything. We sat there at least 30 minutes longer than we'd planned, due to delays in calling the bill, and then the card machine. Surely the growing crowd outside would encourage the quicker turning of tables, but no one seemed in a hurry, and we ended up feeling guilty that we were unwillingly hanging onto a table that other people really wanted to be sitting at. By the time we were leaving most of them had given up, with only two remaining. We couldn't blame them. What was the damage? €106.50 with two glasses of wine and a soft drink. Needless to say if you delve deep into the wine list you could double that bill pretty easily. And the verdict? We love that the Fish Shop team have managed to bring their skills closer to the city centre, and the wine list at Bar Pez is one of the best, most extensive around - if you've got the deep pockets needed to pay for a lot of it. The food isn't quite as impressive as their Smithfield sibling (which we paid a visit to the same week and found it better than ever ), and the service needs tightening at busy times, but we'd be very surprised if they don't get there considering the team behind it. Bar Pez Unit 3, College Court, Kevin Street Lower, Dublin 8 barpez.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Boco in Clontarf finally has walls and a ceiling after a few years serving pizza from a converted fire truck at the back of Harry Byrne's pub. They took over a year to open this one in the former Pigeon House site and it shows in the thoughtfulness of every part of it. Pizzas, small plates and salads make up the menu, with the selection of wines, cocktails and beers far superior than your average pizza place. There's plenty of seating, including an outdoor area with a retractable roof whose seats will be the most in demand on the northside this summer. Do yourself a favour and book in advance, or risk extreme disappointment when you smell what's cooking and get politely turned away. Boco Clontarf Website boco.ie Address 11B Vernon Ave, Clontarf East, Dublin 3, D03 DK23, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Boco in Clontarf finally has walls and a ceiling after a few years serving pizza from a converted fire truck at the back of Harry Byrne's pub. They took over a year to open this one in the former Pigeon House site and it shows in the thoughtfulness of every part of it. Pizzas, small plates and salads make up the menu, with the selection of wines, cocktails and beers far superior than your average pizza place. There's plenty of seating, including an outdoor area with a retractable roof whose seats will be the most in demand on the northside this summer. Do yourself a favour and book in advance, or risk extreme disappointment when you smell what's cooking and get politely turned away. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Daruma Japanese drinks and small plates in Temple Bar Posted: 13 Dec 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Daruma appeared quite suddenly in October in the old Fish Shack site on Parliament Street, with an Instagram post heralding their arrival one Sunday, and doors opening to customers two days later. After a bit of investigating we heard there was a connection to Big Fan and our ears perked up (turns out they have a backer in common), and the two owner/operators are former managers of Musashi , the Japanese sushi chain. The discussion of why Dublin has no high end, ultra exciting Japanese restaurants is an ever-ongoing one amongst food circles, and there was some hopeful whispering that this might be the one we've all been waiting for. We loved the Japanese pub with small plates vibe they were selling online, but unlike Big Fan (which has been one of the biggest restaurant successes from the past two years), it didn't seem to be built around a particular chef and their talent. We also couldn't find anyone Japanese who was associated with it - not a pre-requisite for opening a Japanese restaurant, but it tends to go in their favour when someone has a strong connection to a cuisine they're trying to showcase. Between this and the lack of a website containing a menu/opening hours/online booking (basic in 2022) The jury was out before we'd gotten in. Where should we sit? Most of the tables are at the front, with the best one at the window looking out onto Parliament Street. There's also bar seating which looked ideal for a solo pint and some small plates. What did you eat? We covered quite a lot of the menu over two visits, so let's lay out the good, from the not so good. There are four sections - raw, robatayaki, bites and sides. Daikon 'saibaizu' (which we presume is meant to be 'sanbaizu', a Japanese dressing with rice wine vinegar, sugar and soy) was refreshing and crunchy, an excellent palate cleanser, while charred edamame were pointless, the additional heat adding nothing except over-cooking. They were also criminally under-salted - we asked for more and fixed the problem ourselves. Garlic chilli cucumber was another lip-smacking refresher, smoky and spicy with plenty of sesame and crunch. Fresh oysters came with a lovely, zingy apple and mustard tosazu dressing (a fermented rice wine vinegar), but we wished we knew where they came from, and whether they were Irish. There's no provenance information on the menu. Tuna tataki with candy ginger and wasabi daikon had great flavour and some really interesting elements, but the tuna tasted soft and woolly. At €13.95 for six pieces we expected better fish Our favourite dish (and one we ordered both times) was the flamed salmon nigiri, with kewpie mayo and hazelnut furikake. The salmon is just cooked, and between the sweet, nutty dressing and the slight crunch of the hazelnuts, this is the kind of innovative sushi we want more of. We had a pain in our faces trying to find out what the daily sushi omasake roll was, and after almost having to hold our waitress's hand and lead her in the direction of the kitchen, she came back and told us it was eel. "Is there anything else?" we asked. "No, just eel". It didn't seem likely, but we were worn out so just let them bring it, and we still can't tell you what was in it. There was some fish roe and kewpie mayo on top and what we guessed powdered seaweed, but apart from that it's anyone's guess, and it was lacking flavour and texture. Crispy almond ebi with mango chilli sauce (€12.45 for three) were huge and we loved the combination of flavours, but there was a bit too much batter. The almonds did add an interesting element though. They do two types of ribs - beef short ribs with black garlic butter, and plum wine short ribs with creamy onion mochi. Both were incredibly tender, the beef sweet and pungent from the black garlic, the pork sweet and fruity from the plum wine and the onion. We would order both again tomorrow, but we'd really like to know where the meat came from. A third of their menu is given over the Robatayaki (like Japanese BBQ where food is cooked over charcoal), so we were surprised that this was the most disappointing part of the meal. It started with the waitress not knowing what was on the 'Daruma Selection', and seemingly not wanting to ask, and then when it arrived each was more lacklustre than the last. None of the headline stuff like scallops or ox tongue is on there - we got chicken thigh, minced chicken, pork belly, and two different mushrooms (which felt like a cop out) and none of it had much flavour other than a teriyaki type marinade. If charcoal ever went near this meat, we couldn't taste it. There's no dessert on the menu and when we asked if they had any our waitress didn't know, and didn't seem to want to find out. After pushing the issue she returned and told us they had mochi, but it was clear they were coming from a box in the freezer, so we passed. What about the drinks? They're serious about their sake in here, and have clearly taken time over the menu. They have seven sake cocktails, and had another two on special when we visited, and they're all low alcohol, so don't expect to feel the usual cocktail buzz. An 'Ichigo' with sake, strawberry, chilli, lime and sugar was pleasant but punchily sour, and serving it in a Champagne flute felt wrong. A lychee special with sake, lychee juice, lime juice, sugar and egg white was a world better, and so easy to knock back we almost had to place it out of reach. There's Asahi for beer and an average wine list, so we'd stick to the sake. We also tried a couple of straight sakes (a Kidosumi and a Gassan) and they were excellent - it's obvious they're not dealing with supermarket stuff or the big brands found in most Japanese restaurants in Ireland. How was the service? Friendly but lacking in actual service. We were almost turning blue waiting for answers to the questions we had about the menu, with the same waitress on both occasions saying she didn't know, and pleasantly looking back at us as if that was the end of that. We had to straight out ask someone to go down to the kitchen more times than we'd like to admit to find out what was on the robata selection, what was the sushi roll of the day, did they have any dessert - it was very tiring, and service training is badly needed. And the damage? €57 a head (to be exact) for dinner before tip, with three drinks each in that. €30 a head for lunch with no drinks. What's the verdict? Is Daruma the Japanese restaurant Dublin has been waiting for? No. Not yet anyway, but there's plenty of decent food and sake to kill a couple of hours. They're got more interesting options than a lot of Japanese restaurants in the city, many of whom stick to the same menu of gyoza, sushi and the wok/rice/noodle dishes we're all too familiar with, but it does somewhat kill us to imagine what it could be like with a culinary tour de force (like Big Fan's Alex Zhang) in the kitchen. For now enjoy it for what is it - a pocket-friendly, laid back Japanese bar, where you can order as little or as much as you like, and drink really good sake. Daruma 13 Parliament Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 instagram.com/daruma_dublin New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Vibrant, joy-inducing Middle Eastern food, whose flavours far surpass the very cheap prices. Shouk brought something to Drumcondra that it was desperately missing, and it's been packed every day since. The outdoor terrace at the back (covered in winter) is the place to be on a sunny day, and don't miss the arayes and the mezze. There's a wine list but you can also BYO. Shouk Website shouk.ie Address 40 Drumcondra Road Lower, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Vibrant, joy-inducing Middle Eastern food, whose flavours far surpass the very cheap prices. Shouk brought something to Drumcondra that it was desperately missing, and it's been packed every day since. The outdoor terrace at the back (covered in winter) is the place to be on a sunny day, and don't miss the arayes and the mezze. There's a wine list but you can also BYO. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Handsome Burger The Galway-born burgers come to Dublin city centre and the airport, but are they still Ireland's best? Posted: 17 Sept 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope & Maggie Fagan What should we know about Handsome Burger? Galway born Handsome Burger hit national headlines after being named best burger in Ireland 2019 , in a nationwide competition organised by meat company Kepak for National Burger Day (what a world we live in). Started as a market stall by two friends in 2017, they opened their first permanent premises on Galway's Dominick Street in 2019, before flirting with the Dublin market at Eatyard . In a surprise move, a Handsome Burger franchise opened next in Dublin airport in summer 2023, with a second standalone site opening on Chatham Street at the start of summer 2024. Their website says they "have two locations in Ireland and (are in) the process of planning a global takeover!" , and there's an inquiry form website for potential franchisees to get in touch. These guys have no interest in keeping things small and manageable. Franchising poses a big problem for business owners who like to be in control of their product - you're effectively handing the reins to someone else and hoping for the best. We've had multiple messages from readers who've passed through the airport and were sorely disappointed with their Handsome Burger experience, and now that the first location in Dublin city centre site is alive and kicking, we thought we'd check both out for ourselves. Where should we sit? Seating in Chatham Street is relatively limited, with just three low and three high tables inside, and more outside which will become defunct as winter wears on. The good thing is people should eat fast and move on, but we wouldn't fancy huddling in the middle of the room trying to dive on the next available table. Outdoor tables are all for two, so not the best idea with a group either, and you'll be blocking the central path if you pull two together. In the airport, it's an open mezzanine situation - sit where you want at seating so hard and uncomfortable it ensures you won't linger. What's the menu like? Complicated. The first thing you should know is that the menu on their website is not what you're going to find on Chatham Street or in the airport. There are five burgers on there that don't appear in either site, nor do the chicken tenders. On Chatham Street there's a choice of three beef, two chicken and a vegan Beyond Burger, as well as regular fries and two with toppings. In the airport it's more limited, with two beef, one chicken and the vegan, and fries are mandatory, with no option to just order a burger - they're not here to cater for the low carb girlos. You'll find their signature "handsome burger" on both menus, with cheese as an optional add on. It also has sticky onions, pickles, rocket and house sauce, which we're guessing is a mix of mustard, mayo, ketchup and gherkins based on this article . It's a juicy burger (if lacking in char) and the sauce is good, but we've yet to be convinced on rocket as a burger filling. At the airport it was an order at the kiosk situation. There were no options for substitutes (not cool in burger world), and it all felt very robotic and lacking in love - that taste came through in the food. Their flagship burger should be top of its game, but the Handsome was a flop. The meat was void of juice and lacked flavour. The pickles that should have been the welcome jazzy crunch to cut through the richness of the meat were soggy. The cheese, although seen, could not be perceived, and there was a serious lack of sauce. Not to mention the bun was dried out. Sad times indeed. The B.O.B. comes with lardons, crispy onions, double cheese and house sauce, and is a step up on the flavour scale from the handsome burger. The crispy onions and lardons add welcome texture to all that juiciness, but once again the burger itself needed more char. Despite asking three times in three different places if Handsome Burger 's chicken is free-range, we are still no wiser - their website says nothing about their sourcing. Their social media account told us that they use " Manor Farm free range Irish Chicken 90% of the time - occasionally we have to get another when demand is higher than supply ." They didn't respond to a follow up question about what it's replaced with. The staff in the airport Handsome Burger told us the chicken is not free-range. A senior member of staff in the Chatham Row branch told us it is - after a long pause where he didn't seem sure. We almost went round back for a root through the bins. The roost chicken burger (which may or may not be free range) had a buttermilk-fried chicken breast coated in a spicy buffalo sauce, which managed to remove all crispiness from the coating. There are pickles, lettuce and not enough Caesar dressing, but it was all so soggy it was probably better off. There's a proper kick to this one, so only dive in if your spice tolerance is high, and your crispiness craving is low. Meanwhile at the airport... Our vegan counterpart was convinced they had made a mistake with the burgers, as the Beyond Meat patty was so close to the real deal. Similarly to the carnivorous Handsome Burger, the pickles were a let down, and the bun dry. Chips were lacklustre and lukewarm. Rosemary and sea salt fries in Chatham Street were just about warm and lacking in crunch, but not as bad as in the airport. We didn't finish either portion, and it takes a lot to leave chips behind. The fries on their feed back in 2020 were declared hand-cut and triple-cooked, and look considerably better than what we were served in both locations. The loaded fries with chorizo, mint raita, grilled onions, chillies and garlic aioli was an unusual if enjoyable combo - somewhere between Indian and Spanish, but a €9 portion that was 25% onions felt steep. What about drinks? You're unlikely to be inspired by their drinks menu, and they're unlikely to want you to hang around once your burger's done, so everyone's happy. There's basic soft drinks or water, a white or red wine (Pinot Grigio or Malbec when we were in), a single Galway beer by can, and a German beer on draught. With all the brilliant beer being brewed in Ireland right now, it could be so much better. How was the service? Not very enthused. We had a muted greeting, and our food took almost 20 minutes to arrive - people who came after us got their food before us so something must have gone awry. What was the damage? €48.50 for three burgers, two fries and no drinks. A handsome burger, fries and a draught beer will cost you €20. In the airport the handsome burger and fries is €14.95 (5c cheaper). And the verdict? Maybe we're spoiled by craggy, crusty smash burgers, but Handsome's fatty patties didn't do it for us. Maybe back in 2019 their burgers and chips tasted better than this, maybe the focus on franchising has taken the focus off quality control. If you're in the neighbourhood and the queue for Bambino is too long you could do a lot worse. If you're in the airport, we wouldn't bother. As far as taking the Dublin burger top spot, Dash have nothing to worry about just yet. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The Grayson Go for the chips, the margaritas and the marble bathrooms Posted: 18 Sept 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Up until January of this year, the four-storey building at 41 St. Stephen's Green was home to former private member's club Residence and the upmarket (and suitably priced) Restaurant Forty One . When it was announced late one Friday evening that Press Up Entertainment had bought the building and it would close it immediately for refurbishment, there was a collective groan amongst much of the food and drink industry. Press Up (owned by Paddy McKillen Jnr, son of multi-million/billionaire developer Paddy McKillen) are commonly accused of being "all fur coat and no knickers" (based on their beautiful fit outs but generally average food), and independent restaurants say they can't compete with their deep pockets when vacant sites come available. Press Up disputes this, saying they rarely bid on properties, and on it rumbles. You can read more about that situation in this very good Irish Times article by Catherine Cleary and Una Mullally. Whether you like them or not, it's hard to argue with the fact that when it comes to fit outs and design few people do it better, and they have undoubtedly brought something new to the Dublin dining and drinking scene - rooftop bars with panoramic views of the city, the ability to use a swing on a night out, and the plushest cinema in the country to name a few. We were very interested to see what they would do with 41 Stephen's Green, and the initial publicity photos were as impressive as always, but where Press Up sites tend to fall down is the food. With Roberta's in particular receiving less than glowing reviews from the critics last year after it opened, we were hoping this one might be the exception to the rule, but we are also acutely aware that we are in the middle of a major chef shortage , and we can't figure out how they're managing to staff so many sites. Where should we go for a drink first? If you're going here you should have the full experience, which means a pre-dinner drink in the atrium cocktail bar. It's a stunning space with seating at the bar and at high tables, and up the stairs at the end leads to a very plush smoking area with a retractable roof. The cocktails are well priced by city centre standards at €10 - €12.50, and of the ones we tried, our favourites were the excellent Second Floor Margarita with tequila, blood orange liquor, blood orange syrup and lemon, and the Prickly Honey, with pisco, pineapple liqueur, honey, lemon, egg white and soda water. We were less keen on the Angi, with lemon infused gin, white chocolate, lemon and egg whites, which was a bit too sweet for an aperitif. Staff couldn't have been nicer, and offered to make us any cocktail we could think of. Where should we sit? As well as main dining rooms on the ground, first and second floors, there are a few little private rooms off the stairways, which would be great for a small private event or if you're really trying to impress a date. Try to nab a table near the window on either floor for the great views out onto St Stephen's Green. We also thought the light on the first floor was slightly better if being able to read the menu/post pictures of your dinner on Instagram is something that's important to you. What's good to eat? Frustratingly we didn't find any knockout dishes, but we did hear people talking about how much they enjoyed their meal, so if you're easier to please than us you might love it. Of the starters, the best were the roast pork belly with pulled pork croquette, puy lentils, orange and watercress salad (although it was very filling), and the whole king prawn with tempura prawn and baby prawn salad, bloody mary jelly and baby gem leaves. The most disappointing dish was the sesame seared tuna with avocado and wasabi purée, watermelon and pink ginger, which couldn't have looked more different to the publicity shot, and which was really just a hot mess (without the hot part). The four tiny pieces of tuna tasted of nothing, and the wasabi purée improved things but there wasn't enough of it. When it