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Virtuous eating to cleanse away the weekend’s excesses from vegetable-obsessed brothers Jack and Theo Kirwan. Eating well while caring for the environment seem to be their life's purpose, and they're even growing some of their own produce on the Sprout farm in Kildare, meaning it gets to customers' plates faster and fresher. Salads are so colourful and vibrant they're almost bursting from the plate, and change with the seasons. Sprout Exchequer Street Website sproutfoodco.com Address 19 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Virtuous eating to cleanse away the weekend’s excesses from vegetable-obsessed brothers Jack and Theo Kirwan. Eating well while caring for the environment seem to be their life's purpose, and they're even growing some of their own produce on the Sprout farm in Kildare, meaning it gets to customers' plates faster and fresher. Salads are so colourful and vibrant they're almost bursting from the plate, and change with the seasons. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Sister restaurant of the highly regarded Ka Shing on Wicklow Street, specialising in the same top quality dim sum. The location next to McDonalds might not be as glamourous as its city centre sibling (opposite Brown Thomas), but the cheung fun, dumplings and pork BBQ buns will make you forget you're eating on the outskirts of a shopping centre. There’s a Cantonese menu too playing all the greatest hits in an elegantly appointment room upstairs, and unusually for an Irish-Chinese restaurant, desserts are worth sticking around for. Kaizen Website kaizenrestaurant.ie Address Kaizen Chinese Restaurant 嘉盛樓, Blanchardstown Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Sister restaurant of the highly regarded Ka Shing on Wicklow Street, specialising in the same top quality dim sum. The location next to McDonalds might not be as glamourous as its city centre sibling (opposite Brown Thomas), but the cheung fun, dumplings and pork BBQ buns will make you forget you're eating on the outskirts of a shopping centre. There’s a Cantonese menu too playing all the greatest hits in an elegantly appointment room upstairs, and unusually for an Irish-Chinese restaurant, desserts are worth sticking around for. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Amy Austin More Michelin-star than city centre wine bar, with prices and portions to match Posted: 5 Mar 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story with Amy Austin? Amy Austin , or "the wine bar in the carpark" was a long time coming. Teasers started in April 2019, and it was a full 10 months before the door swung open in February 2020 ( excellent timing eh ?) with some eye-raising marketing and Note owner/head chef Essa Fakhry in the kitchen. As with all businesses in 2020 trading was stop start, so it took a while to build up an audience, but they soon got a name for wine on tap, interesting small plates and being a good place to drop into when you didn't have a booking. (Amy Austin) We tried it in summer 2022 and liked the vibe without finding the food overly memorable, but the buzz has been building ever since, with diners and critics seeming to think that head chef Victor Lara has come into his own when it comes to flavour on his plates. Michelin came, went, and agreed, as they awarded them a much coveted Bib Gourmand in the 2024 guide (joining restaurants like Uno Mas and Spitalfields). It felt like time for a revisit. Where should we sit? It's a compact space with the choice between a couple of tables in the middle of the room (for two + people, the set up can be changed depending on bookings) or counter seating around the outside. (Amy Austin) We love a good window street, staring out all the Drury Street passers by, but you could go closer to the open kitchen too for some live fire action. What's the menu like? This is a small plates only zone, and boy are those plates small. We wouldn't advise bringing anyone here who's looking for "a feed", but if you just want a few bites without feeling stuffed, are more interested in drinks, or are going with with people who don't like being rolled out after dinner, head on in. Bear in mind though that there's a minimum order. This is not currently on their website, but when we got there saw the red small print on the bottom of our menus: " we'd like to remind you that for dinner service there's a minimum order of one snack and two mains per person." That equates to a minimum of €40 a head on food. Snacks are priced from €8-9 (bread and black garlic butter is €6), and you get exactly two bites in each. A shimeji mushroom tartlet with mushroom mousse came in a crisp, buttery shell. with snipped chives to lift the rich, savory flavours. Shimeji is tying with enoki for our favourite mushroom right now, and if you feel the same you can walk one minute away to Asia Market and pick up some to try at home (shimeji fried in butter on the side of scrambled eggs is a game changer). We tried their black cod fritters on our last visit, but these ones were a different creature. While the last were unpleasantly gloopy and lacking in flavour, these had a crisp shell and a fish-filled interior, and a zippy pink pickled ginger dip that we've spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about ever since. The only issue was that there weren't enough of them, and €9 for two small bites may hurt, but black cod (or sablefish) is a lot more expensive than white cod (and no relation), so you can presume that's the reason why. Amy Austin's langoustine tail is the most beautiful thing we've eaten in 2024, and while €15 for a single prawn might have you feeling weak, we'll go out on a limb and say this one's worth it. It came barely charred, lying on a mignonette-meets XO base, with ikura (salmon caviar) on top. Our server poured a watery dressing over the plate, along with some saffron oil from a dropper, and while there's a lot going on, every flavour popped and danced together. Except the grapes. We didn't get the grapes. Torched scallops is another dish we're happy to get behind (€16). They come in a light but creamy chestnut velouté, with little cubes of apples throughout. It's topped with Champagne foam and lumpfish caviar, and tasted more like something from a (very good) Michelin-starred restaurant than a city centre wine bar. You get six pieces of scallop, but it felt like three sliced across the middle - more thin than chunky. You don't see the ultra complex, ultra time-consuming mole negro on menus here very often (take a deep dive here ), so we had to order it here with beef cheek. A small mound of beef no larger than the palm of a (small) hand came in a puddle of mole, with four unadvertised, homemade corn tortillas on the side. It's another great dish, the mole deep with flavour, the meat melting from a long, slow cook, but for €20 we expected more of it - there wasn't nearly enough meat and mole to even lightly fill all four tacos. Black bean tamales (€14) is another dish we reckon helped bag them that Bib Gourmand, and a magically different take on the Mexican corn-based dough, traditionally steamed in corn husks. Here three chewy little corn cakes come with chilli oil in their centre on top, scattered with coriander all around. Dig a spoon in and you'll uncover a cheesy corn and black bean filling underneath. Whoever came up with this one can deservedly gloat about it. For dessert we almost swayed away from the burnt cheesecake (€9), expecting a hulking big slice of the Basque variety, but not to worry. The usual portion size applies, and the little sliver we got would be difficult to share between more than two, even if you just wanted a bite. The good news is it's another kitchen victory, with a light blue cheese base (we couldn't taste the blue), a bright, intense guava sauce, and 'lera cream', which doesn't seem to exist outside Amy Austin, but is a smoked cream which tastes like it was done the proper way (there's no liquid smoke drops in this kitchen). What about drinks? When Amy Austin opened it was all about the wine on tap, with 16 options including a few aperitifs by the glass. That's been very scaled back now, and we were disappointed to find that half of the wines on their big yellow light box weren't available anymore. There were just three whites and three reds by the glass, none earth shattering, but the Casa Monte Pio Albariño and the Château Pesquié were pleasant and worked well with the majority of the food. There are a further 25 wines by the bottle, with some top producers like Suertes del Marques, Domaine Gramenon, and Steve Matthiasson. There are also seven signature cocktails, priced from €11-€13, which feels like decent value for Dublin right now. We tried the Amy Cherry Sgroppino, with morello cherry, Campari, saffron and sparkling wine, and it was tart and nicely sour, with a ball of cherry sorbet slowing melting within. An ideal first drink of the day and a nice appetite sharpener. How was the service? Pleasant but could have been more energetic. There was no major hospitality, and a few times we were left without cutlery and drinks, having to wave for service - is there anything to make you feel like more of a tool? We also could have done without a very loud food processor on high for several minutes in the middle of the open kitchen. There's a time and place to drown out room conversation and it's pre and post-service. What was the damage? €125 for two with three drinks, before tip, and you can't add a tip onto the bill if paying by card. You can either leave cash, or pay one via a QR code which takes you to a Stripe website, and you have to pay a small fee for the privilege. It's clunky, and will be a bit of a pain for anyone who's entertaining and expensing the bill, and just wants one receipt. What's the verdict? We're not sure many people entering the wine bar in the carpark (with the barely dressed model in a cowgirl hat on the bathroom wall) will be expecting the food to be at this high a level. The thought, execution and presentation of some of these dishes is more akin to Michelin-starred dining than wine bar sharing plates. That's why the prices and portion sizes might come as a shock, but if you can reframe your brain about what to expect before entering (and maybe bulk up your order with some cheese, charcuterie and bread), you'll probably leave thinking this is some of the most interesting food in the city right now. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The second opening from the Las Tapas de Lola team is its more grown-up, bodega-style sister. The narrow, dimly-lit room is the definition of intimate, with half the seats at the bar, and the menu of snacks, starters, mains and desserts is ultra-appealing. Despite the bodega comparisons they're keen to stress that it's not a tapas bar where you can sit nibbling small plates and sherry, but it's ideal for dates and special occasions when you want to go all out. La Gordita Website lagordita.ie Address La Gordita, Montague Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The second opening from the Las Tapas de Lola team is its more grown-up, bodega-style sister. The narrow, dimly-lit room is the definition of intimate, with half the seats at the bar, and the menu of snacks, starters, mains and desserts is ultra-appealing. Despite the bodega comparisons they're keen to stress that it's not a tapas bar where you can sit nibbling small plates and sherry, but it's ideal for dates and special occasions when you want to go all out. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Hakkahan The Man from Hakka comes to the 'Batter Posted: 12 Oct 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Every now and then a new restaurant opens with no website, and no information (like pesky menus and openings hours) on their social media channels, and generally this is when our eagle-eyed readers slide into our DMs looking for the scéal. This is what happened in June when brightly coloured Hakkahan opened on Stoneybatter's main street, and other than a menu in the window potential diners had little to go off, but those brave enough to venture in sight unseen seemed to be leaving very happy. Hakkahan means "the man from Hakka" (where owner Ryon Wen is from), but head chef Terry Yang is from the Sichaun province, and they describe the food here as "purely Sichuan". This may be disappointing to anyone who knows their way around Chinese cuisines and who was expecting traditional Hakka dishes like salt-baked chicken or yam abacus - they say it's extremely difficult to find a chef from the region in Ireland. Yang previously worked at China Sichuan and Mak at D6, and we were immediately impressed by their declaration of wanting to use the best local ingredients in their dishes. Where should we sit? Indoor tables are aligned against one wall, but there is more space at the back that presumably could be filled if things get busier. If you're still a bit Covid-cautious the outdoor tables are fine with the umbrellas up (they come down in windy conditions), although it does feel a bit treacherous to have your back to the traffic whipping up and down the road. You certainly wouldn't want to leave your bag at your feet - but that goes for all outdoor dining. What's the food like? Menus with too many dishes make us feel confused, indecisive, and like we're missing out on something, so we like Hakkahan's relatively concise menu, with 'house dumplings', 'small chow', mains and sides. Also, they had us at the whole section for dumplings. There's not much provenance information on the menu but they told us that duck is from Silverhill, chicken is free-range from Manor Farm, meats are from FX Buckley, and fresh fish is delivered each morning from Every Day Seafood. Most of their organic vegetables come from The Green Grocer next door, and at these prices, putting this much care into sourcing deserves a bualadh bos. Of the six dumplings on the menu we tried three, and 100% would eat again. The scallop with yuzu soya sauce gained points for having proper juicy pieces of scallop in there, and lost points for having an ever so slightly slimy texture inside. The wrappers are thick but we didn't mind, it gave them more of a chew, and we liked the uneven, handmade quality of them. We enjoyed the roast duck with hoisin sauce a lot (a crispy pancake in dumpling form), but our favourites were the beef siu mai, which were crispy and chewy in every bite - we're guessing some deep-frying may have been involved here, and wouldn't change a thing. From the small chow we're still obsessively thinking about the salt and pepper fresh squid (note the used of the word fresh). Tender squid, a perfectly thin non-greasy batter, crunchy onions, scallions, chillies - it's the version of this dish you wish your local Chinese did, but they don't. Sourdough prawn toast was another exemplary version of an all too often annihilated dish, with big chunks of prawns, crispy edges and yuzu mayonnaise for dipping. Pork yuk sung is another dish that's all too often given a bad name by a greasy Chinese, but the one at Hakkahan is a world away, with fresh lettuce cups, fragrant pork and crispy rice noodles underneath. It has a decent amount of heat but nothing that will blow your head off, but we did find ours quite salty. For a kick in the tastebuds, the Pai Huang Gua (spicy smashed cucumber) will numb your mouth and have you asking for a water refill, but you'll still keep eating it. There's garlic, sesame seeds, chilli oil and a lot of fresh chillies in here, and if you're a spice fiend don't miss this. For mains we really wanted to try the black pepper short rib of beef, with ginger, garlic, onion, porcini mushrooms and chilies, but they'd run out. Devastating, but also a sign of freshness - if you try it let us know if it tastes as good as it sounds. We'd seen many a post about the Silverhill basil duck with scallions, garlic and chillies, and this is a must-try when you visit. Silverhill is amongst the best duck being reared in the country, and the very generous portion of tender, crispy meat with perfumed Thai basil, crunchy onions and chillis will bring us back to Stoneybatter again. We also tried the Mala spicy lamb, which had the first notable signs of those lip-numbing Sichuan peppercorns. This was a bit of a table splitter. The flavours were deep and the lamb delicious, but there was a lot of oil and gloop as it sat, which may put some people off. Nice to try, probably wouldn't reorder. For sides we went with steamed rice and Chinese scallion bread, the latter of which we were so interested to try but was a bit of a disappointment, the pancakes being hard and overly chewy, as if they'd been cooked earlier and reheated. Maybe it was a one off, as we've seen other people praising them online. They also do fried rice with pork char siu and vegetables, and stir-fried noodles, and sides are free with mains at lunchtime every day, which is incredible value considering how well priced the food is already. There's only one dessert - hand-made Nutella rice balls (mochi) with vanilla ice-cream. It does the job and the mochi themselves are very good, but we're perplexed at how many Asian restaurants feel the need to jam Nutella into dessert, unless there's a big cocoa and hazelnut factory in Sichuan province that we're not aware of. We would have much prepared mochi filled with something fruit based and less cloying, but younger diners will probably eat their basil duck quicker knowing this is at the end. What about the drinks? It's a constant source of head scratching that the majority of Asian restaurants don't put more effort into their drinks list. Surely it's as important a source of income for them as it is for other restaurants? The offering here is predictably humdrum, with "house white", "house red", "rose" and "prosecco". Hard pass. They have said that they're expanding their wine list shortly and bringing a few more suppliers on board, so we hope there will be something to entice us next time. And the service? Friendly if a little restrained. The outside tables definitely had to do a bit more waving to get a menu/order food and drinks/ask for the bill, but that was most probably down to there being only one server for the whole restaurant. And the damage? Lunch for three (with no drinks) came to the bargain price of €60, but two sides were free because of the lunch deal. They don't do takeaway because the chef wants his food to be eaten fresh (respect), but they will give you containers for any leftovers. The verdict? Hakkahan is not in the same bracket as your local Chinese, it's a serious cut above. The food is fresh, the provenance is admirable, and you'll feel more invigorated than inactive after eating it. Bring a gang, over order, eat all the food, leave feeling great about life. Hakkahan 32 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 www.instagram.com/hakkahan_dublin New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Clanbrassil House A new kitchen team, bistro vibes and people-watching in D8 Posted: 26 Oct 2021 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Clanbrassil House was opened in 2017 by Bastible owners Barry and Clare-Marie Fitzgerald, as a more laid back, neighborhood spot for small plates and wine. It rose up the Dublin restaurant charts rapidly with Gráinne O'Keefe (now head chef/owner of Mae in Ballsbridge) cooking with fire in the kitchen and earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand , and dishes like their hot smoked trout, rib-eye steaks and infamous hash brown fries were soon appearing on every social media feed you own. Covid upended most restaurants in the city (and the rest), and when O'Keefe announced in May she was going solo with her own restaurant, we weren't sure what was going to happen with Clanbrassil House - would be business as usual or time for a switch up? We started to see glimpses of the new incarnation in July, and whilst initially subtle, there was obviously a more grown up feel starting to emerge from their feeds (and all traces of the old CH have been wiped from their Instagram page ). Soon after it was announced that the new head chef was James Dobson (formerly sous chef at Potager in Skerries, a restaurant we have a whole lot of love for ), and that he'd been joined by David Bradshaw, a chef we've been watching closely since he returned from Lyle's in London during the pandemic - a restaurant we're borderline obsessed with. It sounded like the new Clanbrassil House was in very good hands, so we went to check it out. Where should we sit? The major change in the dining room has been the move from high tables to low, and with the sage walls, exposed brick, wooden floors and barely audible music, there's a neighbourhood Parisian bistro feel about it all. It brought back memories of the much worshipped Le Baratin - right down to the chalkboard menus on the wall. If there are two of you, beg, borrow and steal to get the window seats, which is some of the best people-watching real estate in town. We felt a warm glow at hearing a newborn baby cry in the back - what a great place for exhausted parents in need of a treat to hide out and get a bit of headspace. What's the food like? It's a straightforward affair of snacks, starters, mains and desserts, with two courses for €38 and three for €48. There's also a six course option for €65 which is their choice so unfortunately you can't pick what you want, but might be good if you're feeling indecisive. Of course we ordered all the snacks (always on brand), and a Connemara oyster with smoked poblano pepper, tomatillo and prawn shell oil was fresh, full of flavour and beautifully presented. In the most exciting dough-based news since Scéal started Pastry Bae Thursdays , Bastible's fermented potato bread with cultured butter is now available at its sister restaurant. Genius move, genius bread. Don't leave without having ordered it or we'll be really mad at you. You may not have come across salsify before (a delicate-tasting white root vegetable that's part of the dandelion family), so it was a welcome sight to see it here in a light, crispy tempura batter with a zippy burnt lemon and chilli dip. This was such an elegant, different opener to a meal, and it's made us wish more chefs were using it (although this example was particularly good). Our first starter was a delicate, fragrant broth with roasted onion tortellini, girolles and tarragon. Less of a flavour slap in the face, more one of those dishes that develops and gets better with every bite. Grown up, restrained but a beauty of a dish, and felt very apt for an Autumnal night looking out at hat and scarf clad pedestrians on Clanbrassil Street. Our other starter of carrots, hazelnuts, house curd and bitter leaves was another beautiful looking dish, but tasted like it was lacking something, and overall felt a bit flat on flavour. More creaminess in the curd and a smack of acid (not that kind) probably would transformed it. A main of BBQ organic pointed cabbage with black garlic, lovage and potato crisp was probably the dish of the night, and would make us sidestep meat every single time. How anyone gets this much flavour into a plate of vegetables and vegetables alone is something that evades us in our own kitchens. The cabbage was swimming in a litany of sauces and swirls, each spoon tasting better than the last, and the crisps ended every bite with a satisfying crunch. Our other main of Salter's pork belly with barley, Hokkaido pumpkin and Szechuan pepper was another slow burner. At the start we were slightly underwhelmed, but as it went on the subtle flavours seemed to open up and become more identifiable, with the barley giving a lovely chew, a deeply flavoured jus underneath, and just the merest hint of Szechuan pepper. A very grown up, sophisticated dish, but the cabbage won for memorability. We're having a bit of a love affair with potatoes recently. The once boring, stomach filler sides seem to be becoming more interesting by the week, and the herby, buttery ones that arrived here were no different. It took all of our efforts to not finish the bowl so that we'd have room for dessert. We'd seen their new dessert of baked cream with fennel and wild blackberries on Instagram and immediately thought of Lyle's in London, so no surprise to find out this was David Bradshaw's creation, and he even foraged the blackberries himself - this is the kind of commitment we reserve internal claps for. It's made with egg whites only so is airy and light, the blackberries have the flavour that you only get from the wild ones (and will probably trigger memories of Granny's jam, Mum's crumbles etc.), and it's topped with a blackberry granita and fennel pollen. We adored it, and it's hard to think of a more perfect Autumn dessert, and a more perfect way to end a meal here. What about the drinks? The wine list here is right up our street, and for the first time in a long time we would have happily drank any bottle from the list. Prices are punchy though, with the cheapest bottle €38 (the lovely but simple Cantine Rallo Ciello Rosso), and margins are generally high. We drank the Fumey Chatelain Arbois Chardonnay (€50) which worked well with all of the dishes, but didn't have as much of the Jura character as we were hoping for. And the service? Very calm and collected, almost like they were performing a ballet. It would be difficult to imagine anyone front or back of house losing their cool in here, it looked like a very well-oiled ship (plus it would echo across the relatively quiet dining room). The head chef also brought a few dishes to the table, which we love because we get to fire a million questions at them about the dish in their hand. And the damage? Around €90 a head for three snacks, two starters, two mains, one dessert, a bottle of wine and two dessert wines. You could eat and drink here for cheaper, but we had a civic duty to take it for a proper spin. The verdict? There's a new Clanbrassil House in town. The lively, fire-filled restaurant has turned into a more grown up, bistro-style affair, with evident talent in the kitchen. Things feel a tiny cautious, albeit with flashes of originality, but often it's softly-softly when it comes to changing up a well-loved concept, and we're extremely interested to see how this one develops over the next few months. They've got the team, the room and judging by the amount of weekend tables already booked up between now and the end of 2021 they've got the clientele, so if you want in here for a pre-Christmas date/friend reunion/work night out, you need to get on it soon. Consider yourself warned. Clanbrassil House 6 Clanbrassil Street Upper, Dublin 8 www.clanbrassilhouse.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

A natural wine shop/bar, model on the type that seem to be on every corner of Paris. You'll find a regularly changing by the glass list on the board above the till, or you can drink anything from the shelf and pay a corkage fee. Iconic cheese toasties and small plates are also available, and you can carry on the party by buying more wine and cheese to take home. Loose Canon Website loosecanon.ie Address 29 Drury Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story A natural wine shop/bar, model on the type that seem to be on every corner of Paris. You'll find a regularly changing by the glass list on the board above the till, or you can drink anything from the shelf and pay a corkage fee. Iconic cheese toasties and small plates are also available, and you can carry on the party by buying more wine and cheese to take home. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Part of chef Joginder Singh's (ex-Jaipur and Kerala Kitchen) mini Indian empire, with other sites in Rialto, Dublin 8, and Blessington, Wicklow. Everything is made fresh on site, and each location offers something slightly different - in Terenure it's the weekend Punjabi breakfast, with a range of dishes to try for €12.99. The evening à la carte has lots of lesser seen recipes, and the early bird is fantastic value. Spice Village Terenure Website spicevillageterenure.ie Address Spice Village Indian Restaurant | Terenure | Dublin, Terenure Road North, Terenure, Dublin 6W, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Part of chef Joginder Singh's (ex-Jaipur and Kerala Kitchen) mini Indian empire, with other sites in Rialto, Dublin 8, and Blessington, Wicklow. Everything is made fresh on site, and each location offers something slightly different - in Terenure it's the weekend Punjabi breakfast, with a range of dishes to try for €12.99. The evening à la carte has lots of lesser seen recipes, and the early bird is fantastic value. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

One of a new wave of modern Irish restaurants currently reinvigorating the city, Old Street was opened in early 2017 by husband and wife Mark and Adriana, who spent eighteen months (and spared no expense) renovating two cottages on Malahide’s Old Street. Seasonal dishes and locally sourced ingredients come from a talented kitchen team, and the hospitality is taken as seriously as the food. Extensive, interesting wine list. Old Street Website oldstreet.ie Address Old Street, Malahide, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story One of a new wave of modern Irish restaurants currently reinvigorating the city, Old Street was opened in early 2017 by husband and wife Mark and Adriana, who spent eighteen months (and spared no expense) renovating two cottages on Malahide’s Old Street. Seasonal dishes and locally sourced ingredients come from a talented kitchen team, and the hospitality is taken as seriously as the food. Extensive, interesting wine list. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Potager Ex-Chapter One head chef makes Skerries a food destination Posted: 25 Jun 2019 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? In January this year it was announced that The Red Bank restaurant in Skerries, open since 1983, would close, and the site would be taken over by ex- Chapter One head chef Cathal Leonard and his partner Sarah Ryan. Interested eyebrows were raised, more so as the industry rallied behind them on social media to tell the world what lovely people they were and how great their first solo venture was going to be. Cathal had most recently been working with John Wyer at Forest Avenue , but also worked in UK restaurants like the Michelin-starred Clove Club in London, before coming home and settling into Chapter One. Sarah had been selling fish wholesale to the trade, which is how they met 10 years ago, and Potager has been their dream practically since they met. Despite being one of Dublin's most popular seaside villages, Skerries has been lacking a destination restaurant in recent years. A trip out there at Christmas was less than inspiring, and left us scratching our heads as to why no one was pushing the boat out (sorry). And as if by magic along comes Potager. 'Potager' means kitchen garden, and theirs comprises the wealth of vegetables and fruits being grown in North County Dublin, as well as fish caught locally and meat like Lambay beef from Lambay Island just across the water. They describe the food as modern, Irish and seasonal, built around Irish producers and their ingredients, and with Cathal being originally from Rush just down the road, he was no doubt familiar with the glut of produce in this part of the country, that few places seem to be taking advantage of. All of the pre-opening talk about it being a showcase for local produce made it sound like the type of restaurant we might have dreamed up, so we were full of anticipation heading off on the Dart. Where should we go for a drink first? We would come straight here and have an aperitif in the lovely waiting/bar area. Cosy up beside the fire (in June) with a sherry or an Irish G+T and enjoy a few moments of calm before heading into the dining room on the other side of the building. If you feel like a bit more action you could head into Nealon's a few doors down (who do a great trad session on Wednesdays), or to The Snug around the corner, which might be the most atmospheric (and snug) bar in the town. Where should we sit? The main dining room is down the corridor from the reception/waiting area, and is a good size whilst still feeling intimate. There are also two smaller rooms off the main one, which would be perfect for group dining or celebrations, or if you were looking for a bit more privacy. The room is very well lit despite there not being much natural light, so there will be no issues reading menus or getting those all important photos of your food. What's good to eat? At dinner it's tasting menu only, with a couple of choices to be made throughout. They say it's five courses for €55, but really it was eight when you include the bread (which you should) and the snacks, which for this amount of food at this level of cooking is incredible value. We imagine once the plaudits start coming in the prices will increase, so get in soon if you like bang for your buck. The first thing to arrive is bread, and it was the most perfect bread course we've had in years. A fluffy, white mashed potato bread, and a dense, fermented, crunchy crusted brown bread with pumpkin seeds came with cuinneog butter and ricotta with local lovage pesto. We could have left after this and it would have been a worthwhile trip. After this came snacks of a tapioca cracker with smoked cods roe, and white beetroot rolled and stuffed with more beetroot, walnut and mint. The cracker was the winner when it came to flavour, but both were interesting single bite snacks. Usually soup does little to get us worked up, but the next miniature course of potato soup with herbs, thickened cream and dehydrated bacon was about as exciting as liquid vegetables can get. We desperately scraped out every last drop out until becoming aware that we were probably disrupting the other diners. The next course of cured, then torched red mullet (a severely under used fish), in a red mullet sauce, with rush tomatoes, tomato jelly, tomato powder, basil and frozen buttermilk was probably the dish of the night, and one of those experience elevating plates of food that makes you wonder how a person even begins to put these flavours and textures together to create something with the ability to totally silence those eating it. After that came another highlight, and a curve ball in the form of strong blue cheese midway through a meal. A cashel blue cheese mousse sat on top of very finely chopped celery and apple, with apple jelly and pickled walnuts. So unusual, so dynamic, so insanely delicious. Then came a dish that we've thought or talked about daily since eating it - charred octopus with roasted cauliflower, Drummond House elephant garlic, and a milk and seed crumb. The garlic heightened everything without taking over, and the charred octopus tentacle was meltingly tender. There had been so much flavour by this point that our heads were spinning, in the best possible way. After that sensory rollercoaster it was onto the mains, and on the night there were two choices, both of which we tried. Hake came with broad beans, lemon confit, smoked mussells, samphire and Ballymakenny pink potatoes, while Aylesbury duck breast came with braised duck leg, cabbage and baby turnip. Both were faultlessly cooked plates of food, the hake probably winning it for us, but they somewhat lacked the excitement of everything that had come before. We wondered if they felt pressure to put on "a proper main course" for locals and former regulars, rather than continuing the theme of small and explosive. Dessert choices come on a separate menu with options for tea, coffee, dessert wine or any other after dinner drink you might want. Again there were two choices, and again both were eye-widening. A smoked chocolate mousse (genius) came on top of beetroot and cherries, with vanilla ice-cream in the centre and puffed spelt berries. Apparently Cathal has a thing about putting vegetables into desserts, and anyone that can do that and have us dreaming of eating it again is very talented. Another scraping the bowl scenario. The other dessert of set sheep's yoghurt from Velvet Cloud , came with the sweetest local strawberries, strawberry tea, strawberry sorbet, shortbread and burnt white chocolate, and it's hard to think of a more perfect, more delicious, Irish dessert at this time of year. And the drinks? The wine cellar is in the old bank vault, which must make it one of the coolest in the city, and they're fine for you to stick your head in and look around. There's