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Gertrude Website gertrude.ie Address 130 Pearse Street, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Storyboard Website storyboardcoffee.com Address Clancy Quay, Storyboard, Camden, Island Bridge, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Dún Laoghaire's food options have improved vastly over the past few years, and more options can be found further south along the coast in Sandycove, Glasthule and Dalkey. Dún Laoghaire - Sandycove - Glasthule - Dalkey Our Take Dún Laoghaire's food options have improved vastly over the past few years, and more options can be found further south along the coast in Sandycove, Glasthule and Dalkey. Where to Eat 64 Wine Arty Baker Bibi's Dún Laoghaire Daata Deville's Grapevine Hatch Coffee Oliveto Rasam Soup DL Strudel Bakery Zero Zero Pizza

Reggie White kept us a long time waiting for his eponymous restaurant Reggie's, but as predicted it's been worth waiting for. After debuting his recipes at Pi in 2019 he became the unofficial Dublin pizza King, and after manning a few other stoves and helping countless pizza restaurants with consultancy, Reggie's is the culmination of all that talent in a place that's already packed with regulars. Reggie's Pizzeria Website reggies.ie Address Reggie's Pizzeria, Rathmines Road Lower, Rathmines, Dublin 6, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Reggie White kept us a long time waiting for his eponymous restaurant Reggie's, but as predicted it's been worth waiting for. After debuting his recipes at Pi in 2019 he became the unofficial Dublin pizza King, and after manning a few other stoves and helping countless pizza restaurants with consultancy, Reggie's is the culmination of all that talent in a place that's already packed with regulars. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

No Messin' only opened in 2020, which is odd because we feel like Cardi-Bs, hun buns and dudnuts have been part of our vocab (and lives) since we learned to talk. The younger sibling of Smithfield's Proper Order Coffee (now housed in the café) has jaw-dropping pastry skills, and if you don't order one of everything to go you're not doing it right. No Messin @ Proper Order Website nomessinbakery.com Address Unit 1, The Distillery Building, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 WDX9, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story No Messin' only opened in 2020, which is odd because we feel like Cardi-Bs, hun buns and dudnuts have been part of our vocab (and lives) since we learned to talk. The younger sibling of Smithfield's Proper Order Coffee (now housed in the café) has jaw-dropping pastry skills, and if you don't order one of everything to go you're not doing it right. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Round up your gang and settle in over a dual or triple pot, bubbling over with broths ranging from mild to spicy, and an endless assortment of meat, fish, veg and starches to cook in them. Handy guides show you how long to cook the different elements for, and you can go wild at the condiment bar, mixing and matching to your perfect taste. This is a great one if you're on a budget - it would take some work to hit €100 for two. Chongqing Hot Pot Website chongqing.ie Address 121-123, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 H7K6, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Round up your gang and settle in over a dual or triple pot, bubbling over with broths ranging from mild to spicy, and an endless assortment of meat, fish, veg and starches to cook in them. Handy guides show you how long to cook the different elements for, and you can go wild at the condiment bar, mixing and matching to your perfect taste. This is a great one if you're on a budget - it would take some work to hit €100 for two. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Pi opened quietly in June 2018 and within weeks was being touted as the best pizza in Dublin. Original owner and pizziaolo Reggie White left after a few years to open Little Forest, followed by pop ups of his own, but Pi remains as popular as ever. Toppings feature a mix of Italian and Irish ingredients, and desserts are simple but perfect. Pi Website pipizzas.ie Address 10 Castle House, 73 - 83 South Great George's Street, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Pi opened quietly in June 2018 and within weeks was being touted as the best pizza in Dublin. Original owner and pizziaolo Reggie White left after a few years to open Little Forest, followed by pop ups of his own, but Pi remains as popular as ever. Toppings feature a mix of Italian and Irish ingredients, and desserts are simple but perfect. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

One of the original Dublin gastropubs. Irish produce prepared and cooked beautifully, an eye-poppingly large craft beer selection and a lot of gin. They also have a 'better than your average pub' wine list and a great choice of non-alcoholic drinks for the drivers, teetotallers or under 18s. L Mulligan Grocer Website lmulligangrocer.com Address 18 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story One of the original Dublin gastropubs. Irish produce prepared and cooked beautifully, an eye-poppingly large craft beer selection and a lot of gin. They also have a 'better than your average pub' wine list and a great choice of non-alcoholic drinks for the drivers, teetotallers or under 18s. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

The Big Romance describe themselves as an "audiophile bar", with a custom sound system, one of the best craft beer lists in the city, and pizza from neighbours One Society down the road. Cocktails and wines are good too, and the moody, dimly-lit space is perfect for first dates and nights that go on till late. The Big Romance Website thebigromance.ie Address 98 Parnell Street, Dublin 1 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The Big Romance describe themselves as an "audiophile bar", with a custom sound system, one of the best craft beer lists in the city, and pizza from neighbours One Society down the road. Cocktails and wines are good too, and the moody, dimly-lit space is perfect for first dates and nights that go on till late. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Sourdough pizza and free-range chicken wings are Vice’s reason for being, and opening so close to Trinity College was a smart move. Their “elevated sourdough crusts” are finished with seeds, while similarly elevated toppings include chilli-infused pineapple and toasted fennel powder. Wings and tenders come with various levels of heat, and don’t skip the dip. There’s plenty of seating upstairs and downstairs and it’s ideal for a quick, inexpensive bite en route to somewhere else. Vice Website @vicedublin Address 5 Merrion Street Lower, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Sourdough pizza and free-range chicken wings are Vice’s reason for being, and opening so close to Trinity College was a smart move. Their “elevated sourdough crusts” are finished with seeds, while similarly elevated toppings include chilli-infused pineapple and toasted fennel powder. Wings and tenders come with various levels of heat, and don’t skip the dip. There’s plenty of seating upstairs and downstairs and it’s ideal for a quick, inexpensive bite en route to somewhere else. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Say Hello to All The Food Contact Our Office The team at All the Food is always happy to connect with our community. We welcome questions and inquiries - and of course, we're always keen to hear about new places to eat. First Name Last Name Email Phone Who Are You? Choose an option Your Interest Choose an option Write a message Submit Join ATF Insiders Make the Most of Every Meal. Join Us

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 Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Neighbourhood pizza as it should be: equal parts authentic and eccentric. Named after the nondescript little Smithfield alley out behind Frank Ryan’s pub where it originally set up stall in 2017, Coke Lane has steadily progressed to bigger and better things since opening in 2017, now serving up its wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas in two D8 sites: The Circular in Rialto and Lucky’s in the Liberties. Founder Dave Holmes brings vocational zeal to his work with irresistibly airy sourdough crusts, delicious home-made chilli honey and sophisticatedly simple flavour pairings designed to appeal to all palates. It's a particular hit with vegetarians, with half the menu meat-free. Coke Lane at Lucky's Website cokelanepizza.ie Address Lucky's, 78 Meath Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Neighbourhood pizza as it should be: equal parts authentic and eccentric. Named after the nondescript little Smithfield alley out behind Frank Ryan’s pub where it originally set up stall in 2017, Coke Lane has steadily progressed to bigger and better things since opening in 2017, now serving up its wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas in two D8 sites: The Circular in Rialto and Lucky’s in the Liberties. Founder Dave Holmes brings vocational zeal to his work with irresistibly airy sourdough crusts, delicious home-made chilli honey and sophisticatedly simple flavour pairings designed to appeal to all palates. It's a particular hit with vegetarians, with half the menu meat-free. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Natural wine café with a white-washed, flower-filled room, in a prime spot looking out to sea. A simple but effective breakfast and lunch menu give way to wine bar small plates in the evening, with tenderly created plates of Irish seafood, pasta and excellent vegetarian options, as well as smaller nibbles to snack on. The natural-only wine list is a draw in of itself, and don't be surprised if you're made to share a table with other diners. It's that kind of place. September Website instagram.com/september.dublin Address September, Bath Place, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Natural wine café with a white-washed, flower-filled room, in a prime spot looking out to sea. A simple but effective breakfast and lunch menu give way to wine bar small plates in the evening, with tenderly created plates of Irish seafood, pasta and excellent vegetarian options, as well as smaller nibbles to snack on. The natural-only wine list is a draw in of itself, and don't be surprised if you're made to share a table with other diners. It's that kind of place. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Bistro One Website bistro-one.ie Address 3 Brighton Road, Foxrock, Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Lotus Eaters From modern Irish to Japanese grilling - The Pig's Ear team go rogue Posted: 23 Jul 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Lotus Eaters? Up until a month ago it was The Pig's Ear , open on Nassau Street since 2008. Nothing and no one stays relevant forever, but it takes a brave restaurateur to upend a working formula for something totally new. In June they announced they were going to "park The Pig's Ear for now", and launch "a more casual but comfortable offering" to fit with "the zeitgeist of the moment" - Lotus Eaters . The main gist is Japanese-inspired dishes with Wagyu burgers cooked over a charcoal grill, and with the two mains topping out at €20 a piece, they're aiming for this to be " a more affordable dining experience ". The name comes from Greek mythology, from those who spent their time in a state of blissful forgetfulness after eating the Lotus plant. It also refers to someone who prefers to indulge in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns - sounds strangely familiar. Where should we sit? The room is still The Pig's Ear, apart from some new art on the walls and rows of sake behind the bar, and it jars a bit with the new concept. It feels like it's passing through before the original makes a return, and makes it hard to settle into as a totally different experience - we kept expecting to see a shepherd's pie or stripy pink bag carrying dessert coming out of the kitchen. The wine glasses still have The Pig's Ear branding on them too, and while we wouldn't be ones to advocate waste, it's another marker that makes you feel they haven't fully committed - and if they're not convinced, it makes you wonder whether you'll be. The best seats in here have always been at the window, overlooking the College Park in Trinity, so request them if you can. There are two more floors above that (sometimes used as private dining rooms) that will also open if demand is there. What's on the menu? They get full marks for pushing the boat out with a menu that's very different for Dublin, although only having two "main" options of omelette or Wagyu hamburger won't appeal to everyone - adventurous eaters assemble. You can order as you go or leave it up to them for €60 a head, and the latter option means getting to try everything if there are two of you (bar the luxury add ons) - the menu says you'll get the hamburger, but they said we could sub in an omelette. Doing it this way means you get everything for €120, whereas if you ordered all of the parts separately it would come to €135.10. The all-in experience starts with soba salad, a pile of buckwheat noodles served with a dashi dipping sauce (more like a broth). Our noodles had been overcooked so were missing bite, and while the broth is pleasant it's very subtle. Fans of big flavours won't find them here. Oysters with nahm jim (a Thai dipping sauce with chillies, lime and fish sauce) and bonito (skipjack tuna flakes) on the other hand have the flavour dial turned to high, while masterfully managing not to overwhelm the delicate oysters underneath. A grilled scallop arrived plump and juicy, sitting on pig's head pudding (made in house) that has the spreadable consistency of Spanish morcilla, as opposed to Clonakilty's finest. It's all swimming in Café de Paris butter, supercharged with herbs, spices and other savoury ingredients, and you'll struggle not to pick up the shell and drain every drop. Scallops and black pudding is an overdone, clichéd dish - this is how to do it for 2024. (If you're sharing the "leave it up to us" menu they'll bring two scallop shells with half in each). We love crudo/sashimi/ceviche, but a plate of raw hamachi (young yellowtail) looked and tasted like it had been beaten with a blunt object, with the flattening treatment making the flesh taste more mealy and bitty than the firm, delicate pieces we were expecting. The tangy yoghurt felt too heavy on top of the subtle fish, and we would have preferred a more polished preparation along the lines of soy/yuzu/sesame/chillies and the rest. The only thing putting us off the all-in menu was the tartare with brioche. We knew it was going to be dirty delicious after our trip to Toast downstairs , but it's a meal in itself, and eating half of a sandwich after everything that had come before, with a main and dessert still to come, will be too much for most stomachs. It's another good main option if you don't want the burger or omelette, expertly flavoured with all the textures, and a burnt leek ash mayo for dipping to push your calorie intake to even greater heights. For the omelette there's a choice of crab (€20) or maitake mushroom (€18), with optional add ons of caviar (€30) and truffle (with truffle oil pesto and fresh truffle - €10). Never have we ever seen an omelette this tight, shiny and satiny smooth - we reckon a video on how to make it would go viral. We cut it on the diagonal as instructed, revealing a mound of expertly dressed white crab meat that looked like more than €20's worth - we may have had special treatment here. The only slight off note is that the exterior and the interior feel like two separate entities - warm omelette, cool filling added before plating, when we expected them to be more enmeshed. Before your mains a tray of condiments and sauces arrives, and this is where the fun really starts. Bowls of pickled ginger, burnt jalapeño salsa, togarashi, crispy onions, and bottles of sriracha and ponzu allow you to mix and match as you like. We tried the sriracha with the omelette, but the rest are better with the burger. And what a burger. Wagyu beef, the Japanese breed known for it super marbled meat, is used here, and while the marbling might be lost to mincing and frying, you can taste the fat content in the juicy patty, glazed with burnt honey and black vinegar. They include a soy egg yolk in the all-in menu and you should too if ordering separately. Mix it up and pour over the rice, along with chopped up bits of the burger, and have fun adding in all the flavours. If you eat anything here, have this. Again there are add-ons - caviar, truffle, bone marrow and duck liver (foie gras), but we didn't feel the need. Both desserts are included if you go for the whole hog, and you'll be struggling for space at this point. A chocolate burnt Basque cheesecake made us rethink our view that you don't mess with a classic, the sour yoghurt and tangy passion fruit seeds slicing through the rich chocolate and forcing us to eat more than we'd planned. At €15 though this must be one of the most expensive desserts in Dublin. Another of yuzu parfait with matcha, white chocolate and raspberries was sweet and pleasant but the flavours weren't jumping out of the bowl. What about drinks? Classic cocktails, beer and "little treats to start" provide plenty to tempt, and the wine list has a good amount of choice with 23 by the glass. It's confusing though as everything is listed out of price order (even within the smaller categories), so if you're going in with a rough price range that you want to spend within, it makes it more of a struggle to see what's in your bracket. The other thing that might give you a jolt is some of the glass prices, which go to up €16.95, with no pour size listed - there's a big difference between 125ml and 175ml. Our server didn't know which it was, but after going into the back confirmed they're 175mls (just under a quarter of a bottle). The majority of newer, fresher restaurants in the city centre have moved down to 125ml or 150ml, which many diners like as they can try more and stop their chilled wines getting too warm - others feel short-changed getting less than a bowlful. Many of you will love that glasses here are on the larger side, but the accompanying sticker shock is real, and margins are high - those wines selling for €16.95 by the glass are available retail for €23 - €26 for a bottle. This is not unusual for the city centre, but with diners still squeezed from every angle, it's sad that restaurant economics have push things to this point, and it's undoubtedly making former restaurant frequenters stay home more often. From a quality perspective we had no complaints, loving a sparkling Blanquette de Limoux from Antech in the south of France made from the Mauzac grape , a white Burgundy from Alain Chavy, and a Langhe Nebbiolo from Virna Borgogno. There are three sakes too, with Hakutsura's 200ml glass cup of chika sake enough for two to have some easy sips. They also brought us a yuzu sake FOC with the bill (we're not sure if this is standard or not) which was a sweet yet zippy way to wake our palates up again after all that food. How was the service? We had the distinct feeling we'd been rumbled as soon as we walked in, getting more attention than seemed necessary, and while the service was very amiable and amenable, we felt eyes on us every time we looked up. It makes it a lot harder to tell you what Joe public can expect, but they're an experienced team in here so we wouldn't be expecting any service-related curveballs. What was the damage? €202 for two people before tip for the works, which is standard for a full feed with drinks in a higher end restaurant around this part of town, but you could have a small plate, one of the mains, and a couple of drinks each for around €65 a head. What's the verdict on Lotus Eaters? You need courage and confidence to take a leap of faith on a new food concept in a 16-year old, very successful restaurant, and there's lots to like at Lotus Eaters , but it's missing a clean break from The Pig's Ear. We can't help feeling they would be off to a stronger start if they'd fully committed, but can also understand the desire to test the water. We're not sure €17 glasses of wine and €15 slices of cheesecake fit with their objective of providing a " more affordable dining experience", but you won't get crab omelettes, tartare toasties or Wagyu hamburger rice bowls like these anywhere else in the city right now, so jump to it if you're in the mood for brand new food. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

A Dublin pizza institution long before leoparding, white pies and chipotle mayo became part of the local lexicon. The menu runs the Italian gamut from Antipasti to Risotto, and the cocktails are a cut above your average pizza place. Paulie's Website paulies.ie Address 58 Grand Canal Street Upper, Dublin 4 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story A Dublin pizza institution long before leoparding, white pies and chipotle mayo became part of the local lexicon. The menu runs the Italian gamut from Antipasti to Risotto, and the cocktails are a cut above your average pizza place. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Niall Sabongi's seafood café opens from lunch till late seven days a week, serving sustainable, Irish seafood served in simple, delicious ways. Catch their oyster happy hour between 4pm and 5pm every day, where oysters are around €1 cheaper than normal. The Seafood Cafe Website klaw.ie Address Unit 11, Sprangers Yard, Fownes Street Upper, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Niall Sabongi's seafood café opens from lunch till late seven days a week, serving sustainable, Irish seafood served in simple, delicious ways. Catch their oyster happy hour between 4pm and 5pm every day, where oysters are around €1 cheaper than normal. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Chob Thai Website chobthai.ie Address Chob Thai Restaurant, Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

John & Sandy Wyer's Ranelagh bakery is a departure from their more fine dining restaurants, but stays firmly in the French canon with superior bread and peak patisserie. Don't go on a fully empty stomach on weekend mornings, or the queue will surely induce a serious case of hanger. It's all good here, from sweet to savoury to all the bread in the back, but don't miss the almond croissant, which is one of the best in the city. Una Website unabakery.ie Address Una, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story John & Sandy Wyer's Ranelagh bakery is a departure from their more fine dining restaurants, but stays firmly in the French canon with superior bread and peak patisserie. Don't go on a fully empty stomach on weekend mornings, or the queue will surely induce a serious case of hanger. It's all good here, from sweet to savoury to all the bread in the back, but don't miss the almond croissant, which is one of the best in the city. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

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Free-range egg sandwiches, homemade hash browns and chilled mimosas, with brilliant suppliers like Ballon Eggs and Higgins Butchers. Brothers Hugh and Eoin O’Reilly starting serving egg sandwiches in 2018 at festivals and events, and their second site in Rathmines came after the first on Smithfield Square. Try the Mad Yolk, Bad Yolk or Fresh Yolk, and gain a new appreciation for the humble egg. Mad Yolks Rathmines Website madyolks.ie Address Mad Yolks, Rathmines Road Upper, Rathmines, Dublin 6, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Free-range egg sandwiches, homemade hash browns and chilled mimosas, with brilliant suppliers like Ballon Eggs and Higgins Butchers. Brothers Hugh and Eoin O’Reilly starting serving egg sandwiches in 2018 at festivals and events, and their second site in Rathmines came after the first on Smithfield Square. Try the Mad Yolk, Bad Yolk or Fresh Yolk, and gain a new appreciation for the humble egg. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Sultan's Grill A Turkish mecca for behemoth breakfasts, crackling lahmacun, and homemade doners Posted: 20 Aug 2024 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What should we know about Sultan’s Grill? One of the great gifts of immigration is the real cultural understanding it brings with it – ask a Berliner and a Dubliner for their impressions of Turkish food and you’re likely, at least until lately, to get very different responses. Germany’s two million Turks have ensured the country’s culinary subculture is steeped in real tradition, where Ireland’s equivalent has always been more tailored to an after-hours Irish demand for drunken d ö ners. But the times they are a-changing, just as much as our evolving palates, and the threefold increase in Ireland’s Turkish population between the last two censuses has ensured an emerging market for more sophisticated stuff. From Reyna to Rumi , a spate of recent arrivals is broadening our blinkered view of what Turkish food can be. We’d kept a curious eye on this North Lott’s space ever since a brief popup previously due for Dame Street showed up for a few nights only – now it’s become Sultan’s Grill , with a wood-fired flatbread grill the centrepiece. Where should we sit? The lengthy, luxuriously-kitted space is smartly set up for a variety of visit types, from the hard-backed two-tops to the rear that lend themselves best to quicker evening snacking, to the comfy banquet booths whose wider tables are tailor-made for the endless breakfast plates – more on those anon. A pair of tables flanked by easy chairs in the back corner are great for groups looking for a low-key catch-up – the first indication that this is a world apart from the fast food iteration of Turkish food that’s largely all we’ve seen in the city before. Things were quiet on both our Friday evening and Sunday morning visits, so we had our pick of the place. For the perfect balance of comfort and a close-to-the-action vantage point near the wood-fired grill, you can’t beat a booth. What should we order? We needed two visits to get through all we wanted to try at Sultan’s Grill , with an early evening visit to test out their all-day flatbreads leaving us sufficiently impressed to come back for their flagship breakfast, served Friday to Sunday. Those pide and lahmacun are still novel enough in Ireland to have turned the Turkish heads we consulted, but it’s the traditional breakfast that has really raised the excitement. It's not hard to understand why when you see the full expanse of the spread – this bumper breakfast was as difficult to fit on the table as it was to cram into one shot. It’s billed as a meal for two people but three or even four could be happily sated here; the breads, meats and cheeses alone were more than enough for us before we even got on to the piping hot menemen that’s thrown in for good measure. The standout appeal at Sultan’s Grill is in the experience – sharing a meal as the first step to sharing much more. As we broke bread (fresh crusty baguette and sesame-coated simit, the Turkish take on a bagel), loaded it with every possible permutation from the plates before us (from soft chicken sausage with olives to Nutella and marmalade), and traded tips on what best matches what (mounds of the feta-like tulum cheese dripping with flavourful honey, for our money), we got a sense of a culture as much as a cuisine. Juicy, lightly-spiced sujuk sausage, fruity and fragrant abagannuc (the Turkish take on baba ghanoush), and kaymak clotted cream are among the more delicious discoveries to be made here – only the cheap jar olives and limp chips let things down. The menemen, eggs scrambled into a cooked-down spiced sauce of chopped tomatoes and peppers, would make a plentiful breakfast on its own, and you can order just this, or a choice of b ö rek and g ö zleme pastries. The latter weren’t on for our breakfast visit so we settled for a cheese and spinach b ö rek which was a highlight, with layers of flaky filo barely containing the rich, salty filling. Sultan’s Grill has made plenty of noise about its lahmacun – giddy reviews from Turks in Dublin have done the same. The wafer-thin snack is a flatter cousin from the same family as the Lebanese manousheh we raved about in (now rebranded) Zaatar . Here it’s spread to the edge with minced lamb and diced veg, served with a salad loaded on top before folding and eating, wrap style. The crisp crackle of the flatbread as its folded is as good as foodie ASMR gets, and the packed mouthfuls the finished product yields are a treat. Don’t be shy with the little pickled peppers, flavour bombs we wanted to buy by the jar. At €7.99, this is one of the best value dishes in town. The pide, with seven options available, is rolled thicker with sides upturned to keep the more generous fillings from spilling over. We found the sausage the superior of the two we tried, with tiny diced chunks of sujuk swimming in a sea of molten cheese. The other just couldn’t compare - for all the juicy, spicy goodness of the minced beef we found the egg cracked on top before loading into the oven took away more than it added – we’ll take the raw yolk of neighbouring Georgia’s khachapuri any day. If that variety of dishes isn’t enough to attest the true qualities of Turkish cuisine, Sultan’s Grill ’s take on a doner seals the deal. It’s no surprise after the quality flatbreads to find the house-made wrap leagues ahead of anything from the cheap corner joints around town, and the succulent chicken stuffed inside with shredded lettuce and red cabbage is just as superior. We could live without the underwhelming chips, but chilli sauce is essential. What are the drinks like? The Turks are the only people on earth who outdo the Irish on tea consumption per capita, at a whopping seven pounds annually to our puny five. They’re every bit as ritualistic about it as us, with a communal pot constantly at the go. With the breakfast, you’re treated to all you can drink, and the piping hot, slowly-strengthening brew is a gorgeous way to wash down all that food. The adventurous should ask about şalgam. It’s not listed on the menu, but this bottled, brilliant-purple drink brings something unique to the experience, a sour-sweet riposte to much of the cheesy, spicy dishesr. While it’s named from the word for turnip, the fermented juice is also derived from purple carrots and has reputed health benefits from a hangover cure to combatting the impact of excess carbs – needed here. Ayran is another unlisted novelty worth a try, a salted yogurt drink with a mild palate-cleansing freshness we found a major help in jumping around so many dishes. How was the service? Relaxed and ready to help, with a very charmingly casual air every step of the way. The Sultan’s Grill team were very happy for us to sit wherever we wanted and order more at our leisure – not being at all rushed when we had so much food to get through was a big part of the pleasure. The all-day options all come in quick time, so those in a rush needn’t worry. And the damage? Breakfast isn’t insignificant at €50 for two, though there’s no doubting you leave very well-fed for that. The standalone items from b ö rek to g ö zleme to menemen will happily sate both your belly and your bank balance. On the all-day front, a pide or doner will give you a top-quality lunch for less than €15, while we’ve had to triple-check the lahmacun really was just €8 - a bargain. What’s the verdict on Sultan’s Grill? From indulgent all-in breakfast bounties to incredible value quick bites, Sultan’s Grill has the menu, space and price range to give all variety of Dublin diners a delicious crash course in a cuisine heretofore badly under served in the city. Grab a d ö ner to compare and contrast, pair a lahmacun and şalgam to try out something new, or keep an eye on Instagram for their regular rotation of specials - that's enough to bring us back for a third visit. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Amuri Why aren't more people shouting about Amuri? We'll start... Posted: 3 May 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Brothers Andrea and Luca Licciardello are from Sicily but have lived and worked in Dublin for over a decade, in various bars and restaurants around town. Opening their own Sicilian restaurant together was always a dream, and it was Covid that handed them the opportunity. They had started a side hustle, importing Sicilian wines into Ireland made by Luca and a friend in Sicily (called GioVinotto ) , and through this got to know the owners of wine shops including The Corkscrew on Chatham Street. Their upstairs tasting room had lain idle during the pandemic, and they were wondering what to do with it, until a conversation with the brothers sparked the idea that maybe they could take it over. The sleekly designed room with its juniper green walls, wood panelling and hanging lights just needed some brightly coloured art-work, cheerful Sicilian cloths, and kitsch Italian ornamets added to the glass cases, and it felt like it was Amuri ' s all along (which was a good thing because the brothers say they had to spend all of their savings along with loans from family and friends just to get the doors open). When it came to the menu, neither of the brothers is a trained chef but say they "know their food" and knew what they wanted to serve, so they employed a chef consultant from Sicily to help with the opening menu, then hired a head chef (originally from Brazil) and sent him to Sicily for two months. One final call to Granny to get her approval on the dishes and recipes and they opened in May 2022. Amuri have had some good reviews (including in the Irish Times and the Sunday Times ) but has never really exploded as one of the city's most wanted bookings. Despite this their online reviews from customers are off the charts, so we thought it was time we paid them a visit. Where should we sit? If you've never seen The Corkscrew's tasting room you'd probably think "wow, these guys must have some serious backers behind them to knock out a room like this", but most of it was here already. Despite this it just fits, feeling fresh and modern, but still homely and warm. The main dining room is where the buzz is, with two window tables offering views out onto Chatham Street (although currently you're looking at a building site that will be the European Commission's headquarters at some point). As well as regular tables there are two high tables for two, and additional tables in another smaller section that you'll walk through on entering, and is marginally quieter if you'd like less animated chatter all around. What did you eat? This is a perfectly sized menu in our book, with five starters, four pastas and a risotto, and three meat and fish options. There are daily specials too so make sure you ask. Currently the lunch menu is the same as the dinner one, but they are introducing an express, less expensive option soon, which we think will make a huge difference to their lunch trade. We ended up here twice in the space of three days, as we couldn't stop thinking about our first visit, so managed to get through quite a bit of the menu. They start (as all good restaurants do) by bring you bread and their own imported olive oil - it's the good stuff. We got foccacia at lunch and sourdough at dinner, and it wasn't obvious if either were homemade, but they filled the hunger gap nicely until the starters. Then, the caponata. Oh the caponata. Close your eyes and you're sitting on the edge of Scopello's natural park, the sun beating down on your face, each forkful more sweet, sour and sunkissed than the last. Aubergine, shallots, peppers, pine nuts, Modica chocolate and some grated ricotta salata (a hard, pressed ricotta) - this dish is pretty much single-handedly responsible for us going back twice in three days, so desperate we were to taste it again. Arancino (an oval version of arancini) is the street food that no self-respecting Sicilian restaurant would leave off their menu, and the one here comes with saffron-scented rice, stuffed with ham and mozzarella, with a ring of burrata fondue for mopping. Crisp, creamy and well-seasoned, you couldn't ask for more from the tear-drop shaped, deep-fried snack. The last starter we tried was the (clearly handmade) tortellini with lamb, broccoli, spinach and shimeji mushrooms. If it sounded insipid by description, it was anything but on the plate. The chewy pasta was toppling over with lamb flavour (we wondered if it was cooked in the stock), with the vegetables and sauce the right combination of salt and acid, with some kind of vinegar, to cut through the pasta and meat, and more of that stellar olive oil. Critics complain a lot about food being under or over seasoned - in here they seem to have it down to a fine art. Of the four pastas, the 'Pasta alle sarde' with sardines, anchovies, fennel, saffron, onions, pickled raisins and breadcrumbs send us flying back to a little Sicilian guesthouse we once stayed in, where the owners' husband fished each morning, and she cooked what he caught. We thought that was the best iteration of this dish we would ever taste, but this one's even better. If you don't order it you'll smell it being carried to other tables and just have regret. Don't have regret. The risotto when we visited was with sun-dried tomatoes, topped with burrata cream and what we think was basil oil, and it's in these simple dishes that the quality of their sunshine-filled, mainly imported ingredients really shouts out. The other pasta we had to order for sheer uniqueness was the 'Caserecce crema di pistachio', with pistachio sauce and guanciale. We half thought this might be some kind of gimick for the 'gram, but oh were we wrong. Despite the cream in the name, there's no cream in here. Instead it's made with cheese (usually Robiola and Parmesan), water, olive oil and nuts, with some expertly rendered, crispy, chewy pieces of guanciale scattered throughout, that every so often pop in your mouth. Joy. Fish options when we visited were halibut (the catch of the day) and sea bream (which was actually sea bass that day), and despite the latter not offering much in the interest stakes, we were drawn in by the fennel, courgette and 'Amuri dressing' (capers, olives and shallots) accompaniments. We had blinked at the prices of €33 and €34 for fish but this was actually a whole fish, stuffed with fish mousse, and would probably be too much for some people. It also came with those €6 roast potatoes with rosemary (more below), which you'll need to order anyway, so take that off. The flavours were deftly Meditteranean with the fish perfectly cooked and still juicy, but we lost interest half way through and it needed more of that salty Amuri dressing. Saying that we all know people who love nothing more than a big hunk of fish for dinner - this is for them. And now the other reason we went running back two days after first visiting. The potatoes. We probably don't even need to talk about these, the pictures surely tell the story, but in case you're in any doubt - fluffy insides, outsides so crispy you'll study them asking "how?", rosemary scented and a generous hand with the salt. This is potato perfection. On our second visit they weren't quite as burnished, so there's a little bit of inconsistency here, but they were still in the top tier of potato sides, Ask for the really, really well done ones if you can. The other side we tried was the tomato, red onion and ricotta salata salad, and these tomatoes clearly didn't grow up on our shores. We asked where they were buying them from, expecting them to name some Italian food importer. Turns out they're walking down to Fallon & Byrne every day because they need such small quantities and "they have the best". That's committment to the cause. The red onion is more sweet than astringent, that olive oil is in good use again, and the ricotta salata is the creamy, salty, icing on the cake. There are three desserts on the menu, the moka pot tiramisu you've probably seen online, cannoli, and the third one might be a chocolate or lemon mousse. Yes the moka pot is a bit of a gimmick, but it's actually the perfect serving size for one, and this is an excellent, nicely boozy tiramisu. A cold lemon mousse came wrapped in white chocolate with confit lemon and meringue, and was a fresher ending if your palate needs wakening up again - although the complimentary limoncello with the bill will do that too. What about the drinks? The drinks list only has wine and after-dinner drinks on there, but they do cocktail specials so be sure to ask if you're told not about them. We loved their take on a Sicilian negroni with Zibbibo white wine instead of Vermouth, and a non-alcoholic option was concocted on request with lemon juice, strawberry purée, egg white and more. As NA options go this was a good one. The wine list is really lacking in by the glass options, with only three whites and three reds by the glass (and two of each are their own imports). We tried their Giovinotto Zibibbo and Frappato and didn't find either overly interesting. There are some Sicilian crackers by the bottle though, like Tenuta delle Terre Nere's Etna Bianco, and COS's Vittoria Rosso, so that's the way to go for us. How was the service? Everyone working here was Italian, which really adds to the "I'm on holiday" feeling. The two brothers work the room, welcoming regulars and chatting with new faces, and there's a jovial atmosphere that just seems to spread from table to table. It's all so very Sicilian, and hard not to get swept up in. What was the damage? A three-course meal for two with four drinks came to €155, which felt like really good value, both for what we ate, and among the current state of pricing in the city. What's the verdict? Why aren't more people shouting about Amuri? Maybe it's because they've managed to continuously improve since opening, and it's more of a slow burn than an initial flash in the PR pan. Either way we felt like we'd been let in on a city centre secret last week, that regulars would be very happy to keep to themselves. So to them, we say sorry. And some more good news. Later this year The Corkscrew will move to a new location beside The Westbury, and Amuri will take over downstairs too, turning it into a more casual place for Sicilian street food. We'll be first in the queue. Amuri 4 Chatham Street, Dublin 2 www.amuri.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Pakistani/Eastern food that's adored by locals and should be booked well in advance. Small plates include the 'Molly Malone Masala' with cockles and mussels, and mains lean heavily into their Tandoor grill. Meat is Irish with free-range chicken and locally-caught fish, and they like to include modern twists on dishes that diners might be familiar with. Taza Website taza.ie Address 2 Ardcollum Avenue, Beaumont, Dublin 5 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Pakistani/Eastern food that's adored by locals and should be booked well in advance. Small plates include the 'Molly Malone Masala' with cockles and mussels, and mains lean heavily into their Tandoor grill. Meat is Irish with free-range chicken and locally-caught fish, and they like to include modern twists on dishes that diners might be familiar with. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Sleek St Stephen’s Green wine bar with ex-Delahunt head chef, Chris Maguire, in charge of food. Their homemade charcuterie is one of the main draws, but there’s plenty of tartare, Southern-fried mushrooms and homepage pasta small plates too. A sizeable wine list ranging from commercial to natural, and the cosy basement room is ideal for hiding away from the world outside. Book the seats facing into the kitchen to watch the chefs prepare your dinner. Cellar 22 Website cellar22.ie Address Saint Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Sleek St Stephen’s Green wine bar with ex-Delahunt head chef, Chris Maguire, in charge of food. Their homemade charcuterie is one of the main draws, but there’s plenty of tartare, Southern-fried mushrooms and homepage pasta small plates too. A sizeable wine list ranging from commercial to natural, and the cosy basement room is ideal for hiding away from the world outside. Book the seats facing into the kitchen to watch the chefs prepare your dinner. Where It's At Nearby Locales Mongoose Chongqing Hot Pot Boco Clontarf Bell Pesto Bang Gloria Osteria Cantina Valentina D'Lepak Pera Borgo Amai by Viktor Kaizen Chubbys Badam Table 45 Comet Daruma Malahide Lena The Pig's Ear Notions @ Two Pups The Rooftop @ Anantara The Marker Sofra Little Geno's Mama Shee Nutbutter Smithfield

Craft Neighbourhood dining that's a steal in Harold's Cross Posted: 5 Aug 2020 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Craft opened in February 2016, and was immediately touted as the neighbourhood restaurant Harold's Cross had badly needed. Head chef/owner Philip Yeung had previously been head chef at Town Bar & Grill (remember the boom?) and Bang on Merrion Row, and a string of glowing reviews for his first solo opening followed, with Catherine Cleary in the Irish Times calling the Dublin 6 suburb "a better place to be thanks to the arrival of Craft." The following year they got the news that they'd been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2018, given to restaurants that Michelin deem good quality and good value - for Ireland it must be €40 or under for three courses - and held onto it for 2019 but lost it for 2020. It was a year of shock deletions, with Etto, Bastible, Forest & Marcy, The Pig's Ear and Delahunt all losing their Bib too, so we didn't pay too much heed and presumed it might be more to do with menu pricing than food quality for most places. Luckily it hasn't seemed to make any dent in their customer base, who mostly seem to be locals, delighted to have something like this on their doorstep, when so many other suburbs don't. Where should we sit? There’s a front and a back room, but we’d probably opt to sit in the front as it feels a bit brighter and airier. We did however spot a couple with a young baby in the back and thought it was perfectly suited to a bit more privacy. There are only five tables in the front post-Covid, all adequately spaced, and the two in the window are ideal if you’re an avid people watcher. What's the food like? We came for the neighbourhood menu (only served on Thursdays), as we figure a lot of people are probably looking for maximum bang for their buck right now, between job losses, pay cuts and many businesses in unknown territory after the past few months. It’s a very good deal at €27 for two courses and €32 for three, but there only a choice of mains so you wouldn't want to be a fussy eater or have too many dietary requirements – they do cater for veggies though and one main will always be meat-free. We started with seedy, treacle brown bread and Glenilen Farm butter, dense and crunchy enough to fill the hungry gap until the food proper started to arrive. The starter was a plate of heirloom tomatoes, burrata, charred peach and smoked almond pesto - ideal summer eating (for a grey, rainy evening in July). There were little dried tomatoes in amongst the mix, which added bursts of flavour in every other forkful, but we thought the whole thing needed more seasoning, which they brought on request. Our main was a meaty piece of expertly cooked Kilkeel hake with a prawn tortellini (whose filling was more mousse-like than fluffy fresh prawn), an intense pea purée, fresh peas, chard and a foaming shellfish sauce. Again it felt perfectly suited to the time of year, and like the kitchen is giving serious consideration to what we might want to eat on any given week. It was also light enough to ensure we were looking forward to (rather than holding our stomachs at the thought of) a chocolate dessert. With the fish came a side of crunchy, fluffy potatoes (they've thought of everything), but just two each, so again not enough to steer you into uncomfortable tummy territory. For a set menu that already felt like good value, the main really pushed it into the "this is a bit of a steal" category. Dessert was "chocolate mousse and raspberry", with various elements of each - an airy mousse, a crispy chocolate cracker, a raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries, raspberry sauce and what looked and tasted like puffed rice. It was a nice mix of richness and freshness, and the chocolate tasted dark enough so as not to veer into sugar overload territory. What about the drinks? The wine list is very short with few options by the glass – maybe Covid-related – and we thought it was in need of an injection of interest. Perhaps they’re trying to cater for the locals with tried and tested options. We did think the prosecco was unusually good – to the point where we questioned if it might have been something more upmarket like a Crémant, and a Kir Royal was a perfect aperitif. And the service? Staff were all masked and very welcoming and friendly. The food came out at nice intervals, and the open kitchen appeared entirely calm. The verdict? The neighbourhood menu at Craft offers serious bang for your buck, with a three course meal for two and a bottle of wine easily coming in at under €100. We have a feeling it’s not the kitchen’s best work, but it’s more than solid cooking, and even more reason to go back for the Friday and Saturday tasting menu at €52 for four courses (including snacks). If value for money is your top priority right now when it comes to eating out, the neighbourhood menu is a great dive into Craft at a not so great price. We started with seedy, treacle brown bread and Glenilen Farm butter, dense and crunchy enough to fill the hungry gap until the food proper started to arrive. Craft 208 Harold’s Cross Road, Harold's Cross, Dublin 6W. craftrestaurant.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Hera The Northside's newest gastropub serving the food we really want to eat Posted: 21 Jan 2025 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What should we know about Hera? It's the new Drumcondra/Dorset Street gastropub that started off as just Juno , from the guys behind Achara on Aston Quay and Crudo in Sandymount (Sean Crezcensi and Jamie McCarthy), and the guys who own The Fourth Corner in Dublin 8 (Brian McCarthy and Jonathan Foley). Juno remains an old-man style bar (for now) on the right, but the left side of the building has been given a facelift fit for 2025, and been turned into Hera (the Greek version of the Roman Goddess Juno - swot up on your Greek mythology here ). We loved the food at Juno , but it was fast food style, with battered sausages, burgers and fish sandwiches. Hera has grander notions for herself, and with Dublin tending to struggle for good gastropubs (particularly on the Northside), where the food is the main draw over the drinks and atmosphere, she's been warmly welcomed to the neighbourhood. When it comes to industry players to watch, we'd put the guys behind Hera , Achara and Crudo in the upper tier of restaurateurs who just get what diners want right now, and strive constantly to give it to them at the best price, so we were eager to see what they'd come up with next. Where should we sit? The former old man pub has been brought bang up to date in a soothing room of greys, greens and browns, with eclectic artwork on the walls and candles on the tables. The sort of alcove to the left when you walk in has all the cosy vibes, but the tables down at the bar opposite the kitchen have more space for groups of four - six, or if you have bulky things with you like bags or buggies. There's also a semi-private dining room in between the two that comfortably sits six, wrapped in walnut wood and bathed in soft lighting and plant life. What's the menu like? Gastropub goes upmarket, with none of the boring box-ticking dishes seen at the majority of other food-serving pubs who consider themselves in the same bracket. There's no burger, no chicken supreme, no seafood chowder - let us rejoice for originality. Prices are on the reasonable side, with snacks from €3 - €8, but small plates are a punchier €12 - €16, so better to see them as smaller sharing mains than starters lest you accidentally blow the budget. Big plates start at €19, and they have what must be one of the best value rib-eye steaks in Dublin at €30. As far as oysters go, Hera's Carlingford ones topped with smoked butter (torched tableside) are a seafood celebration, and a brilliant entry point for anyone struggling to get a taste for the love it or hate it shellfish. A creamy, smoked cod taramasalata comes with homemade Ballymakenny crisps - another nice appetite opener, but we would have prefer the crisps less oily. Remus' sourdough foccacia is the same as the one they use in Crudo, from Dublin's Oaksmoke Bakery , and it tasted even better here. So crisp on the outside, so fluffy in the middle, we would have sworn it was fresh from the oven. We love a flavoured butter, and the chicken and mushroom one here was gone as quickly as it landed. Two long strips of fried Tallegio came with a (subtler than expected) pear and ginger mustard, and a black lime dressing that we couldn't taste black lime off. It's a cheesy, gooey, God forgive me kind of starter, but again needed better draining to soak up the excess oil. We don't often expect meatballs to wow, but the chicken and pancetta ones here did. Your spoon will glide through the soft spheres swimming in chunky wild mushroom and chipotle sauce, topped with finely grated, melting Cloonbook reserve cheese (a semi-hard cow's cheese from Velvet Cloud). You'll want every crumb of that focaccia to scarpetta the bowl clean. Purple broccoli fritti appeared to be regular tenderstem, but were cooked beautifully with just enough bite. The miso bagna cauda didn't have the flavour punch we would have liked, but regardless it's hard to stop bringing them in the direction of your mouth. Then onto that €30 rib-eye that's going to be a massive draw here. The meat was flawlessly seasoned, beautifully charred, and on the right side of medium. It is a fatty cut, but that's what's delivering all that flavour. Pickled onion rings really need to dial up the pickle, and again needed a rendezvous with some paper towels before being plated up. We really didn't like that green peppercorn sauce though, which was strangely sharp and astringent. Maybe cream would help, or something else to temper the acid, but even with that we found the flavour profile oddly unpleasant. Caribou has set the pepper sauce standard in Dublin and it's a high bar. Vegetarians are well looked after here with six options before sides, and the juicy aubergine schnitzel with tomato sugo, cucumber pickle and aioli verde is a great one (although we would have liked less smooth sugo and more of that lipsmacking pickle). Yeast butter fried potatoes are almost shockingly crunchy, and will undoubtedly get all the love online, but could be improved with a more floury potato for more contrast again that crunch. Desserts in places like this don't tend to get much love, being generally demoted to ice-creams, mousses or custard-like things in pots. Not in Hera, where the warm, not too sweet brown butter and miso tart, with short crumbly pastry needs to become their signature dessert. It's the kind of thing someone might make for a dinner party and everyone harasses the chef until they hand over the recipe. The billed crème fraîche must have run out as we got what appeared to be cream - crème fraîche would have been better. Sorbet still gets its day though - ours was raspberry with amarena cherries ( paging Bologna ), and again the salted hazelnuts must have run out because we got pistachios. Sharp and sweet with super-charged flavours and nice texture contrast, it's a kid's dessert for adults (or kids with mature palates). What should we drink? These guys do drinks very well, treading the line nicely between quality and price when it comes to the wine list. There are enough interesting bottles there to ensure everyone will find something they want to drink, whether it's a decent Spanish tempranillo for €33, or a French petillant naturel for €49. The most expensive bottle on the list is €59 and that's a one litre Italian red (the perfect amount for two people). Cocktails go the extra mile too with clear invention in the menu, although we found the Smoke & Mirrors (Connemara whiskey, Valentia Island vermouth, black tea gomme, walnut bitters and smoke) a bit one note, tasting mainly of whiskey. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt as we've had great cocktails in Juno before. There's also plenty of beer on draught and in bottle, with some craft names in there. How was the service? Lovely, with a proper welcome, plenty of chat and nothing too much trouble, including moving to a bigger table. The food was generally well paced, apart from a serious lag of 20-25 minutes between snacks and starters, which was strange as we were in early and it wasn't busy. It feels like a kitchen still figuring things out. What was the damage? It came out at around €50 a head for plenty of food and one drink each, but you could do it for less. Be aware though that a service charge of 12.5% is automatically added to the bill on tables of five or more, even if one of the five is a toddler in a highchair... What's the verdict on Hera? There are the bones of something really great at Hera , with the owner/operators in touch with the current zeitgeist, and obvious talent in the kitchen, which needs to be harnessed and refined. Some more draining in the fried section, attention to detail in ingredients and an ability to get the food out faster would have made this an almost faultless meal, dream gastropub stuff, and looking at sibling restaurants Crudo and Achara, we fully expect them to keep pushing to get it there. 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 >>