came to the mains, at first taste, both fish dishes we tried were good. Pan fried halibut was well cooked and came with crispy okra (which tasted of nothing but oiliness), nduja ratte potatoes, toasted sweetcorn and samphire sea herb (which we're pretty sure is just samphire), and at the start it felt like a flavour-packed combination, but once the initial punch wore off, we found the salt and fat overpowering. By the time we were halfway through our palates were jaded, and a good chunk of it went uneaten. It was a similar situation with the seabream with roasted artichokes (which tasted like the jarred variety), crab salad and vierge sauce. Too much salt. Not enough flavour. Not all eaten. We found the oversized, branded salt containers on each table (which seem to be in all of their venues) quite ironic. Duck breast with confit leg meat, crushed sweet potato, charred broccoli and duck jus was another of the better choices and had good flavour (despite being slightly overcooked), but once again, after a few bites the salt became overpowering. Maybe the kitchen's on commission for how much of those branded salt containers they can get through. Of the sides, a salad of bumble bee leaves, mixed beetroot, heirloom tomatoes, feta whip and smoked almonds tasted once again overpoweringly of salt - this time from the first bite. We have no idea how it's possible to over-salt salad leaves to this extent, unless you did it for a dare. Tempura courgettes were okay if needing work when it comes to the batter, but the crispy hand-cut skinny fries topped with nduja, chilli mayonnaise and parmesan were very good. Definitely one of the highlights of the meal. Another highlight was dessert. Vanilla ice-cream with chocolate soil (groan), chocolate shards, chocolate and caramel sauce and house made honeycomb, came in the form of an ice-cream sundae and was a deliciously nostalgic way to end a meal, although it was extremely rich. The same goes for the chocolate delice, with hazelnut crunch, salted caramel sauce, milk chocolate chantilly and salted caramel ice cream. A skillfully made, beautifully presented dessert, but half would have been enough. Blueberry cheesecake was also very good, but apple tart tatin had unpleasant pastry and was completely solidified to the plate - not what we generally look for in food. What about the drinks? The cocktail list is great and most of what we tried was a cut above the average you'll find around town. Wines by the glass are limited and not particularly interesting, and Paddy McKillen's Château La Coste (from his vineyard in Provence) takes centre stage as the house wine, as it does in all of Press Up's sites. There are some nice options on the bottle list, but mark ups are high and you're looking at €40-45 a bottle for anything decent. If you have cash to splash there are some serious bottles on there but we're talking €60/70 plus. The staff who served us were not well-versed in the wine list so if you want to spend that much and you don't know what to go for ask for a sommelier. And the service? The initial welcome and the atrium bar staff couldn't be faulted. The restaurant staff were very pleasant but felt inexperienced. We were asked if we were ready to order three times before we actually were, staff reprimanded each other in front of us, and acknowledged that they didn't know anything about the wines. They were all very nice, but it wasn't quite a tightly-run ship. Teething problems we would hope. The verdict? If food is your first priority in life this probably isn't going to knock your socks off, but if you want an injection of gold-plated glam, good cocktails and marbled-decked bathrooms you will probably love it. We heard the table next to us, and another in the adjoining room saying how much they'd enjoyed their food, so maybe we need to go and join Marina O'Loughlin in Snobland , or maybe those other people are just more easily pleased. The Grayson 41 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 thegrayson.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Allta Winter House Back in the city and soaring above the rest Posted: 23 Nov 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Niall Davidson's Allta opened on South Frederick Street in November 2019 in a rush of excitement. The formerly London-based chef who'd led the kitchen in Nuala , after time spent in Chiltern Firehouse and St. John, had critics and diners almost in a frenzied state with talk of handmade pasta, home-cured charcuterie and a menu with almost everything sourced from Ireland, and it didn't let them down. It felt fresh, different, like it had been picked up in a city far cooler than Dublin and dropped in the centre, and we loved it . They blazed away for a few months, and then in early 2020 the unthinkable happened and they, like everyone else, were shut down. They never reopened the original site, even when lockdowns were lifted, saying they couldn't make enough profit with the social distancing restrictions in place, but instead focused their energies on Allta Box , which was the smash hit, at home kit of the pandemic. Most of us have memories of the brown, Allta-emblazoned box arriving on a Friday afternoon, the sourdough and shiitake miso butter, the pickled veg palate cleanser, the perfectly labelled and colour-coded pots of pasta, sauces and crunchy toppings, the cookie dough, we'll stop... We were (im)patiently awaiting news of the restaurant reopening, but instead, in June 2021, they announced they were popping up in a huge tent in the grounds of Slane Castle on the banks of the river Boyne for the summer. When the book of Irish food post the year 2000 is written, 'Allta Summer House' will probably have a chapter in itself, and we left as thunderstruck as everyone in front of and behind us. It ended in September with diners already trying to book for the following summer, but there was surprise and all round awe when the team announced that their next move would be to the top floor of Trinity Street carpark, for 'Allta Winter House'. Davidson also announced that he had split with his investors, and now he and head chef Hugh Higgins were out on their own. How do we get up there and can we have a drink first? Enter the dingy carpark entrance from Dame Lane and head for the lift - there are no signs anywhere, don't panic. Hit level 5, and when you get out all will be okay. Here you'll give your name, have your vaccination certs and ID checked, use a fancy automatic hand sanitizer, and then be brought to your table. You'll walk through Glovebox, their bar/art gallery which will be serving drinks and small plates and is due to open soon. There's going to be a DJ too - major London/New York rooftop party vibes. Once open you can have a drink here before or after, or head straight up to the main space, which is up a ramp (level 6). Where should we sit? All of the tables are the same long table set up seating four or six people, and are assigned in advance, but you might want to request being close to the kitchen if you like to see the action, or at the other end of the space if you don't want to be surrounded by other tables on all sides. Despite being in a tent it's not cold - every table has a heater above it, and we had full arms out in November. What they've done up here took real vision and we're sure a lot of painstaking toil to get it ready. It's very hard to believe you're in the same city carpark off Dame Street when sitting on a sheepskin rug under a floral installation eating off Fermoyle Pottery. What's the food like? It's a set menu for €95 which is good because you don't have to make any decisions and get to try ALL THE FOOD, but potentially bad because it's a lot of money and you might struggle to get another three or five people to go with you. We've had a lot of messages from annoyed readers wanting to go as a two, but because of the table set up it just wouldn't make sense for them financially, and they can't mix you with strangers at the moment for obvious reasons. We've been busy trying to match up some of our ATF Insiders who wanted to go but didn't have enough spenny pals to go with them, but honestly this is worth calling up old school pals, the couple who used to live upstairs, your rich uncle - anyone who might join you for what could be yours and their meal of the year. The menu is going to change often, so we're not going to spend too much time detailing every single course - also it would be a eulogising, adjective-filled overload - but you can see the menu above for the night we visited, and you can expect some dishes (or variations) to show up again and again. You'll start with a broth - our was a sweet and smoky grilled aubergine, with droplets of oil giving it a silkiness. Next you can expect the softest Cromane oysters from Kerry, which Davidson has been using since he put that mural of the fisherman on the wall at Allta. Ours came with a dressing made with sea buckthorn - a coastal berry that's in season in Ireland right now, and tastes sweet, sour and citrusey. Next came a crunchy buckwheat cracker with the freshest crab meat, tomato and sea urchin foam (leading to many questions around the table of exactly how one makes a sea urchin foam). This was followed by one of the dishes we have vivid taste memories of from Allta Summer House - the fermented flatbread with Bán goat's cheese from the Boyne Valley and black garlic. Chewy, creamy, tangy, sweet - if Carlsberg did flatbreads... And that was just the snacks. For our first larger plate we saw the resurrection of Allta's sweet and juicy scallops with gooseberry beurre blanc and hazelnuts. It was stunning then, and it's stunning now. Particularly with the added ribbon of kolhrabi for extra texture. Then came Jerusalem artichokes with Cais na Tíre (a Tipperary sheep cheese) sauce and artichoke crisps, like something fondue dreams of being when it grows up. Also, why are Jerusalem artichokes not on more menus? We're starting a petition. Also for this to be the new definition of 'comfort food'. You can keep your burgers and ribs - we're choosing cheese covered artichokes every time. Then, just as we were wondering whether we should cover each other with coats to lick the plates, they arrived with that sourdough to mop it all up, and a bowl of the shiitake miso butter. If you haven't seen someone taste it for the first time, sit back and enjoy - the ooohs, aaahs and omgs are quite entertaining. When you're feeling nicely full your sharing mains arrive. First up we tackled a striking side of ocean trout with sea herbs, mussels and goat's milk whey. You should gently peel off the crispy skin before dividing it up, scooping up the sauce and flavour bursts with a suitably large spoon. After a few bites of the fish, the attentive staff told us we shouldn't leave the Tamworth pork sitting around, and you don't have to tell us twice. We had this dish in Allta Summer House, with the pork coming from the Rock Farm pigs in the adjoining field, and we presume this has the same provenance as Tamworth pork is not easy to find here. The sweet, soft meat is topped with sweet, crispy skin, and it was sitting in a pool of tangy fermented pumpkin. If