What to eat at Taste of Dublin this weekend

It’s nearly a national sport at this stage to complain about the prices (for tickets and food) at Taste of Dublin, but starved for choice as the city is when it comes to food festivals and markets (thanks, heel-dragging DCC) we all know we’ll be flocking to Merrion Square this weekend regardless. In the festival’s favour (at least) is that prices are unchanged from last year, with every restaurant stall offering three “signature” dishes for €7 a pop and one “icon” item at €12 – as long as shrinkflation doesn’t rear its ugly head, that should be better value. You’ll rack up a big bill pretty quickly regardless, so here’s our guide on the dishes to beeline for to get the biggest bang for your buck (see all menus here).

Cacio e pepe, Bar Italia

Ever since its post-pandemic Roman revamp, old stalwart Bar Italia has become one of the best places in the city to go for classical pasta dishes done the real Italian way – we remain convinced their carbonara is the best you’ll get in town, by far. On-trend cacio e pepe is a simpler sauce of cheese and pepper only, but in Italian cuisine it’s the simplest stuff that really shows off skills.

Oysters, King Sitric

Oysters in summer, we hear you query, but the old adage to avoid ‘em in months without an R is out-of-date advice in a modern world of refrigeration and food safety practices. It helps that the Galway Bay waters from which Kelly Oysters farm are cool and sheltered, with limestone-lapping waves giving the shellfish their distinctive, delicious taste. So settle in and let the King Sitric team shuck you a few.

Chun Li dumplings, Big Fan

The Big Fan brand might make more sense to plonk down at Taste, but it’s actually Smithfield’s Sister 7 these chicken dumplings come from – they’re a treat either way. Stuffed with celeriac, pickled mushrooms and water chestnuts and spooned over with a Whiplash Beer dark sour vinegar, these crisp-skinned specimens are essential food festival eating.

Daal, Daata

We’re very fond fans of Pakistani restaurant group Daata, whose outposts along the south Dublin and Wicklow coastline are added reason to hop on the Dart of a sunny weekend. If you’ve never had the pleasure, here’s your chance to sample their highly-regarded house black daal - a 48-hour stewed sensation of urid lentils and gentle spice.

Fish tacos, Parrilla

We’re sorry not to see Parrilla’s pina caramelizada among the Taste menu options – there are few things we ate last year we thought back on so often. Fish tacos aren’t a bad second choice though, with fat fingers of crisp-battered cod so smothered in top-quality house salsa and guac we struggled to keep it all in the corn tortilla. Their crab tostadas are terrific too.

Veg Manchurian, Andhra Bhavan

A new Uber Eats stall for this year’s festival will host a different restaurant each day, which makes the smart money on Sunday when Andhra Bhavan are in town. Indian food in Dublin has gone from strength to strength in recent years and these guys are among the strongest. We suspect most will make for the Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, but we’re here to say go veg Manchurian instead - the spicy-sauced, battered shredded veg are little flavour bombs we can never eat enough of.

Po Boy, Little Geno’s

Versus the super-strict "five choices only and no substitutions allowed" you’ll get from Little Geno’s St. Stephen’s Green site, they’re bringing an all-new menu to Merrion Square – to test the waters, maybe? We’ll trust them to have these tried and tested, and will be making right for the Louisiana shrimp po boy. Cajun fried shrimp and a creole remoulade? Sold.

Sriracha caramel chicken wings, Chimac

Now such a mainstay of the Dublin dining scene, it’s easy to forget Chimac do serious business in the retail space too, with a mantlepiece-thronging array of awards catapulting their house sauces to sales worldwide. Their sriracha caramel is one of the best – doused over their chicken wings, it’s the kind of filthy, sticky treat we’re all about.

Gunpowder masala dosa, Dosa Dosa

Well with a name like that… There’s nothing we wouldn’t eat from Dosa Dosa, but it’s no surprise to anyone where this team excel. Their gunpowder masala dosa is like a flavour grenade set off on your palate, pops of punchy spice from red chilies softened by the stuffed potato inside and the lovely lentil curry on the side. It’s vegan friendly, too.

Literally anything, The Salt Project

While they’re currently in the Roe & Co cocktail garden on Thomas Street every weekend until the end of July, nomadic food truck The Salt Project is more often out on the road island-wide. We’ll wager most people won’t have sampled their zero-waste, hyper-local cooking before - now’s your chance. With every last supplier namechecked right down to the flour mill, you can’t go wrong with any of these dishes, each paying tribute to the four provinces’ best produce. Okay if you put a gun to our heads we'd go for Munster's Macroom buffalo churros with hot honey, or Connaught's Burren beef with hash browns and a peach habanero drizzle.