a decent sized wine list with some real finds on there and they're working with great wine importers, but it's clear that there's no sommelier to refine it and give it a personality unique to the restaurant - they are looking for someone though. Servers were not versed on the list, so if you want a recommendation find Sarah the owner who will be happy to chat and talk through the options. They've played it very safe with the by the glass list, and the choices won't do much to excite wine lovers, but there's lots to try by the bottle with some really unusual options, and they do have plans to expand and change the wine list over the coming months. We had a really interesting white wine from Savoie in France made from the Jacquère grape - new one on us - and it was complex enough to cope with all of the flavours without over powering anything. And the service? Owner Sarah is a natural host, very generous with her time and clearly at ease working her way around the room making sure everyone is looked after. The chefs brought most of the dishes to the table, which is something we wish more restaurants did, giving us an in depth overview of what we were about to eat, but the few times that servers brought one (clearly as the kitchen was under pressure) they didn't know what they were bringing, and a chef ended up having to come out anyway. Things were very smooth and excellently paced up until the mains, which we had an abnormally long wait for, with no communication from staff about what the delay was. They did take two drinks off by way of apology at the end, but there were a few other issues that weren't dealt with as quickly or as fuss-free as they should have been. We think they're aware that service needs tightening and would be surprised if this isn't top of the agenda over the coming weeks. The verdict? There are a lot of panicked voices at the moment in Dublin about restaurant closures and how it's "carnage out there", but the reality is that most restaurants don't work out because they're missing a certain magic that makes it somewhere that people are desperate to eat in. Potager has that magic and feels like two people who've laid everything on the line to create their perfect restaurant, a chef who's finally been able to fully unleash his own creativity after years working for other people, and now it's exploding onto plates into Skerries. There is no doubt that this is a place that's going to get people very excited to get off their bums and go for dinner, and that's how you survive in a competitive restaurant market. Add to this that the menu seems to be changing daily and we're going to struggle to fight the temptation to hop back on the Dart on a weekly basis due to crippling FOMO. Potager 7 Church Street, Skerries, Co. Dublin potager.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Yumgrub The Two Minute Review: Posted: 5 Sept 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Yumgrub? Previously located in Ballybrack’s Village Yard before its sudden closurescuppered things, plant-based fast food “filth” purveyors Yumgrub have now setup shop in Grand Canal Dock’s The Place , alongside fellow food trucks Pastiamo , Tacoman , Dosa Dosa and The Drunken Cookie . The all-vegan menu is packed with Beyond Meat burgers, chick*n rolls, tofu baconand loaded fries, and we’d heard just enough positive word to want to get downto check it out for ourselves. What should we have? We might have expected to walk away from Yumgrub raving about one burger oranother, but actually it’s the nachos we can’t shut up about: slathered in a rich and creamy vegan queso, these well-loaded tortilla chips happily hold their own with the standard competition. Where meat alternatives have come along in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, plant-based cheeses are often lagging far behind. Yumgrub’s concoction gets it spot-on with a sharp, tangy tastiness that’s nigh-on impossibleto distinguish from the real thing. Well-seasoned guac and a piquant pico de gallo have just the right acidic kick to balance out the gooey, cheesy goodness. Had we known in advance just how moreish that queso was going to be we’d have gone for a helping of cheeze-loaded fries too – we make these mistakes so you don’t have to. Instead we went for the little-bit-of-everything Grub Box to give us a few little tasters. It’s a substantial serving of food anchored in the perfectly crispy skin-on fries, but we found the overly thin chick*n strips a little disappointingly bland in isolation – it’s easy to imagine one of the sauce-laden chick*n burgers being a more well-rounded vehicle for the breaded Seitan, with other ingredients giving it a chance to work in concert. We’d been really curious to try the “Mac ‘n’ Cheeni”, suspect though the pun may be, and while the textural contrast of crispy breadcrumbs, oozing cheeze and al dente pasta makes for a mighty mouthful, the filling was just a touch too under-seasoned to really resonate beyond that initial bite. We rounded things out with a Cowboi burger, and there’s no doubting the BeyondMeat patty looks the part, slathered with melted cheeze and topped with a messymound of caramelised onion and BBQ sauce – that’s no complaint. Texture and flavour is on-point too, with crisped edges and a juicy interior making this a spot-on replica: vegan converts craving the nostalgia value of a dirty burger will be well-served here. The only slight drawback is the tofu “bacon”, too subtly flavoured and softly textured to stand out from the crowd in this busy stack. Why should I go? Dublin’s still a bit short-changed when it comes to decent vegan fast food – especially since the late lamented Vegan Sandwich Co. shut up shop – so those craving just that will be happy to discover Yumgrub. The slot at The Place also makes it a perfect compromise pick for mixed groups of vegans and carnivores unwilling to go without, though they might well be tempted to try it once they see how good it all looks. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The all-in menu at Lucky Tortoise in Temple Bar (and in their original Aungier Street site) is some of the best value in Dublin, with plate after plate of banchan, okonomiyaki and dumplings meaning you can try it all and still have change from €30. There's a vegan version too. Lucky Tortoise Temple Bar Website luckytortoise.ie Address 17B Asdill's Row, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The all-in menu at Lucky Tortoise in Temple Bar (and in their original Aungier Street site) is some of the best value in Dublin, with plate after plate of banchan, okonomiyaki and dumplings meaning you can try it all and still have change from €30. There's a vegan version too. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Romain Tessier's Arty Baker stole hearts and Instagram feeds with his stand at Sandycove Store and Yard, before going permanent with his first shop and bakery in Dalkey. Get there early for sourdough loaves, chocolate raspberry cruffins, and jalapeno popper croissants. Arty Baker Website artybaker.com Address 20A Castle Street, Dalkey, County Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Romain Tessier's Arty Baker stole hearts and Instagram feeds with his stand at Sandycove Store and Yard, before going permanent with his first shop and bakery in Dalkey. Get there early for sourdough loaves, chocolate raspberry cruffins, and jalapeno popper croissants. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Izakaya Japas & Sake Class-act cocktails and diverse sharing plates, but not the sushi we're searching for Posted: 3 Oct 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What's the story with Izakaya Japas & Sake? Probably the most common query we receive via ATF Answers – our Insiders-only direct line to advice on eating out – is some variation on where's the best place to get great Japanese food in Dublin. Sadly, friends, we’re largely as bereft as you: despite its capital status, Dublin has lagged behind both Galway (with Wa Sushi ) and Cork (with Miyazaki and the Michelin-starred Ichigo Ichie ) for far too long, with only a handful of passable options studded around the city. The recent arrival of Matsukawa has thankfully (finally!) set a new Dublin bar, but between the €90 price tag and its being booked out clean through to the end of the year, it’s not much help to the casual diner looking for a sushi fix on short notice. So off we went to size up Yamamori Izakaya Japas & Sake after hearing increasingly positive grunts around town, and letting ATF Insiders pick our next review. It's one of the longstanding local chain mini-empire of outlets, open on George’s Street and in recent years pushing itself more and more as a traditional take on the casual Japanese sake and snacks bar. Where should we sit? The Victorian building’s high ceilings and a whole host of nooks and crannies give Izakaya a cavernous feeling that, even if the place is packed to bursting, lets its little corners feel nicely intimate. The sectioned bar seats are just a little too poky for our tastes but otherwise you can’t go far wrong from the main dining space spread with leather-backed booths and high tables and a window-side area with prime people-watching potential onto George’s Street. There’s also a downstairs dining room that was empty on our Friday night visit – it’s probably kept aside for brunch spillovers. What did you eat? Traditional izakayas are usually just as much, maybe more, about the drinking as the eating, so options here are broadly pretty simple, broken into sections of sashimi, nigiri, sushi platters, chef’s specials, and “Japas” – Japanese tapas. The vibe is very casual, with every opportunity to order a few dishes to start, and dip back in as and when it takes your fancy. We started with (complimentary – it’s the little things) edamame, fresh and firm beans in coarse-grain salted pods: the vigorous steam rising from the bowl is a good promise that things will be coming out fast and furious. We skipped past sashimi and went straight in with three nigiri, all served in prettily-plated pairs topped with edible flowers and paired, as per, with a ribbon of ginger and blob of wasabi – these are plates that look the part. The spiced hamachi was a solid start, the mild fatty fish given a gentle kick with duelling sauces of togarashi-based shichimi and citrusy-soy tataki: we might have preferred a more assertive spice, but it’s a matter of taste. Unagi foie gras was always going to need to be tried, roasted slivers of eel topped with a torched smear of liver paté. The slightly bitter brûlée treatment brings an interesting taste and texture to a bite that’s skirting excess richness with the butteriness of both meats – the combo makes for an off-beat interlude, if never quite the showstopper we might have hoped on first sight. The otoro – or bluefin tuna belly, among the most prized of sushi fish cuts – kept things suitably simple with a little smear of wasabi mayo, and while the marbled meat’s saltwater taste attested a freshness, we’ve had substantially better iterations of this elsewhere (not least just recently in Matsukawa). At €15.50 for the plate, this one’s a bit of a letdown. On the level of fundamentals across the three nigiri, there are a few tell-tale drawbacks that hold Izakaya back from being the answer we wish we could give to everyone’s Dublin sushi woes. We found the rice fine but less well seasoned than you should be getting in top-tier sushi rice, while the less said about the grainy, over-processed wasabi paste the better – steer clear. Happily the rest of the menu skewed to a slightly higher standard, with our venture into the chef’s specials a particular standout. These are all norimaki with presentation a major focus, and the ebi dragon we opted for definitely looks the part with plump, juicy katsu prawn wrapped in rice and overlain with thin-sliced avocado, wasabi mayo and capelin roe. You’ll be offered a choice of black or white rice; the black brings a delicate nuttiness that plays well with the sweetness of the prawn and saltiness of the roe. Onward to the Japas options, and we kicked off with takoyaki, the popular Osakan octopus ball snack. There’s good contrast here between