you're of the "eat better meat less" camp, it's hard to imagine it getting better than this. Unexpected sides arrived (maybe they didn't have enough space on the menu) of romanesco and cavolo nero on romesco (we wished we'd saved some sourdough), and lightly dressed potatoes with herbs, and we had to take a few leftovers home in a lunchbox because we were close to being defeated, but also can't abide food waste. A semi palate cleanser arrived as the first dessert, of apple cider jelly made with the good stuff from The Cider Mill in Slane, apple ice and apple ice-cream, before the most scandalous mini doughnuts with brittle crème brûlée toppings, like the outside of a well made toffee apple, filled with a sort of thicker c rème anglaise . We now understand why people used to queue for 90 minutes to get into the Allta Bakery . What about the drinks? The wine list is extremely well curated and has so many of the best wines on the Irish market right now, but prices are high - those high end tents and dried flowers don't pay for themselves. We love Tuffeau's champagne style sparkling wine (€50 on the list here), as well as the Spanish Ubé from Bodegas Cota 45, and the Portugese Prazo de Roriz from P + S (both €60-€65), but there was so much we would have loved to drink - especially if we had deeper pockets. Wine glasses are Riedel too - what else would you expect. And the service? So personable and friendly. Everyone seems to really enjoy being a part of this, and we can't blame them. It feels like a rocket ship on the ascent. And the damage? €168 a head for the set menu, three bottles of wine between four, four after dinner drinks and service charge. Pricey? Yes. Value for money? 100%. The verdict? What the Allta team are creating and delivering, whether in a tent on the roof of a carpark or if they move into a bigger, less edgy space next year, is undoubtedly a defining event in Irish food. Ambitious projects like this set new standards for the industry as a whole, show others up, show diners what they could be experiencing, instead of another lacklustre meal of goat's cheese salad and chicken supreme. A chef from another restaurant joked recently that restaurants and chefs lacking in creativity wouldn't bother copying Allta, because who would put that much work into each dish, and you can taste the weeks and months of curing, fermenting, aging, planning, tasting - flavours like this don't come from packets or bottles or chefs lacking in skill. There are no shortcuts here, no cost cutting measures. Their only goal is to make their ingredients taste as extraordinary as possible, and shake things up while they're doing it. There's a relatively small cohort of restaurants and chefs across the country pushing the industry to new heights, but their importance on the larger scale of defining what it means to cook and serve 'Irish food', or even just 'food cooked in Ireland', can't be underestimated, both at home and abroad. Either can their ability to turn out the next great chefs in the country. Allta Winter House is as impressive a definition of Irish food as you'll find anywhere in Ireland in 2021, served in an atmosphere crackling with talent and drive, in a space that took major vision to bring to life. If you do one nice thing for yourself in the next few months, get a booking here, and experience it for yourself. Allta Summer House Trinity Car Park, Trinity Street, Dublin 2 www.alltawinterhouse.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Notions @ Two Pups Superior spring plates and a new place for natty wine, right in time for the sunshine spell Posted: 15 Apr 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Notions? It’s the age-old Irish, casually thrown out there cut-down for anyone getting ideas above their station - the notions . Nearly ten years into their tenure on Francis Street, with a second site in Fairview opened in 2023 and a new bakery Bold Boy serving both sites just launched in January, it’s no surprise Two Pups have given their after-hours wine bar venture a tongue-in-cheek title. Sure what are they at. Expectations are high here, with Two Pups’ longstanding reputation for top-class coffee and quality, well-sourced ingredients across their brunch offerings giving plenty of cause to hope for another new hot spot in Dublin’s growing wine bar scene . The idea of seasonal small plates and a small natty wine menu spilling out into the street just in time for this mid-spring sunshine spell had us racing to the Liberties to get an early look at Notions . Where should we sit? Outside, if the weather and your timing will allow it – the original walk-in only policy has already pivoted to bookings by Instagram DM , so you can request an al fresco spot if you’re early enough. It’ll be into the summer before the sun gets high enough in the sky to hit these seats directly, but it’s still a super spot to enjoy some fresh air. Inside, the three open, vintage-furnished rooms have plenty of two and four-top tables at various levels of privacy – we spied an assortment of gabby group catch-ups and intimate date nights that all looked equally at home in the spots they’d settled in. There’s another outdoor space to the rear they haven’t opened up yet, but are actively considering if demand builds up. What’s on the menu? It’s split into nibbles, snacks and plates (small and large) with no demand that you have to order a certain amount – a two-course minimum joint this ain’t, we’re glad to report. Notions is very much eyeing up the neighbourhood bistro vibe, welcoming all from the post-work glass-and-olives gang to the more gluttonous, work-your-way-through-the-whole-menu hordes. No points for guessing where we landed. Polenta chips with truffle aioli (€8) had set up camp in our minds long before we arrived, courtesy of this Instagram post , and we couldn’t wait to sink our teeth into those golden crusts. They yielded less crisp satisfaction than we’d fantasised about, as though they’d gone in the oil just a moment too early - with a touch more crunch, the well-seasoned cornmeal would be an amuse-bouche worthy of all the hype. If we’re venturing into improvements, we might also switch out their sauce for the mustard aioli that’s dabbed under and atop the ham hock croquettes (€9) – its nose-wrinkling kick has much more to offer than the artificial earthiness of truffle (oil) aioli. Versus the one-two punch saltiness of the tender shredded ham and molten smoked Gubbeen cheese within, it’s a perfect trio. It will have been a springtime for the ages if we have another seasonal plate half as good as what came next. Crunchy, lemon-dressed radishes (€9) are halved and scattered over a chunky romesco sauce bathed in wild garlic oil, finished with a flurry of grated hazelnut. Regular readers will know we’re nerds of the highest order when it comes to seasonal eating, so trust us when we say that every forkful, then spoonful, then wiped-finger-ful of this dish is the optimum taste of spring. One plate like that is good grounds to get booking at some point – two is cause to drop everything and go now. The asparagus dish (€14) is as ravishing as the radishes, with tender pan-fried spears and crunchy-crisp cavolo nero sat in a pool of parmesan cream, topped with caramelised cubes of guanciale. There’s a profoundly satisfying simplicity here - birdsong, sunny spells, and quietly confident cooking like this are what make spring so special. Since our visit this one has been bumped up to large plate status with the addition of pan-fried gnocchi – more soakage for that sauce can only be a good thing. More seasonality came in a "charred seasonal greens" salad (€12) that threatened to spill out over the table at the first hint of a fork – we’ll not lament the impression of an almighty portion, but a bigger plate or smaller serving was dearly needed. We found little evidence of the menu’s promised “charred” greens" among the assorted baby spinach and wild rocket leaves, though buried bunches of tender stem broccoli did look to have met with a pan. With ample anchovy chunks in the Caesar-style dressing however we didn’t take long to finish the refreshing lot. Fungiphiles’ hearts will be aflutter at the oyster mushroom plate with shimeji, black garlic and tarragon (€12). Not content enough with the mushroominess of crisped oyster and crunchy shimeji, they add duxelles-esque puree and airy cream in for what feels like a treatise on the essential flavour profile of the humble mushroom. Fans like us will lap it up, and not for the first time we got the sense that the Notions team has thought very deeply about what they’re cooking, and how to bring its best qualities out. A classical treatment is sometimes the answer to that - enter the Iberico pork cheek cassoulet (€26). The mound of meat disintegrated at the sight of a knife, so tenderly braised in its stew of butterbeans and nduja, that the resultant rich, deep flavour profile can’t help but bring on sighs of satisfaction. Salsa verde on top is a necessarily fresh, zesty intervention, lest you be tempted to slump into a coma. Once again, this is food to make you swoon. What are the drinks like? We liked the wine menu’s layout, with by-the-price sections for go to, treat yourself, or spoil yourself style nights – vital for the price conscious customer. However vital too is value, and while we found the atmosphere and experience worth the final bill, markups that go above even the usual absurdity of Dublin were the only thing here that really did reek of notions. For context, the sparkling Sampagnino below is €55 by the bottle here, and €41 in Lena , Portobello. The Vina Illusion white Rioja is €55 here and €44 in Uno Mas . The El Troyano which is €52 here is €42 in Hera . None of these places work off low margins. A better selection on the cheaper end of the menu, or wine mark ups that feel less like a knife to our bank balance would go a long way, particularly considering that barely anyone is eating out as much as they did 12 months ago, because of, ya know, the bleedin' price of everything. Instagram posts attest the staff’s involvement in building out the selections and it shows – their knowledge is second to none, with tasters and tips offered in abundance. We started with the Bulli Sampagnino frizzante, a pleasantly dry sparkling alternative to the bog standard Prosecco found in most places, then the Sassara Pinot Griso, an earthy orange that opened up the radishes and romesco. Our server was endearingly enthusiastic about the Colbacco Quarto Protocollo from the funky section as a pairing for the pork, and its smoky, volcano soil character was an excellent rival for the nduja spice. How was the service? Best seen when discussing the wine, the team here is really into what they’re doing, and it’s infectious. Everyone is casual, chatty and completely clued-in to the menu and how to help you make the most of it. The food is reason enough for us to come back - knowing what a warm welcome you’ll get is the cherry on top. And the damage? €128.50 to sample almost all of the menu and enough wine to get a good sense of the standard – the things we do for you. A go to glass and one of the smaller plates would keep you closer to €20 a head if you fancied a quick pit stop – go on, you deserve it. What’s the verdict on Notions? The very notion of “notions”, if you will, is a double-edged sword. It's an Irish attitude of comic modesty, sure, but a sometimes-suffocating aversion to the new too, a sense that we can’t be having with those nice, y’know, continental things. As we glugged the last of our over-priced glasses and looked out at the outdoor tables of punters stubbornly pretending it’s still warm enough to sit out after the sun sets, we were grateful that aversion is fading faster all the time. We may not have the weather, but in an increasing number of places like this we have a quality of ingredients, a talent for using them, and a growing culture for embracing it all that does Irish food proud. We'll always cheers to notions like those. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Chinese roast meats café filling the gap of now closed Duck on Fade Street and CN Duck in Ranelagh. The narrow room in one of the iLac Shopping Centre's units on Moore Street seats 16, and it's walk-ins only. The meats are the star here, with roast duck, char siu, crispy roast pork and soy chicken available for collection and delivery also. Don't skip the homemade pork dumplings either. Taste of Hong Kong Website tasteofhk.ie Address Taste of Hong Kong, Moore Street, North City, Dublin 1, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Chinese roast meats café filling the gap of now closed Duck on Fade Street and CN Duck in Ranelagh. The narrow room in one of the iLac Shopping Centre's units on Moore Street seats 16, and it's walk-ins only. The meats are the star here, with roast duck, char siu, crispy roast pork and soy chicken available for collection and delivery also. Don't skip the homemade pork dumplings either. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Square Dish A Detroit-style disappointment Posted: 13 May 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Square Dish? It's Dublin's newest pizza restaurant (no we haven't peaked yet), with a fancy fit out on one of the capital's most desirable streets - St. Stephen's Green. While the combination of those elements initially made us think Square Dish must be from a big hospitality group with money coming out the wazoo, it's actually husband and wife team Andrew Eakin and Naomi Murtagh behind it. Eakin started London wine shops Bottle Apostle many moons ago, before moving into the wine industry in France, while Murtagh is a designer, most recently based in London. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The modern gastropub on the Quays, shuttered since the start of the pandemic, reopened at the end of 2023 with the same flair (and most importantly homemade bar crisps) as always, bringing a welcome new player to the city's Sunday roast roster, changing small and large plates perfect for casual meals out, and a wine list that puts many of the city's high end restaurants to shame. There's a daily hot pot plus soup and sandwiches for lunch, and pastries in the morning. The Legal Eagle Website thelegaleagle.ie Address The Legal Eagle, Chancery Place, Inns Quay, Dublin 1 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The modern gastropub on the Quays, shuttered since the start of the pandemic, reopened at the end of 2023 with the same flair (and most importantly homemade bar crisps) as always, bringing a welcome new player to the city's Sunday roast roster, changing small and large plates perfect for casual meals out, and a wine list that puts many of the city's high end restaurants to shame. There's a daily hot pot plus soup and sandwiches for lunch, and pastries in the morning. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

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

Chapter One The ideal underground escape from 2020 Posted: 1 Sept 2020 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Chapter One is one of the real success stories of Dublin's dining scene. Open since 1992, they were awarded a Michelin star in 2007, and have hung onto it easily (from the outside looking in anyway) ever since. They've been in and out of vogue over the years, but for the past few it's fair to say they've been riding high, thanks to an impressive kitchen team, some revamped branding and a stunning dining room. Chef/proprietor Ross Lewis runs the kitchen along with head chef Eric Matthews (he of Instagram's ' Cabin Fever Classics '), and with dessert dynamo Darren Hogarty turning out jaw-dropping cakes, tarts and petit fours day after day (and causing much sugar envy via his Instagram account ), the kitchen seems like it's never been in a better place. Chapter One is so many people's 'special restaurant', used for birthdays, anniversaries, and all manor of celebrations, so if ever there was a time to see how it's faring up, a global pandemic, general air of crippling anxiety, and impending second lockdown felt as good a time as any for a treat. Where should we sit? This is one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city - you may find yourself gasping if it's your first visit. There's a main dining room, a cave like space just off it with another five tables, and multiple private dining areas if you're out with a group (and you should really find a group just so you have an excuse to book one). There's also a lovely bar area for a pre-dinner drink - if you're going to do it, do it right. We were sat in the smaller cave-like space and loved the intimacy of it, but if you're a four or a six the main dining area is probably a better shout. (c) Chapter One What's the food like? Packed full of the best Irish growers, producers and suppliers, and entirely reflective of the seasons. For dinner you have the choice of the four-course menu for €85 or the premium for €120. When we were there the premium menu only had one extra course and no choice (but the same dishes on both menus - it seemed odd that it was termed 'premium'), so we stuck to the four-course, which had two-three choices per course. (FYI - The three-course lunch menu is only €50 and features a lot of the same dishes.) Like all good meals it started with bread, in this case a country style sourdough with creamy, salty butter, followed by snacks of a mushroom-filled cone (got to love a cone), and two savoury biscuits, one topped with ricotta and caramelised onion, the other with a Hegarty's cheddar mousse. All were utterly perfect palate teasers, and if you needed any reassurance about what was to come, snacks like these will do it. For the first course there was a choice of baby gem lettuce with Irish peas, white onion and Cáis na Tíre, or Irish sunstream tomato and cherry salad with basil, aerated yoghurt and pistachio. We had both and it would be difficult to pick a winner. This is definitely in the running for the tastiest lettuce dish in the country (although Cáis na Tíre would make an old tyre taste good), and tomatoes and cherries are the red-carpet couple we never knew existed. The basil, yoghurt and pistachios were a stunning supporting cast, and it was a clever Irish take on a Mediterranean-feeling dish. For the second course we struggled not to just order two of the crab pancake with smoked eel, yuzu, pickled seaweed dressing and cod roe cream, but it turned out that the mille feuille of Sean Ring chicken with black truffle and spruce vinegar was even better. Making what's usually a dessert pastry into something so powerfully savoury was another very clever take. The crab pancake was light, fresh, fluffy and fishy (in the best way), but we would have liked a bit more crab in the centre. Next up were the more classic main courses. Pink, tender saddle of lamb came with pickled garlic scape, smoked buttermilk potato (which could have been more smoky) and a full carrot with sweetbread stuffing, which alone would have been a knockout dish in itself. Stuffed rabbit was delivered with broad beans, Hen of the wood mushrooms, a smoked Shepherd's Store cheese sauce and parsley dumplings - a savoury, meaty, creamy, cheesey plate of perfectness. For dessert we couldn't sidestep the elderflower and gooseberry vacherin with lemon shortbread that we'd seen on Darren Hogarty's Instagram , but were slightly disappointed at how teeny it was in real life. Luckily it was a case of good things coming in small packages, but we would have liked one twice the size. The other dessert of Irish strawberries, baked honey custard, meringue, organic milk ice cream and sheep's yoghurt felt like a riff on their famous "textures of milk and honey" dessert, and had us clashing spoons to get the end of it. We ended with exceptionally good petit fours of cherry and white chocolate macarons, hazelnut and milk chocolate ganache truffles (serious swoon), ale choux buns with malt crunch and confit lemon cream, and one of the best decafs coffees we've had in a very long time. What about the drinks? The bottle list is extensive and impressive, so it was surprising to see a by the glass list playing it so safe. There was nothing we wanted to drink on it so asked if anything else was open, to which we were given the Coravin list, which was considerably better (and pricier, just FYI). Le Grappin's 2014 Saint-Aubin (€20) was drinking very well, and a delicate, floral 2017 Givry 1er Cru from Domaine Parize (€16.75) was a perfect pairing for the saddle of lamb and the rabbit. If you have money to spend and want to dive into their mainly European selection you'll have fun browsing the many bottles available. And the service? Delightful and completely charming from the minute we walked through the door, with smiles from everyone we passed - not the easiest of tasks when masked and keeping your distance. There's also a fancy iPad style temperature checker on arrival - green means go. Staff here cannot do enough to ensure your evening is everything you wanted it to be, and it's Irish hospitality at its finest. Our only gripe was the speed that the first few courses came at - we'd had bread, snacks and the first two courses within 30 minutes of sitting down - but once we asked them to slow down things came at a much nicer pace. The verdict? We can think of few better places to escape 2020 right now than Chapter One's cavernous, underground dining room. Yes the food is more classic than cutting edge, but as Michelin-starred meals go this is an experience that will leave you feeling warm and satisfied. Let someone else bear the brunt of life for a few hours and forget everything that's happening outside those doors - your only task is to sit back, relax and let yourself be wrapped up and taken care of. It might not be one for every week, but we couldn't recommend it more for your next treat, and it's very obvious why it's the special occasion go-to for so many. Chapter One 18-19 Parnell Square North, Dublin 1 www.chapteronerestaurant.