What should we know about H2G Wines?
None of the recent mini-boom of new wine bars in Dublin have got our hopes up as much as this, the latest venture from sibling duo Colm and Brid Carter, whose Honest2Goodness wine import business largely focused on trade supply until a pandemic-prompted pivot to direct sales. They announced late last year they’d be stepping back from the Glasnevin food market that had borne their name since 2009 (happily, several of the other stallholders have since stepped in to create a new one in its place), and opening this new space with a rotating BTG list, with small plates and regular themed tasting events.
What should we have?
Limited kitchen facilities are fit for assembly only, so we’re firmly in the charcuterie, cheeseboard and snacks space here – no gripe from us when the wine is the star of the show. Open bottles will change regularly, while corkage for anything on the shelf is €10 on Wednesday and Thursday and €15 from Friday to Sunday.
We arrived just in time to nab one of the two tables they’ve fit into the space they own outside, and on a warm summer evening we can think of few better seats to secure this side of the city. We’re sure the Noblesse sparkling Carricante and Verum Cabernet Franc rosé we started on didn’t need the full glare of the setting sun to bring out their respective merits, but it surely helped.
It helped the menu’s broadly Mediterranean slant too, and as we greedily loaded mounds of nutty hummus and sweet roasted peppers onto thick slices of Tartine sourdough, we felt closer to Greece than Glasnevin – an intense and juicy glass of Zafeirakis Limniona helped that idea along. When the weather assents, an afternoon on the terrace here has the potential to feel like a short-term holiday.
The Mediterranean plate (€12.50) is substantial as small plates go, with two generous balls of Macroom buffalo mozzarella surrounded by salted anchovies, nduja, red pesto and a pair of plump olives. Had we much in the way of space remaining, we’d have called on another bowl of those olives after - they are heavenly. Everything on the plate is, though a touch more pesto and nduja might have better balanced out the ratio of creamy cheese to those sharper flavours.
Garlicky chicken liver paté goes great with more of that bread, its fatty richness tempered by the redcurrant acidity of a Cumberland sauce on the side. Given their kitchen restrictions you could forgive the H2G team a basic spread, but the food here doesn’t let its enforced simplicity come at the cost of quality. Much like with their wine, they have sought out top quality stuff and brought it to life with sure-footed service.
Why should I go?
H2G Wines’ terrace is about as good a summer evening spot in Dublin as we can think of to drink a good glass – and they’ve got plenty of those. Whether for just a quick catchup drink after a stroll round the Botanic Gardens, or a longer afternoon lapping up the sun with simple, satisfying plates, this is a place we would come back to again and again.
H2G Wines
49 Botanic Avenue, Dublin 9