the crisp fried exterior and the gooey pancake batter innards studded with chewy diced octopus, but the over-enthusiastic sprinkling of bonito flakes on top slightly dulled the flavour of the sour-sweet tonkatsu sauce. It’s not a bad dish, but there are others around town (hello Kakilang ) doing it better. Gyoza options hadn’t exactly gotten us excited – next to the nigiri, a lot of the Japas menu reads as pretty standard fare – but we gave the yasai option a go for good measure. They came out bearing the tell-tale burnt-bottom signs of a proper pan-frying, and while these crisp undersides give just the right crack as you bite in, the veggie filling is a dud of soggy spinach and soft squash. We’d pass on these. We were on firmer ground with the potato korokke, croquette-style breaded discs of creamy mash with a spot-on golden crust and just the right sprinkling of salt – this is the kind of side snack plate the whole table can agree on. Mileage may vary with the tonkatsu sauce on the side; while it’s flavourful in its own right, we felt these played better with a wasabi mayo. Agedahi nasu – or deep-fried aubergine – arrived in a still-searing pot with the wafting air of dashi broth making its way across the table. The traditional version of this dish uses a Japanese species of aubergine with thinner, more absorbent skins – here, with the more familiar, fatter form of the fruit, the skin still feels slightly rubbery. Thinner slices might have helped. We can’t fault the flavour though, with the scored flesh hiding rich pockets of dashi umami. The seared skin of the 'sea bass & kuro ninniku' is a sight to behold and has the flavour to match: the fish has been cooked in a black garlic butter that gives it a deep, rich, bitter-sweet intensity that’s a joy to savour. Beneath the charred skin, the flesh is soft and succulent with all the buttery goodness it’s known for. This is a standout. Sides of steamed rice are solid, with a varied texture from tempura flakes and sesame seeds keeping it interesting, but given how broadly sauce-free the dishes at Izakaya are, this is one you could easily go without – particularly if you’ve already gone down the norimaki route. With a deeper and nuttier flavour, the black is probably the way to go if you're just looking to get a fix of carbs. What about drinks? Sake is a specialty here with several varieties on the menu, but we’d had a tip that the cocktails are where it’s really at – we’re happy to report it was on the money. The complimentary notes of the Fashioned Brandy and Japanese Old Fashioned highlight the impact of little touches, with the former’s black walnut bitters bringing an earthiness against the apple overtones of the Nikka Days whiskey in the latter. The Toki sour was a knockout, a fresh and sour-sweet mix of Suntory whisky, plum sake, lemongrass syrup and plum bitters topped with a sprinkle of matcha – we loved it. How was the service? Staff are exceptionally friendly and all over the menu – give them your preferences and they’ll give you a very knowing helping hand. Dishes come quick but not overwhelmingly so, and there’s a clear rhythm to the way they'll roll out the next stages according to what you've ordered. The layout of the space can mean you’re waiting a little longer than you’d like to get some attention if you find yourself tucked away in a corner, but service is sharp once you have caught an eye. What was the damage? For a just-right share of food and those rock-solid cocktails, it came to just shy of €70 a head for three of us – that includes a 12.5% service charge added on automatically, something usually only seen in bigger groups. It’s not wildly out of step with expectations in Dublin these days, but it does put Izakaya on a price par with many better options out there. A recently-added brunch menu is much better value, with €35 four-serving cocktail pitchers and a choice of five Japas for €45 (albeit from a much slimmed-down menu) meaning you could eat and drink well for closer to €40 before service – it runs from 1pm to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. What's the verdict? A great place to get sushi it ain’t, but Yamamori Izakaya’s class-act cocktails and diverse selection of sharing plates, never mind its central location and surplus of space, make it a solid choice for group dining. There’s plenty here to suit most dietary needs, and a just-right blend of mainstream and more adventurous choices – if you’re struggling to keep a mixed crowd happy, this might just be the answer for you. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

With restaurants in Greystones and Bray already, the third branch of this Pakistani and Indian restaurant opened in Glasthule in 2021 and immediately gained a following. Their reputation preceded them, and their newest foray is delivering so far. The restaurant sets the mood before you’ve even had a chance to look at a menu, with rich and colourful furnishings in a large and comfortable room. The food itself is traditional, but very well done, and unusually for an Indian restaurant they have a well- developed cocktail menu, so this is a great spot to come with a group of friends. Daata Website daata.ie Address 73 Glasthule Road, Sandycove, Glasthule, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story With restaurants in Greystones and Bray already, the third branch of this Pakistani and Indian restaurant opened in Glasthule in 2021 and immediately gained a following. Their reputation preceded them, and their newest foray is delivering so far. The restaurant sets the mood before you’ve even had a chance to look at a menu, with rich and colourful furnishings in a large and comfortable room. The food itself is traditional, but very well done, and unusually for an Indian restaurant they have a well- developed cocktail menu, so this is a great spot to come with a group of friends. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Brazilian Carlos Sakai started making sushi for friends after moving to Ireland to study English. They told other friends, and soon he was throwing sushi parties, where Carlos and a growing team travelled to people's homes to prepare tuna temaki, deep-fried salmon and prawn rolls, and nutella and kiwi sushi for dessert. Mid-pandemic in 2020 he opened their first permanent site in Phibsboro, and Sushi Sakai feeds a steady flow of customers from open to close. Sushi Sakai Website sushisakaidublin.ie Address 342 North Circular Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Brazilian Carlos Sakai started making sushi for friends after moving to Ireland to study English. They told other friends, and soon he was throwing sushi parties, where Carlos and a growing team travelled to people's homes to prepare tuna temaki, deep-fried salmon and prawn rolls, and nutella and kiwi sushi for dessert. Mid-pandemic in 2020 he opened their first permanent site in Phibsboro, and Sushi Sakai feeds a steady flow of customers from open to close. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

"Food with purpose" is how As One describe themselves, and it's not a meaningless mission statement. The highest levels of care and energy are given to building relationships with the farmers, food makers and producers supplying their ingredients, and in how they serve them to ensure maximum nourishment for their customers. Gut health is big in here so expect all the ferments, whole foods and minimal messing with them. As One Website asone.ie Address Unit 3, 13 - 18 City Quay, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story "Food with purpose" is how As One describe themselves, and it's not a meaningless mission statement. The highest levels of care and energy are given to building relationships with the farmers, food makers and producers supplying their ingredients, and in how they serve them to ensure maximum nourishment for their customers. Gut health is big in here so expect all the ferments, whole foods and minimal messing with them. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Bustling neighbourhood wine bar and shop with a short, daily changing menu for lunch and dinner. Salads, sandwiches and sharing boards are constants, with hot dishes like fish cakes and sausage rolls making regular appearances. One of the best wine selections in Dublin with enthused staff always ready to make recommendations. 64 Wine Website 64wine.ie Address 64 Glasthule Road, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Bustling neighbourhood wine bar and shop with a short, daily changing menu for lunch and dinner. Salads, sandwiches and sharing boards are constants, with hot dishes like fish cakes and sausage rolls making regular appearances. One of the best wine selections in Dublin with enthused staff always ready to make recommendations. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Caribou Not content with having the best drinks, interiors and staff, Caribou are now conquering food too Posted: 12 Nov 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What do we need to know about Caribou? Born in Galway in 2016 and transported to Dublin in May 2024, Caribou is the latest opening in the capital from Shane Clifford, Hugh Farrell and Declan Murphy. The trio also own Kodiak in Rathmines, Bonobo in Smithfield, Impala in Cork and Jackal in Navan, and previously ran P Macs (where Caribou is now) for its former owners, before going out on their own. Galway's loss has very much been Dublin's gain, and even though tears were shed by some over the closure of P Macs, they were short-lived when they saw what replaced it. Caribou has been an upgrade on every front, and we think few operators understand what Dublin bar-goers want as well as these guys. With their other Dublin sites sticking to Neapolitan pizza for food we thought it would be business as usual here, but we thought wrong, and swiftly after opening, word of a bar food menu that was majorly over-delivering hit our shores. Where should we sit? These guys were either interior designers in another life, or pay very good ones to design their bars. Classic wooden furniture is broken up with leather seats, 70's-style light fixtures, textured walls, enough art to open a gallery, and assorted dressers and bookshelves that look like Grade A flea market finds. Candles, plants and real flowers sit on every surface, and everything combined makes it a place you'll want to stay in for an extended period of time. Sit in the main room if you want all the space and natural light (parents will love all the room to park buggies and pull up high chairs; travellers will find plenty of places to park suitcases and backpacks), or head into the back for cosy nooks to settle into for private chats, where low tables are lit by lower lights. What's on the menu? There's only a weekday and weekend lunch menu for now, served until 16:30 on weekdays and 17:00 at the weekend (Friday - Sunday). While Kodiak and Bonobo have stuck successfully to Neapolitan pizza, Caribou is going all in on food, with Patrick Byrne installed as head chef. He formerly owned food truck " Taco de Town " which operated between Sligo and West Cork, and spent six years previous to that cooking in New Orleans. Weekday and weekend lunch menus vary slightly, with the main difference being the addition of roasts at the weekend, because why should roasts be relegated to Sundays? Eyes might widen at €7 for olives as you browse, but they're big, juicy and lovingly dressed, and it's the only thing on the menu that doesn't feel like exceptionally good value. A chopped Caesar salad (€11) is an utterly perfect example of the naughtiest thing you can do with a plate of lettuce, Romaine leaves generously coated in Caesar dressing with shavings of Grana Padano and baguette-style croutons to amplify cheesiness and crunch. You could have stuck a fork in us here and we'd have left happy. You can add add grilled or fried chicken (not free range) for €4 to up the protein. Our Reel last week on Caribou's steak frites (€15 for a 6oz midweek and €24 for a 10oz at weekends) got a lot of well-deserved love, and we're still wondering how they're getting that just-off-the-barbecue flavour, how they've made fries that stay crispy for the duration of the meal, and how many different types of peppercorns are in that glorious sauce. We weren't asked how we wanted our steak cooked and would have preferred it a little less done, so be sure to specify if you're equally picky. Either way we can't remember having a better steak-frites than this in Dublin, and we've tried plenty in hope. The fish sandwich (€13) came with a hunk of fresh not frozen, IPA beer battered cod, topped with chunky tartare and sitting on mushy peas, all in a burger bun. A beautiful thing, fish cooked to the point of being hot and juicy while not overdone by a second, it was only missing seasoning on the fish/in the batter. On a second visit the peas had been ditched for shredded lettuce and house pickles, which sound even better. We're not a town that excels in Sunday roasts the way many, many towns in the UK do, so we're always excited to see a new player enter the game. We weren't however expecting Caribou to casually sail in at the top of the pile - is there anything this kitchen doesn't excel at? Beef from McLoughlin butchers (€19.50) comes with a dazzling line up of: miso glazed carrot and parsnip; mash, (PROPERLY CRISPY) roasties, stuffing, grilled tenderstem broccoli (al dente), celeriac purée, a giant Yorkshire pudding, and a Guinness gravy we'd like to drink by the flask (unlimited if you want more). Controversially there was no horseradish brought to table, but once our brains started popping off with all these flavours we forgot we wanted it. Also in the roast line up is Caribou's version of bacon and cabbage (€19.50), with Buckfast glazed ham, sautéed cabbage, parsley sauce and the rest of the roastie sides. We will happily stake the claim that there's no better tasting plate of bacon and cabbage in the city, and it makes of a mockery of what's served to tourists in twee pubs in Temple Bar. Any childhood scars from bad versions of this dish will be salved, and lest we forget to mention, at €19.50 these are some of the least expensive (quality) roasts in Dublin right now. Despite the very generous roasts, we added on sides, because All The Food and all that, and Caribou's charred broccoli with romesco, hazelnuts and feta (€5) is the kind of thing you try to casually fling together at home but you leave the broccoli on the grill for too long or make the Romesco too bitter - they don't do that in here. The only issue is that one plate isn't enough. Those shatteringly crispy triple-cooked fries can also be ordered on their own with garlic mayo (€5), but we'd actually avoid the pungent dip because there's so much good stuff going on with the food here that you don't need it over-powered by garlic breath. There was no dessert either time when we visited, but there was on earlier menus, so hopefully there'll be a return to form once things settle down. What about drinks? These guys are known for their craft beef and support for Irish breweries, and big beer fans will love looking through the tap and bottle list to find something to pique their interest. The selection isn't at the level of Kodiak in Rathmines, but we can't think of many other bars that are. Cocktails are another high point, with a Paloma, a clarified rhubarb sour and a Hugo spritz all going toe to toe with the city's best cocktail bars. Wines are more basic bar, with the exception of a couple of rotating bottles "from our friends at Grapecircus" - whatever they're pouring we're drinking. How was the service? Of all the visits that all of the members of our team have made to all of these guys' bars, the service has always stood out - they seem to have hiring for personality and general human loveliness down to an art. We've never been scowled at, ignored or treated with apathy by exhausted staff who'd rather be anywhere else. We've always been greeted like we've just walked into a friends house, showered with smiles, and had any questions answered with enthusiasm and a willingness to go and find out the answer if they don't already have it. In an environment where finding staff for hospitality jobs has never been tougher, this kind of achievement shouldn't go unnoticed. What was the damage? We ate this over two meals, but midweek you could have a very solid lunch with a drink for around €25, and at the weekend, €30 will get you a roast, a pint and cover your tip. What's the verdict on Caribou? Shane Clifford, Hugh Farrell and Declan Murphy are the guys to beat for bars right now, and in their determination to get every little thing right, they've delivered a bar food menu and kitchen team that make so many others look like they're not fit for purpose. If they can do it in a setting like this, with prices like these, served by staff who look like they genuinely like being there, why can't everyone else? And why would you want to go anywhere else? Go for the roast, go back for the steak-frites, and harangue them to bring in food in the evenings - the city's crying out for "bar food only better" menus like this. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Eoin Cluskey’s temple to bread on Pearse Street opened in a storm of publicity in September 2018, and we wonder what we ever did for bread in the city centre before they arrived. The cruffins are the stuff of legend, and weekly specials like Swedish semlor and quince croissants keep customers coming back week after week. Brunch and lunch is served upstairs in the eatery from Friday - Sunday. Bread 41 Website bread41.ie Address 41 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Eoin Cluskey’s temple to bread on Pearse Street opened in a storm of publicity in September 2018, and we wonder what we ever did for bread in the city centre before they arrived. The cruffins are the stuff of legend, and weekly specials like Swedish semlor and quince croissants keep customers coming back week after week. Brunch and lunch is served upstairs in the eatery from Friday - Sunday. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Contemporary café at the top of Parnell Street serving brunch and lunch, with pasta and pizza in the evenings. Specialty coffee and carefully chosen ingredients, including beef from the owner’s sister’s farm in Meath. One Society Website onesociety.ie Address 1 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Contemporary café at the top of Parnell Street serving brunch and lunch, with pasta and pizza in the evenings. Specialty coffee and carefully chosen ingredients, including beef from the owner’s sister’s farm in Meath. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Honey Honey has been thronged from the day they opened in 2018 with locals, visitors and passing cyclists queuing up for specialty coffee, granola bowls and warm sausage rolls. It filled a much needed gap in the area for a quality café, and expect to wait for one of their in demand tables. Honey Honey Website honeyhoneycafe.com Address Strand Road, Burrow, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Honey Honey has been thronged from the day they opened in 2018 with locals, visitors and passing cyclists queuing up for specialty coffee, granola bowls and warm sausage rolls. It filled a much needed gap in the area for a quality café, and expect to wait for one of their in demand tables. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

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 >>

Old school, opulent dining with French flair in a refurbished 18th century coach house. Great produce cooked skillfully for over 20 years, with new head chef Zhan Sergejev taking the reins in 2022. They've made no attempt to hide that they're in pursuit of a Michelin star, and many think they should have been given one years ago. Could this be the team that does it for them? One Pico Website onepico.com Address 5/6 Molesworth Place, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Old school, opulent dining with French flair in a refurbished 18th century coach house. Great produce cooked skillfully for over 20 years, with new head chef Zhan Sergejev taking the reins in 2022. They've made no attempt to hide that they're in pursuit of a Michelin star, and many think they should have been given one years ago. Could this be the team that does it for them? Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Dublin's Chinatown is just lacking an ornate red and gold gate at the top of O'Connell Street, but there's more to Parnell street than hand-pulled noodles and Sichuan dumplings. As well as excellent Korean and Vietnamese food, head here for some of the city's best sandwiches, craft beer and great music. Parnell Street Our Take Dublin's Chinatown is just lacking an ornate red and gold gate at the top of O'Connell Street, but there's more to Parnell street than hand-pulled noodles and Sichuan dumplings. As well as excellent Korean and Vietnamese food, head here for some of the city's best sandwiches, craft beer and great music. Where to Eat Afanti Choux Bakery Lee's Charming Noodles One Society Parnell Street Bakery Pho Kim The Big Romance

Sweet little café on Stoneybatter's thoroughfare that's become a favourite with locals for their honest cooking, weekly specials and warm welcome. Breakfast is a particular strong point, with fluffy pancakes, nduja Turkish eggs and breakfast burritos. Social Fabric Website social-fabric.ie Address 34 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Sweet little café on Stoneybatter's thoroughfare that's become a favourite with locals for their honest cooking, weekly specials and warm welcome. Breakfast is a particular strong point, with fluffy pancakes, nduja Turkish eggs and breakfast burritos. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

Matsukawa This 8-seater omakase has finally brought top tier Japanese food to Dublin Posted: 20 Sept 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What's the story with Matsukawa? Few new restaurants in recent memory have been subject to more feverish speculation and baited breath than Matsukawa , which opened late last month in the Smithfield site previously home to veggie and vegan café Woke Cup Café. We first twigged there was something interesting going on when we spotted the fitout underway, and as the pieces fell into place – and we spied a couple of late-night menu tests underway – word got out that Ireland’s first omakase restaurant had arrived. The Japanese fine dining concept is built around quality produce and expert technique, with a communal counter placing you up close and personal with every step of the preparation process. Chef Takuma Tamaoki served omakase in Tokyo before arriving in Ireland in 2016, where he settled in Galway and joined the team at Wa Sushi , rightly regarded as one of the country’s few genuinely great Japanese options. He made the move east seeking broader experience and landed in Yamamori where, in a neat twist for which we should all be grateful, fellow chef Yu Uchida noticed the sashimi had all of a sudden kicked into high gear. A few drinks and a lightbulb moment later, and the pair agreed to partner up and introduce Dublin to this Japanese style of eating. Where should we sit? There’s no choice in the eight stools arranged around Tamaoki’s workspace, and no need for any – all of these seats, already among Dublin’s most in-demand, offer an eagle-eyed view of the poise and precision that goes into each of the eighteen plates coming your way. Expect to make friends here - with the collective oohs and aahs as each new dish is assembled, any hodge-podge of couples and solo diners can’t but be brought together in this shared experience. What's on the menu? The glitter-flecked prettiness of the printed paper that greets you at your seat in Matsukawa is less a menu than an opening sneak peek. The pleasure of omakase, a term derived from the verb ‘to entrust’, is in putting yourself wholly in the hands of a talented chef, wherever they may opt to take you. As such you’re not likely to see the same rundown in here on any two nights, with dishes dependent on the latest catch, seasonal veg, and Tamaoki’s evolving instincts. A set structure prevails, moving from salad starters and sashimi through a warm dish and nigiri before alighting on miso soup and a light dessert. By the time we got in Matsukawa had hardly