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Díon The rooftop restaurant with the 360º views that opened too early Posted: 9 Dec 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the scoop on Díon? It's the new rooftop bar and restaurant in the old Central Bank building (now Central Plaza) that's been years in the making, and finally opened last weekend after multiple delays. The site was originally due to be leased by the Irish operator of PF Changs , but when a global pandemic caused that to fall through, an Irish company known as Dreamview set their sites on it. It appears to be mainly funded by Irish corporate lawyer Barry McGrath , with Alan Clancy (a long time hospitality pro behind House, 37 Dawson Street and The Wright Venue) initially a fellow director. Díon is the Irish for roof, pronounced "dee-in". There's been rumblings of issues with the site for months, with Clancy stepping down as director in October (he's still described as a hospitality consultant to the business), and this week the news broke that Clancy's House venues in Dublin and Limerick have gone into receivership with an estimated €10 million owed. An 'annus horribilis' perhaps. While press releases started coming in September about its November opening, the date was put back again and again, with several people complaining on Díon's Instagram page a couple of weeks ago that they'd woken that morning to an automated email saying their booking for the same day had been cancelled. Not even a phone call? Help to find a table elsewhere? Not their problem apparently. It finally opened late last week, offering discounts on the menu for one night (as far as we can ascertain). You start below ground level, entering the doors to find hosts who will escort you via lift up to the tenth floor restaurant. We're told the plan is is start guests on the ninth floor and offer them a drink first, before ascending the stairs for dinner, but it's all a bit of a mess right now. So what's the problem? This venue is not finished and shouldn't have opened - clearly an ill-advised decision was made to cash in on the Christmas rush. Floors remain unfinished at the joins; nails sit on the ground ready to pierce the soles of diners walking by; there's a hole in the bathroom wall where a mirror should be; loose wires stick out along the staircases; kick boards under banquette seating were falling down hitting diners' ankles. Whoever was responsible for painting and finishing the ground floor looks to have gone on holidays midway through and forgotten to come back. Other online reviews from the early days of opening noted power tools on the ground; dust everywhere; a fire audit taking place during their meal with alarms going off for 30 minutes. There's something embarrassingly Irish about it all - "sure isn't it grand? What do they want?" What about the room and views? They're the reason it'll take you a while to spot the nails on the floor. Whatever we were expecting from Ireland's first 36 0 ° rooftop restaurant and bar, the reality of this glass box in the sky and its palatial design work exceeded it. It's incredible to be able to look down on every part of Dublin city centre and beyond, like a bird soaring over Dame Street, Trinity, the Convention Centre, the Ha'Penny Bridge - be sure to walk the full periphery of the room for the whole spell-binding effect. If there's a particular city marker that has a special place in your heart, ask for a view of it while you eat. The best tables are along the windows (and there are loads of them), with larger tables for groups (rectangular and round) set back from the front row, but there are no bad vantage points - you just can't escape these views. It does have a bit of a luxury liner feel to it, particularly when descending the stairs to the ninth floor below the restaurant, but we've never been adverse to a bit of luxury travel, and it all feels a bit surreal that we have something at this level (both physically and figuratively) in little 'ol Dublin. A sidenote though for parents - despite the restaurant being full of kids in with their families for an early dinner, they didn't think ahead enough to order high chairs, so they will be left to sit on laps or crawl over banquettes until they sort it out - which is really relaxing for their parents. What's the menu like? At first glance, snoozeville. It's a rare day that we struggle to decide what to order because so LITTLE appeals, but this is your typical please the masses combo. There's cream of chicken soup (is this a funeral?), duck a l'orange (is it 1970?), bacon and cabbage croquettes (sure we've got to have some Oirish stuff on there, we're basically in Temple Bar), and very little to get your heart rate up. Those croquettes (an appetiser at €9.50) are actually pretty decent, tasting distinctly of your Mammy's bacon and cabbage, with a very soft white sauce barely holding it all together. If you didn't like her version though you probably won't like these either. Another appetiser of shiitake mushrooms in salt and vinegar tempura (€10) was lacking both advertised flavours, but the batter was crisp and grease free. Bizarrely there were unadvertised spears of broccoli in there too - shiitakes too expensive? Chilli mayo on the side delivered a good punch of flavour, but it wasn't what was billed. For starters your eye can't help but be drawn to the 'Díon vol-au-vent', clearly their signature dish, given centre stage in its own box in the middle of the menu. Luxury ingredients like truffled chicken, foie gras and ceps justify the €25 price point, but of course it wasn't available. We slummed it with Lambay crab soldiers (an Instagrammer's dream at €16.50). The soliders arrived over-fried and lukewarm with the texture of cardboard, and if they'd ever come in contact with a Lambay crab we couldn't taste it - what a waste of a prime Irish crustacean. The béarnaise though was so perfect we would have eaten our napkins dipped in it, so we soldiered on. The surprise starter smash was the deep-fried globe artichoke with sage, tomato and romesco sauce (which also happens to be vegan). Beautifully tender inside, gorgeously crisp outside, the sage and tomatoes, brought freshness, the romesco depth, smoke and cream. It's a killer dish, veggie or otherwise. Díon are taking their life in their hands putting a double smash burger (€23.50) on the menu with all the competition around here, but those other guys can relax. These are not smashed patties (they were still pink inside, which in a non smash burger we would appreciate), and we're not sure how we felt about the large slice of tomato on top and the mound of iceberg underneath. Throw back to a sadder time in Dublin's burger history? It wasn't on a "cristal bun" either, looking like your average brioche. The main issue was the grease dripping from every side of it - so messy, with fat the dominant flavour and texture. Chips arrived at room temperature and criminally under-salted. There was no salt or pepper on the table, so after we'd gotten out of our seat (for the 65th time) to flag down an overwhelmed server, then have her take most of five minutes to go and source salt, they were fully cold. Duck a l'orange (€27.50) came plump and pink, with perfectly rendered fat, and crisp skin, but where's the orange? We were almost finished it before we remembered that part. A meaty jus would be more accurate. An endive tart came with half a caramelised bulb sitting on top of a rectangle of pastry, as if the two had been cooked separately and then assembled. Pleasant, but disjointed. Sides of colcannon mash (so dry we almost choked on it and with such a skant amount of kale we thought we'd gotten the wrong dish) and tenderstem broccoli with crispy chilli (very, very spicy with no crisp to be seen) were €4.50 each and you'll need them as a lot of dishes come with zero sides, like the dry-aged fillet steak (€47.50), or the Iberico pork chop on the bone (€45). We'd seen the tart tatin for two (€18) being carted around the restaurant, all eyes drawn to the large mound of apples heading for other tables. It's good, but not Mae good, with nicely burnished, tender apples crying out for more caramel. Again it seemed that the apples were cooked separately to the pastry with no fusion between the two - attempts to eat it just resulted in the apple chunks falling off. We've never seen Gypsy tart on a menu here, and while the description of "salted caramel tart" isn't technically correct, the addition of salt to an overly sweet tart is always welcome. This is dessert perfection, the type you'd expect to end on in a London bistro where every plate has delivered on your largest food dreams - the pastry, the custard, the glossy top, the Chantilly on the side - may they never take it off the menu. What about drinks? The website's cocktail menu talks a big talk abou t " A modern Irish cocktail story, told from above" , but when we asked for the menu we were told none of these special cocktails were available. " We just have classic cocktails ". Like what? " All the classic cocktails ." Panic, what's a classic cocktail. Can you give us some examples of what the bar can make? " All the classic cocktails. " We gingerly asked for a spicy margarita, expecting a "request denied", but it was brought and it was very good. The wine list looks like it's been designed by several different people. There's everything from supermarket brands, to natural wines, to bottles you'd only buy if you were showing off (€2000+), and there's no cohesion in any of it. You'll struggle to find anything of interest by the glass under €16/17, with the rare (and welcome) exception of Cantina Tollo's Montepulciano, a brilliant house red at €9 a glass. Anyone serving Moët as their house Champagne in 2025 needs to take a long hard look at themselves. How was the service? What service? After our appetisers and starters were delivered (together) we were left completely alone, to the point that we started to wonder if this magical room had imbued us with the super power to become invisible. No one came to check how the food was, to take away our empty glasses, to ask if we wanted more drinks, to clear our plates, to bring fresh cutlery. After a good 30 minutes of sitting like icebergs, we started to think that surely the mains were going to arrive any second, so got up and found a server from another section, apologetically explaining that our server had disappeared. "Oh I think everyone's gone on their break"... Our disappearing server hadn't know what the fish of the day was, how it was cooked, what price it was, what sizes the sole (priced per 100g) was available in. After a five minute delay each time when he went off to check, we gave up asking questions. Our flustered rescue server admitted that they weren't ready to open, and that the night before had been "carnage", with many, many unhappy customers. Our experience was mild in comparison apparently. Lucky us. There's also an agonising wait when the back waiter brings up your food on a large tray and places it on a service table in view, and you have to watch your food lose heat while they wait for a front waiter to bring it to you. More than a few times we were close to jumping up and grabbing the plates ourselves. Why anyone would put people on the floor with such inadequate training, who don't even know what's on the menu, and who are willing to walk off on a break leaving diners deserted is a head-scratcher. Was it days away from going under if they