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Where to eat and drink in Dublin, Ireland. Dublin restaurant reviews and reviews of Dublin pubs, cafes, wine bars, and bars. Where to Eat & Drink in Dublin Dublin Restaurant Reviews Once Overs Is a restaurant worth your time and money? Where should you go for a pre-dinner drink? When you get there, where are the best seats? What's good on the menu, and what should you drink with it? Our reviews give restaurants the full once over, from snacks to sides, seating areas to service, and all the cocktails, open kitchens and cheese selections inbetween. Looking for something specific? Filter by neighbourhood, cuisine or 'good for'. Neighborhoods Cuisine Good For Reset Filter Oh No! Looks like we don't have any results for that search. But don't worry - good food is out there! Search again to find something wonderful. Dak @ Bar Anam 19th May 2026 Xi'an Street Food 5th May '26 Chongqing Hotpot 21st April 2026 Boco Clontarf 7th April '26 Note 24th March '26 Forest Avenue 10th March '26 Bell Pesto 24th February 2026 Bang 10th February 2026 Vada 27th Jan '26 Gloria Osteria 13th Jan '26 Díon 9th December '25 Cantina Valentina 25th November '25 Terra Madre 11th November 2025 Rei Momo 28th October '25 D'Lepak 14th October '25 Pera 30th September 2025 Kaldero 2 16th September '25 Borgo 2nd Sept '25 Amai by Viktor 19th August '25 Kaizen 5th August '25 Chubbys 23rd July 2025 Comet 8th July 2025 Badam 24th June 2025 Table 45 10th June 2025 The Rooftop at Anantara The Marker 27th May 2025 Join ATF Insiders Make the Most of Every Meal. Join Us

Explore All The Food Dublin: the ultimate guide for Dublin's top restaurant news and reviews. News We price checked Dunnes against Tesco to see who's cheaper After our Dunnes Vs the discounters price comparison, our readers asked for Tesco. We thought we knew how this one would go, but even still the results were a shock... Read More Where to Eat & Drink in Dublin All the Food Join 15,000 Dublin food lovers • Reviews, new openings, where to eat, twice a month Join free • No spam • Unsubscribe any time Subscribe News Where to eat before a gig in The Abbey and other Northside theatres We've broken down our pre-theatre favourites for quick bites and full on meals, along with walking times to each venue... Read More Reviews The Dak & Bar Anam Once Over This new natural wine and cocktail bar at the bottom of Capel Street is in a cursed spot - can the Korean fried chicken help make this one stick? Read More What's New News and recommendations. More >> ATF Insiders The Best Seat in the House Unlock exclusive content as an ATF Insider. Join Us Insider Features Special news, events, and features. More >> Insider Perks See all ATF Insider perks More >> Ely Wine Bar Free upgrade to bottle of premium organic wine with Ely's bottle and bites experience for two - €79 for wine and five small plates Bar Italia Complimentary glass of sparkling, white or red wine when dining at Bar Italia. Available all day Monday - Thursday until end of May. Shaka Poké, Baggot St & Blackrock 15% off the bill from Monday - Wednesday. Just show your active subscription. Glas A complimentary side or complimentary dessert cocktail of choice, when dining Sunday to Thursday. September, Blackrock 10% off everything Monday - Friday - breakfast, lunch, dinner and wine Woodruff, Stepaside Complimentary snack of your choice, like organic potato crisps or croquettes, when dining Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday Suertudo, Ranelagh Complimentary churros with Mexican-style chocolate (one per diner with a spend of €45pp or more) Lottie's, Rathmines Complimentary snack of your choice pp when ordering two courses or more, any day or time (mention offer when ordering) Monty's of Kathmandu, Temple Bar 10% off the à la carte menu and drinks from Sunday - Tuesday Mamó, Howth Free portion of the "cod chip" when dining on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings Mani, Dublin 2 15% off the bill at Mani from 12pm - 5pm Monday - Thursday The Seafood Café, Temple Bar 15% off the set menu, Mon-Fri 12pm-6:30pm, and happy hour on oysters all week (€1 off each oyster). Mention offer when ordering Ruchii, Blackrock 10% off wine and cocktails and a complimentary side dish from Sunday - Thursday Cluck Chicken, Dublin 24 20% off the bill all day Tuesday and Thursday Brother Hubbard, Dublin 1 20% off the Middle East sharing menu on tables booked directly through reservations@brotherhubbard.ie Load More Insider Perks Recent Reviews Dak @ Bar Anam 19th May 2026 Xi'an Street Food 5th May '26 Chongqing Hotpot 21st April 2026 Boco Clontarf 7th April '26 Where to Drink Right Now More Guides >> See the Sights. Eat the Food. Travel guides and inspiration. Start Exploring Dublin Guides Explore the best of Dublin. More >> Shop for Swag Our Shop >> Last few 'Sláinte' Card Price €4.00 Last few 'We Going On The Sauce' Card Price €4.00 Last few 'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue' Card Price €4.00 Last few 'We're The Perfect Mix' Card Out of stock Last one! 'Grá' Card Out of stock ATF Insiders Yearly Gift Subscription - Digital Price €65.00 ATF Insiders Yearly Gift Subscription - Posted Price €65.00 New stock! 'Where's The Food' Tote Bag Price €12.00 New stock! 'There's Probably Food In Here' Tote Bag Price €12.00 Low stock! Notebook - People who love to eat are always the best people Out of stock Last one! Notebook - First I eat the food, then I do the things Out of stock

ATF Wine Club with Lilith Wines Drink. Better. Wine. The ATF Wine Club The restaurant quality wines you should be drinking, delivered to your door JOIN THE CLUB ATF X LILITH WINES Get four bottles of restaurant-quality wine delivered to your door each month, selected by us and Lilith Wines . The first time we walked into Sophie Robson's Stoneybatter shop (named after feminist icon Lilith) we knew we were kindred spirits. The shelves heave with the very best wines on the Irish market, and after a browse of the sections on volcanic wines, the Jura, and Cru Beaujolais, we knew this was a passion project first and foremost. Each month’s box will feature four wines that we think you need to try, along with information on how to best enjoy them. We'll also tell you which restaurants have them on the list, helping you drink better when you're out. There might be a theme, or there might just be four delicious bottles with no link. We're aiming to offer the best possible value and you'll never pay more than shop price, with free delivery included (and the option to add on more bottles in the same delivery). Membership will initially be limited to 100 to ensure we can get enough of the wines, some of which are made in very small quantities. Once full we will operate a waiting list. What you get Four wines every month Four wines we're excited about and think you need to try, a mix of sparkling, white, orange, pink or red All the info you need Stories, tasting notes, what to drink it with, and which of your favourite restaurants have it on their wine list Be part of the club Get explainer videos tasting through each wine, invites to exclusive tasting events, and the chance to ask questions €100 per month including delivery October's case (€115 worth of wine!) Somehow we got a Premier Cru red Burgundy into this one The forgotten white grape of Burgundy that's making a comeback A midweek Pinot to have some fun with An incredible value fizz made from the same grape as Champagne SIGN UP TO THE ATF WINE CLUB The T&Cs This is a recurring subscription. Payment will be taken on the 3rd of each month, with cases delivered on the 11th of the month. Subscriptions can be cancelled on Lilith's website at any time, but cancellations received after the 24th of the month won't be effective until the following month (by this stage the wines will have been ordered). Wine selections cannot be tailored. This is a wine club for adventurous drinkers who want to learn about all types and styles.

Dak @ Bar Anam A cursed corner of Capel Street tries cut-price wine and Korean fried chicken to break the spell Posted: 19 May 2026 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Ronan Doyle What’s the story with Dak? 1a Bolton Street hasn’t seen a bar last longer than a couple of years, since Dolly Fawcett ran a not-quite-a- brothel out of the address almost a hundred years ago. In the last two decades alone we’ve seen independent craft outlets Underdog and Beerhouse, Galway Bay Brewery efforts Paddle & Peel and Taco Libre, as well as Rúta, O’Byrne’s, and The Last Waterhole… Sorry, since who ran a what now? Look, that’s a whole other story, and one worth reading in full once you’re safely settled in her latest successor Bar Anam . The point is that you’d be wanting steel nerves or a proven track record to have a crack at this site given its history – just as well the owners of Liberties local Dudley’s have no shortage of both, with five years under their belt in what was once Baker’s Lounge. Maybe it’s that heritage and the chance/threat of wayward Yanks straying beyond the bounds of Temple Bar that have kept Dudley’s menus squarely in a play-it-safe pub grub space that’s never thrilled us, but co-owner Rossa O’Reilly offering up the space at the back of Anam to his Korean fried chicken-crazed brother Kelan had us hoping Dak might be different. How’s the bar out front? At opening time on our first Friday visit, the light streaming through two walls’ worth of windows would nearly have you thinking you’re in a city where summer actually arrives. As an early afternoon crowd of solo sippers snuggled up with a book, yielded to increasingly loose-tied office hordes, whose third and final “just one more” eventually freed their seats, for a college-aged crowd in for DJ sets that take off on weekend nights, we got the sense of a space smartly set up to ride the waves of passing trade that have washed over this place’s prior inhabitants. That’s the key to nailing an awkward corner of the city – giving curious customers who fall in the door a reason to stay, while building up a destination rep with over-and-above add-ons. The speaker setup, sending such throbbing bass down through the banquette we thought we'd parked on a massage chair, tells you enough about how seriously the music’s a part of that picture, but it’s a quick scan of the natural wine list that really perked us up. You'd nearly spit-take in shock at some of the prices here – and waste a lot less money doing so than at most wine bars around town. We spotted several bottle and BTG options going for 8-22% (!) cheaper than places like Cellar 22 , September and Etto . That alone makes this one of the most exciting new places to drink good wine in the city. So can we order from Dak to the tables in Bar Anam? We wish. Having to give up our prime seating to get fed struck a sad note, especially when emerging afterwards to find not a seat free – they’d have a hit on their hands if those office escapees could call in an order and stay put for a few more "one more"s afterwards. Dak's contained space has four tall two-tops and three low four-six seaters, allowing the kitchen to keep pace at this early stage - we can only hope it expands out in time. Walk-in waits are short at quieter times, but book ahead for peak hours – especially now word’s getting out. What are we eating? It’s not just slipping into a space that’s been the graveyard of many a publican’s dream that might look like a brave move here – Dak are slinging Korean fried chicken as if lunch counter White Rabbit up the street didn’t already have the local market locked down. In that sense the name, Korean for chicken is playfully direct – it would want to be good. Reader, we’d marry it. We’ve got a lot of loving loyalty to White Rabbit, but many a fan will be tempted up this end of Capel Street with a competitor like this in the frame. The first standout is the coverage - thick, syrupy sauces cling to the chicken’s crisp crags with a drip-free dedication we’d wager took no end of diligent test cooking to achieve. Up against their cheap and cheerful neighbour’s delish but often puddle-piled mounds, and Space Jaru ’s drizzled yangnyum stacks, this comprehensive coating really stands out. Jaru using Ring’s Farm chicken is the one reason we’d have still said they have a slight edge, but since our visit we’ve learnt that Dak has pivoted to Feighcullen free-range birds . Consider our one caveat null and void. Solo diners might sulk at how much better value the double (€26) is than the single (€16), but a dosirak platter (€25) that adds rice, banchan and a tteok skewer should soften that cough. This is a place made for sharing though – we doubled up with dakenjeong and garlic honey butter. Skip the first one in favour of the "classic red" if you’re spice-averse, but we wouldn’t wish missing these spicy-salty-sweet notes on anyone. Bear in mind the latter’s in-your-face allic tang will be revisiting you all evening - keeping yer mouth shut is a small price to pay. Expect to see the elastic absurdity of the corn cheese (€6.50) all over Instagram, with a mozzarella pull that’s nothing short of silly, stringy fun. Dunk the drenched chicken and have at it – the dry-coated "Dak’s hot dust" fried chicken option would be especially good with this. If it’s a touch under-seasoned in its own right that’s only in anticipation of all the dipping to be done - get the kimchi pancake (€11) twist if a little added salty sharpness is non-negotiable. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/416aaa_a2be60b26ba64119a3f85ae4085f0ecd/720p/mp4/file.mp4 We didn’t find anywhere near enough of it in the banchan (€6), with modest muted flavours ill-able to hold up against the assertive intensity of the chicken – balance is key, these just felt brushed aside. Spinach was the worst offender with distinctly more sog than spring, but the beansprouts and julienne daikon could stand to bring more than just crunch. Look to the pickled pink radish dished up with the chicken for how it should be done. Jhol mandu (€12) feels a strange swerve as a sole Nepalese note on an all-Korean menu, and not one that did much to course-correct our sceptical first impression. There’s tangy, zesty life to spare in the chunky achar base, but this fleeting flash of chef’s favourite personality comes at the cost of a cross-continental detour that’s just a little jarring. Anything for dessert? Not yet anyway. The Dak team have teased sweet things to come, but there’s no sign yet. Well, what about a digestif then? Now you’re talking. Bar Anam ’s wine might have caught our eye but it’s the cocktails (all €15) that got our hearts thumping. The mango and elderflower-spiked Bangkok is a signature spicy marg that takes on Fidelity ’s premium specimen, while a cold brew and chai Oaxaca's deep smokiness from palo santo could give Bar 1661 ’s Belfast coffee a run for its money. Don’t miss them. A rum-based Kingston’s pineapple and white port notes are like the cross-section of a white negroni and a Jungle Bird, and should land solidly for fans of either. Only in Athens are we on shakier ground, with this longform Mediterranean martini’s various vegetal flavours too busy to be anything but a completist’s curio. How’s the service? As tight-run but light-touch as you’d expect for a hospitality group in the making looking to hit the ground running. Table service prevails at quieter times with keen eyes swooping in to take orders at just the right moment – it’s hard not to hang around. Despite clearly sectioned schemes the two spaces feel seamless, with bar staff floating between to lend a helping hand to O’Reilly running the room solo. He has hospitality in his bones, with wide-eyed "I know right" excitement at every cheese pull, and a magician’s “ta-da” theatricality as he points out the concealed cutlery drawers tucked beneath the tables. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/416aaa_5a9f3fa15ab643b093a037605d634bf1/720p/mp4/file.mp4 What’ll it cost us? The dosirak’s €25 is smart pricing – you’d struggle to spend more than that a head for the food. All we ate, and bulging tummies with it, came to €45.50. Wash your KFC down with an Albert de Conti Pet-Nat and head back to the bar for a nightcap cocktail after and you’re talking the mother of all date nights with change from €50. What’s the final verdict? Many have come and gone on this corner of Capel Street since Dolly Fawcett’s day, but none have had the same staying power of her nod-and-wink trade. Between Bar Anam ’s keenly-priced wines and the calibre of KFC Dak are slinging, we have here the best chance yet to break the curse. They may not be running a brothel back there, but it’s something worth whispering about. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Exclusive Access to Guides, News, Reviews & Events All the Food: Insiders Exclusive ATF Insider perks Ely Wine Bar Free upgrade to premium organic wine with Ely's bottle and bites experience for two - €79 for wine and five small plates Bar Italia Complimentary glass of sparkling, white or red wine when dining at Bar Italia. Available all day Monday - Thursday until end of May. Shaka Poké, Baggot St & Blackrock 15% off the bill from Monday - Wednesday. Just show your active subscription. Glas A complimentary side or complimentary dessert cocktail of choice, when dining Sunday to Thursday. September, Blackrock 10% off everything Monday - Friday - breakfast, lunch, dinner and wine Woodruff, Stepaside Complimentary snack of your choice, like organic potato crisps or croquettes, when dining Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday Suertudo, Ranelagh Complimentary churros with Mexican-style chocolate (one per diner with a spend of €45pp or more) Lottie's, Rathmines Complimentary snack of your choice pp when ordering two courses or more, any day or time (mention offer when ordering) Monty's of Kathmandu, Temple Bar 10% off the à la carte menu and drinks from Sunday - Tuesday Mamó, Howth Free portion of the "cod chip" when dining on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings Mani, Dublin 2 15% off the bill at Mani from 12pm - 5pm Monday - Thursday The Seafood Café, Temple Bar 15% off the set menu, Mon-Fri 12pm-6:30pm, and happy hour on oysters all week (€1 off each oyster). Mention offer when ordering Ruchii, Blackrock 10% off wine and cocktails and a complimentary side dish from Sunday - Thursday Cluck Chicken, Dublin 24 20% off the bill all day Tuesday and Thursday Brother Hubbard, Dublin 1 20% off the Middle East sharing menu on tables booked directly through reservations@brotherhubbard.ie Load More See all offers News, features and events

Exclusive ATF Insider perks More benefits for you from some of Dublin's best restaurants, from complimentary drinks and snacks when dining out, to discounts on the bill. Log into the website and show your active subscription to claim them. Make sure to quote ATF Insiders when booking. Join ATF Insiders Ely Wine Bar Free upgrade to premium organic wine with Ely's bottle and bites experience for two - €79 for wine and five small plates Go to website Bar Italia Complimentary glass of sparkling, white or red wine when dining at Bar Italia. Available all day Monday - Thursday until end of May. Go to website Shaka Poké, Baggot St & Blackrock 15% off the bill from Monday - Wednesday. Just show your active subscription. Go to website Glas A complimentary side or complimentary dessert cocktail of choice, when dining Sunday to Thursday. Go to website September, Blackrock 10% off everything Monday - Friday - breakfast, lunch, dinner and wine Go to website Woodruff, Stepaside Complimentary snack of your choice, like organic potato crisps or croquettes, when dining Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday Go to website Suertudo, Ranelagh Complimentary churros with Mexican-style chocolate (one per diner with a spend of €45pp or more) Go to website Lottie's, Rathmines Complimentary snack of your choice pp when ordering two courses or more, any day or time (mention offer when ordering) Go to website Monty's of Kathmandu, Temple Bar 10% off the à la carte menu and drinks from Sunday - Tuesday Go to website Mamó, Howth Free portion of the "cod chip" when dining on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings Go to website Mani, Dublin 2 15% off the bill at Mani from 12pm - 5pm Monday - Thursday Go to website The Seafood Café, Temple Bar 15% off the set menu, Mon-Fri 12pm-6:30pm, and happy hour on oysters all week (€1 off each oyster). Mention offer when ordering Go to website Ruchii, Blackrock 10% off wine and cocktails and a complimentary side dish from Sunday - Thursday Go to website Cluck Chicken, Dublin 24 20% off the bill all day Tuesday and Thursday Go to website Brother Hubbard, Dublin 1 20% off the Middle East sharing menu on tables booked directly through reservations@brotherhubbard.ie Go to website Join ATF Insiders

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Xi'an Street Food Website xianstreetfood.ie Address 21 Suffolk St, Dublin, D02 WA48, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Xi'an Street Food Xi'an food diluted for a fast food nation Posted: 5 May 2026 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the scéal on the newest Xi'an Street Food? Originally founded in Galway in 2016, Xi'an Street Food opened their first Dublin location in 2018, and have just opened their third and largest site to date on Suffolk Street (where Tolteca used to be). The faceless, Chinese-owned hospitality group behind it was set up in 2012, and seems to have retail shops, Chinese takeaways, and even a smashburger restaurant as part of their portfolio. Xi'an is the one they've hit it biggest with though, thanks in huge part to getting in early on the spice bag train, which has gone on to become a global phenomenon . Did you even visit Ireland if you didn't have one while you were here? In an EU Business article, an unnamed company spokesperson said that Xi'an Street Food had " found a great balance between authenticity and modernity ", which we read as: " Irish people's palates can't handle real Xi'an food so we've made it less spicy/more sweet/less authentic ", but this Suffolk Street branch is the biggest yet, with the biggest menu to match, so maybe our previous underwhelming visits would be banished by this new beauty? Is there more seating here? This is their biggest dining room by far. While the former Tolteca site is relatively narrow, it's long, starting with plenty of two tops and counter seating at the front. At the back it opens up into a wider space, with more two tops, three booths for four, and one long wooden table in the centre that sits 10/12. What's on the menu? A LOT. Too much. There are so many options, and customisable options on those options, that you might feel like running for the door while clutching your head in your hands. It will also come off as nonsensical for anyone familiar with this thrilling cuisine. Why do Biang Biang and Liang Pi noodles have a choice of sauce? Liang Pi in Laksa curry sauce is not Liang Pi. Biang Biang in Dan Dan sauce is not Biang Biang - it's dan dan noodles. Are they trying to mess with our heads? It's like asking what sauce you'd like with your bacon and cabbage - parsley, tartare, or chip shop curry. You order via a QR code with your table number, and the menu online didn't exactly match the printed ones, so steel yourself for some possible on the hoof changes. Then we were brought fortune cookies. Shouldn't these come at the end of the meal? We estimated that 50% of customers were having a spice bag (€9.50), an enormous plate of spicy chips, non-free range, non-Irish chicken, and supposedly vegetables, made with their "secret blend of spices". As we were on a try as much as possible mission we ordered a "tapas" sized (kill us now) mini version (€5.50), and apart from a few cursory chillies on top there was barely a vegetable in sight. It doesn't come with curry sauce either - you'll have to add that on for another €3. We've seen this mini spice bag show up online with plenty of veg, and if inconsistency is this much of an issue with their most popular dish, we can only wonder about the rest. Apart from that major omission, these ain't homemade chips, and we'll happily never eat that chicken again. Here's what else we had... Smashburger spring rolls (€9) : These flavourless, unseasoned parcels would give smashburgers a bad name. Staff didn't know what the sauce was - eventually said "tomato sauce". We found out online it's Ballymaloe relish. A travesty in comparison to Hang Dai's version, which actually tastes like a cheeseburger Pan fried pork dumplings (€9.50 for eight) : These had good flavour, juicy meat and a nice dumpling skirt, but came with no dipping sauce. Vinegar and soy are on the table but no sauce bowls to mix your own. We asked and were brought some but another basic item missed Pickled cucumber salad (€6) : This is a decent smacked cucumber, but sweetness comes through more than acid or heat Stewed beef bao bun (€6): Did you order a swimming pool with your bao? A soggy, claggy, gummy mess. The radish will not save you... The main event, " Xi'an Specialty Noodles " are served in comically large bowls about the size of an adult's trunk, which only serve to make the portions of food look tiny. They're not, but optics and all that. You pick your dish, pick your meat, and pick your sauce, but if like us you want your dishes with the correct ingredients, you want to order the Biang Biang noodles with the home-style special sauce, and the Liang Pi with the Qishan spicy and sour sauce. For the gun gun, soba, rice and other noodles, go nuts. Biang Biang noodles with home-style special sauce and pork (€17.50) : These noodles were pretty good, wide, rough and chewy, but they were slightly overcooked and should have been chewier. The pork (belly, we presumed mince) was minimum 50% fat, and that veg came out of a freezer bag (those swollen, sweaty cubes of carrot will linger on for a while). If they improved the quality of the meat and veg this would be substantially more enjoyable Gun gun noodles with dan dan sauce and duck (€18.50) : These noodles are thin and springy, as opposed to the biang biang's wide and chewy ones, and the sauce was rich in peanuts and chilli. We forgot we'd ordered duck until close to the end - it was so overcooked it had more of beef/pork texture. Stay away from this as your meat choice if you know what's good for you Liang Pi "tapas" (€7) : If you order the full sized version of this (from €15.50) you're forced into choosing meat/veg/tofu to go on top - traditional Liang Pi never has anything else added. This was a sad sample of one of Xi'an absolute best bangers, with all of the savoury, tangy, spicy flavours on mute. And where were the traditional spongy gluten pieces, washed out and reformed in the process of making the rice noodles, to soak up that sauce?? ATF calls this woeful. Go to Biang Biang on Mary Street to taste real Liang Pi. What about drinks? The most interesting drinks on offer here are "Xi'an cocktails" and bubble tea. Although some might consider sangria in a Xi'an restaurant just as interesting. Wine is "white or red", beer is Tiger, Asahi or Tsingtao, and there's soft drinks too. At least some effort has gone into the cocktails, although the "Xi'an spice bag margarita" was just a regular (good) margarita with a tajin rim. A "Ganbay" with baijiu, lemongrass, ginger, kiwi, basil, fresh lime and ginger ale was very nicely done, but served in a silly little glass and was gone in three sips - a child-sized portion of alcohol. How was the service? Friendly but vacant. Helpful but clueless. We asked two different people what the usual sauces for Biang Biang noodles and Liang Pi were. Neither knew, they had to bring in a third. We asked another if the food was spicy, we were told no, mild, when the reality is you pick your spice level when you order. We asked another server what the sauce with the spring rolls was. She didn't know. Our Liang Pi never arrived, and despite staff asking several times if we'd received everything we'd ordered, and telling them no, we still had to flag someone down four times over 30 minutes, and eventually tell them we just wanted a refund so we could leave this torturous place, before it eventually arrived. What did you pay? €110 for enough food for four sharing everything, with three drinks. It's a relatively inexpensive option for a quick bite with friends or family, but as we know, cost and value are two very different things. What's the verdict on Xi'an Street Food? Throughout a very long 90 minutes in here we kept thinking about it as the McDonalds of Chinese food. They're not concerned about keeping the food authentically Xi'an, using quality ingredients, making each dish the very best it could be. This is pile 'em high, turn 'em over stuff, where you may look the other way if you care about where exactly what you're eating comes from. The increasing global fandom of the spice bag has put Xi'an Street Food firmly on the tourist map, and they're going to ride that wave as long as it lasts, but you're not a tourist ticking off a bingo card of Irish Instagram dishes. If you want to eat real Xi'an food go to Biang Biang on Mary Street instead, or get on a plane to any of Guirong Wei's Xi'an restaurants in London, but a few years ago we ate in both on the same week and honestly there was very little in it. If you're just hungover and want a spice bag then knock yourself out. New Openings & Discoveries More >>

Steak and seafood with more than a few nods to the Parisian bistro. Classic, comforting dining in the seaside village of Dalkey. Deville's Website devilles.ie Address 25 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co. Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Steak and seafood with more than a few nods to the Parisian bistro. Classic, comforting dining in the seaside village of Dalkey. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Taco Libre Bar food, but make it delicious Posted: 8 Feb 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What’s the story? Taco Libre, a new Mexican at the bottom of Capel Street, seemed to have lots going against it. It's the latest opening from Galway Bay Brewery (their 15th in total), who also own The Black Sheep across the road, Against The Grain on Wexford Street, and recently opened The Beer Temple on Parliament Street. Why would a brewery care about food? Surely these places are just a way to sell more beer? However, in getting the story for this new openings piece , we discovered several things that made us sit up and take a closer look. 1) Their head chef Bruna is Mexican (always a good start), but also has Brazilian and Japanese heritage which she described entwining into the menu. 2) They're sourcing much of their ingredients from Picado on Richmond Street, so were clearly looking for the best. 3) They told us that everything, from the tortilla chips to the tortillas for tacos, were homemade. After the feature we threw a few options out to our ATF Insiders on where they wanted us to go for our next once over, and Taco Libre won by a considerable margin, so on a wet and murky February evening we tentatively set off for Dublin 1. Where should we sit? They've done a great job on the design in here - it's colourful, welcoming, and there are lots of seating options, from bar stools to booths, high tables to cosy little spots for two. There's a front and a back room, separated by a narrow corridor. The back is closer to the kitchen but further from the bar, so a bit better for privacy, while it fees like there's more action happening/more to look at out front. What's the food like? It's all small plates/sharing style, which suits us just fine, and if you're a table of 3 or 4 of you could easily get through the whole menu. It's split into bar bites, tacos, nachos, sides and sweet (currently just alcoholic milkshakes), and tacos are priced individually which is great because you can try more of them. There's no provenance information on the menu, but they told us that everything not sourced from Picado is sourced in Ireland, using local where possible, and beef, pork and chicken are Irish. It would be against the law not to start with their homemade tortilla chips, which come with guacamole and two salsas of your choice. There's salsa roja, hot sauce, crema, pico de gallo, and smoked roasted morija, and they all get a big fat tick from us, as do the tortillas. Homemade are just better - so fresh, so crunchy, so salty, so hard to stop jamming them into your mouth. Seen as 'moqueca' is emblazoned on the wall as you walk in, that was our next order. Bruna had said the prawn and cod cakes with dende oil (a fragrant, red Brazilian oil extracted from palm nuts) was inspired by her Brazilian heritage, and while we weren't expecting much from a regional spin on a fishcake, we were happy to be wrong. The delicately-flavoured breadcrumbed balls pack in a lot of flavour, with discernible pieces of fish and a crispy (but not oily shell), the chilli sauce on the side kicking it into an optional spicy space. We loved. Next up, their cousins in the same panko shell - elote croquettes. Again, expected little. Again, over-delivered. The menu said "toasted sweetcorn, cheese, jalapeño and coriander", and we could taste every ingredient. These have a bit of heat in them from the jalapeño, and the accompanying crema was the perfect dipping companion. 'Papas fritas' come with homemade chilli jam, crema and queso fresco (made in house and the real deal), and was a very tasty plate of potatoes, with sweetness and spice from the jam, saltiness from the cheese, creaminess from the crema, and the addition of micro coriander bringing another clever and complimentary layer of flavour. Then onto what we were really here for - the tacos. The tortillas are homemade (we presume from masa harina and that they're not nixtamalizing the corn themselves), and there's a choice of five. We tried four (side-stepping the chicken as it didn't say whether it was free range). Tortillas were nicely imperfect looking and the right thickness, and each of them had plenty of flavours going on. The tempura prawn comes with crema, white radish pickle and nori seaweed vinaigrette (another nod to the chef's Japanese hertiage). Is it Mexican, it is Japanese - when it tastes this good we really don't care. The beef taco comes with toasted sweet corn, sweet pickled red cabbage, avocado puree, diced onion, salsa roja and coriander, and was also enjoyable, if over-filled and a bit messy to eat. But our favourite was the pork, with marinated minty pineapple, crema and diced onions. Usually we'd be throwing the salsas onto tacos, but this needed nothing. It's a knockout, and the closest thing we've had to tacos al pastor for a long time. We also tried the 'tacos dourado' - a crispy pan-fried taco with mashed potato and onions, salsa roja, lettuce, tomato, queso fresco and crema. Another tasty small plate with great textures, but it needed the salsas to liven up the flavours - that is however exactly what they're there for. Currently dessert consists of two boozy milkshakes - a bourbon chocolate praline one, and a margarita one - "oh no" we hear you cry. We tried the margarita with lime whipped cream and salted lemon caramel sauce (more like lemon curd) and if we wanted 500 calories with our alcohol we'd definitely order again, but as you can imagine it's pretty heavy. A sip or two each would be plenty. What about the drinks? A brewery owned establishment could easily railroad the entire drinks menu into serving only their beers, but they're not that shortsighted here. Many other Irish breweries are named on the beer menu, with interesting choices from abroad too, making it a great spot for craft beer drinkers. It's mainly their own beers on tap, and we really liked both the Weights and Measures (a citra IPA) and the Bay Ale (a red ale). Wines are basic, and cocktails come from Irish Craft Cocktails around the corner. And the service? Very friendly and welcoming but casual. All of our food arrived at once so order in stages if that irritates you. No one checked in on whether we were enjoying it or needed anything else, but that's generally the vibe in most bars - we were probably lulled into feeling like we were in a fancier restaurant because the food was so good. You might also notice from the photos that several of the staff weren't masked, which felt sadly strange after the last two years. This will bother some of you, whereas others don't seem to care anymore now that we're edging closer to the old normal. And the damage? €70 for enough food to make three feel uncomfortably full, with two drinks. Can't argue with that kind of value for this quality of food. The verdict? We're struggling to stay focused on the fact that Taco Libre is a bar first and foremost, because so few bars have food this good, food that ends up becoming the main attraction over and above the drinks. When we were there an English couple had wandered in after watching the rugby, clearly not able to believe their luck in the level of soakage they'd stumbled upon, and ever since our visit we've been dreaming of a world where the bars you want to meet your mates in put the food on the same level as the decor/cocktails/toilets and we never have to round everyone up to go and get food somewhere decent. Taco Libre are the exception right now - a menu with a genuine Mexican feel, and a kitchen with a talent for flavour, in a bar that you could just as easily drop in for a pint. We'll be back, and next time we're bringing a gang and settling in. Book it before word gets out. Taco Libre 199 King Street North, Dublin 7 galwaybaybrewery.com/tacolibre New Openings & Discoveries More >>

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

Caryna Camerino's eponymous bakery moved from Merrion Square to Blackrock in 2025, and now sits on the former site of Fable + Stey. It's a local haven for enjoying a coffee and a cake from the display piled high, and soup, salads and sandwiches are also available. Personalised cakes and treat boxes are also available by advance order. Camerino Bakery Website camerino.ie Address Camerino Bakery (Blackrock), Newtown Park, Stillorgan Park, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Caryna Camerino's eponymous bakery moved from Merrion Square to Blackrock in 2025, and now sits on the former site of Fable + Stey. It's a local haven for enjoying a coffee and a cake from the display piled high, and soup, salads and sandwiches are also available. Personalised cakes and treat boxes are also available by advance order. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

The third opening in the Oxmantown empire, Elliot's landed quietly in Phibsborough in summer 2022 with maritozzi, damson doughnuts and Basque burnt cheesecake, and all was remarkably better in Dublin 7. It's a bakery first and foremost but there's a couple of benches outside if you want somewhere to perch while you tuck into your purchases. Expect a queue, and an early sell out, particularly at the weekend. Elliot's Website @elliots_dublin Address 330 North Circular Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story The third opening in the Oxmantown empire, Elliot's landed quietly in Phibsborough in summer 2022 with maritozzi, damson doughnuts and Basque burnt cheesecake, and all was remarkably better in Dublin 7. It's a bakery first and foremost but there's a couple of benches outside if you want somewhere to perch while you tuck into your purchases. Expect a queue, and an early sell out, particularly at the weekend. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Rathmines keeps moving on up with the opening of Lottie’s, in the space that was previously Lenehan’s, from Domini Kemp (ex-Itsa Cafés, The Commons at MoLI) and Brian Montague (The Winding Stair group). Bagging Mister S’s former head chef was a move showing clear intention to be part of the A grade of Dublin restaurants, yet the original menu manages to appeal to a wide range of diners, without compromising on quality or interest. Prices are very fair and the large space has plenty of areas for groups and gatherings. Lottie's Website lotties.ie Address 7-9, Rathgar Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Rathmines keeps moving on up with the opening of Lottie’s, in the space that was previously Lenehan’s, from Domini Kemp (ex-Itsa Cafés, The Commons at MoLI) and Brian Montague (The Winding Stair group). Bagging Mister S’s former head chef was a move showing clear intention to be part of the A grade of Dublin restaurants, yet the original menu manages to appeal to a wide range of diners, without compromising on quality or interest. Prices are very fair and the large space has plenty of areas for groups and gatherings. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Opened by couple Jay and Damien in 2015, Legit Coffee Co is heavily influenced by the owners’ Brazilian and French heritages, with Brazilian coffee and French pastries, but there’s plenty going on with their savoury options too, like pulled pork Benedict, and homemade sausage rolls with Emmental cheese. Everything is made in house, and it’s a cool, calm room to hide away in over breakfast, lunch or a mid-morning coffee. Legit Coffee Co Website legitcoffeeco.com Address Meath Mart, 1 Meath Street, The Liberties, Dublin Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Opened by couple Jay and Damien in 2015, Legit Coffee Co is heavily influenced by the owners’ Brazilian and French heritages, with Brazilian coffee and French pastries, but there’s plenty going on with their savoury options too, like pulled pork Benedict, and homemade sausage rolls with Emmental cheese. Everything is made in house, and it’s a cool, calm room to hide away in over breakfast, lunch or a mid-morning coffee. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Jaru Website jaru.ie Address 3A Nutgrove Enterprise Park, Nutgrove Way, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

You might be scratching your head when you get to Parnell Street, wondering where this elusive bakery is. Look under the Wok Station signage to the left and you'll see the tiny "blink and you'll miss it" location. These "Asian choux buns" are a benchmark in French patisserie, with Asian flavours like black sesame, Thai milk tea and matcha. There's loads of other Asian-style desserts in plastic containers, as well as all kinds of fruit teas, with everything to take away. Choux Bakery Website instagram.com/choux.bakery.dublin Address Choux Bakery, Parnell Street, Rotunda, Dublin, Ireland Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story You might be scratching your head when you get to Parnell Street, wondering where this elusive bakery is. Look under the Wok Station signage to the left and you'll see the tiny "blink and you'll miss it" location. These "Asian choux buns" are a benchmark in French patisserie, with Asian flavours like black sesame, Thai milk tea and matcha. There's loads of other Asian-style desserts in plastic containers, as well as all kinds of fruit teas, with everything to take away. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Fast casual, inexpensive pasta and small plates, with almost every ingredient sourced in Ireland. Irish twists on Italian classics with a big focus on sustainability - all drinks are on tap, all packaging is compostible and they’re fully paperless. Sprezzatura Camden Market Website sprezzatura.ie Address 5/6 Camden Market, Dublin 8 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Fast casual, inexpensive pasta and small plates, with almost every ingredient sourced in Ireland. Irish twists on Italian classics with a big focus on sustainability - all drinks are on tap, all packaging is compostible and they’re fully paperless. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Lottie's So much to love about Lottie's, so it was a shame about the ending Posted: 27 Jun 2023 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story with Lottie's? Lottie's opened in Rathmines at the start of March in the former site of the ill-fated Lenehan's , which went big on style but lacked the all important substance. When we heard that the site was going to be reopened by Domini Kemp (known for Itsa Bagel, museum cafés and the restaurant in BTs) and Brian Montague (of The Winding Stair group) we were expecting a another attempt at a please-all exercise, but then we heard they'd nabbed Tudorel Ostache, formerly head chef at Mister S to lead the food. Now they had our attention. Better known as Ted, we've had Ostache's food several times (most recently at our Mister S takeover ), and knew there was no way this was going to be a beef, chicken or salmon situation. Early reviews, both from critics and our readers were coming in very positive, and when we gave ATF Insiders the chance last week to pick where our next review would be, Lottie's was the runaway favourite. Where should we sit? It's a big space with loads of seating options. We always veer towards natural light so the front at the windows appeals most, but we found it strange that the blinds were fully down and shut, with mere chinks of light straining to get through - we actually panicked outside thinking it was closed and that we'd gotten the wrong night. Maybe the sun was too bright, but we'd have thought a partial closure would have done the job. Seating is either via mustard banquettes or on sleek black and rattan set ups in the middle of the room, with a longer high table set up for groups. Head for the kitchen and there's counter seating to get a good view of your dinner being cooked, or some of the cutest two-tops in town, that loudly scream date night. Head to the back and there's a smaller room, which would be perfect for a small gathering, or if you just feel like hiding away. The courtyard outside is currently (sadly) only being used for drinks, but we're told that work is in the pipeline to get a space ready for outdoor dining (either here or on the rooftop terrace which isn't open right now). How was the food? This is our favourite type of menu - no filler, all killer - and choosing is so tough that we also let ATF Insiders pick in advance what they wanted us to eat. Unfortunately the menu we were handed had quite a few changes to the one online, so we couldn't follow our orders to the letter, but we stuck within the realms of what the people wanted. The people wanted Hegarty's cheddar croquettes with fermented chilli sauce, and we've rarely met a croquette we didn't like, but we can't say the sharp, earthy flavour from the cheddar came through as much as we would have liked. It was likely muffled by the very hot chilli sauce - the tiniest drop is enough, A second snack of foie gras parfait (like meat flavoured butter) came on chargrilled sourdough with fermented walnuts (the best type of walnuts) and a sweet, fruity Port jus. A great pre-dinner bite or lighter starter. Charred prawn saganaki with Ardsallagh feta cheese and toasted sourdough came without the regulation saganaki mini frying pan, but we didn't care because the Mediterranean flavours were bright and brilliant. Four juicy, charred, plump prawns sat on a vivid looking and tasting cherry tomato sauce with basil oil and a crumbling of salty feta, all waiting to be scooped up onto the crispy bread and devoured. There's been quite a bit of chatter about the octopus at Lottie's probably because so much of it comes out resembling a rubber tyre thread, but the soft, barely charred tentacles here were meaty and tender, with a knife slipping through with little resistance. We loved the pairing of gochujang, samphire and crispy potato for some necessary crunch amongst all the softness, and the only gripe was with the cornflour-like, slightly gloopy consistency of the sauce. There were no gripes with the flavours. A third starter (one of two vegetarian options) was tagliatelle with courgette, St Tola goat's curd and pickled chilli, and we picked over this for quite a while trying to figure out how courgette and pasta could possibly be so delicious (lemon is one part of the puzzle). The generous mound of goat's curd on top made every spoonful rich and lactic, and the only misstep was that the pickled chillis weren't very pickled (but were very hot). If they'd seen a vinegar solution it was the briefest of introductions. For mains the one everyone wanted to hear about was the bavette, which came with mojo rojo (a Canarian sauce made from red peppers, chilli and garlic) and charred broccoli. They didn't ask us how we wanted it cooked which is a dicey tactic, but it came medium/rare, which was perfect, however this won't be done enough for some people so if in doubt ask for more time on the grill. The sauce had the lip-smacking acidity of red wine vinegar, heat from the chilli, and sweet smoothness from the roasted peppers, and it's as good an example as we've had. The charred broccoli makes it hard to go back to eating broccoli any other way. Something we were surprised so many of you wanted the lowdown on was the jerk chicken thigh, with charred corn, nduja and herb yoghurt (chicken usually being seen as a safe/boring bet). The chicken was nicely seasoned but we weren't getting much jerk flavour. The meat had also lost a lot of moistness and was tougher than we'd like. The other components saved the day though, the just spiced nduja wrapped up in the corn, the herb yoghurt bringing everything to life, and the pickled onions on top adding another level of freshness. A note on chicken: We usually don't order chicken somewhere like this unless it's free-range, and the menu didn't state if it was, so we asked a server about its provenance. He went to check with the kitchen before coming back and telling us it was free-range, but when pressed didn't know where it was from. He returned to the kitchen to ask again, but then went from there to the general manager to have a whispered conversation. He came back telling us it was from JJ Young (listed on the menu) and that it was free-range, but we found it odd that the kitchen, who accept food deliveries each day, didn't appear to be able to answer a basic question. A side of beef-dripping chips (which we were told are cut in house) were a mixed bag, some nicely crisp, some more akin to cardboard, but the smoked onion aioli was reminiscent of Mister S in all the right ways. Another of fennel, kumquat and pecan in an apple cider vinaigrette was glistening and crisp, but the combination felt more apt for winter than a sunny June evening. A sharp, creamy lemon posset came beautifully topped with bright pink, just cooked rhubarb, and a crunchy oat and nut crumble topping, although we thought the presentation could have been improved. If you only have one dessert, make it the îles flottantes (floating islands), the rarely seen (and ever more rarely done right) French dessert of floating soft meringue in a light, creamy custard. The one at Lottie's ups the ante with almonds and Clementine zest, and this was better than the last few we've had in France. What should we drink? The signature cocktail menu might tempt you on arrival, and a Bakewell Sour had all the tart, cherry, almondy flavours we wanted. The mocktails, featuring Lyres N/A spirits were all €9, which is more than we wanted to pay for a driver's special, so asked a member of staff if there were any other N/A options other than juice or fizzy drinks. She said she could do something with elderflower and cucumer for the same price as a juice, so we gave her the green light. It was refreshing but very sweet, and later led to the unravelling of what had been a lovely meal - more on that to come. The wine list has a lot more of interest by the bottle than by the glass, with the latter feeling perfunctory and quite safe. Things get considerably more interesting by the bottle, with some star picks including Luis Seabra's Xisto Ilimitado Branco, Viña Gravonia from Lopez de Heredia, and Giulia Negri's Langhe Nebbiolo. How was the service? Service throughout was pleasant if not overly attentive. Courses were perfectly spaced and delivered with a smile, but we were never asked how the food was when clearing plates, and had to wave down a manager several times when we needed something, like more water. Things then unravelled with the bill. The previously mentioned elderflower and cucumber soft had been put through as €7, not the €4 juice price we were told on ordering. We told the server who brought the bill, who brought it to the general manager, who then came over. We explained the previous conversation multiple times, while he continued to insist that it was the correct price, while we continued to (exasperatedly) explain the previous conversation multiple times (that staff member had now left). It felt like being on a dizzying waltzer that we couldn't get off, and only on pointing out our disbelief that he would argue this strongly with a customer over €3 did he whip back angrily to the till and correct the price. It was such an inhospitable ending to what had been a really lovely meal, and we went from "we'll definitely be back here" to "there's no way we're stepping foot in there again", in the space of five minutes and a very draining argument. In a world where Google reviews can make or break a restaurant, to send someone off into the night after an altercation like that would be unthinkable for most hospitality professionals, and it left us reeling our way through Rathmines. And the damage? €138 for a mishmash of food to feed three, but only one cocktail and two softs. It felt like very good value for what we had in comparison to average prices around town right now. What's the verdict? We were mega impressed with Lottie's. How many places can balance food that's genuinely exciting, with prices that don't hurt your heart, and the type of room and menu that makes it ideal for so many occasions - even those family and friends getogethers with so many varying palates and wallets that inevitably end in booking somewhere that ticks all the boring boxes. The big glitch in service at the end was so unfortunate (and could just as easily not have happened), and while some other things signified issues in that department, most of the staff were warm and welcoming and the timing of the food was faultless, with everything arriving just as we wanted it. There's no argument that the kitchen here is the strong point, along with the spacious, modern room, and its ability to please a wide group of diners without being a "please-all" restaurant. Just don't question the bill and you should be fine. Lotties's 7-9, Rathgar Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 lotties.ie New Openings & Discoveries More >>

We have no actual data to back this up but if memory serves us correctly, Herbstreet in Grand Canal was the first Dublin restaurant really doing the modern Dublin brunch thing. In fact, standing in the 45 minute Saturday morning queue in 2013 was the moment we realised we were finally emerging from the recession. Lots of typical brunchy fare and the pancakes are really worth waiting for, but the French toast with caramelised banana, pecans and clotted cream is one of our favourite Dublin brunch dishes of all time. Herb Street Website herbstreet.ie Address 9 Hanover Quay, Dublin Docklands, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story We have no actual data to back this up but if memory serves us correctly, Herbstreet in Grand Canal was the first Dublin restaurant really doing the modern Dublin brunch thing. In fact, standing in the 45 minute Saturday morning queue in 2013 was the moment we realised we were finally emerging from the recession. Lots of typical brunchy fare and the pancakes are really worth waiting for, but the French toast with caramelised banana, pecans and clotted cream is one of our favourite Dublin brunch dishes of all time. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

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

Venezuelan-born Nigely Maasud came to Ireland with hopes of starting a tour company, but after realising the capital was lacking a bonefide 'churreria', she started making them with her mother. Their market stall eventually morphed into a Temple Bar café where the crunchy, airy churros are the main attraction (don't miss the Spanish hot chocolate to dip the plain ones in), but ice-cream, crêpes and savoury Venezuelan tequenos stuffed with cheese are more reasons to take a Temple Bar pitstop. Sweet Churro Website sweetchurro.ie Address 3/4 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Venezuelan-born Nigely Maasud came to Ireland with hopes of starting a tour company, but after realising the capital was lacking a bonefide 'churreria', she started making them with her mother. Their market stall eventually morphed into a Temple Bar café where the crunchy, airy churros are the main attraction (don't miss the Spanish hot chocolate to dip the plain ones in), but ice-cream, crêpes and savoury Venezuelan tequenos stuffed with cheese are more reasons to take a Temple Bar pitstop. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Inexpensive, excellent Neapolitan style pizza, with a margherita coming in at under €10. The MacHugh brothers were inspired to open Sano after a trip to Naples, seeing how delicious, affordable and popular pizza is there, and it's loved by locals, tourists and students in equal measures. Unlike their original Temple Bar location bookings are taken all day. Sano Ranelagh Website sano.pizza Address 62 Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Inexpensive, excellent Neapolitan style pizza, with a margherita coming in at under €10. The MacHugh brothers were inspired to open Sano after a trip to Naples, seeing how delicious, affordable and popular pizza is there, and it's loved by locals, tourists and students in equal measures. Unlike their original Temple Bar location bookings are taken all day. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

Vibrant, authentic Thai food in Ranelagh that hasn't been dumbed down for Irish palettes (but they will adjust spice levels for the more mildly inclined). Exciting, dynamic cooking from an all Thai kitchen team. Nightmarket Website nightmarket.ie Address 120 Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Good For Tag 1 Cuisine Tag 1 Once Over Read our Review >> The Story Vibrant, authentic Thai food in Ranelagh that hasn't been dumbed down for Irish palettes (but they will adjust spice levels for the more mildly inclined). Exciting, dynamic cooking from an all Thai kitchen team. Where It's At Nearby Locales 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 Shaku Maku

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

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 >>

Oliveto Housemade coppa, Osso Bucco and all the views in this charming Italian by the sea Posted: 15 Nov 2022 Neighbourhood Neighborhood Name Address Restaurant Address Website Website Name Restaurant Info View the Listing >> Written by: Lisa Cope What's the story? Oliveto started life as a pizza place on Dun Laoghaire's seafront in 2009. After owner Fla Larkin bought the former Kingston Hotel in 2015, he began the slow process of renovating and transforming the building into boutique hotel Haddington House (still ongoing) and part of this was moving Oliveto in on the ground floor. They've never shouted about what they're doing here, leaving locals and those from further away to organically discover it for themselves, but installing former Michelin-starred chef Cormac Rowe to lead the kitchen, and nabbing Barry O'Neill (Gráinne O'Keeffe's sous at Clanbrassil House) spoke volumes about their ambitions. During the pandemic Rowe moved on and O'Neill was bumped up to head chef, then Executive head chef, hiring Francois Jacusse (previously at Woodruff) as his second in command. Everything seemed to be coming up roses, with one great report after another, but then in August of this year, Barry O'Neill tragically, and shockingly, passed away from natural causes. Anyone who'd worked with him seemed griefstruck, his funeral service bursting with those in disbelief that this talented young chef at the peak of his career could be gone. We'd been meaning to get to Oliveto for months, trying once and having to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances, and while very sad we never made it with O'Neill in the kitchen, we had a strong feeling that the team here would be giving it everything they had to keep the standards as high as ever. Where should we go for a drink first? There's only one answer to this question, and that's The Parlour Bar . Haddington House's recently revamped cocktail bar is for our money one of the best in the city, and the amount of work and detail in these cocktails is hard not to marvel at (read our two minute review here ). We loved their 'Vico Crest' as well as their take on a Dirty Martini with olive brine, fennel powder and mint, and not making time for a drink here before or after dinner would be doing yourself over. Where should we sit? If you or something you're with is still Covid-wary, there are three tables on an enclosed outdoor terrace with sea views and heaters above, but you'll still need a jacket if it's chilly as the front is open. Inside has the buzzy feel of a New York brasserie, with lots of corners to hide away in, or you can sit in the middle of the action. Some tables at the front have a great view into the open kitchen and towards the pizza station where the chef is spinning dough, but the most in demand will always be the ones at the window, so request in advance. What did you eat? We started, as all good Italian meals do, with focaccia, but this wasn't very focaccia-like. It more like a white yeast bread, with none of the oiliness, saltiness or deep flavour we were expecting. It came with chilli oil and 12-year aged balsamic which helped things, but when we told the waitress she flew into the kitchen, then flew back saying the chef sends their apologies and it "wasn't their best". She took it off the bill and we thought fair play, perfectly handled, mistakes happen. Head chef Francois Jacusse was formerly at Woodruff (charcuterie masterminds), so our eyes widened when we saw "housemade Andarl Farm pork coppa", with pickles and house sourdough. It's pricey at €16, but if you're going to do charcuterie, do it like this. We loved the pickled onions, green beans and fennel on the side, and we only wished we'd eaten it a bit slower. For our other starter we went for Italian burrata with beetroot and blackberries because we love blackberries but we've never seen them on the side of burrata. Now we know what we've been missing all this time. The roasted almonds on the menu came as hazelnuts (probably better), the lightly pickled beetroot came in slivers and chunks, and the focaccia crisp on the side added yet another texture to a brilliant dish. We would have never have topped it all with dill, but it was a genius addition. Mains were more limited when we visited than what's currently on their website , with five options and a steak special, but everything sounded a cut above your average neighbourhood bistro. Sausage ragu with rigatoni, aged parmesan and pangrattato had the rich depth that only comes from a long, slow cook, the pasta with a perfect bite, the portion generous. 'Ossobucco Milanese' is a rarely sighted thing in Dublin (see also Pala Pizza and Trattoria ), and this "bone with a hole" was a beautiful rendition of the Lombardy specialty. The risotto cooked perfectly with a hint of saffron, the veal shins falling apart with the touch of a knife, the whole thing rich and heady with flavour and scent. The pieces of uncooked tomato on top were definitely not traditional, but actually melded in quite nicely. We feel it's bordering on illegal to not order Tiramisu in an Italian restaurant, seeing how it stacks up against the rest of the city's iterations, and unfortuntely this wasn't one of the best. It looked fancy, but lacked flavour and tasted artificially sweet. There was something that looked like dehydrated chocolate on top, and it was an unpleasant addition to an already disappointing dessert. A vanilla panna cotta with Irish strawberries and almond shortbread on the other hand was perfect, creamy and light, although it felt quite late in the season for strawberries. This nit-picking did not affect the taste. What about the drinks? The wine list is decent, with plenty by the glass and carafe, and enough to keep both lovers of "house wine" and lovers of something more interesting happy. We drank a Primitivo which did the job with the sausage ragu and the Osso Bucco. Italian is definitely the way to go. You can also bring in cocktails (and presumably order them from your table) from The Parlour Bar across the way. This is a very good fall back plan if nothing on the wine list appeals. How was the service? It felt like everyone in here was being treated like a food critic - it's how the very best do it. It's rare to encounter a team where everyone is so affable, so helpful, like they've welcomed you into their own home and want to ensure you have the very best time while you're there. They couldn't do enough for us and everyone else, and it's the kind of service that builds a fiercely loyal customer base (that and the food). What's the verdict? It's hard not to be totally charmed by Oliveto. The place was heaving on a Wednesday night, the room full of animated people sharing food and pouring wine from carafes. The room felt happy, full of happy staff, and happy customers, and while the food wasn't completely faultless we wouldn't hesitate to go back. So many neighbourhood restaurants are box-ticking and boring, totally missing the subset of customer travelling further afield each week in search of excitement on their dinner plate. Oliveto seems to have struck a perfect balance between an approachable menu that won't scare anyone away, executed in a way that will make even the pickiest diners (guilty) very happy. Oliveto @ Haddington House 9 - 12 Haddington Terrace, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin haddingtonhouse.ie/oliveto New Openings & Discoveries More >>

All The Food x Devour walking food tour of Dublin Explore ATF X Devour Food Tour All The Food and Devour have created a food tour to show the best of Dublin eating right now We've been devout fans of Devour 's European and US food tours for years, pointing our readers towards them on their travels, and being constantly impressed at how they won't settle for second best. When they asked us to help create their first Dublin food tour, we couldn't turn down the chance to show visitors (and locals) the best cooking, baking and ice-cream making in the city right now. We've come up with a morning of sausage rolls, seasonal pastries, Irish cheese, icon-status toasties and the freshest seafood at some of our favourite city centre spots . You'll get an injection of history and culture too as you walk through St Stephen's Green, Trinity College, Central Plaza, past Molly Malone and through Dublin's Victorian Architecture. Find out more and book the Ultimate Dublin Food Tour here . What's New News and recommendations. More >>