got through its first week’s service, and we’d already heard of significant variations - surely a great herald for repeat visits to come. On our allotted night, things kicked off with soy-marinated courgette and a salad of spring onion and squid in karashi sumiso – a tangy, tasty dressing of miso and mustard. As overtures go, it’s exact in its promise - fresh with full flavours; simple and satisfying; delicately presented. The sashimi course that follows, hamachi and salmon in our case, comes alongside a petite mound of fresh wasabi, energetically grated before your eyes. The pre-packed one-note nose-wrinkler of cheap sushi joints this is not – Matsukawa’s wasabi has a freshness and complexity that only comes from the genuine article, shipped in straight from Japan. Due to a host of logistical complexities the same’s not true of the fish, which they’ve sourced almost entirely from Spain – a slight disappointment given the quality produce available from Irish waters. In some cases, like the hamachi, the import makes sense; elsewhere like the salmon, it’s of an undeniably lesser quality. Still, the sashimi’s a great intro to Tamaoki’s command of high-end edomae sushi technique - this is fresh, firm, impeccably-cured fish. Next came the chawanmushi, a savoury steamed custard whose little accompanying wooden spoon is like a spade to dig for buried treasure. Among the just-set egg which dissolves in the mouth, we delighted in discovering a nugget of super-tender sweet prawn, firm edamame bean and a little sliver of shiitake – this is a joy of a dish. The fun of chef’s tables is often in flashes of flame or tweezer-precise plating. Not so Matsukawa – here, it’s all about the hypnotic rhythms of Tamaoki’s hands in full flight. The delicate slices of cured fish he has quietly prepared throughout the preceding courses are now spellbindingly assembled into perfect nigiri - a palmful of vinegar-seasoned rice rolled with wasabi beneath the firm fish, and finished with a careful dab or brush of assorted extras. We began with beautifully pickled mackerel and mild and meaty sea bream, both anointed with a concentrated soy reduction you will want to sup by the spoonful before the night is out. Then to lemon sole subtly flavoured in a soy-onion marinade, and sea bass with delicate sweetness bolstered by a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of Dingle sea salt. By now any naysayers who might have scoffed at the sameness of eleven nigiri in sequence will have eaten their words along with their fish: the real pleasure of Matsukawa, in the repeated notes of each of these morsels, is in seeing Tamaoki’s treatment of each piece and how its unique character is teased out. This is a man who has thought deeply about fish – by the time you leave, you will have too. He's thought about sequencing too, and there’s a clear pace to the way the treatments get steadily more complex before paring back for the final pieces. The John Dory was the peak, topped with a dab of sweet miso and given a short, sharp blast of a blowtorch to cut through its meatiness with a subtle smoke. Yellowfin tuna, its edges bearing tell-tale signs of dry curing, gets a daub of mustard for a real richness and depth of flavour that elevates this to amongst the best of the night. Bluefin tuna to follow brings home the difference between the two, thanks not least to the nine-day aging approach Tamaoki has taken to make the flesh’s prized fattiness all the more pronounced – it’s a treat. The hamachi belly gestures back to the leaner earlier sashimi, a nice reminder that even within an individual fish the variety and possibilities can be many. Save for introducing each piece to each diner as he places it on each plate, an eight times repeated refrain that takes on the calming air of a mantra, Tamaoki works in quiet restraint, but lights up when asked for any more info. So it was when we needed to know what he’d dusted over the prawn – wide eyes followed when he revealed it’s a head and shell powder. The intensity of flavour is exceptional, added umami to the meat’s succulent sweetness. The salmon though, again, feels a little lacking in flavour – in a place where quality is key, this is a bump in the road. The final nigiri is a suitable showstopper, with the unmistakable marbling of otoro, or bluefin tuna belly, turning every head at the table. This superb cut is just about as good as fish gets and, true to form, Tamaoki has brought out its best by in this case doing very little at all. The tender, fatty flesh dissolves like butter in the mouth, an incredible outro indulgence that sees this section of the meal out on a high. The omelette that follows is not in the rolled tamagoyaki style that might be more familiar - Tamaoki has taken eggs, and eggs only, and whipped them to an intensely airy texture that feels positively cakey. It’s an impressive feat, if in practice a bit of a stop-gap palate cleanser. Connemara clams are the sole exception to the seafood’s Spanish sourcing, and an ingredient Tamaoki is particularly passionate about, telling us he ranks them among the best shellfish around. As served up here, it’s hard to disagree – swimming in a superb white miso broth alongside slivered spring onions, they’re a tantalising hint of what Matsukawa might achieve if it manages to work more native produce into its menus. A simple, prettily-plated dessert of red beans in red bean jelly offered little to shout about, though not much to moan about either – the muted flavours of the pressed jelly are a fitting follow-up to the straight-up theme of the evening, but the dish leans heavily on the sour-sweet sharpness of strawberry to bring it to life. It’s not quite a bum note, but neither is it anything we’d have much missed. What about drinks? In a generous move we’d love to see more high-priced places mirror, still and sparkling water is free and topped up as quick as you can drink it – the same goes for an intensely earthy, imported green tea served cold throughout and then hot with dessert. Minimal beer and wine options are passable but clearly not what they want you drinking – here, it’s all about the sake. We started with a glass of the sparkling and its subtle fizz and subdued flavours made for a fine match to the salads and sashimi. Fuller-bodied but with a more delicate and almost ephemeral taste is the Daiginjou - served chilled, this high-grade sake is superb slowly sipped alongside the nigiri. Rich, sweet, aromatic plum wine is served on the rocks with soda – we enjoyed this cocktail’s fruity depths alongside dessert but it would be all the better as an aperitif savoured as the first dishes are divvied up before you. How was the service? Typical of the omakase experience, there’s as much focus on service as food here and chef Tamaoki is a consummate pro – we watched with interest as he joined in on a Japanese pair’s nostalgia, left a happy couple largely to their own devices, and cheerily indulged a solo diner’s enthusiastic enquiries throughout the night. His manner with his customers is much the same as with his fish - every one calls for its own tailored treatment. A pair of kimono-clad servers are quick on the offing with any empty water glass and happy to help you pick out a sake. What was the damage? It’s €90 a head here for the full omakase menu, which puts Matsukawa more in the special occasion category than the casual midweek catchup one – particularly once you factor in a glass or two of sake. For the quality of cooking here though, not to mention its novelty among Dublin restaurants and that all-important free water, it’s a reasonable price. With the whole experience lasting two and a half hours and Tamaoki’s technique turning heads throughout, food lovers should think of this as a two-for-one ticket: dinner and a show. And the verdict? Ireland at large, and Dublin in particular, has long been bizarrely starved of genuinely top-tier Japanese food. Now, following the envy induced by Galway’s Wa Sushi and Cork’s Miyazaki and Ichigo Ichie , the capital finally has its own answer. To see such practiced perfectionism up close and personal is a rare treat; to have it at last on our doorstep is a cause for celebration. There is room for improvement here, no question – sourcing all fish from Spain seems designed to keep costs down but costs quality in some cases – but it’s clear Tamaoki is keenly aware of its limits and intent on overcoming them. Seats here will not be easy to come by, and rightly so (at time of writing, we could find just two available through to the end of the year, even with a second weekend sitting newly-added) but that may be no bad thing. By the time you make it in, we’d bet on Matsukawa being even better again. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Chubbys The former taco truck gets very serious in a drop dead gorgeous space Posted: 23 Jul 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Chubbys? If you were looking to tell the tale of Dublin’s food scene over the last fifteen years, there are few better figures you could do it through than Barry Stephens. His crash-era opener 147 Deli steadily built up a rep on Parnell Street as one of the city’s very best sandwich shops, rotating specials (their best in class Christmas sandwich included) descended upon by ever more hungry hordes of workers as the city bit by bit got back on its feet. But as the pandemic knocked us all right back down again and rampant inflation followed, input costs’ rapid escalation saw Stephens’ pitch of quality and creativity in casual convenience food become a harder and harder sell. That didn’t hold him back from branching out, with taco truck Just Chubbys popping up in Clontarf in summer ’22 to bring the same ethos – and the very same crowds. We impatiently waited after the sad shuttering of the Deli and an extended Christmas break for the truck with a promise of bigger things to come, and come they now have in the fancy form of Chubbys , a radical reworking of the warehouse space the truck once sat in for a big new chapter. Where should we sit? Stephens’ wife Jen, with a long CV of design and branding jobs behind her, is the mastermind behind this gorgeous glow-up popping with pastel pinks – whether or not you’d been in the prior iteration, you’ll stroll in slack-jawed through the giant glass double doors at one of Dublin’s nicest new spaces. Plump down on any of the soft accent chairs and you’ll feel right at home. A duo of long communal tables in the middle of the floor (and a few two-tops between them that can be made into the same thing) are a group dining dream if you have the foresight to book far enough in advance – reservations have gone like lightning. We were landed at the banquette set opposite the kitchen pass, ideal to take in the atmosphere and any what’s-that-they’ve-ordered-there FOMO. As teased on socials for ages by the endearingly excited chef, the kitchen fitout is the stuff of cooking nerd dreams, with a custom smoker and wood-fired grill making the counter seats the ones you want – they’re often held for short stay walk-ins, so if you want to be sure of getting a seat you’ll have to make do with craning your neck to flashes of flame from afar. What’s on the menu? We lost count of the times over the years (more recent ones especially) where people we raved about 147’s sandwiches to sneered over the price. Too often that’s the rub with casual food’s cognitive dissonance, an expectation that we can have the best in quality without bulking up the bill - as though an added two or three euro to know where your food’s come from was that one bridge too far. All that’s to cushion the blow of the beef birria (€8.50) and confit carnitas (€8) tacos – Chubbys was already at the top end of the city’s scale for taco pricing, and these latest tweaks take things further. But that’s true for flavour as well as price point; in the low and slow overnight McLoughlin’s beef cheek, shin and brisket just as much as the copper cauldron-cooked Salters free range pork and bacon belly, there is the kind of quality, time and attention that doesn’t come cheaply. You can taste where your money's going. Creativity costs too, and what a wallop of it in the pork rolls (€12), crisp-skinned