didn't get the doors open? Didn't they realise the damage that initial carnage could do? Why not do a week long soft launch seeking diners' forgiveness while they fixed the floors, finished the paint job and trained their staff to an acceptable level? How much was the bill? €194.50 for enough food for three (but just two mains), three alcoholic drinks and two softs. You'll easily spend €100 a head here if going all in, and you could spend a lot more if you're looking at that grill section and the higher priced wine. What's the verdict on Díon? It's generally accepted that glamorous international imports like Gloria , The Hoxton and Hawksmoor are good for Dublin, but you still hear rumblings of "but why can't we do these things ourselves?", with a lack of investment generally blamed. Díon has had plenty of investment (estimates sit around €10 million), but lacks the expertise to get a new opening off the ground in a professional, (seemingly) faultless way like their international competitors. It's embarrassing that we can't do it as well as them, especially in a space that has the potential to be as iconic as this one. Imagine Gloria opening the restaurant while there was still building work going on; Hawksmoor letting staff loose on the floor who hadn't been properly trained; The Hoxton opening Cantina Valentina with their Peruvian cocktails and star dishes missing from the menu. None of these guys would have risked it, no matter what time of year it was or how the bank balance looked, because they know you've only got one chance to make a first impression, and those first reviews (diner and critic) will sit on the first page of Google until the end of time. If you've got all the money sloshing around your pockets and are happy to drop some on a sub-par experience then go forth and enjoy those views, or just drop in for a drink, but otherwise we'd put this one on the long finger until the new year, when hopefully the online reviews will reflect that they've finally figured out what they're doing up there. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Clontarf's wooden bridge would feel empty without café container Happy Out to grab an iced coffee and a toastie from. Queues can be lengthy but smiley staff keep things moving, and there are outdoor and indoor tables so it works for all weathers. Happy Out Website happyout.ie Address Bull Wall, Bull Island, Clontarf, Dublin 3 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Clontarf's wooden bridge would feel empty without café container Happy Out to grab an iced coffee and a toastie from. Queues can be lengthy but smiley staff keep things moving, and there are outdoor and indoor tables so it works for all weathers. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Baker Thibault Peigne is the man behind Tartine Organic Bakery, whose breads can be found in restaurants cafés and supermarkets across the city. While that's the baking behemoth, Russell Street Bakery is his latest and littlest labour of love, producing the highest quality sourdoughs, brioche, focaccia, lavash and pastries you can imagine. Coffee is from Imbibe and lunchtime sees European-style sandwiches top the counters. Bring a very big bag and fill your freezer with anything you can't eat on the day. Russell Street Bakery Website instagram.com/russellst.bakery Address Russell Street Bakery, Russell Street, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Baker Thibault Peigne is the man behind Tartine Organic Bakery, whose breads can be found in restaurants cafés and supermarkets across the city. While that's the baking behemoth, Russell Street Bakery is his latest and littlest labour of love, producing the highest quality sourdoughs, brioche, focaccia, lavash and pastries you can imagine. Coffee is from Imbibe and lunchtime sees European-style sandwiches top the counters. Bring a very big bag and fill your freezer with anything you can't eat on the day. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Bang A bang-on ode to Iberian flavours and hospitality Posted: 10 Feb 2026 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Bang? Many of us have been passing these doors for years without the temptation to darken them, as Joe Barrett’s old institution mopped up Merrion Street’s office crowd clientele and corporate lunches, but stayed firmly off the city's hot lists. After bringing the brand back from the (cr)ashes in 2010, he’s made the very good decision to pass the Bang baton onto son Richie and business partner Eric Matthews, who together cooked up quite the storm with Kicky's just over two years ago. It’s a shrewd move on the part of a place in need of a kicking, this time taking cues from the Iberian peninsula - a more homogenous area than the broad “Mediterranean” brief they brought to George’s Street. Barrett and Matthews have brought in Bang 3.0, a different kind of reinvention - this is less a rethink for tighter times, than a glow-up amidst a glut of increasingly good options. instagram.com/bangrestaurant_ Where should we sit? Swapping out cool blues for splashes of red with copper accents, the instantly warmer vibe registers all the more inviting on the kind of miserable mid-winter night it feels like we’re never going to escape. A few steps up from the street, the airy mezzanine has a livelier energy from a restored wall mural and high ceilings, a space to start the night if ever there was one. bangrestaurant.com Downstairs, dimmer lights and cosier crannies are all about finishing things off – you would need to be prised out of here even before the feasting that follows. Thoughtful acoustics and low lamps ensure that for all their relatively dense population, the two-tops have a set-apart sense. Groups will get the benefit of the two larger wraparound booths, all the better to sink into with each passing plate. What should we have? Make right for mussel escabeche (€9.50) to complete the relaxing effect – we practically slid from our seats at first bite. Slathers of stracciatella are pressed with the pickled shellfish, the toast so top-heavy it threatens to topple. There’s no such imbalance in taste, with onion teased to a pre-caramelised point and the herbal hint of fresh fennel tops tempering the tang. The Portuguese dub their steak sandwiches “prego” for the way garlic is studded into the beaten-thin meat like a nail. Bang's "Prego" (€16) hits it right on the head. Super-soft bread greedily sopped in the rare meat’s juices mingles with the nostril-flaring fire of a house mustard, to big up best-in-the-biz beef in the form of Peter Hannan’s 40-day aged fillet. Leaning hard into quality, Bang’s elevation makes every cent of this premium price tag tasteable. From one homage to another, in the instantly iconic tortilla tribute to Barcelona’s Cal Pep (€14.50), from whose owner Matthews says he teased the textural secret of glorious gooiness. Good news for Dublin that he did - this is the best take on an omelette española you’re likely to get without a boarding pass in hand. Gubbeen chorizo flies the flag for local produce, studded in small dice among wafer-thin spuds and sticky-sweet caramelised onions. The pungent potency of a house alioli that isn’t playing around is all that kept us collapsing into a coma with each added bite. It's a choice to have made the fideuà (€14.50), a Valencian pasta paella, sans socarrat – but not, we would argue, the right one. The crunchy crust layer best achieved by a cast iron pan and the confidence not to stir it may have been omitted here to better highlight the perfectly crisp skin of the red mullet perched atop, but in the absence of it the stock-soaked noodles feel a little stodgy. A simple fix in this case is not a quick one. Mains are more akin to Kicky’s than the rest of the menu, courtesy of the wood-fire grill. The sight of secreto (€29) among the options set our eyes wide – in Spain el gato may be long out of la bolsa on this prize cut of Iberico pork, but its rarity on Irish menus had us huddled in hope. Pairing the nutty sweetness of the acorn-fed pig with the lush, buttery tenderness of marbled fat, the cut comes to life with a suitably simple treatment – seared to a crisp and sprinkled with flaky salt. Only over-iced radicchio losing a little bitter balance held this plate back from perfection. Monkfish (€32) can’t bring the same nudge-wink novelty, for all the good the grill’s heat gets out of it. The zing of chimichurri lifts the butter-basted medallions still threaded to the bone, smoky charred skin and soft, sweet meat to the fore in every wrestled forkful. With turbot and red mullet also among the bone-in bounties of the sea gracing the grill since opening, seafood lovers will be thrilled. The battle of Ballymakenny has raged for years as Dublin’s chefs seek to make the best side of these superb spuds, from Coppinger ’s hash brown-style chunky cuts, to Hera ’s taramasalata-topped crisps. For all its menu largely resists the obvious choices, Bang couldn’t but do bravas (€7) with them. They readily yielded the requisite crisp crags, but the interiors were just a little too firm - a shame as our mains sauces were crying out for some mopping. Bang will make a popular date spot so assertive desserts matter – all that alioli will take plenty of masking. The one-two punch power of Jamón ibérico fat caramel and a tooth-clogging hazelnut praline rises to the task, a tableside splash of Pedro Ximénez helping to cut through the intensity of 85% chocolate mousse (€12). This is near indecent stuff, dessert that taps deep reserves of gastric pleasure. Burnt Basque cheesecake (€12) is a dessert so often done a disservice that we’re never inclined to order outside Euskadi for fear of pale and chalky imitations. We rejoiced three years ago to find San Sebastian’s La Vina in the capital by way of Mr Croqueta – Bang's is just as good and better again. Enhanced even more by a baked pear, both cheesecake and fruit are so velvety soft they practically slice themselves at the mere mention of a spoon. The only-in-Ireland creaminess of Ballylisk cheese, and the floral depth of a heather honey sum up the singular appeal of this Hiberno-Iberian hybrid. What’s good to drink? Other than an obligatory glass of Pedro Ximénez to wash down that mousse? The family-focused wine list abandons the all-Iberian theme in favour of some French fancy, but there's plenty of fine stuff on there. BTG options are limited with the better stuff to be had for those sharing a bottle, though Juvé & Camps Gran Reserva 2021 cava (€16) is a brut beauty, even at a hefty margin. This seems to be the case everywhere these days, but we did spot some names that (slightly) undercut Bar Pez , so that's something. House cocktails are on the punchier side at €15 a serve, though there’s enough novelty in the likes of Kerrygold-washed whiskey and onion syrup to turn heads. Happy to see Wicklow’s Móinéir wines in the running we sampled a 'Strawberry Silk Road', and found its Saint Germain pushed things just a little too sweet. How was the service? Parachuting the Kicky’s model into the Bang business brings the advantage of two well-oiled machines in perfect harmony – there wasn’t a hiccup here. With the staff keen to know everything is landing right in the first few weeks, we won’t begrudge the immediate check-ins after every (no, really every ) first bite. Despite the inevitable public transport hurdles at the first hint of rain holding one of us up well into our reservation time, we’d never have known from our unrushed treatment that time was ticking down to the next booking. In a city where such things happen a lot, a little understanding goes a long way. What should we budget? Wining and dining to your heart’s – if not your belt buckle’s – content will see you rack up a €150-€200 bill for a table of two easily, especially with a better bottle. On the dry, you could have a shared main and side, two of the small plates and that all-important escabeche for closer to €40 a head. But life’s too short to be spent staring longingly at the food you didn’t order. Our advice is to round up a gang and get as close to ordering the lot as you can. What’s the verdict on Bang? If you're anything like us your meal here will end with a defeated whimper rather than a Bang, as heavy-lidded eyes proven bigger than now bulging bellies look hopefully upon ice cold digestifs planted down before us to soften the bill's blow. In Spain they call the post-prandial lingering over drinks "sobremesa", meaning "over the table", and that's how you're likely to be sprawled after this Spanish feast. This new ode to the flavours and the fulsome hospitality of the Iberian peninsula is totally bang-on. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Un'Altra Pasta Bar Website unaltrapastabarblackrock.ie Address Un Altra Pasta Bar Blackrock, Main Street, Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra

Suertudo Jalisco and Oaxaca small plates set Dublin's newest Mexican apart Posted: 7 Jan 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Suertudo? While Ranelagh stalwart Dillinger’s surprise closure back in November was leapt on by some with a point to belabour as yet more evidence of the sky falling in on the hospitality market, it’s actually more indicative of the industry’s invention than of a VAT-based doomsday staring it in the face. John Farrell’s flagship brand kicked off his now-sprawling empire ( 777 , Amy Austin and The Butcher Grill among others) back in 2009, so its shuttering might have seemed like the writing on the wall for one of Dublin’s most serially successful restaurateurs, but a quick pivot showed yet another trick tucked up his sleeve. A more cynical critique might see Suertudo as cashing in on a Mexican wave that’s swept across the city in the last 12-ish months, culminating in Parrilla popping up just around the corner. Given that Farrell got in on the ground floor with 777 back in 2012, and that wine bar Amy Austin 's small plates have been given the Mexico city treatment by Executive Chef Victor Lara, that's not the case here. Lara is also over the food at Suertudo, joined by Mexico City-trained Celina Altamirano, to make up a menu inspired by their respective homesteads of Jalisco and Oaxaca. Where should we sit? The left wall as you enter is flanked by four high and then six low two-tops, set to be cobbled together for any config of parties that may wander their way in - groups will be most at home here. A little nook inside the right window hosts a cosy high-top for five and a three-seater window ledge - if your idea of a dry January is hiding from the rain with a drink, this is the place to be. The wraparound bar’s dozen-ish places would make a fine pick for an evening perch, with spillover kitchen space meaning you’ll have plenty of action to watch as the place fills up. The only spot we’d avoid is a tiny table tucked right in the back corner, far too compact for comfort. What’s on the menu? We slipped in for Suertudo’s new(er) brunch-lunch offering available Thursdays to Sundays, which mixes and matches several of its evening plates with a few lighter bites catering to earlier-in-the-day appetites. Guacamole is a typical first port of call for any new Mexican arrival, and an early indication of how it stacks up to the ever-growing competition, but if you're only having one dip with chips, make it the camotito. This gorgeous plate of sweet potato purée has a smoothness and sweetness we couldn't get enough of, complicated in taste and texture by the smoky-spicy salsa macha, a flavour feast that plays like a Mexican chilli crisp. It comes in at top-tier value of €6 for the plate, better for your pocket as well as your palate than the €10 guac - avocados are pricier than sweet potatoes in fairness. That’s a match for the price point at Parrilla , and while the serving there seemed slightly more generous to us (and they add two house salsas to the mix), the quality here swings it even before the tortilla chips are taken into account. Unlike the local competition, Suertudo’s are made in-house from Altamirano’s own masa, a difference you can taste every step of the way. A delicate dusting of punchy spiced salt seals the deal. It's just as well the chips are top class, because we faced more in the form of chilaquiles - it really is a wise move to only get one of the sharing starters. The Mexican breakfast dish is a classic for good cause, intense savoury flavour coursing through every drop of the simmered salsa roja and chicken broth - expect to beg for a spoon to scoop up the last of it. The variously crispy and soggy textures of the chips play well off the piled-high shredded chicken, but this dish is all about that sauce. Its stark saltiness is tempered by crumbled queso fresco and drizzled sour cream, cut through by raw rings of onion. The citrus-spice smack of adobo rojo is the star of the pescado zarandeado, a thick fillet of seabream smothered in sauce and cooked to a just-blackening coat over the charcoal grill. Fresh fish and full flavours are always a winning combination and this is a textbook example, as well as a welcome lighter bite after all the heaving heaviness that came before. Plantain cream on the side does a solid tempering job, while the pickled pink onions have much more than just colour to bring to the feast. We're not known for our ability to pass up lamb birria tacos, with shoulder slow-cooked to a fall-apart texture, served alongside a consommé made of its juices. This Jalisco specialty is wanton to its core, the kind of plate best left ‘til last - you'll be in need of washing your hands, never mind in no state to manage any more food for a while. Beware the great gush of meat juice that’s liable to come spilling from these, lest the meaty goodness go wasted - at €19 per plate, you will not be wanting to miss a drop. Lamb lovers will, and should, devour these, but the consommé can’t compare to the one we tried at Tacos Lupillo (a dish in its own right rather than dip as here, to be fair). Once you’ve had some time to recover, the arroz con leche is a welcome ending to say adios on, though skipping it is a safer bet than anything else we tried. This Mexican take on rice pudding has the concentrated caramel tang of a dulce de leche foam that froths up over the dish if you don’t dig in quick enough. Regular ol’ popcorn propped on top struck us as a shame - a caramelised kind might have better fitted the vibe. What are the drinks like? Cocktails aside, the drinks listings are strangely nondescript with nothing more than the likes of “Rioja Crianza” or “Mexican beer” to clue you in to what’s in store. The tequila and mezcal options claim “brands you can’t find anywhere in Ireland and most of Europe”, though people who know more than us have cast a sceptical eye on that claim. Margaritas are another must-compare item, and Suertudo’s ticked the box just-so with nothing much to lift it above average - we expected more oomph. The smoke-scented Swashbuckler found better favour, with top marks for a mix where Frangelico really works - Tia Maria and mezcal were not what we’d have banked on as the best bedfellows. Te Quila Mockingbird makes hay with the syrup sweetness of grilled pineapple to balance out a bitter mix of Campari and lime - this is exactly the kind of sip-it-and-sigh-with-satisfaction sensation we felt missing in the marg. Lollapalooza comes out in a glass so tall and thin we were terrified of toppling it, but the spicy-sharp mix of tequila, grapefruit and jalapeño goes a long way to steeling those nerves. How was the service? The first week of the year is not a good time to gauge how any new venue is likely to act under pressure, but we were struck by the skill with which our server sailed through the menu, describing every dish with ease - there’s been proper investment in training here. We were impressed too by the speedy delivery of everything, though between a blustery January day and being the last lunch cover the kitchen had to worry about, they weren't under pressure. If there's been any teething issues in opening at the busiest time of the year, word has yet to reach our ears. And the damage? €139 for two rounds of cocktails and enough of a late lunch to see dinner skipped altogether. That’s a big step up in price from the more casual new entrants in Dublin’s Mexican market, but close to bang-on the mark for what we spent at Parrilla . We’d have to hand it to Suertudo for bringing better value. What’s the verdict on Suertudo? Suertudo is Spanish for “the lucky one”, and while Farrell might have chosen that name to pay tribute to the firstborn that started it all, everyone knows it takes a lot more than luck to keep pace with the changing trends and challenges in the restaurant scene. This remaking has what’s needed in spades - a new arrival that shows even crowded markets have space for invention. Ceding prime real estate and a well-established brand to a concept that’s not short on competition is less cashing-in on a trend, than the kind of bold move we badly need more of around town. Who knows what might happen if more places trust talented chefs to go where their skills are. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

When you want a good steak, start with a good butcher. The FX Buckley brand started life as a butcher shop in the 1930's and now operates a small chain of shops and restaurants across Dublin. Offering classic steakhouse vibes with leather banquette seating, heavy wooden furniture and moody artwork, the menu is meaty and the steaks are cooked over charcoal. Although they have a few locations, our pick for the best atmosphere is the Crow Street FXB in Temple Bar. FX Buckley Crow Street Website thebuckleycollection.ie Address 2 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story When you want a good steak, start with a good butcher. The FX Buckley brand started life as a butcher shop in the 1930's and now operates a small chain of shops and restaurants across Dublin. Offering classic steakhouse vibes with leather banquette seating, heavy wooden furniture and moody artwork, the menu is meaty and the steaks are cooked over charcoal. Although they have a few locations, our pick for the best atmosphere is the Crow Street FXB in Temple Bar. Where It's At Nearby Locales Yibu by Janet Little Canton Dak @ Bar Anam Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra