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Liberties café and roastery Groundstate was set up by two friends, a scientist and a Yogi, to build something “authentic and sustainable”. Between the emphasis on vegetarian and vegan food, impressive list of produce suppliers, and off-setting their carbon footprint by planting trees, they’ve created something special for the grateful residents of Dublin 8, and even the simplest dish in here tastes better than you’d imagine on ordering. It’s also our favourite place to pick up breakfast, lunch, coffee or snacks before a train from Heuston, because who can be dealing with train station food. Groundstate Coffee Website groundstated8.com Address 48- 50 James Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Liberties café and roastery Groundstate was set up by two friends, a scientist and a Yogi, to build something “authentic and sustainable”. Between the emphasis on vegetarian and vegan food, impressive list of produce suppliers, and off-setting their carbon footprint by planting trees, they’ve created something special for the grateful residents of Dublin 8, and even the simplest dish in here tastes better than you’d imagine on ordering. It’s also our favourite place to pick up breakfast, lunch, coffee or snacks before a train from Heuston, because who can be dealing with train station food. 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

Southern Italian cooking with only the best Italian ingredients and wines, some of which come from family friends and their farms in Calabria. Owner Roberto Mungo's Mama flew over for the first month of opening to teach the kitchen some family recipes and proper pasta making and they've been packed ever since - she also likes to return every few months to check on things. A pretty perfect neighborhood restaurant, and we're eternally envious of everyone who gets to call it their local. Book well in advance if you want a hope of getting a table. Grano Website grano.ie Address 5 Norseman Court, Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Southern Italian cooking with only the best Italian ingredients and wines, some of which come from family friends and their farms in Calabria. Owner Roberto Mungo's Mama flew over for the first month of opening to teach the kitchen some family recipes and proper pasta making and they've been packed ever since - she also likes to return every few months to check on things. A pretty perfect neighborhood restaurant, and we're eternally envious of everyone who gets to call it their local. Book well in advance if you want a hope of getting a table. 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

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

From the team behind Indian Konkan on Clanbrassil Street and in Dundrum, Kari was opened to be a bit more specialised, informed by husband and wife Bala Nayak and Nidhi Joshi’s experiences and memories of home. There’s a general focus on India’s south and south-western states, with Irish produce integrated nicely, like in the kale and samphire pakoras. Don’t miss the smoky meats from the Tandoor, and the date and coconut naan has to be tried. Kari Website kari.ie Address 205A, Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story From the team behind Indian Konkan on Clanbrassil Street and in Dundrum, Kari was opened to be a bit more specialised, informed by husband and wife Bala Nayak and Nidhi Joshi’s experiences and memories of home. There’s a general focus on India’s south and south-western states, with Irish produce integrated nicely, like in the kale and samphire pakoras. Don’t miss the smoky meats from the Tandoor, and the date and coconut naan has to be tried. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

The second opening from Japanese Daruma, whose first location is in Temple Bar. The Malahide outpost is less Japanese pub, more neighbourhood restaurant, with accommodating staff, a very good drinks selection, and commendably good ingredient provenance, including free-range pork from Carlow and organic salmon from Donegal. Sushi is excellent, and there's plenty to like from the hot section too - we love the chicken kaarage with yuzu mayo and the 18-hour beef short-ribs in a ginger soy glaze. Daruma Malahide Website daruma.ie Address DARUMA, New Street, Malahide, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The second opening from Japanese Daruma, whose first location is in Temple Bar. The Malahide outpost is less Japanese pub, more neighbourhood restaurant, with accommodating staff, a very good drinks selection, and commendably good ingredient provenance, including free-range pork from Carlow and organic salmon from Donegal. Sushi is excellent, and there's plenty to like from the hot section too - we love the chicken kaarage with yuzu mayo and the 18-hour beef short-ribs in a ginger soy glaze. 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

Margadh RHA This might be the best value tasting menu in town Posted: 14 Jun 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? If you're a regular ATF reader you'll know that we're big fans of Mamó , couple Jess D'Arcy and Killian Durkin's seaside sanctuary in Howth, so we expect everything they touch to be executed to the same standards across food, wine, service and setting. After Mamó came their food and wine shop (and now wine bar) Margadh a few doors down, then Barrow Market and Elm Epicurean , both in Dublin 4. The final addition to the family (for now anyway) was Margadh number two in the RHA Gallery just off St Stephen's Green, in the space formerly home to Coppa . They first opened last October as a wine bar with simple sharing plates (ATF Insiders got a preview and loved it), but a few months later they decided to change tack, introducing a brilliant value tasting menu and more hot dishes á la Mamó. The RHA's location is just out of the thoroughfare of town, so you'd have to know where you were going to end up here - passing trade is practically nil. While this might not be great for a new opening trying to drum up customers, it does make for quite a peaceful dining and drinking experience - you're in the centre of town, but it feels more like a quiet lane in suburbia. Where should I sit? There are low tables along the floor to ceiling windows with beautiful views out at the restored Georgian houses on Ely Place. The tables themselves are slabs of wood build around internal pillars - lovely to sit at, but immovable so not ideal for larger groups. There are some small spaces for two (or one, it would be very easy to hide away here for a solo meal) and a couple of high tables, as well as some seats outside that are patiently waiting for plates of burrata and carafes of rosé. What's the food like? The new tasting menu is €38 which feels like remarkable value for Dublin right now, or you can order as you go from the small plates menu . The whole table has to take it so bear that in mind, but that's pretty standard. The only choice you have to make is between olives or almonds to start. We chose olives and they were the usual Mamó good stuff - stone in, firm, a mix of types and sizes in good olive oil. And speaking of olive oil... The one they serve at Margadh, with slices of sourdough for dipping, is a bombastic version aged in Lustau sherry casks, and we are obsessed. We've never made the trip to a restaurant before solely on the basis of their olive oil, but it would be justified in this case. There was much fruitless googling that night about where to buy it, leading to a dead end. If Margadh ever start selling this in their shop we'll fight off anyone in the queue. First for the hot dishes was their 'market cheese' and onion croquettes with tarragon aioli. On the day we visited the market cheeses were Hegarty's Cheddar, Gruyère and another that we struggled to remember post biting into it. Mamó always does a good croquette, and Margadh does too, the perfectly crisped panko breadcrumbs wrapped around a filling tasting like an expensive bag of cheese and onion crisps, with the tarragon aioli adding a herbal, bitter-sweetness. Tarragon is to these guys what cheap parsley is to Italian chains, and we love that they're championing the under-used herb, illuminating all the ways to make the most of it. Next came a toasted finger of sourdough with lemon 'aioli' (more like a lemon mayo, we couldn't discern garlic) and a single, perfect Cantabrian anchovy. More please sir. After that came baby gem lettuce cups filled with Asian slaw, Skeaghanore duck breast and leg, and crispy ginger on top. This a messy one so best eaten over a plate, with both the duck and the slaw dripping with juices. At times the crispy ginger was a bit too over-powering, so make sure it's spread around, but the rest of the flavours and textures were in sync. A burrata salad came with firm, crisp asparagus, fresh peas, toasted hazelnuts and freshly grated truffle. How they can get fresh truffle on a €38 tasting menu is the culinary equivalent of the riddle of the sphinx, and this was a note-perfect dish for a mild June evening. Lastly for hot dishes came a fennel sausage ragu with homemade tagliolini (made in their central prep kitchen in Dublin 1) and Pecorino cheese. There were pickled green peppers in there, big chunks of meat and a slick of basil oil on the side, and as pasta dishes go it's everything you could want. Eat with a glass of Chianti for optimum enjoyment. We raised eyebrows at a chocolate crème brûlée for dessert - why mess with a classic? - but it turns out a bowl of chocolate custard (dark and white in there) with a glass-like sugar top waiting to be shattered, and warm madeleines on the side, is a home run, and a subtly sweet and chic ending to a great value meal. We say end. There's optional cheese, but is cheese every really optional? On the menu that night was Ballylisk Triple Rose from Armagh, Templegall from Cork, and Bleu d'Auvergne from France, and we ordered the lot. We hadn't seen that they were €4 each (so €12 for a cheese plate) which felt like a bit of a jump from the rest, but the plum chutney and toasted bread drizzled with olive oil were lovely additions, and if you share one you're talking about €44 for the tasting menu instead of €38. They could probably do with adding a supplement for replacing dessert, for those who favour savoury over sweet. What about drinks? The list here is tight and beautifully put together, with pretty good prices too. Any time we see a Grower Champagne for under €20 a glass we jump on it, and the Clair Obscur zero dosage on the specials board that night (€18) was an ideal opener with those early dishes, as was the salty Xisto Ilimitado Branco from Portugal (€10). The Monteraponi Chianti (€13) was a no brainer with the fennel sausage ragu, and a glass of the Italian sweet wine Recioto (€15) went down nicely with the chocolate crème brûlée and the cheese. There was loads more by the glass we wanted to drink, and you'll be in safe hands whatever you pick. How was the service? Extremely welcoming, calm and intuitive, bringing us things we wanted/needed before we even had to ask, and full of helpful information and recommendations. It's a very relaxing environment, with no loud noises coming from the kitchen, and a chill out (at times venturing into jazz) soundtrack. It's somewhere that would be perfect for first dates, catch ups when you actually want to hear each other, and a post-work bite when you need to unwind after a tough day. And the damage? €147 for two tasting menus, the €12 cheese supplement, and four glasses of wine - one a Grower Champagne. If you didn't go for cheese and drank house wine you could do it for just over €50 a head before tip - a bargain by current Dublin dining out standards. The verdict? Margadh at the RHA might be the best value tasting menu in Dublin right now. It's not quite Mamó in the city centre, but it has the essence of it, showing the flair for flavour seen across the group, in a casual wine bar environment with zero pomp. You get the feeling if you just showed up here without a booking they'd move mountains to fit you in, and with that steal of a menu changing frequently it's somewhere you could go back to again and again. There isn't a whole pile of value to be had in Dublin at the moment when it comes to special nights out and restaurant tasting menus, which makes Margadh stick out all the more, and if anyone's going to weather the upcoming storm, we reckon places like this will be in pole position. Margadh RHA RHA Gallery, 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2 www.margadh-rha.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Agave Taquitos, pambazos and homemade nachos come to Dublin 2 Posted: 18 Aug 2020 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Dublin has never been the city to find legit Mexican food (something that causes us much dismay), and while there are some success stories (namely 777 , El Grito , and more recently pop up food truck La Cocina Cuevas ), what's on the market here would make most Mexicans shudder. The majority of it consists of questionable burritos and sizzling enchilada plates, and is more more Tex-Mex than Oaxaca - fajitas, chile con carne and even our beloved cheese-covered nachos all fall into this category (read more about the differences in this Thrillist article , or listen to this episode of Eater's Digest). So, any time a new Mexican restaurant opens we live in hope that this will be the one with the homemade corn tacos (wheat anything = not very Mexican), the mole (totally different to guacamole) and the infamous tacos al pastor (pork marinated in spices and cooked on a spit grill, served with pineapple, onion, coriander and salsas on the aforementioned homemade tacos). The latest addition to this hopeful hit list is newly opened Agave on Lord Edward Street. Do you remember Café Azteca ? Not many people do - they never quite made the mark on the Dublin dining scene that they were hoping for - but that's where Agave is now. It's run by Mexican couple Costel and Aldo, who was a chef in Azteca and is from Mexico city. Costel is a chef too, but for now he's running front of house. They say they wanted to bring new dishes and fresh ideas to the city, and images of more unusual dishes on their Instagram feed had us pulling on the comfy pants and setting off for Lord Edward Street. Where should we sit? It’s a small space with only six tables (they’ll possibly have more if Covid ever fecks off), and there’s a nice one for six people in the window if you’re planning on seeing friends at some stage this year. Otherwise tables are for two or four and the space is definitely more eat and leave than graze and linger. What's the food like? The menu is definitely trying to stay a little on the safe side, and it’s probably a bit too large as they try not to scare people by keeping dishes they’ll recognize (can we just make burritos die already), as well as introducing more authentic ones like chilaquiles (tortilla chips soaked in salsa), sopes (corn tortillas with various toppings) and pambazo (bread dipped in a red pepper sauce and stuffed with potato, chorizo, sour cream and lettuce). Okay so maybe loaded nachos aren’t the most Mexican of Mexican foods, but Agave’s are homemade ( 777 actually buy theirs from them), so we feel this gives them a major pass. They come with cheese, sour cream, excellent pico de gallo, jalapeños and either chile con carne or guacamole – we asked for half and half. It might not be what you’ll get in a Mexican Mami’s casa, but it was extremely tasty, and a huge portion – we shared one between four. The crunchy chicken taquitos - rolled and fried blue corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and queso fresco, and topped with pico de gallo, sour cream and lettuce - were another highlight. Crunchy, creamy, zingy - what's not to like. The aforementioned pambazo (traditional Mexican sandwich) had great flavour from the chorizo and potato but was a bit soggy. It tasted like it had been dipped in the red pepper sauce but not fried to crisp it up, which undoubtedly would have made all the difference. Also don't do as we did and forget about the salsa until the last bite. There's mild, spicy and very spicy - approach the last one with caution. There are six different types of tacos on the menu, with pork (including those legendary al pastor), chorizo, chicken, chili con carne (no comment) and prawns. We really liked the tacos de camaron (prawns) which came with pickled cabbage and chilli mayo, but the batter on the prawns could have been a bit more delicate and a bit less oily. Despite this they had a great balance of flavours, particularly when those salsas were added into the mix. The only truly devastating, soul-crushing disappointment of the meal was the tacos al pastor, which just weren’t. Granted it would be difficult to get a verticle rotating spit into such a small space, but catering style chunks of tasteless pork are not even in the same universe as the real deal. This is so far from what it should be it just shouldn't be on the menu. It also said we would get five tacos but we only got three - not sure if this was a typo or a kitchen error, but under the circumstances it was probably for the best. (For an in-depth look at what tacos al pastor should be, please watch the first episode of Netflix's Taco Chronicles and join us in this obsession) Also, not to get anyone (i.e. us) too excited, but we happened to walk past 777 later that day and saw what appeared to be an 'el pastor tacos' hatch - we'll even forgive them the wrong spelling. Watch this space for incoming news. There are no desserts on the menu but when we were there they had vanilla or chocolate 'conchas' (sweet bread in the shape of a seashell) and crème caramel (more commonly called flan in Mexico), both homemade. It turns out the conchas are not really a dessert (it literally is a slightly sweet bread roll), and more something to have with coffee in the morning. The crème caramel however was creamy, sweet and doused in caramel, and the cream and berries on the side were a nice touch. We initially thought it was a small portion but it turned out to be perfect. A must-order for anyone with a sweet tooth. What about the drinks? Fans of cult Mexican soft drink jarritos will be giddy when they see the number of flavours on the shelf here – from cola to guava, mango to mandarin – although not many seemed to be in the fridge, so you’ll probably need ice. They also have non-alcoholic pina coladas and ‘nojitos’, the latter of which, with cucumber, mint and lime, was very refreshing on a muggy Dublin day. As far as alcohol you’re limited to house prosecco, white or red wine, or tinto de verano (lemonade and red wine). And the service? Friendly, if a bit subdued, and the mortal sin of wearing mask over mouth but not nose was in full force. Kitchen staff weren't wearing masks, but there was sanitzer, tables were decently spaced and the door was open. The verdict? Agave is a good addition to Dublin’s Mexican food scene, and while it’s not quite the one we’ve been waiting for, it's a world better than most and definitely has the potential to go further. We’d like to go back and try a few more of the lesser seen dishes, like the chilaquiles and the sopes, and it’s very good value – we paid €20 a head for a lot of food. We would love to see them ditch a few of the more common dishes and focus more on what they eat at home in Mexico, because that's what's really lacking over here. And kill the burritos. Agave 19 - 22 Lord Edward Street, Dublin 2 instagram.com/agavedublin New Openings & Discoveries More >>

City centre café and pancake house Póg opened their third location in the seaside village of Howth, and took their natural, pampas grass-filled aesthetic with them. Brunch, lunch, coffee and homemade juices draw plenty of passers by, as does their vegan afternoon tea. Póg Howth Website ifancyapog.ie Address Island View House, 1 Harbour Road, Howth, Dublin 13 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story City centre café and pancake house Póg opened their third location in the seaside village of Howth, and took their natural, pampas grass-filled aesthetic with them. Brunch, lunch, coffee and homemade juices draw plenty of passers by, as does their vegan afternoon tea. 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

Rei Momo Brazilian bar food and killer Caipirinhas having all the fun with flavour Posted: 28 Oct 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the scoop on Rei Momo? The new(ish) Brazilian bar on Drury Street used to be Bootleg , whose short-lived attempt at bringing vintage wines, disco nights and Spanish-style small plates to the city centre never really caught fire. A collaboration from the people behind Big Fan, Sprezzatura and Bow Lane, they cut their losses and put their thinking caps on about a new concept in the same space. What they came up with was Rei Momo (which translates to King Momo, the King of Carnival), a Brazilian bar serving all the iconic snacks, grilled meats, and an almighty list of caipirinhas. The food seems to centre on their Brazilian chef Bruno, who regularly features on their social feeds, and they're pitching it as a fun place to go with friends, or just stop for drinks and snacks on the eternally buzzing Drury Street. In a city where once again it's become impossible to get a table anywhere good without extreme levels of planning, more places like this encouraging spontaneity, walk ins and no minimum order can only be a good thing. Where should we sit? First things first, this is a bar, not a restaurant, and a lot of the chairs are high ones at high top tables. If you're coming with a gang you can request the large table in the centre which sits up to 12, or the ones on the side could seat six. There's bar seating at the counter too if you feel like dropping in solo for a drink and a snack, and don't want to take up a whole table. If you have a friend or family member who likes their feet on the ground and proper back support, ask for the booth seating on the right hand side of the room, and if you're into city centre people watching, ask to sit inside the window. We'd least like to be sat at the low tables for two in the middle of the room, which feel a bit lost at sea and are too small for the amount of food we'd end up ordering. What are we drinking? When in a Brazilian bar, it's mandatory to start with a caipirinha, and this must be the best selection in the city. There are six flavours, from classic to coco verde, and three frozen ones, with mango, açaí and a whole young coconut. You can also get batidas (a creamy cocktail with condensed milk), spritzes, Brazilian beers, and a "tiny beer" for €2.50 (we've been waiting for tiny cocktails to hit Dublin, but beer beat them to it). There's a decent wine list and a really excellent N/A selection too, featuring soda, juice, Brazilian lemonade, N/A beer and wine, as well as beer and coffee. No one will be left wanting. We had to dive right in with a frozen mango caipirinha (like a fruity, freezing cold slap to the face), and a coco verde caipirinha, and both just made us want to try more from this list. They're both high on alcohol and sugar though, so we're not sure we could do more than a couple. What about food? Again, it's important to remember that this is bar food, and not a three course meal. A lot of it is fried and meaty, so perfect for soaking up cocktails, but it might feel like overload if you're picturing a three-course meal situation. Start with the bougiest version o f Pão de Queijo we've ever seen, the cheesy, chewy, dough balls coming with the lovely addition of whipped Parmesan butter (€7 for three). Then move onto coxinhas, Brazil's famous teardrop-shaped, deep-fried croquettes, on the menu here in four better the average flavours. We had to try the Irish crab and Gruyère with chilli jam and lemon mayo, and while you can't go far wrong with Irish crab anything, we couldn't taste any Gruyère (maybe a stronger cheese, higher quality version or more of it was needed). The fact that they arrived lukewarm didn't help. The smoked short-rib version with requeijão (a Brazilian ricotta-like cheese) and guava ketchup was much better (€14 for three) - a mound of meat collapsing into a pool of more lemony mayo, with a tangy dot of guava on top (we would have liked more). Salt cod is another ingredient synonymous with Brazil, as are bolinhos de bacalhau - salt cod fritters (€12 for three). We thought these could have gone lighter on the potato, and heavier on the fish, but they came alive with the little pops of sweet and spicy peppers, and a squeeze of lemon over the top. Pastels, a deep-fried pastry pocket, are again more upmarket than you might have seen on the streets of São Paulo, and we went for the one stuffed with oxtail and Durrus cheese (€13). It's a sizeable snack and could be enough to fill a gap on its own at lunch time, but we did find a chunk of the pastry at one end was empty, which is always a bummer. The vinagrete on the side provided the perfect lift to all that meat and cheese. One of the must orders here is the wood-fired garlic butter chicken hearts (€12), even if they came without the advertised caipirinha yoghurt. It didn't matter, because a squeeze of lemon is all they needed, and if you're squeamish about offal, just trust us and pop your cherry with these. Also from the grill you can get Peri Peri chicken, pork ribs and moqueca prawns, but it had to be pichana with thyme and chimichurri after Entrecote-gate a few streets over. Despite being more cooked than we would have liked, it had great flavour, and we love dipping it in the accompanying farofa which brings welcome texture to the soft meat. There was nowhere near enough chimichurri, but staff brought more when we asked. If you're stuck on which sides to order, our favourite was the white rice with coconut milk and crispy garlic, with the deep-fried "punched" potatoes with garlic mayo coming in second. Charcoal sweetcorn with fondue lacked any bite and we found the cheese slightly random (don't worry, it was still eaten). Desserts didn’t overly appeal, with more deep-frying in the form of a pastel de dulce de leite, gelato, or the condensed milk based brigadeiros, but they tick the box for something sweet in a bar setting. How was the service? Despite the bar not being busy when we went for lunch, there was a long lag between ordering and any food arriving, to the point where we started to panic that it was all going to come at once. We asked that a few plates be brought out at a time, but almost immediately four arrived together. To add insult to injury, three weren't hot enough and had obviously been cooling in the kitchen as we sat outside riddled with anxiety about having to eat too much food at once. Our advice? Order as you go. It's a bar so they won't mind you ordering two-three plates at a time rather than the full order at once. Saying that, we did find the staff hard to wave down when we needed anything, and at times some seemed more interested in their phones, but the online reviews for service are fantastic, so we think we were unlucky and maybe someone more senior was off. What's the verdict on Rei Momo? In a city where bar food offerings are more often than not dire, Rei Momo joins the ranks of places like Caribou and Sister 7 where dinner is not just a mid-drinks afterthought. Added to that, Brazilian food is having a real moment in Dublin right now, finally rising above the comfort food spots that expats flood into each day for a taste of home, and Rei Momo is having more fun with flavour that most of the rest. We might not come here for a three course meal, but for casual sharing plates between friends, alongside a drinks list we'd like to deep dive into, it's worth a space on your "to eat in list". New Openings & Discoveries More >>

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Greek Souvlaki Bar where gyros stuffed with flame grilled meats are the speciality. The pitas are fluffy, the dolmades are fresh, and the chips are crispy. A little slice of Greece in Glasnevin. Yeeros Website yeeros.ie Address 19 Prospect Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Greek Souvlaki Bar where gyros stuffed with flame grilled meats are the speciality. The pitas are fluffy, the dolmades are fresh, and the chips are crispy. A little slice of Greece in Glasnevin. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

You might walk into Caffe di Napoli on Westland Row, just next to Pearse Street Station, thinking it’s just a cafe, but venture down the staircase at the back and you could be in Naples. We love the antipasto, which varies depending on what’s available, and while they're not breaking any moulds when it comes to pizza and pasta, we've got a major soft spot for anywhere this Italian to the core. Il Caffe di Napoli Website ilcaffedinapoli.ie Address 41 Westland Row, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story You might walk into Caffe di Napoli on Westland Row, just next to Pearse Street Station, thinking it’s just a cafe, but venture down the staircase at the back and you could be in Naples. We love the antipasto, which varies depending on what’s available, and while they're not breaking any moulds when it comes to pizza and pasta, we've got a major soft spot for anywhere this Italian to the core. 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

Mani’s Roman-style pizza styles have been responsible for a permanent queue down Drury Street since they opened at the end of 2023. Hiring ex-Pala Pizza’s Rory Shannon as head chef was a great move from fellow pizza nerd and owner Ciaran McGonagle, and the power of these two seems to multiply by being in close proximity to each other. Crispy, twice-baked slices featuring the most moreish of toppings, and some deep-fried naughtiness for good measure. Basic but quality drinks, and loads of outside seating, as well as a few stools inside. Mani Website instagram.com/mani.pizza.panini Address Mani, Drury Street, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Mani’s Roman-style pizza styles have been responsible for a permanent queue down Drury Street since they opened at the end of 2023. Hiring ex-Pala Pizza’s Rory Shannon as head chef was a great move from fellow pizza nerd and owner Ciaran McGonagle, and the power of these two seems to multiply by being in close proximity to each other. Crispy, twice-baked slices featuring the most moreish of toppings, and some deep-fried naughtiness for good measure. Basic but quality drinks, and loads of outside seating, as well as a few stools inside. Where It's At Nearby Locales D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield Shaku Maku Mad Yolks Rathmines Una Choux Bakery Parnell Street Bakery Baily Bites @ Kish Spice Village Terenure

You would be forgiven in thinking the must-order at Yoi Ramen is ramen, but for us it's sushi, with the Spider Roll (with spider crab) an ATF favourite. All the Japanese restaurant boxes are ticked here with gyoza, donburi and katsu curry, and there's hot and cold sake to wash it all down. Yoi Ramen Website yoiramen.ie Address 9 Barrow Street, Dublin 4 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story You would be forgiven in thinking the must-order at Yoi Ramen is ramen, but for us it's sushi, with the Spider Roll (with spider crab) an ATF favourite. All the Japanese restaurant boxes are ticked here with gyoza, donburi and katsu curry, and there's hot and cold sake to wash it all down. 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

Southside suburbs Harold's Cross and Terenure have suddenly gotten interesting over the past few years, with several neighbourhood restaurants worth leaving your neighbourhood for. Harolds Cross - Terenure Our Take Southside suburbs Harold's Cross and Terenure have suddenly gotten interesting over the past few years, with several neighbourhood restaurants worth leaving your neighbourhood for. Where to Eat 3fe Five Points Bujo Terenure Craft Green Man Wines Orwell Road Southbank Spice Village Terenure

Fresh, Irish lobster, served in a variety of ways, is the star of the show at Lobstar. From New-York style lobster rolls to lobster tail curry, this is one place it's worth going over your monthly seafood budget for. If crustaceans aren't your thing you'll also find local seafood, steak and chicken schnitzel. High end food in casual surroundings. Lobstar Website lobstar.ie Address 101 Monkstown Road, Monkstown Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Fresh, Irish lobster, served in a variety of ways, is the star of the show at Lobstar. From New-York style lobster rolls to lobster tail curry, this is one place it's worth going over your monthly seafood budget for. If crustaceans aren't your thing you'll also find local seafood, steak and chicken schnitzel. High end food in casual surroundings. 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

Their Walkinstown Roundabout food truck has long boasted some of Dublin's best fried chicken sandwiches but Cluck Chicken have finally got a permanent home. They've expanded up the road to Tallaght, bringing some much needed zing to the food options of The Square where they'll continue to sling chicken burgers alongside of fries and other sides. Owner Ian Ussher had a big hit when he opened Ian's Kitchen in Crumlin last year so hopefully this new brick and mortar location will continue that trend. Cluck Chicken Website cluckchicken.ie Address Unit 136, Level 1, The Square Shopping Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Their Walkinstown Roundabout food truck has long boasted some of Dublin's best fried chicken sandwiches but Cluck Chicken have finally got a permanent home. They've expanded up the road to Tallaght, bringing some much needed zing to the food options of The Square where they'll continue to sling chicken burgers alongside of fries and other sides. Owner Ian Ussher had a big hit when he opened Ian's Kitchen in Crumlin last year so hopefully this new brick and mortar location will continue that trend. 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

Floritz, where the Cliff Townhouse used to be on St Stephen's Green, is Dublin's answer to Hakkasan in London. Asian influenced dishes in a glitzy floral and velvet filled room, where no expense has been spared on interiors. Head chef Matt Fuller is pushing the boat out when it comes to sourcing and flavour, and the quality of both is sky high. The larger than average menu may give you a pain in the head trying to decide what to order, but portions are small and it just means more reasons to come back. Floritz Website floritz.ie Address Floritz, Saint Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Floritz, where the Cliff Townhouse used to be on St Stephen's Green, is Dublin's answer to Hakkasan in London. Asian influenced dishes in a glitzy floral and velvet filled room, where no expense has been spared on interiors. Head chef Matt Fuller is pushing the boat out when it comes to sourcing and flavour, and the quality of both is sky high. The larger than average menu may give you a pain in the head trying to decide what to order, but portions are small and it just means more reasons to come back. 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

Casual, California-inspired healthy eating, with extensive vegan and vegetarian options. Tacos, warm bowls, salads and stews are all laden down with nutrition, vivid colours and plenty of flavour, and Irish produce takes centre stage. They serve an all day menu from mid-morning till late, making it an ideal stop when you need an out of hours meal. Nutbutter Smithfield Website nutbutter.ie Address Nutbutter Smithfield, Smithfield, Dublin 7, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Casual, California-inspired healthy eating, with extensive vegan and vegetarian options. Tacos, warm bowls, salads and stews are all laden down with nutrition, vivid colours and plenty of flavour, and Irish produce takes centre stage. They serve an all day menu from mid-morning till late, making it an ideal stop when you need an out of hours meal. 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

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

Dalkey's much-loved wine shop has a restaurant in the back, and outdoor seating when the sun shines. The menu is a catch all of things like pasta, burgers and seafood, but the stars are on the shelves. Pick from an ever-interesting wine list, or pluck a bottle from the shop and pay corkage. Grapevine Website onthegrapevine.ie Address 26 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Dalkey's much-loved wine shop has a restaurant in the back, and outdoor seating when the sun shines. The menu is a catch all of things like pasta, burgers and seafood, but the stars are on the shelves. Pick from an ever-interesting wine list, or pluck a bottle from the shop and pay corkage. 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

Kicky's A big, buzzy new arrival, but is it as accessible as it claims? Posted: 28 Nov 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What's the story with Kicky’s? You’re not likely to have missed the pre-opening buzz about Kicky’s since it was announced back in July by co-owners Eric Matthews (former head chef at the previous incarnation of Chapter One), and Richie Barrett (previously general manager at Bang, aswell as roles as Etto and Uno Mas). The pair’s shared concept for a casual, accessible Mediterranean-esque eatery at the heart of the city has found its home on George’s Street, and arrives with the modest self-stated aim of being a laidback space people can return to again and again. Where should we sit? The bespoke mural that flanks the kitchen pass, directly opposite the entrance, invariably draws you toward the heart of this warm, welcoming space – those who love watching a chef at work will be very happy at the bar. Otherwise there’s not much variation to the long and narrow room’s host of low two-tops lining the walls, though the pair of wraparound booths towards the windows onto George’s street lack in lighting and ambience what they make up in added comfort. What’s on the menu? (*Two of ATF's staff writers ended up in here the same week, so we're including thoughts from Maggie as well as Ronan who wrote the review*) The dish you’ll almost certainly have seen on social already is the 72-hour potato focaccia, though you’ll likely have seen a more alluringly crusty corner slab than the tall, twee square we were served. While there’s nothing to fault in the airy texture and fermented flavour of the bread, the absence of crust leaves little scope for the kind of carbonara butter scooping we were promised . The thick spread is closer to buttercream in texture, and for all we admired the deranged decadence of this perorino, parmesan and guanciale-sprinkled serving, the intensity of highly-salted fat upon fat upon fat gave us mild jitters for what might be to come. Taleggio, leek and nduja croquettes brought us at least temporarily back from the brink: these crisp-coated morsels of spicy sausage and sharp, melted cheese are a brilliant burst of flavour, an inventive introductory bite we wished we’d gone for first. Menus both online and on-site list it as a serving of three, but we found four on the plate; if they’ve honed the serving size to more and slightly smaller in their opening weeks they’ve made the right choice – these are perfect. (Croquettes had comforting and indulgent cheese with a bit of spice from the nduja. The leek was a good flavor cutter and the crisp on top was great - Maggie ) The ”to share” section has some of the menu’s most interesting options, heavy on the house pastas that have been touted from the get-go as one of Kicky’s core appeals. On paper an egg yolk raviolo with autumn truffle butter would have been one to make a beeline for, but it’s truffle oil instead of the genuine article – always a shame. We went with cacio e pepe, the cheese and pepper classic that first showed up on the menu with Lambay crab, but perhaps in response to unreceptive early reviews , looks to have lost it (though just €2's been knocked off the price - it's now €14). This kind of seemingly-simple plate that’s deceptively difficult to do just-right, should land as a solid crowd-pleaser, even if some stray, stringy lumps nestled among our (very good) pici suggested this went a few sprinkles of cheese wide of the perfect balance. (This is a heavy dish that we only manage to get through half of. It's similar in flavour to the butter so maybe get one or the other. Those traditional worm-shaped noodles were good quality and cooked well - Maggie ) You don't come across a rabbit bolognese all too often in Dublin, and who are we to refuse a novelty. It’s a fine plate, a charred slab of sourdough toast spread with flavourful ragu, piled with chanterelles and sprinkled with a chives and Cais na Tire. There's a lovely interplay of flavour between the gaminess of the meat and earthy umami of the mushrooms, and while we might have liked a slightly sharper cheese to seal the deal, but this is a dish those disposed to rabbit should devour. (Nice for a novelty but we found this dish quite h eavy and salty. It had very good flavours, but with the rest of the food we'd ordered it felt a bit laborious - Maggie ) (We also tried the Jerusalem artichoke with raddichio, hazelnut and Young Buck. Again we found it oily and heavy for a veggie dish, couldn’t get the taste of the Young Buck cheese, and walnuts were used instead of the hazelnuts listed on the menu. We weren't sure if this one was supposed to be served hot or cold as everything came at once and we attacked it towards the end, but think it would have been more palatable warm - Maggie ) (We ordered the steamed and chopped Roaring Bay Water mussels with kohlrabi, smoked eel, taramasalata and chopped eel thinking it might be a lighter reprieve, but not so much. It's a fresh, nicely citrusy plate, but pretty heavy for a fish dish, with lots of thick, salty taramaslata - Maggie ) Mains are more of a stumbling block than sharing plates, not for any issue with the food but for the shock of the price: you're knocking on the door of €40 for the cheapest of the charcoal-grilled mains at Kicky’s before adding sides at €6 a pop, and that will be a bridge too far for many a diner. We stuck to one, a hunk of bone-in monkfish swimming in lemon butter with Lissadell cockles and Castletownbere shrimp. The moist, meaty fish comes beautifully to life with the acidic intensity of the sauce and sprinklings of pickled red dulse, while the shellfish duo add welcome sweetness and texture. Absent something to soak up that very buttery sauce though, the finished and flooded plate can’t help feel short of something. Sides are sensational, happily, with the Ballymakenny potatoes the most direct delivery on Kicky’s self-stated aim to just give people good food: quality ingredients unfussily elevated by confident cooking. The gloriously crispy skins and fluffy flesh work wonders with the mounds of confit garlic, slivered spring onions and pecorino shavings. We didn't think to ask who Mrs H is, but the dressing that bears her name served over the house salad should be sold by the bucket. Its mouth-puckeringly tangy taste is a lesson in how vinaigrette ought to be done. We were sorry to find the gorgeous looking éclair with chestnut and quince wasn't on the menu the night we visited. In its place was a brioche-based take on a tarte tatin, introduced at the table by its creator, egged on by Matthews – it’s a nice touch to see other chefs given creative space and, crucially, credit. The crusty, sweet brioche worked well to balance out the intense tartness of the concentrated apple, though the crème fraiche felt like a poor substitute for the tonka bean ice cream the menu promised. The ‘Irish coffee’ twist on a tiramisu is another of the items Kicky’s seems intent on turning into a thing, and the presentation certainly speaks to Instagrammable ambitions. Though the sole macaron shell at its base might not have the absorbency factor to match the Italian dessert this creation tips its hat toward, there’s a lot to like here, from the richness of the butterscotch toffee sauce base, to the double-caffeine kick of a coffee-chocolate crumb and coffee ice cream. (A really nice dessert. The home made meringue at the bottom was a great texture contrast with the " chocolate soil", and the coffee ice cream. We were too full to finish it, but it was yum - Maggie ) What are the drinks like? Cocktails are one of the purported allures at Kicky’s, but as laid out on the menu they seem closer to a modest tweak on classic formula than anything really unique, so we stuck with the wine. The list is a mixed bag with just a few worthwhile by-the-glass options scattered among the more commercial pours. Casa Belfi Rosso made for an offbeat sparkling intro to things that added to the intrigue of those excellent croquettes. Chateau Pajzos Tokaji is dry and sharp, a happy balance to the rich excess of the monkfish’s sauce. There's more of interest for serious wine lovers by the bottle. (We tried two cocktails. The avocado one was well balanced, with an interesting texture from the avocado. Loved the tajin rim. The Tropical Sour was very heavy on the passionfruit and overall too sweet. It looked good though - Maggie ) How was the service? Just about all you could want in terms of friendliness and knowledge – staff here seem very invested in the menu and the mood, with a good sense of camaraderie obvious among the team as they move around the floor. Food comes promptly with plenty of time left to linger and languish if needed before ordering dessert or more drinks to cap off the night. (Agreed. We sat at the bar and staff were great. Our only issue was that we ordered all the small plates and they ALL came at the same time, so we ended up eating cold dishes. We mentioned this to the staff and they apologised and gave us a cocktail on the house which was nice - Maggie ) And the damage? So here’s the rub: we clocked up a €150 bill with two glasses of wine and a volume of food (including one shared main) that could hardly be called excessive. That’s not an appalling amount for the general trend in Dublin these days, but many might want a main apiece and more sharing plates and snacks, plus a bottle of wine or round of cocktails, and that will quickly take you well north of €100 a head (maybe €150 depending on the drinks) before tip. For a great many Dubliners that will be a far cry from the kind of accessible, come-time-and-again vibe Kicky’s has been keen to pitch itself as. The arrival since our visit of a €72 set menu for the Christmas season is another jump in price, with supplements for steak and cheese, but to be fair to Kicky's, it's what many of the city's restaurants do for December - which is why we keep eating out around Christmas to a minimum. What’s the verdict on Kicky’s? We loved the look and the lively atmosphere at Kicky's, but comparing what’s on the plates and the bill to what's on the social feeds trying to draw people in, seems to tell a different story about the kind of place Kicky’s wants to be. When prices which come in steeper for the same volume of food than nearby highlights like Uno Mas and Library Street - and not lagging all too far behind somewhere like Variety Jones – are presented as accessible, we can only ask… accessible to who? Costs are crazy right now, and Kicky’s staff and suppliers deserve to be paid a fair wage, but no less than punters, drawn in here and told they’ll want to return again and again, will need decent value to make them want to come back. Despite some superb standouts we'll be thinking about for a while, most of the food is very, very rich – often drowning in butter and dripping with cheese. Those aren’t things we ever expected to announce as an issue, but when it’s plate after plate of such servings, well, is it any wonder we went so wild for that salad. (We really liked the look and vibe at Kicky's, but found the food very heavy with little respite - I still felt sluggish the next morning. We're no strangers to indulgence, but the addition of some lighter dishes would help to balance things out - Maggie ) Despite our qualms, Kicky's is clearly off to a flying start, with the Christmas buzz well underway and barely a table to be had. If they can take the indulgence levels down a notch, and offer a little more value for our euros, we're sure they can continue it well into 2024 and beyond. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Steam Authentic northeastern chinese food in the back of a newsagents Posted: 29 Aug 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? A couple of months ago, Chinese-American journalist Mei Chin (currently living in Dublin), wrote an article for the Dublin Inquirer about a discovery she had made while walking down Westmoreland Street. Her family comes from the Dongbei province in Northeast China, and at the back of an unassuming newsagents called Temple Express, wedged between a casino and a bookies, she found the food that her family cooks – Chinese burgers, jianbing (crepes), braised eggs, brine noodles. Colour us interested. Chinese food that gets the thumbs up from Chinese people is a rarity in Dublin, so this sounded like it was worth making a beeline for. For weeks we were having conversations about ‘the Chinese in the back of the newsagents’ but on our second visit we found out that it’s called ‘Steam’, and there’s another one in Moore Street Mall . Where should we go for a drink first? This is food that comes fast and it’s not really a place to linger (tables sit above the newsagents and beside a travel company desk), so a drink afterwards might be a better shout. Or this would be a great pre-cinema spot when you need to be in and out with minimal fuss. You’re practically in Temple Bar so if you’re in the mood for telling tales to tourists you could head for any of the overpriced pubs. For good pints in a cosy space it's hard to beat The Palace . For cocktails the Vintage Cocktail Club is few minutes walk away, and for wine you’re less than a ten minute walk to La Cave off Grafton Street or Piglet on Cow’s Lane. Where should we sit? After you order you can go upstairs to find a seat and they'll bring your food up to you. There are a few small tables and two counters – one facing the wall, the other facing out onto Westmoreland Street – they’re the seats we’d be trying to wangle. Too far away from the window and you may be subjected to the sounds of tourists booking sightseeing trips, which no one wants as an accompaniment to their noodles. They do take away too. What's good to eat? We followed Mei’s recommendations and everything was very good. The standouts for us were the Chinese pork burger – a crispy bun filled with shredded pork (lu rou) that’s been stewing for days, pickles and chilli sauce – and the Brine Noodles, the base of which is the ‘lu’ gravy made from stewing meat, along with braised pork, noodles, peanuts and green beans. The soup had a depth and breath of flavour unlike any other noodle soup we've had here, but eat it on a warm day and be prepared for a case of the soup sweats. We wanted to order ‘liang pi’, cold noodles made from mung-bean starch fettucine tossed in vinegar, but they had run out (apparently they’re struggling to source enough of these particular noodles in Dublin), so instead offered us cold noodles with chicken, which we enjoyed, but they paled in comparison to some of the other dishes. Jiang Bian, a kind of Chinese crepe filled with scrambled eggs, scallions, lettuce, hoisin sauce and bits of pastry cracking, was delicious, apart from the completely random hot dogs pieces in our classic version (ethnically accurate quirk we’re presuming), but those few unwelcome additions aside, this is something we would like to eat on a regular basis. Rice with stewed pork (meltingly tender and fatty like spare rib meat) with a side of pickled green beans and cucumber was simple, perfect comfort food. Mei also mentions the braised pork rib with rice in her piece which we’re eyeing up for our next visit. What about the drinks? Newsagent softs only, and it’s not the type of place you’d rock up to with a bottle of wine or a few cans of beer asking about the BYO policy. It’s not somewhere to loiter either, as there'll be plenty of people waiting to take your seats. And the service? Lovely, smiley and very helpful when it came to navigating the menu. The verdict? We’re increasingly hearing people talk about Dublin’s dining scene getting “boring”, “samey” and taken over by soulless restaurant groups or international chains, but paying a visit to a find like this will do a lot to convince the disillusioned of how much great food is right under our noses waiting to be discovered. Steam is quick, cheap and no frills, but it’s the real deal, and that always tastes good. Steam Temple Express, 4 Westmoreland Street, Dublin asainstreerfoodsteam/ New Openings & Discoveries More >>

B Skewers Make a beeline for Brazilian BBQ on Bolton Street Posted: 12 Jul 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Brazilian couple Bruno Amado and Thaís Eloá started B Skewers in 2019 to "democratize barbecue", by setting up stall at various food markets. Having worked in hospitality in Dublin running restaurants for other people (Bruno for places including The Intercontinental and Pacino's) they decided they wanted to be their own bosses, and after dipping a toe in the BBQ market and getting the reception they were looking for, they felt confident enough to look for a permanent site. B Skewers opened on Bolton Street in early 2021, and rather than pitch themselves as a Brazilian BBQ shop initially, they said they wanted to showcase BBQ street food techniques from around the world (this now seems to have flipped back to Brazilian BBQ). That kind of catch all approach, as well as the strong focus they had on delivery apps, didn't initially get us fired up, but over the last year we've seen more and more chefs and laymen (whose opinions we take seriously) descend on B Skewers for steak on sticks, charcoal-grilled chicken hearts, and what several were calling the best burger in Dublin. We were in. Where should I sit? This place is teeny, with three high tables, five counter seats and some tables outside. We didn't realise that you can book online , and when we arrived there was nothing free, but the resourceful staff just lifted a table in from outside and sat us beside the till, then moved us to a high table when one became available. You've got to love a can do attitude. The counter seats are perfect for a quick pitstop, allowing you to peer into the kitchen as you eat, and the outdoor tables will do the job if you want to sit in the fresh air, even if it's not the most glamorous set up in town. Our pick would be the high tables looking out onto Bolton Street. What's the food like? The menu consists of skewers, burgers and sides, and the prices make it feel very accessible (and easy to over order, but you can always take extras home). Also be sure to check out the combo deals where you can mix and match it all, even if a substantial amount of brain power is required to decipher the best way to order what you want. We asked the owner Bruno what he recommended, which was a good decision because he loves to talk about food as much as we do. Basically, "everything is amazing", but he really wanted us to try the pork belly, the steak, the chicken legs, and the cheese and onion sausage. We wanted to try the burger after seeing it all over the 'gram, and the chicken hearts for offal novelty. He also gave us a substantial amount of interesting information about their sides and sauces, and where the dishes and recipes come from, including cassava/yuca prepared three different ways. They suggested we start with the burger and "fried yuca snacks", and if this dish hasn't been created with the 'gram in mind it was a very happy accident. Cutting it in half and flashing each side back on the grill for those all important grill marks manages to make it look that much more appetising. The burgers (fresh from FX Buckley each morning) are dripping with meat juices and cheddar cheese, have a slick of herby mayo, and are served medium-medium/rare - brave in today's health and safety obsessed society but they feel their sourcing is good enough to go for it. Once you've had a non-overcooked burger it's hard to go back, and it's very difficult to find one outside your own home these days, so we just hope this one manages to stick around. Yucca (or cassava) is a carbohydrate filled root vegetable, from the same family as potatoes, sweet potatoes and taro. It's native to south American and consumed daily in Brazil in numerous forms, including flour. Here it's on the menu in three different ways, including these deep-fried balls of silky smooth, starchy yuca snacks, with small chunks of smoked sausage mixed throughout, and a crunchy shell keeping it all in tact. Beer snacks don't get better. There are nine skewers to choose from and you could forego the burger and try them all between two, but with limited stomach space we picked four. The best were the beef (tender, marinated Angus) and the pork belly (melting and sweet), both tasting like something straight from a São Paulo Churrascaria. The cheese and onion sausage is made especially for them by a Brazilian sausage maker in Dublin, and has chunks of melting cheese amongst the salty pork, but as sausages go it didn't leave a lasting impression. The chicken hearts are for offal aficionados only, and we didn't love them, but you might. Bruno also recommended we try the boneless free-range chicken legs, and we meant to order the halloumi but forgot in all the excited discussion about the menu. Two of many reasons to go back. While the steak was filled with flavour on its own, it was taken to a new stratosphere by the addition of some "vinaigrette" and farofa. The vinaigrette is a tangy, mouth-puckering mix of tomato, onion, spring onion, olive oil and lime juice, and does the same job (probably better) as a spoonful of chimichurri with a nice slab of Bife de Chorizo. In Brazil they often sprinkle farofa (another form of cassava with a texture similar to polenta) over barbecued meats, and while you might wonder whether its necessary to fling additional carbs onto some perfectly good meat, we have now discovered that it is. A chunk of steak sprinkled with farofa and topped with a spoon of vinaigrette made for a massively memorable mouthful of food, and really highlighted how little additions can take a meal from good to great. For cassava #3 , it was a mashed version, similar to very smooth potatoes, but also creamy and cheesy. It had more depth of flavour than potato, and tasted more savoury, and it would be very easy to just eat this by the spoon (which we did). We also tried the buttered sweetcorn which was a bit sweet and a bit spicy, although we felt it could have had a bit more of a bite. There are five sauces to choose from and we ordered the salsa verde (tangy and full of fresh herbs) and the garlic pâté (like a very good garlic mayo made with roasted bulbs). They also brought us an African pepper sauce to try, saying they had been working on the recipe for ages, and this is one for the chilli chasers, but despite its heat it's fruity and rounded. Just don't eat too much in one go. There's only one option for dessert - a dulce de leche stuffed toasted brioche bun, and while no one needs a dessert like this, sometimes a bit of indulgence is required. It's excellent dulce de leche in an excellent toasted bun, and while at first we thought it needed some ice-cream, there was something OTT in a good way about carb on carb. If you can eat a whole one of these you've got a higher sugar tolerance than we do, so we recommend one to share, between four. What about drinks? It's no surprise that the drinks list is basic, but they do a mean Aperol Spritz, as well as Campari spritz, a Spanish beer called Madri, and some unexciting but drinkable wines. When we arrived we liked the look of the Aperol Spritz but they had no ice so we ordered prosecco instead. About 20 minutes later we saw some ice arrive, and before we even had a chance to ask, two ice-cold glasses were delivered to our table FOC. This kind of generous hospitality feels very rare these days, and seems to sum up what the place and its owners are about. How was the service? From the first smiles on walking in, to the generosity of time and spirit in explaining the food and menu, to the warm farewell on departure, it felt like being a very welcome guest in someone's home, and a genuine opportunity to learn about new foods you may not be overly familiar with - something that's not possible in the same way without the right, wholly impassioned people serving it. And the damage? Around €65 for two with one drink each on the bill and leftovers to take home. In a world of rising prices, we think places like this which can deliver such sincere, delicious food at such great prices are going to ride high for the foreseeable future. The verdict? You know when you leave somewhere you liked so much that you can barely wait to tell someone about it? That was us with B Skewers, phone in hand before the door shut had behind us. We were completely endeared by the whole, heartwarmingly honest operation, the people behind it, and the new flavours and ingredients they're serving up to infatuated customers, sick of the same old dishes citywide, although we'd love to see a stronger focus on provenance and quality ingredients - they've told us it's on their agenda. We've never found a Brazilian BBQ worth shouting about, and although there's another currently on our to try list, right now we've got all the love for Bruno, Thaís and their little Brazilian BBQ on Bolton Street. B Skewers 47 Bolton Street, Dublin 1 www.bskewers.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

The Park Café The all day dining restaurant that Dublin badly needed Posted: 29 Nov 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about The Park Café? The prodigal chef returns home, bringing all day dining to Ballsbridge, in the site that formerly housed Dylan McGrath's Shelbourne Social . Richard Corrigan owns and runs several restaurants and bars in London, as well as the Virginia Park Lodge estate in Cavan (one of Ireland's most sought after wedding venues) and has been proudly shipping over produce from the grounds to his London locations for years. We're hoping The Park Café will see the majority now funnelled Dublin's way instead. Corrigan won Michelin stars early in his career, but over the years has successfully turned away from fine dining to just fondly feeding people. His cooking is generous, exhuberent, fun, and this idea of an accessible, easy-going, all-day canteen had all the right people talking before any opening announcements were made. Corrigan's last Dublin opening Bentley's , in 2008, barely lasted two years, but we had a feeling that The Park Café was going to have a different ending. Where should we go for a drink first? It's straight up to The Park Bar with you, their upstairs, roomy space full of large booths, high tables and shaded corners to hide away in. The vibe is cocktail bar meets laid back pub, with some of the country's best Champagnes being served alongside pints of Guiness. We recommend starting with an 'Aperitivo', which are all fairly priced at €10. We tried the 'Park Spritz' with Irish apple brandy, Aperol, Valentini vermouth and Champagne (which reminded us of a white Port and tonic, in a good way), and from the main list a 'Ramos Fizz', with gin, citrus and condensed milk. This one's heavier and next time we'd leave it until dessert. Where should we sit? There are banquette-backed tables along one wall, some tables in the middle of the floor, and counter seating too (which was all but empty when we visited so maybe they're being saved for walk ins). We generally prefer a table up against a wall than a free-wheeler, but if there's just two of you the counter looks like a great option too. It's been substantially built out from the Shelbourne Social days. What's the food like? It's been pitched as an all-day canteen (it's currently only open for dinner but extended hours to follow), and it's only when someone says it that you realise what a massive hole we've had in Dublin dining up to now for exactly this. It's the kind of place you could pop in at any time of the day or night and hop up on a bar stool for a glass of Champagne and some oysters, settle into a banquette for a Bentley's fish pie, or spend a very long afternoon there, lunch turning into dinner. They start by bringing homemade foccacia, which had great flavour but needed the accompanying olive oil (also very good). They forgot to bring it until we asked so make sure it arrives for dipping. You've probably seen the snail omelette doing the rounds on social media, and we're here to tell you that yes it is that good, and yes you need to get over your ick about escargot and order it. Prepare however, to feel like crying that the omelettes you cook at home will (probably) never taste as good as this. If there was an Olympics for eggs, Peter's omelette would run home with gold. The red wine Bordelaise sauce that accompanies it, with pancetta and those snails from a farmer in Cavan called Peter (hence the name) is a bonkers but brilliant combo, and it's topped with Parmesan and chives. We'd already picked the Frank Hederman’s Smoked Salmon with a Ballysadare Egg, Cream Cheese Ravigote and a Crumpet on the way in, and didn't even notice that on the menu we were handed it had been seriously downgraded to salmon, egg, Virginia roots, shoots and leaves. How could they take our cheesy crumpet!? After the initial disappointment we were able to reluctantly admit that it was still a lovely dish A fresh crab salad was generous, fresh and aniseedy from celeriac with mustard seeds and mimosa leaves, and burrata and beets (one of two vegetarian starters) could have been more generous with the burrata but the beets tasted like they'd been picked earlier that day, the leaves had abundantly more flavour than anything from a plastic packet in the supermarket, and pickled walnuts are always a good time. When we visited there were eight mains, with a further two for sharing (pork and steak), and each one sounded better than the last. After a lot of back and forth and horse-trading about who was going to order what, we gave the waitress our final answers. The 'La Jammet' kebab (named after one of Dublin's most famous restaurants ) is a deep dish of pumpkin dahl, raita and halloumi, on top of which sits two sizeable 'Old Castle Hill' lamb chops (we've searched and cannot find out where Old Castle Hill is), a skewer of liver and kidneys, and kofta pickles. It's a bountiful dish, with flavours coming over, under and across every bite, but there is a lot of offal so if you're not that way inclined you may leave a chunk behind. We'd be tempted to order it anyway, the lamb is that good, and it felt like stellar value for €26 (in our current times). Then came fish. A perfect fillet of black sole (€29) came with buttermilk beurre blanc, broccolini and grenobloise sauce (usually brown butter, capers, parsley and lemon), with a perfectly piped mound of mashed potato on the side. This should be the standard of fish dishes citywide, and at under €30? Practically unheard of. A yellowfin tuna schnitzel (€24) is a clever spin on the pork version more usually seen around town, and this is one for someone with a mighty appetite (even without any sides). It was another dish executed without fault, from the crispy coating, to the pink tuna inside, to the tangy gribiche. We couldn't finish it, but enjoyed trying. The only vegetarian main is a plate of hand-rolled kale and potato gnocchi, with cavolo nero and Corleggy Creeny cheese. The gnocchi were like puffed up clouds of potato, the cavolo nero adding a crisp texture on top, and the Corleggy cheese (from Cavan) rounded out its serious savouriness. They could do with at least one more vegetarian option, but in the meantime this won't leave anyone feeling short-changed. We didn't need sides, but we had to try them (for your benefit of course), and the thin-cut fries were perfection - crisp on the outside, fluffy within, perfectly salted and with immaculate aioli to seal the deal. Roasted roots had their sweetness intensified by a drizzle of honey, and added walnuts gave a pleasing crunch amongst the denseness. You won't need dessert here. Portions are so big you'll be fit to burst, but you only live once, and as much interest and inventiveness has gone into desserts as everything else. The most 'grammed is going to be the '99 soft serve with caramelised popcorn - smooth and creamy, with popcorn that keeps its crunch right until the end. 'Jellied winter fruits' came with pear and clementine, 'tipsy cake', and yoghurt, and felt light and fruity, without being an overly sweet ending. We also love that it's a brand new dish that you can only taste here (compared to Chequer Lane where we were able to predict every dull dessert before the menus landed on the table). A final steamed pudding with custard, cream and giner crumble tasted like something the Granny of our dreams would have made us (we didn't have that Granny but now we have Richard Corrigan so it's all fine). It's unsurprisingly rich though, so if you've done a proper job up to now a few mouthfuls will probably be enough to make you drop your spoon in defeat. What about the drinks? The first thing that you need to know, is that if you like to kick off a night with a bottle of bubbles, you won't be doing that here unless you plan to drop some mega bucks. We had this plan, and our faces collectively dropped when we saw that the entry level sparking wine was Prosecco for €74. The next was Piper-Heidsieck Champagne for €116. How they could find nothing that the average person would willingly spend their money on is beyond us, and we can only presume it's a case of limited wine suppliers, who don't have the catalogue of wines they desperately need. There are some very good producers and cuvées on this list, but prices feel high, and there's shockingly little under €50 (five bottles on the entire list). We drank a Sicilian Grillo, a German Riesling and a red Burgundy, and really enjoyed all of them, but we hope they're looking at adding some better value stat, as it's the only thing we can see putting some people off visiting, and/or coming back, especially if you're with a group for whom 'house wine' is the standard order. How was the service? Very pleasant, but we were expecting a bit more of the type of Irish hospitality Chapter One has become famous for. Things felt slightly more stilted, and a few times staff forgot to bring things we had asked for (including dessert wines which never arrived but were on the bill until we asked for them to be removed). There seemed to be some people there from Corrigan's London team to get things up and running, and we hope they can find some service stars in their own right on the ground here as things move forward. The damage? €96 per person before tip, including a cocktail upstairs in the bar first. It's really, really hard to argue with the value for money here considering how brilliantly put together every dish was, even taking into account the price of the wines. The verdict? Let us rejoice. After Dublin's last couple of celebrity chef restaurant disasters, finally someone has arrived who's giving the people what they want and need (even if they didn't know it). It's probably only after dining here that you'll realise the hole that existed in your dining life before now, but afterwards you'll be hoping for a Park Café in every suburb. It's not trying to be the very best food in the city, it's not striving for stars, there's no in-built attitude, they're just serving properly delicious, feel-good food, in generous portions, at fair prices. What more could you want? The Park Café 1 Ballsbridge, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4 parkcafe.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Featherblade Juicy steaks and béarnaise covered burgers Posted: 28 Feb 2018 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Dublin has long been lacking in casual dining restaurants, where the food is excellent but uncomplicated, and where you can justify eating at any point in the week, lunch or dinner, rather than saving up for that Friday/Saturday night splurge (we still think there's a bit of Catholic guilt going on about eating out midweek in this city). Thankfully that's changing thanks to restaurateurs like Joe Macken ( Jo'Burger , Skinflint , Hey Donna ) and John Farrell ( 777 , Dillinger's ) who've been turning out reliable, inexpensive restaurant concepts over the last few years. Featherblade is another one to add to the list. It opened in September 2015, with the aim of turning out quality, affordable steaks and sides. Similar restaurants have people queuing down the street in London ( Flat Iron ) and Paris ( Le Relais de l’Entrecôte ), so someone clearly saw a business opportunity. The featherblade is a relatively cheap cut of meat that comes from the shoulder of the cow, and can be tough if cooked incorrectly but has lots of flavour when done right. The menu is simple. Two starters, featherblade steak or burger for main, sides and sauces. There are a couple of desserts too, and maybe a special. They've had a bit of flack for cooking the steaks sous vide, which involves putting the meat into a vacuum-sealed bag, and cooking it in a water bath until it reaches the required temperature, then finishing it off briefly on the grill. Critics would say this is a lazy way of cooking and doesn't involve any skill. Advocates would say it produces the juiciest meat and ensures each steak is perfectly cooked every time. If you want to read more about it check out the brilliant Serious Eats website. Where’s good for a drink beforehand? You're bang in the centre of town so there are loads of options. If you want a glass of wine we'd suggest Le Cave or La Ruelle . For pints you've got Café en Seine a few doors down (good for groups or if you want a seat), Kehoe's around the corner on South Anne-Street for that proper Irish pub feel, or on the very off-chance the sun is shining, the terrace outside The Bailey is where everyone wants to be. If it's cocktails you're after and you're organised enough to make a reservation in advance, The Blind Pig or Peruke & Periwig would be a lovely start to the night. What’s the room like? Very Scandinavian. Sleek and modern, but not cold or overly-minimalist. Lots of black and wood. There are two levels - ground floor, and upstairs where you can see the kitchen. Seating is much the same on both levels, but we found downstairs slightly cosier and more peaceful. What's good to eat? This is easy. Because the menu's so small, if you go with just one other person you can pretty much order it all (bar maybe the specials). On the day we visited the two starters were lamb croquettes with parsnip purée and salsa verde, and ricotta gnocchi with squash, hazelnuts, wild mushroom and sage butter. We loved both, but there was a recurring theme of some vegetables tasting of nothing. Both the parsnip and squash purées were either made from inferior veg or badly under-seasoned. It didn't ruin the dish, but getting that part right would have taken them to a different level. We were very pleasantly surprised with the burger, having not expected too much, this being a steak restaurant. It was cooked perfectly medium and was super juicy, in a good quality brioche bun, with the béarnaise sauce a genius (if belly-busting) addition. We really enjoyed it, but were glad we were sharing one between two. We had ordered the steak medium but when it arrived it looked closer to well-done. The wait staff apologised and went to retrieve another one, but this looked not far off the first one. We then realised this was due to the style of cooking. Despite this throwing us slightly, the meat was incredibly juicy, tender and full of flavour, and the chimichurri salt on the outside was the perfect enhancer to the sweet meat. It was a generous portion for €13 and we can't think of anywhere else that does steak this good for this price. They took both steaks off the bill by way of apology and although we insisted on paying for one they were having none of it. There were two options for dessert, and we went for the chocolate and peanut tart with salted caramel after seeing people rave about it online. It tasted like the poshest possible incarnation of a snickers bar and we're still thinking about it. Be warned, it is incredibly rich so half was more than enough. What about the drinks? Cocktails are really well priced at €7.50 each, so much so that it would be madness not to start with one. We tried the Raspberry Fizz with prosecco, limoncello, raspberry purée and mint, and the Old Fashioned with Teelings whiskey, orange thyme and chilli syrup, which were both excellent. We thought the fizz might be too sweet but it was perfectly balanced and refreshing, and we loved the twist on the more grown up (read: more booze heavy) Old Fashioned. They have a nice list of bottled beer and cider, and wine comes both in bottle and on tap, which you can order by the glass, carafe (500ml) or litre. From tap we tried the Spanish Tempranillo from Bodegas Abanico (€7 a glass), and the Portugese Touriga Nacional from Alex Relvas (€7.50 a glass). Both were really solid wines for red meat, but the Touriga Nacional was particularly fragrant and interesting, and great with the steak. And the service? Our waitress was very friendly and accommodating, and they dealt with the steak issue like pros. The verdict? Featherblade is the type of restaurant that Dublin needs more of, and we think they're offering real value for money, especially considering the eye-watering rents in Dublin city centre right now. There's nothing fussy or 'special occasion' about it, which is the draw, and overall the food delivers, making it perfect for a midweek outing, or when you don't have hours to languish over dinner. Despite a few minor complaints we really enjoyed our meal and are planning a return the next time we want steak and don't want to cook it. Long live quality casual dining. Featherblade 51 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 featherblade.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Two Faced A classy-casual contrast to the Camden Street crowds Posted: 28 May 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Two Faced? The Drury Street dominance of summer in Dublin may be in for some competition if Montague Street has anything to say about it. This little laneway tucked just off the chaos of Camden Street has had a new lease of nightlife that started with La Gordita last year, and the newest among them is the dual purpose Two Faced , a café by day, wine bar by night, that’s all about bringing a buzzy new energy to this stretch of the city. Where should we sit? You’ll be happy with whatever you can get - space is at a premium here and we’re expecting plenty of disappointed walk-in hopefuls throughout the summer, though the Two Faced team shows no lack of invention in comfortably slotting more people in wherever they can. There’s outdoor seats and space to stand around with a drink too, so even if you’re out of luck on arrival you might only have a glass’ worth of a wait to get seated. Three high two-tops tucked in the back corner make an ideal date night perch for couples or anyone else out for D&Ms, while the communal seating everywhere else, and the conversations it fosters, might well see some new pairings born. The wall-length ledge alongside the entrance strikes us as a little too compact for comfort, but the main central shared table that also hosts the coffee machine and DJ deck at either end is the real heart of the action, and the atmosphere. What’s on the menu? Managed expectations are important here. The vibe of Two Faced ’s evening iteration is very much a wine bar first and foremost, and coming in looking for a muti-course dining experience is not advised. With the tight space and limited prep setup available – we’re talking a fridge and counter-top multi-purpose oven – the team have drawn up a pragmatic menu that’s more about serving the peckish than the full-blown hangry. That needn’t involve too much of a trade-off on quality, and while their space limitations may hold Two Faced back from doing much in the way of dish development, their assorted boards and platters come stocked with plenty of premium produce. Much of the small plate snacks as well as olive oil and balsamic comes via Lilliput, while the tinned Spanish seafood selection that makes up a significant chunk of the menu is all La Curiosa . Whiskey and maple roasted nuts are a good start, with a smoky-sweet duality broad enough to play off a wide range of wine – you get the sense with much of the food here that it’s been thought up as a pairing for the wines, rather than the other way around. That explains ample cheeses with a primarily Irish slant, including a gloriously gooey baked Cavanbert from Corleggy. Its mild, nutty notes balance beautifully off the depth of balsamic grapes and rich sweetness of honey, though the side of sourdough could have used a little more time in the toaster for added crunch. There’s no toasting at all for the focaccia that’s served alongside the stracciatella, and we couldn’t fathom why – the creamy glut of stretched curds needed something more structurally sound to cling to. While the shaved tomato and lime zest sprinkled over the top bring an acid freshness that avoids any sense of one-note richness, this is a dish that works best in small doses, shared around. What didn’t work for us was the ham and triple cheese toastie, pairing Durrus Óg, Bookers Cheddar and Templegall. This is a sandwich whose pedigree can’t be doubted, but the broadly similar flavour profiles of the three makes for a muddled mouthful of no real pronounced character, with the ham getting lost in the mix. Something sharper would have been a better bet to stand out from the crowd. The multi-purpose oven’s limitations are in full view here too, with one side of the bread more soggy than singed – a flip halfway through the cooking time would go a long way. Some eyebrows have shot skyward at the price tag of the conservas, all in and around the €20 mark for a tin served with crisps, crackers and pickles, or a duo of bread and chutney. Bargain deals they ain’t, but these on-trend and additive-free preserves don’t come cheap - with all the bells and whistles, we doubt Two Faced are making a massive margin on any of this. The curried mackerel's flavourful flakes could win over even the most oily fish-averse, and while the mussel paté might be a more acquired taste for some, we found its rich and lightly-spiced appeal pretty alluring. What are the drinks like? There are forty-plus wines on the bottle menu, with a variety of suppliers on board and more in talks to join soon. The result is a mix of reliable standards and more left-field picks, with a price range from €38 to €125 – Two Faced say they're keen to offer as much variety as possible. Co-owner Genie Petrauskaite, heading up front of house, is encyclopaedic on what they’ve got and very helpful in her suggestions - purely for research purposes we tried a good spread of the fifteen BTG options. Best were the floral, fruity and off-dry Bender weissburgunder, perfect with the fish, and the rhubarb-rich Integrale rosé, a moreish pet-nat that tided us over happily while we waited for the first plates to come our way. How was the service? A real highlight - Two Faced ’s team have an ease and enthusiasm about them that just screams passion project. Keen eyes watch the glasses and leap in to offer another with a cheer that’s just the right side of pushy, and while the oven’s scale could make for a bit of a wait if a glut of orders come in all at once, the kitchen looks to be well calibrated to manage the likely demand. And the damage? Three glasses apiece and enough food to leave feeling filled, if not fattened, set us back just short of €60 a head. You could grab a quick glass and a solid snack here before a fuller dinner in the area for a reasonable €20. What’s the verdict on Two Faced? Dublin’s wine bar scene just keeps stepping up gears, with more than ever popping up in quick succession. In that environment, a niche or novelty is needed to stay the course, and with its closest competition coming in the shape of the more formal Frank’s and the most food-forward Bar Pez , Two Faced makes its pitch all about the atmosphere. Warm colours and a friendly air meet bassy beats and spillover street space, for a vibe that above all feels ready to roll with the punches – there’s many kinds of nights that could play out here. As a classy-casual contrast to the rowdier scenes spilling out of bars around the corner, it’s a welcome change of pace. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

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

D'Olier Street A New York-style addition to Dublin's elite dining crew Posted: 24 Jan 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story with D'Olier Street? It's a partnership between Mr Fox owner/chef Anthony Smith, and couple Jane Frye and James Moore, who were based in New York up until a year ago. Smith and Moore are old chef buddies, having cooked together in One Pico 16 years ago, before Moore (who's Australian) moved to NYC. Smith then followed, and the two lived together, meeting Frye (who's American) in the interim. Smith returned home to Dublin to open Mr Fox in 2016. You caught up? When Moore, who was head chef at two Michelin-starred Atera in New York at the time, told Smith he wanted to open his own restaurant, he somehow managed to convinced him to do it in Dublin, and New York's loss is most definitely our gain. Frye and Moore are married, and while Frye's background was in food media and not service, she's spent the last year learning the ropes at Mr Fox, while the couple's first restaurant together took shape. In October they announced a star signing in pastry chef Mina Pizarro , who's worked at some of the best restaurants in New York, including Le Cirque, Per Se and Veritas. If people weren't paying attention before, that made them sit up straight. D'Olier Street opened at the start of December, and we could barely restrain ourselves from running in, but thought we'd let them get over silly season before seeing what they're all about. Where should we sit? This room has been home to mediocre bistros and busily-decorated tourist traps over the years, but it's never been allowed to shine like this. The high ceilings, modern design and muted colours feel more than a little New York, and everything about it feels grand and special occasion worthy, in the most of the moment way. The seats most in demand will be the eight around the chefs counter, but it's actually at table level. This may be a negative as you don't get quite the bird's eye view into the kitchen that you can higher up, or a positive as your legs aren't dangling off a stool for two hours. If you're not bothered about seeing chefs plate dishes, the other tables dotted around the room offer a bit more privacy for romantic redezvous or clandestine chats. What's the menu like? It's billed as a ten course tasting menu for €82, but be aware that each of the snacks is considered a single course, as is the bread, a teeny bite of pre-desert and the petit fours to finish. We think the optics would have been better to describe it as a five-course menu with added extras - under-promise and over-deliver. Those first two snacks were a plump Connemara oyster with bracing yuzu and herbacous thyme, and a perfectly crisp nori tartlet with bluefin tuna, ginger, roe and sesame oil. Two for two - a great start. After that came silky foie gras custard with a thin layer of quince jelly, a quenelle of quince chutney, toasted walnuts, and the most perfect, golden, mini English muffins. Light as air inside, crispy and rubbly from the cornmeal they were fried on top of outside, this is a killer dish that's already the talk of town. Next came hamachi (also called yellowtail or amberjack) crudo, with apple aguachile, basil oil and unbilled Jalapeño and toasted almonds. We love dishes like this, the kind that act like an electric jolt to your palate, all acid and heat, curing and then cutting through the hamachi's oily texture. Next came salmon with miso buttermilk, trout roe and baby leek, and confession: we haven't eaten farmed salmon since watching Seaspiracy and getting a major ick about it. The creamy, umami-laded sauce is lick the plate clean material, little balls of roe popping as you slurp, and the baby leek was just cooked to retain the slightest bite. Salmon feels like an odd (maybe safe) choice, and while it's cooked beautifully in a sous vide before being blowtorched to finish, we'd much prefer to see a local and/or wild fish here instead. Then the bread course, which to be fair, deserves its own course. It deserves its own restaurant. The seeded pretzel restaurant. 10 courses of this pretzel in slightly varying forms. Where do we queue. This particular one with cultured buttermilk had us ooohing and aaahing, smelling and chewing, grabbing staff to tell us what magic lay within. Savour every bite. Ask for a second if you're brave. The last of the savoury courses, and the main proper, is billed as "Ribeye. Carrot. Pistachio." We don't usually grumble about a bit of steak when eating out ( except when served on a wooden chopping board that's been set alight ), but this felt flat, and like another safe choice. The meat (from superstar butcher Peter Hannan ) was very tender (we presume the sous vide had been used again) but lacked flavour, and the pistactio crumbed, meltingly tender carrots and the jus were perfectly nice, but it was missing the magic. With the steak they serve slices from the fat cap (which was predominantly fat), and perfect rectangles of confit potato, a crispy shell encasing a butter soft interior. Before dessert comes a tiny bite of coconut and passionfruit mochi as a palate cleanser - unrelated to the freezer mochi on Asian restaurant dessert menus across the city. Then the dish of the night, the one that we'll still be thinking about years from now, the one that might be our dessert of the year and we're only one month into 2023. A perfect, firm circle of riz au lait (French rice pudding), comes topped with elegantly pipped pastry cream, crystalised mango and mango sorbet, before a cardamom caramel is poured into the centre. The ooohs and aaahs returned, and we found ourselves gazing into the kitchen at Pizarro, wondering how we could make her fall in love with Dublin and never leave. Petit fours to finish of black sesame shortbread and chocolate fudge brownie were pleasant but unmemorable - that mango rice pudding is a hard act to follow though. What about drinks? You're in very safe hands when it comes to wine. Scott White (formerly in Aimsir, Mr Fox and Patrick Guilbaud) is the sommelier, and the list is full of interesting bottles you'll want to drink and pour over on the list, all with an indie producer lean. We started with a glass of grower Champagne from Antoine Bouvet (€22), and if you like high end fizz you should too - it's the best possible start to your dining experience, here or anywhere else. The wine pairing is €65 for five glasses and we thought it really delivered. It started with cava with the snacks, two whites, a red, and an incredible Jurançon from South West France with that mango rice pudding - and we thought it couldn't possibly get better. A (lovely) Albariño with the hamachi crudo was the only match that didn't gel as well as the others, but it's a hard dish to pair with its acid and heat, so we're not sure what would have worked better. We did one pairing and tried a couple of different glasses from the list, including an Austrian Pinot Blanc and a Mallorcan red blend, and wasn't one that let things down. We finished with a glass of Taylor's 10 year old tawny port, which is never a bad way to end an evening. How was the service? Frye is a warm and welcoming host, looking genuinely happy to be there greeting and looking after her guests, without anything being forced. Everyone we encountered was smiling and lovely and it felt like there was a ripple of excitement at being involved in a new opening like this. The kitchen was one of the calmest we've ever seen, with barely a conversation to be heard, everyone gently going about their work, looking completely confident in the role they were playing. They haven't changed the menu since opening and we think this is a smart move to let the staff bed in and get into a well-oiled rhythm. What was the damage? You're looking at €147 a head with the wine pairing (and our single glasses added up to around the same), so don't expect to come out with much change under €300 for two if you're doing it properly. It's a big spend and comparable to prices being charged at the best restaurants in the city (including Michelin stars). You could just get a bottle of wine to share between two, but you'll still be looking at circa €250 with a tip, so it won't be a meal to enter into lightly for a lot of people. We also flinched at their tip guide at the bottom showing what 15%, 18% and 20% tip amounts to. These are astronomical tips for most Irish people, especially at this spend, and it's likely to cause embarrassment when someone asks to put "just" 10 or 12% on the bill. The verdict? We're dizzy with delight for Dublin that D'Olier Street has joined the limited crew of restaurants operating at this level, in the most modern of dining rooms, with this kind of skill in the kitchen. An experience that might have been ten a penny in New York is standout here, and while we think some parts of the menu need adjusting and pushing outside of tried and tested formulas, we'd be surprised if they don't take the feedback they've had so far and keep driving forward. We would wager the next few months are going to bring more settling in, more ideas down, more dishes rising up, and with a Michelin visit undoubtedly in their near future, we're marking this as one to watch for a future star. D'Olier Street D'Olier Chambers, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 dolierstreetrestaurant.com New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Sophisticated French-Irish dining in the beautiful basement of an old Georgian house on Pembroke street. French owner Olivier Meisonnave started feeding the masses in 2004 and Dax has been consistently good ever since, but it got a new lease of life since Chef Graham Neville (formerly of Thornton's and Restaurant Forty One) took over the kitchen in 2017. Dax Website dax.ie Address 23 Pembroke Street Upper, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Sophisticated French-Irish dining in the beautiful basement of an old Georgian house on Pembroke street. French owner Olivier Meisonnave started feeding the masses in 2004 and Dax has been consistently good ever since, but it got a new lease of life since Chef Graham Neville (formerly of Thornton's and Restaurant Forty One) took over the kitchen in 2017. 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