snacks landing in the dreamscape space between chimichanga and spring roll – this is a bite that’ll stay with you for weeks, even before you get to the beautifully-balanced smoked lime and jalapeño salsa on the side. Watch on with glee as others order them around you and let out lusty sighs of delight as the deep-fried skins pour out slow roast pork juices. Only the sharing nachos (€13.50) came up short on value. Despite their hand-cut and tajin-seasoned superiority over the usual fare, and a house cheese sauce we’d drink from the dish, the higher price and smaller portion versus the ones we loved on our trip to the truck not too long ago was a let down. A smaller snacks section option with salsa matcha and guac looked more palatable at a full €4 cheaper – it’s rare we get food envy for a smaller plate. Chipotle and lime butter-basted corn ribs (€8.50) made amends, with a cheaper price tag and chunkier portion than our last visit. Subtly sweet, smoky flavour permeates every dripping kernel here - there’s no shame in slurping, everyone else is at it. Sticky-sweet honey and soy chicken (€14.50) is a prime example of the new Chubbys' more varied flavour profile. The Asian influence that often streaked through 147 is on full display, with bangs of garlic, ginger and chilli to the fore in every crisp, spicy bite. Good prep goes a long way but as is ever the case with fried chicken, quality is everything – the tender taste of Rings Farm free-range birds shines. The smoker is the crowning glory of Stephens’ new setup. We arrived intent on ordering the Jamaican jerk lamb ribs, but the sights and scents of a neighbouring table’s beef short rib (€37) caused a quick pivot. McLoughlin’s again brings the goods with dry-aged prime cuts, rubbed and smoked for ten hours to give a blackened exterior barely encasing the tender meat beneath. It slides off the bone into a peanut-textured and makrut lime leaf-scented curry that we’d bathe in given half the chance. Slow-tweaking flavours is a hallmark of Stephens’ style, and with this interplay of smoky sweet meat and softly-spiced sauce he’s hit on a primal harmony that had us enter a bliss state (see also: garlic naan for mopping). Not that we were done yet – sticky toffee spring rolls (€9.50) aren’t something we would pass on. You’d want to be confident to offer only one dessert option - they are, and have every reason to be. There’s more than a hint of baklava in the syrup-soaked, nut-sprinkled notes here, but novelty too. Like everything else at Chubbys, this is casual comfort food shot with a playful streak of energetic invention. What are the drinks like? House cordials and reductions drove us straight to the cocktail list (all €12) – beers via Zingibeer and Whiplash and a tap-heavy wine list will offer enough variety and value to keep most punters happy. The best of the bunch was a picture perfect Cherry Float, ruby red from Regal Rogue vermouth and cherry soda, citrus-spiked from sumac sprinkled on the dense vanilla foam, with the fresh flavour of smoked lapsang. The Shaken Stephens played like a milder Moscow mule, Valencia Island vermouth and IPA reduction in place of vodka – light and lively. There wasn’t the same balance or freshness to be found in the Mango SuperSplit, with alleged salt and chilli flavours all subsumed in tawny port. How was the service? This team’s ample honesty gives eye-opening insights into the challenge the hospitality biz is up against, and they’ve begged clemency more than once for the kind of intro hurdles all new openings face as they get the measure of things and struggle to hire to meet demand. Against that kind of difficulty, we’ll always give a lot of leeway, but when we were told 30 minutes on from our opening time seating that the all-at-once glut meant the kitchen might need another ten minutes to take our order, we wondered why phased seating and/or a slower scaling-up wasn't being utilised. That sense set in all the more as tables around us politely corrected the orders wrongly set down before them. Staff were all very friendly and funny, but it’s clear they were flustered too – demand like this (it’s now nine weeks until the next available table) is hard to plan for, and with the baptism of fire they’re in for they’ll need to tweak things quickly to keep hangry heads happy. Setting expectations more clearly or starting people on snacks upfront would go a long way. Our advice? If you’ve going in soon, check the menu in advance and order ASAP. And the damage? This greedy glut (it’s professional diligence, swear) clocked up a €147 bill before tip – mental maths on most tables around us put the average order in and around €50-60 a head. You’d be well fed for that, and with far better stuff than many other options around town where you'll spend the same. What’s the verdict on Chubbys? Understandable opening jitters aside, Chubbys has all the makings of Dublin’s latest success story – and we’ve got every faith in a team that’s never been short of the ability to learn quick and rise to it. That two month-plus run of full houses ahead of them speaks to the high esteem and expectations they’re held in - once again, here’s proof they’ve earned it. Often more candid than can-do, the refreshingly honest 147 Deli story spoke to the passion needed to weather the mounting challenges of making genuinely good food work in the environment we’re in. To see that passion make the leap to a space like this would fill your heart as well as your stomach. Many great restaurants feel like stepping into someone’s home. Chubbys feels like you're getting a window into Stephens’ life, witnessing something earnestly sincere, and altogether special. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Masa Drury street gets a Mexican tacqueria Posted: 16 Aug 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Masa is a new Mexican taqueria from the guys behind Bunsen , in the old SMS site on the corner of Drury Street . We were excited when we heard this was coming because we were told they'd be making the tacos fresh (the only place in Dublin doing so as far as we know) and had imported special machinery from Mexico to make the masa - the dough made from nixtamalizing corn to break it down and then grinding it into a dough (you can read more about the lengthy process here ). It opened very quietly last month with no big announcement other than a post on their Instagram page telling people the doors were open. We tried to visit a week in on a Saturday and found it closed with no explanation - this has been a recurring theme over the past few weeks with numerous people on Instagram complaining that they've also visited to find it closed. Seems they've been having teething problems with the Mexican machinery and difficulties in finding anyone here to fix it. A week later we tried again midweek and this time it was mobbed. There was a 45 minute wait for a table but you can go for a drink and they'll call you when they have space. Where should we go for a drink? You've got the city's best selection of natural, organic and biodynamic wines at Loose Canon just down the street. For cocktails try Drury Buildings or the upstairs cocktail bar in Fade Street Social , and for pints P. Macs is good fun and just across the road. What’s the room like? Bright, airy and minimalistic, with loads of people talking about the "miami vibes" from trees, cacti and bright blue counter tops. There's table seating by the window looking out onto Stephen Street, and counter seating both facing the window and facing the other way. It feels fast casual in a really modern-European-city way, and there's a lit-up cactus outside the bathroom that's coming to an instagram feed near you soon. What's good to eat? As we visited early on we wanted to go again a few weeks later, so over two visits we had most of the menu. Food comes when it's ready, and is divided into small plates, quesadillas and tacos. There's also a very interesting sounding dessert of churros with goat's milk caramel but they told us it won't be available for another few months. We thought the tortilla chips were good but would have liked more guacamole (there is never enough guacamole), and the bowl was hard to retrieve it from. We weren't as keen on the elotes (corn on the cob with cheese and chilli) - ours were overcooked and we found the sauce sickly, but we've seen other people on Insta saying they loved them. A cheese quesadilla with chipotle mayo was good if not ground-breaking, but again there was a bit too much of that sauce. Of the tacos we thought the best were the El Pastor (pork, red chilli, pineapple, onion, coriander achitoe - a pepper-like spice), the chicken (fried chicken, salsa macha, chipotle) and the fish (fried cod, cabbage, chipotle, lime), although the fish was better with crisper batter on the first visit. We imagine most people will think these are very good, but we felt the fillings could be a bit more vibrant. We also don't think the tacos are quite there yet. 10 points for freshness and for making them authentically from masa, but they were slightly too thick and the consistency was crumbly. It's early days so we would imagine they are still ironing out kinks, and we would be confident that the quiet opening was to give them time to improve. It is also verging on ridiculously cheap. The first time our bill came to €9 a head, the second €11 a head (with no alcohol), so this is a great option when you want something quick and cheap. What about the drinks? Very basic. Pacifico and Sierra Nevada for beer, and house red and white wines, which the staff told us were vinho verde (presumably Portugese) and tempranillo (presumably Spanish). We didn't drink anything on either occasion because there wasn't anything we wanted. We were really hoping for a margherita and mezcal list. Maybe by Christmas... *crosses fingers* And the service? A bit all over the place on the first visit. Some food never arrived, only to be told that they'd sold out when we queried where it was, and the team seemed stretched. Things were much smoother on the second visit, and all of the staff were very pleasant. The verdict? Dublin has always suffered from a lack of places that fall under the "Quick. Cheap. Good." heading, and Masa fills a gap for both that and for fresh tacos in the city. While we might not have been knocked over by the food, we'd be pretty confident it will get better over the coming months (Bunsen have never been one to do things by halves), and we think it's a great addition to the Dublin dining scene. Especially when you only want to spend a tenner on dinner. Masa 43 Stephen Street Lower, Dublin masadublin.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

A beacon of solid pizza and pints for the good folks of Inchicore and surrounds. Tucked inside a quiet little industrial estate, Rascals really took off during the pandemic with its lively, covered outdoor seating area the perfect place to catch up with a group over an evening. On colder nights, the vibrant indoor space is always buzzing with a great view of the vats brewing away in the background giving a boozy equivalent of the farm-to-fork experience. Monthly food and drink specials mean there's always something new for regular visitors, but we always come back to the black pudding-dotted 'Dublin Ate'. Crisp crusts and dip servings that don't skimp seal the deal. Rascal's Brewing Co. Website rascalsbrewing.com Address Goldenbridge Estate, Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story A beacon of solid pizza and pints for the good folks of Inchicore and surrounds. Tucked inside a quiet little industrial estate, Rascals really took off during the pandemic with its lively, covered outdoor seating area the perfect place to catch up with a group over an evening. On colder nights, the vibrant indoor space is always buzzing with a great view of the vats brewing away in the background giving a boozy equivalent of the farm-to-fork experience. Monthly food and drink specials mean there's always something new for regular visitors, but we always come back to the black pudding-dotted 'Dublin Ate'. Crisp crusts and dip servings that don't skimp seal the deal. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure