The Best Summer Dishes In Dublin Right Now
- Ronan Doyle
- 29 minutes ago
- 5 min read
We play favourites with the seasons every time the latest one comes round, but it’s hard to claim summer doesn’t have an in-built advantage. Pop into any farmer’s market about town and you’ll see heaving shelves of stone fruit alongside crates of courgettes, all kinds of currants competing for your eye with ten types of tomatoes. So broad’s the bounty that we compiled this best-in-season list without once repeating a single star ingredient. Now how will autumn top that?
Caramelised peach pizza, Rascals Brewery
Tired: the pineapple on pizza debate. Wired: peach on pizza. Like it or not, the salt savour of cured pork and sharp sweetness of stone fruit are natural bedfellows, and when that bed’s a bianca base of smoked Applewood and scamorza… well, scusa per favore. Rascal’s specials are always worth a trip out to Inchicore and this is a case in point. More centrally, Bambino just dropped something similar too.
Meadowsweet and redcurrent flan, Volumes
Dublin’s most bustling new café was already showing a lot of potential in the bakery space secreted behind the counter on our first visit back in April, but it’s since the hiring of ex-Aimsir and Elliot’s alum Calum Falls that things have really kicked into gear – just look at those croissant pastry layers. This celebration of lesser-seen seasonal flavours is still showing up Friday - Sunday until the end of the month.
Cherry bakewell Danish, No Messin’
They might call their bakery No Messin’, but really the latest seasonal specials over at Proper Order Coffee Co are just taking the p*ss. From a McNally farm courgette and ricotta focaccia to Malone farm blackcurrant and Zazou Emporium vanilla spelt choux, everything here is a summertime orgy of fresh flavours and named suppliers. Nothing has had us wanting to rush to Smithfield Square quicker though than the sight of this cherry bakewell Danish.
Lamp rump and courgette, Forêt
Irish lamb is just sensational this year with the feast of green green grass the great weather has been giving them, and what better to pair it with than homegrown courgettes engorged by the same sunshine. As per, French bistro Forêt elevate top-notch Irish ingredients with levels of Parisienne sophistication you’d normally need to book a flight for. A confit duck with cherries on the summer menu has also grabbed our attention.
Wild venison ciabatta, Tír Deli
If the lambs have been living it up this summer, just imagine how good the deer have had it – you need only the shortest stroll in the Phoenix Park to see how in their element they are. The wild Wicklow herds are even better again, and Tír Deli are paying tribute with a house smoked sausage they’re pairing with wild blueberry hot honey and all manner of other all-Irish ingredients. We can’t get in soon enough.
Wild blueberry buns, Flower & Bean
From wild garlic soup to a black forest donut we still can’t stop thinking about, the seasonal fare at Cork Street café Flower & Bean has been going from strength to strength this year. They rotate through ideas at head-spinning speed so these wild blueberry buns might be off the counter already by the time you get down, but whatever they’re making with the season’s bounty (do the donuts again pleassssse) is worth speeding to Dublin 8 for.
BBQ tomatillo, Forest Avenue
With a ramped-up full bed of tomatillos growing over at Abercorn this year, we’re hoping to see more of these tart and too-rare treats turn up on menus about town. Forest Avenue are one of the first out the gate with a barbecued treatment tucked into a tomato tartare, perfect to taste the difference between these two distinct fruits. Suertudo are also featuring tomatillos in their aguachile oysters, while we’ll be keeping close tabs on Chubby’s and Sea Shanty in the weeks ahead.
Blackcurrant and honey twist, Scéal
We had to start and stop to go wipe down our chins about twenty times just in writing this one. Scéal baker extraordinaire Ethan Tyler, of Bread 41 and No Messin’ before them, is going zero-waste on blackcurrants via a brushed glaze, compote and (get this) leaf powder in this very literal twist on a danish. Open Hive honey brings deep caramel flavour, as if all that wasn’t enough already.
Tomato and Wicklow Bán, Amai by Viktor
Tomato in a dessert? Well, it’s a fruit after all… The excitement never ends at Amai by Viktor, whose third tasting menu since opening ‘Sambar’ just launched (we loved it) and ends with a bang on this endlessly inventive dessert. Don’t worry though, if you’re not quite set on a €99, nine-course extravaganza, the new speakeasy Bako downstairs is also doing it à la carte – with a 15% discount for ATF Insiders.
Smoked lobster and courgettes, Allta
Seasonal eating aficionados especially will be upset to hear of the imminent closure of Allta, whose ethos always put quality produce to the fore across its assorted summer and winter iterations. The last lap menu is a tribute to those dishes of yore, with in-season smoked Union Hall lobster, organic courgettes, yellow basil, and (most exciting of all) fermented gooseberry for a last taste of one of summer’s best bounties.
Raspberry and dark chocolate twist, Blossom
From roast peach danishes to baked mascarpone and blackberry tarts, there’s no shortage of seasonal stunners to gawp at across the latest batch from Blossom, but it’s the plant-based raspberry and dark chocolate twist that really got us gasping – just look at that colour. A long swim in fresh fruit glaze for the vegan laminated pastry is the cause. We’d like to take a dip ourselves.
Strawberry and citrus posset, Mr Fox
Parnell Square staple Mr Fox is really reaching for the stars in its next chapter under new chef-patron Adam Jordan, whose stints in The Greenhouse, Chapter One, D’Olier Street and Terre read more like a list of our favourite meals than a resume. It’s no surprise he’s not skimping on seasonal stuff (heirloom tomatoes with whipped smoked Gubbeen and pork cheek croquette with burnt apple are among the highlights), and this citrus sorbet with Irish strawberries and a white chocolate matcha namelaka is a statement of intent.
Pork T-Bone with plum, Orwell Road
We’re finishing right where we started - pork and stone fruits. Orwell Road’s fire-cooked T-bone is all seared skin and rendered fat, the perfect pairing with the sour-sweet sharpness of a plum purée – all brought together in the concentrated apple intensity of a Stonewell cider jus (!). Pretty pearls of Goatsbridge trout roe on the charred pak choi are our kind of cherry on top.
