One word of warning, don’t visit this restaurant if you want a quiet, intimate dinner. It’s just on the noisy side of bustling, with loads of atmosphere and requires the ability to raise your voice. No problem there for the family Hal and our tradition of talking over each other.

Our gorgeous, friendly waiter came over with water and the specials, hilariously agreeing that the soup sounded gross but convincing us to have a taste. Celeriac, white truffle and Parmesan is, as it happens, a lovely combination.

Pops went for that and venison stew for his main. After falling off the chair over the fact that he didn’t order a steak, my mam chose organic salmon and smoked cod fishcake served with homemade tartare sauce for starters and a steak for her main course, because by god someone had to.

The venison was the winner of the evening, cooked so slowly that you barely had to chew, it fell apart in juicy, mouthwatering chunks.

I went for a game terrine for my starter and slow-roast pork belly with fondant potato, savoy cabbage and red wine gravy, for my main course. It was one of those rainy nights and I just wanted to be looked after. I was. It was soul food, the pork belly perfectly crispy on the skin and deliciously moist inside.

My partner, the weird vegetable-hating vegetarian, chose chili and coriander hummus with crudités (which I ate) and pitta bread (which she scoffed). For mains she opted for seasonal vegetables and linguine in a light cream sauce.

Let’s just cut to the chase; everything was gorgeous. We swapped and grabbed from plates like extras from a Scorsese film, talking through food and over the bustle. There was simply nothing wrong. Amazing!

The bill for the four of us, including two bottles of wine, coffees and a cheeseboard came to €170.

101 makes brave choices, chooses seasonal fare and cooks it to perfection. All in a lively environment and with attentive service. Go. Just make sure you book in advance.

Official site Only use the menu online as a guide as things change depending on what’s in season.

Menu Pages

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The minute myself and the other half walked through the door, I though “nice”. It’s a cosy cafe, jazz  in the background and we were seated on huge comfy chairs at the window. We could have stayed all night people watching.

We arrived on time for the early bird menu, which looked pretty damn good, with a good choice of fish, meat and hang on….where’s the vegetarian dish that was on the menu online? Disappeared. The only veggie option that suited the small lady was a starter of goat’s cheese salad, which we asked to be mained-up.

We shared dips and bread to start, which was meh, to be honest. The bread was crusty, but so much so, it felt stale. The hummus was served in a swirl that looked like a turd. Sorry but it did. It was nice, though hasn’t been seasoned enough.

For my main I chose sea trout with bok choi and boiled potatoes in beurre blanc. The fish was cooked to perfection, moist and meaty, but the dish had obviously been sitting for a while. The fish was tepid and the bok choi had wilted. Very disappointing.

The goat’s cheese salad, though was scrumptious. It was served with leaves, baby tomatoes and red onions caramelised in balsamic vinegar. The combination was perfect, with the slightly sweetened onions cutting through the cloying cheese.

We were so happy with the cheese that we ordered the cheese board between us for dessert. the cheese were rich and creamy, with plenty on offer. But there was that bread again.

With two glasses of red wine each, the bill came to EUR75.00, and it just wasn’t worth it. The service was absolutely perfect, the venue wonderfully inviting and the atmosphere warm; it’s just a pity about the food.

Official Website

Menu Pages

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The layout is cool, chic and modern with staff who bustle around busily while the clientele sit back and relax over some gorgeous food. The place was full of gays, straights and everyone in between so gay friendliness is not a problem.

To start, we shared the veggie Tangy Tempura Pak, tempura vegetables with a mustard lime mayonnaise. It was delicious; baby corn, sweet potato, courgette and aubergine chunks in the lightest batter imaginable. The perfect summer snack. The accompanying mustard lime mayo sounded a bit mad but was great, with a little bite to cut through the sweet veggies.

The menu is vast, with noodle dishes, salads and pad thai all vying for your attention along with house specialities. I chose the Hoi An,; brown vermicelli noodles with woodear mushrooms, chillis, sweet basil, vegetables, egg and cashew nuts. There was something in it that I just didn’t like, I think it was the sweet basil, but the overwhelming licorice taste was disgusting. I had to keep picking it out. The rest was nice but it, unfortunately, ruined the dish for me. Not that that’s the restaurant’s fault, I’ll hear a klaxon when I see ‘sweet basil’ on a menu from now on.

My partner went for Xao Hao Lo, that’s a veggie stirfry to you and me – with asparagus, oyster mushrooms, babycorn, snow peas and cashew nuts. Now, my partner is an odd auld yoke. She’s a vegetarian who doesn’t like vegetables. I know, I know. She thought it was scrumptious but there were too many vegetables. Me? I ate everything she didn’t want. It was a gorgeous meal, like an explosion of tastes in your mouth.

All in all, our visit was a mixed bag of bad luck and a bad choice. Why choose a veg stirfry if you don’t like vegetables? Don’t get me started. Nutter. Anyway, we weren’t overwhelmed with our visit to this temple of Thai food, but I’d go back tomorrow to see what I missed.

Our meal, including a bottle of wine and two glasses of Prosecco, as you do, came to the guts of EUR70.

Saba is on 26/28 Clarendon St, Dublin 2. Their number is 679 2000.

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Café Paradiso – Om nom nom

By the end of this article you’ll probably think I’m paid by Café Paradiso to write this, as I genuinely haven’t had such a good experience in an eating establishment ever before. If you’d like a concise review that doesn’t rant and rave, you can skip to the end – I’ve provided a handy one sentence review. I’ve become a frequent visitor to the Cork City restaurant since I started fraternising with a vegetarian lady, but since I moved to the Big Schmoke it’s become that bit more of a trek to dine there. The 2^nd last time I made the visit, we stayed in a hotel nearby as their accommodation was full, this time however, my lovely woman’s birthday was approaching so I had the foresight to book the room right above the restaurant, and book us in for dinner that evening

Now, I am what some might call “awkward” when it comes to dining. It’s not that I’m deliberately awkward – it’s simply that my body and tastebuds have a lifelong disagreement. I’m a coeliac, and have the wonderful misfortune of also  being violently allergic to eggs-not exactly the ideal dining companion. However, I’m a good sport about it all, and will usually try and be nice through gritted teeth to ignorant wait-staff asking me if I can eat cream or offering me bread with my coeliac friendly soup (for the record, it’s just wheat, oats, barley and rye I can’t eat).

In Café Paradiso, no such long winded explanations are necessary. While some restaurants will simply point you in the direction of a dull mixed salad, and others will remove offending items, Denis Cotter and his team at Paradiso  will go out of their way to provide alternatives, and adjust their dishes to suit those with special dietary needs

I ordered deep fried squash flowers with Knockalara sheep’s cheese and capers stuffing covered in a beautiful sauce. I’m unsure as to what sauce ended up on mine as they made a different one to the sauce on the menu, but whatever it was, it was DELISH. The squash flowers were fried in a special corn flour based batter for me, and I have never tasted batter so delightfully light and exquisitely tender. The cheese and caper filling was soft and perfectly cooked, with no unpleasant lumpiness or mismatch of flavours. My girlfriend ordered the roast baby aubergine with chilli, honey and cardamom marinade – I was lucky enough to be able to eat this also, so we mixed and matched our starters. The flavour of this dish was just right, with no overpowering sweetness weighing down the starter.

Our starter portions were perfect, with us left satisfied but still eagerly looking forward to our mains.

For our main course my partner ordered sweet chilli-glazed panfried tofu with asian greens in a coconut & lemongrass broth, soba noodles (just so I couldn’t steal any! – she told me I could leave that in) and a gingered aduki bean wonton, a dish I had enjoyed in a previous visit, for which they replaced the soba noodles with rice noodles and made an alternative wheat-free wonton.

The flavour and texture of the tofu in this dish is unlike anything I’ve ever eaten. I’m not a vegetarian, but if all veggie food tasted like that tofu I would gladly give up meat. It is succulent, and full of flavour. The trick is apparently all in the marinade, and I shall be experimenting myself at home with tofu to try and achieve it. The coconut broth provides a lovely soothing panacea for the searingly spicy tofu, the noodles give a wonderful chewiness and bulk to the dish and the pakchoi offer a freshness of flavour that round out the dish. This is a wonderful meal, and the next time we visit it’ll be my turn to get it!

I ordered the braised chard timbale of roast tomato, haloumi & puy lentils with new potatoes, saffron-hazelnut butter and green beans, after which I scraped the plate clean. The wonderful softness of the timbale and its precious treasure within combined wonderfully with the perfectly cooked potatoes and the gentle sauce drizzed over them. I will add that I usually would never eat puy lentils in a fit. The restaurant has a knack of making you eat food you ordinarily would never enjoy and making you LOVE it. I’ve tried so many vegetables and herbs and types of food in there because I trust them to make the adventure and the risk worth it. The quality and the tenderness shown towards food, and each customers’ needs is extra-ordinary.

For our final course, I was given a dessert not featured on the menu, specially made for my delicate digestive system. I was lucky enough to be given a greengate plum crumble with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. The perfect sweetness of the crumble balanced the slight bitterness of the plums, and once again I almost licked my plate clean. My dessert sceptic ladyfriend ordered a fig cheesecake, and the verdict was a huge thumbs up.

We stayed the night in the café paradiso accommodation just upstairs, and the fact that in previous visits the owners and staff have been very gay friendly and unobtrusive  was a huge factor for me in deciding to stay there. The room was huge, with a double bed, couch, CD player and 3 huge wonderful windows facing out over Washington Street and looking towards the river. This is where one minor disadvantage comes into play. While I could sleep on a clothesline while World War 3 raged around me, my girlfriend found the noise from the street outside a bit of a disturbance. I was notified of this as I booked it, and I genuinely did not find this to be too much of a problem, however very light sleepers may have an issue with it.  Free teas, coffees, water and some chocolates were provided with the only chargeable item in the mini fridge being the wine. We also  received these amazing little spicy cashews nuts which I’m now obsessed with, I literally could eat plates of them. The bathroom was huge, with  double sinks, and showerheads for an invigorating morning wake-up shower.

The breakfast provided for the next morning as part of the package consisted of bread, crackers, natural yoghurt mixed with  sweet strawberries, some hot and sweet pepper jam, bluebell goats cheese and orange juice all presented in a picnic basket brought to the room while we were at dinner. Gluten and egg free alternatives were provided for the bread and crackers. The restaurant is closed on Sundays, so breakfast in the room is provided. Midweek and Saturdays the breakfast is in the restaurant dining area.

Overall the accommodation was comfortable, smartly decorated, very spacious and the staff working there were friendly and chatty while being respectful and allowing privacy both in the accommodation and at dinner.

The staff in the restaurant are well informed and seem to love the food in the restaurant also – when asked for recommendations, they were happy to give them. They’re attentive while not being invasive, and service is quick considering the complexity of the dishes and how full the restaurant always is, especially on weekends.

I simply cannot wait for our next trip there.

In terms of pricing, the restaurant is slightly expensive, but absolutely 100% worth the extra cost for the quality of food.

For the package we received, it was 100 euro each, for dinner, bed and breakfast for one night. There are other packages available and you can find out about these both on their website:

www.cafeparadiso.ie

or by calling them on

021 – 427 7939

In summary: Om nom nom nom zzzzzzzzzz Om nom nom nom nom

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Havana is more of a chilled-out, hippy cafe in design than restaurant, with posters for up-coming concerts on the walls as well huge flags for every Spanish-speaking country that competed in the World Cup. The staff are friendly and all seem to be having a great time, chatting among themselves and the diners. It all adds to an excellent dining experience.

We went straight for the specials menu, choosing a mish-mash between us.  For the next hour of so we chomped through a selection of dips with pesto, humus and olive dips with bread and nachos and Plato Mixto.

The Plato Mixto was a selection of Spanish meatballs, potato, chicken skewer and mushroom. The meatballs were beautiful, the chicken actually tasted of chicken rather than generic white meat and the mushrooms were deliciously meaty and tasty. It was the potatoes that were the star though, as my partner is slightly obsessed with the tuber. Whenever potatoes are ordered I can hear a drum-roll in my head as they travel from plate to mouth, all restaurants are judged by their spud and Havana came up trumps. They were cooked Dauphinoise-style but not as creamy and, so, were lighter and less dense.

All of this was washed down by my Corona and her glass of white wine. All for the paltry sum of €39.

Havana has been around for donkey’s, and I have no idea why it took me so long to get myself through their door. I will most definitely be back. Actually, I’m going there tonight

Official site

Menu Pages page

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There has been a restaurant of some sort on this spot for yonks, and it’s has changed hands a couple of times as the recession hit our palates, but So-Ho has been here for a couple of years now. It describes itself as:

Unpretentious cooking, laid back surroundings, reasonable prices, easy dining and a friendly welcome. Bang in the middle of Dublin city centre – right where you want to be.

Hmmm……maybe I should have read that before we ate there. They say nothing about the food, just that the cooking is ‘unpretentious’ and the eating “easy”. Can eating be difficult? I agree, the cooking was unfrilly, pity the ingredients were crap. And yes, eating can be difficult as it turned out.

I ordered “Roast Rump Of Lamb, with chive mash, baby vegetables, pearl onion & jus” which could be ordered like a normal meal or could be on a hot stone which would continue the cooking process as you ate, enabling you to have it meat cooked to your liking. I’m on for trying anything, so hot stone it was.

My ladyfriend, being a veggie, ordered the Wild Mushroom Risotto with asparagus. We also ordered a carafe of white as it was a warm evening. Lamb and white wine – I know! Shoot me!

So we chatted and checked out the surrounds as we waited for our meal. The verdict? Chilled-out but oddly laid-out; the first you see as you enter are stairs down to the basement, with the ground-floor seating peppered around them. It gave the impression of being seated on the landing.

The food arrived. The fun ended.

Where did they get the lamb? You wouldn’t have fed it to a dog, so full of tendons was it. The amount of chewing necessary to digest it would have given me Joan Crawford cheeks. So I spent most of the time trying to cut the meat off the them. Much to the delight of the vegetarian sitting opposite, as you can imagine. By the time I got the first edible forkful into my mouth, the “chive mash, baby vegetables, pearl onion & jus” were cold. Maybe it was the gods laughing at me for not ordering red wine, it would’ve helped to break down the meat that’s for sure.

To top all of this off, the meat and the veg were too salty. The slight over-salting on the meat wouldn’t have really pissed me off so much had it been a nice rump, m’lady. But the saltiness of the dressing on the veg was eye-popping.

And the missus? Well, her risotto was nice, not great like, but nice. Best risotto I’ve had so far is in Bel Cibo, however, according to food experts the Il Primo version is the best in the city. Extra kudos as the head chef, Anita Thoma is a lesbian on the board of the NLGF.

As for So-ho? No no.

The whole thing came to €43.50. Never again.

So-Ho on Menupages

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According to the website, The Farm tries to provide food that is:

Affordable, tasty, homemade and locally sourced. As much organic and or free range as we can, healthy vegetables and fresh herbs

The whole place is decorated in a chilled-out, hippy cafe way making you feel as cared-for mentally as you you will be gastronomically.

We were both ravenous when we sat down, so it was straight into the mains for us. I went for “Braised Lamb Shank in a rich gravy and tomato sauce with wild mushrooms and baton carrots and mashed potato”.

The lamb was so tender and juicy that I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been slow-cooking for hour after hour. The portion was huge, so I was glad I’d skipped the starter, letting me stuff myself with this delicious dish. The gravy wasn’t too rich, and didn’t take from the lamb, just complemented it nicely. If your mother was a professional chef, my dinner was just like mammy would make; a meal to warn the cockles of your heart.

My partner chose “Classic Organic Penne Pasta with cherry tomato sauce topped with mozzarella cheese and basil”. She enjoyed it, but was too busy laughing at me going on about just how good mine was, to wax lyrical about hers.

There are plenty of options on the menu for veggies, something Dublin restaurants are still guilty of ignoring.

You hear a lot about organic food these days, but I have to stress that if you can afford it, it’s worth every extra cent. As The Farm proves, good ingredients make excellent meals.

The Farm official site

The Farm on MenuPages

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So it was with steeled nerve and ready for a challenge that I ventured to Thornton’s on St Stephen’s Green with a pair of fellow diners, to avail of their lunch menu.  The reason for my fighting spirit is that I’ve heard of the many anecdotes of leading chefs from prestigious restaurants flying into the tizzyiest of fits at mere suggestions of sprinkling salt over their creations, or at requests for extra side orders to accompany a signature dish.

Well, here was I, a recently surgeried pleb presenting myself at one of Dublin’s top restaurants with an intolerance for lipids.

Yes, you heard me.  Lipids: that is, oils, fats, butters, grease, cream, cheeses.  I’m going to restaurants unable to eat the things that actually make food TASTY.  Am I insane??

Well, I can now confirm that I am sane, and that the frightening anecdotes are entirely mythical.

When we made our reservation, the restaurant was informed that one of our group had dietary restrictions, and we were happily informed that the maitre d’ could be informed on the day.  Eek.  So, off we toddled, and mentioned our difficulties as instructed.  The maitre d’ gave us guidance as to what possible options from the set menus – lunch and theatre menu – may be available, and upon returning to our table from the kitchen, provided clarification from the chef as to what would and would not be advisable to eat according to my needs.

As it transpired, the kitchen – with effectively only minutes’ notice – was able to offer and prepare an entirely modified selection of dishes, as well as some possibilities from the set menu.  As I had had a recent upset (shall we say) earlier in the week, my fear dictated that I opt for the non-oily fish options the chef offered.  My dining partners ordered from the €25 lunch menu, plus a glass each of the house red (I played safe, opting for water). And we were go.

The starters included a generous cream of celery soup for one of my fellow diners, while the other and I received a fascinating arrangement of our respective fish starters, one (not mine) including a light creamy sauce, whipped until almost the texture of a mousse: housed in glass spheres, our starters were provided to us in what I can only describe as a smoked steam which drifted away as soon as the lids were removed. The lids were glass cones, containing a clear, delicately flavoured liquid designed to cleanse the palette once the starter had been devoured. Typically, this is served as a gazpacho, but in my case, I was provided with a clear tomato juice which complimented my fish perfectly, and set me up for the main course.

One of the mains that arrived was guinea fowl – in my newly restricted state, this meat might ordinarily be okay for me to eat, but the fowl was prepared by being rolled with a layer of fois gras. It’s also served with a tarragon cream and carrot purée. (It sounds divine, but must be my nemesis!) Another of our dishes to arrive was Atlantic cod, topped with a layer of thinly sliced potato, with a spinach accompaniment. (I was starting to feel jealous..!) My arrival was a modified version of Thornton’s fillet of black sole with parmesan crust, confit of lemon, baby courgette and parsley puréé. Mine was minus the parmesan crust, but certainly wasn’t lacking in flavour.

For dessert, my other eaters opted for lemon tart with cassis sorbet. A fan of sorbet, I was delighted to finish my meal with a selection of sorbets, arranged in alternating tangy-sweet order: raspberry, lychee, blood orange, mango and cassis. These light and refreshing flavours in our desserts are the perfect way to end a meal, and I often wonder why they don’t feature on the menus of other premises!

At Thornton’s it seems that food preparation is where art and science meet: the flavours are all fresh, delicate and perfectly balanced; the presentations are compositions of perfection. The food – the animals, fish, plants that comprise ingredients – are understood, rather than just being hunks of mass to be plated up and fed to bellies. Creativity abounds.

That being said, then, if you are in Dublin’s south city centre and hungry for a big feed, Thornton’s should not be your first port of call. Dining here really is an experience. Even the obligatory end-of-meal cuppa is transformed into a type of tea ceremony. Everything is done, prepared and presented with a purpose.

The three course meal in total for three people – two glasses of wine and two teas were additional to the set menu price – came to €100 even.

Before we left, we noticed a beautifully presented book of photography, which appeared to feature some of the framed photographs hung in the dining room and the stairs leading up to the restaurant, including one image being “burned” onto glass while retaining the transparency of the glass. The restaurant’s reservations manager explained to us that all of the photography in the book – and in the restaurant – is by Kevin Thornton himself.

The book was prepared and published by Thornton (via a publisher in Thailand), after a family member had been diagnosed, and fortunately overcame, meningitis.

The book is on sale from Thornton’s restaurant for €80, and proceeds go to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

All of the staff during our visit were entirely accommodating and extremely helpful – front of house, with seamless and efficient service, helpful advice and information on the photography and book; and in the kitchen, who went beyond the call of duty, preparing an entire meal for a woebegone diner.

Thornton’s is owned by Muriel Thornton and Kevin Thornton.

thorntonsrestaurant.com
128 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin
Reservations: +353-1-4787008

thorntonsrestaurant @ eircom . net

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I hadn’t been to the Hard Rock in years and, as these things happen, it turned out that I ended up going twice in two weeks for various reasons.

The thing I learnt on my first visit and put into action on my second is this: order less than you think you’ll eat. The portions are huge; as in obese American huge. With this thought firmly tucked into the brain off I popped to Temple Bar.

Hard Rock is a place you will expect to be hopping and full of energy but, and I don’t know if this is because of the recession or because we were there at 7.30pm, both times it was only the music that was thumping. The atmosphere is much quieter than the proprietors would like you to think. The place was busy, but with couples and pals, but no groups of hyper young people. Lord I sound so old!

The menu is vast, with all sorts of Tex-Mex food with some good veggie options. One word of warning, if you don’t like cheese avoid this place. Melted cheese is running over the edges of pretty much everything on the menu.

For starters the four of us went for nachos to share. It was a good-sized portion for four, even though it was the smaller size, with crispy nachos some nice salsa and a good dollop of sour cream. No guacamole though – this had to be purchased extra, €2.75 for a tablespoon full.

For mains my partner went for the starter portion of potato skins, minus the meat. They were more potato than skin, but delicious and filling nonetheless, dripping with cheese. I went for the starter portion of chicken quesadillas, which were a revelation. Who knew they could be so tasty? I’m one of those folk who cringes at the thought of pineapple on pizza (it’s just wrong ok?), but there were the tiniest pieces of pineapple in the salsa here and it was the perfect contrast to the spicy sauce, just cooling your mouth down without taking away any flavour.

As with everything, there was too much and I could only finish 3/4 of it, but it was so good, I kept giving it the evil eye and trying to convince myself that the bloated feeling would be worth it. I must say I was most impressed with my resistance.

Our mates went for a burger which was demolished with aplomb and her partner went for his usual. Now this cannot be over-stated, this young man loves this meal and was salivating for days beforehand in anticipation, so I have to give its full rundown:

Grilled Hawaiian Chicken

A semi-boneless half-chicken marinated for 12 hours in a fresh ginger soy marinade, then slowly oven roasted. The chicken is then finished on the fire grill, basted & topped with diced grilled pineapple and green onions. Served with White Cheddar smashed potatoes and fresh vegetables.

There was no talking to him as he happily ate every morsel. Apparently, the chicken is moist and succulent, the mash spot-on and the meal an absolute must. Don’t blame me if it isn’t, he knocked away any attempted tastings.

After all that, we laughed at the question of dessert. Then after a few minutes one of us chose the Hot Fudge Brownie. To call this a ‘brownie’ is ridiculous. It was a bowl of ice-cream, melting over a warm sticky brownie, surrounded in toffee dressing. A heavy, chocolaty dream of a dessert, but not for the faint-hearted; especially after a dinner of this size.

All in all, The Hard Rock Café is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin; big rock and roll sound as you tuck into big food. It’s not going to win any gastro awards, but it’ll keep many a belly happy.

For the four of us, including a couple of rounds of drinks, the bill came to the bones of €145, so it ain’t cheap. However, you won’t eat for a couple of days afterwards.

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This time we went to Café Novo, which is the restaurant of The Westbury Hotel. Now, usually I don’t like hotel restaurants as they tend to have a huge turnover in customers and throw the food out, but this is The Westbury dahling, so no such problem.

As you enter Café Novo, you think “gulp, this is a coffee shop”, but, once you get past the front section, it opens up to a large dining area. The decor is very chilled-out chic; leather, deep-filled chairs, dark slate tables and floor lighting all help to give a feeling of cool without cold.

The place was pretty empty when we arrived and didn’t fill up at all, but this was mid-week and the current economic climate and all that jazz.

I flicked through the menu and looked up to comment but stopped when I saw my partner’s face. She was wide-eyed after checking out the wine list. Two words. Rip Off. Seriously, the wine list is limited to your usual chardonnays, sauvignon blancs, merlots and chiantis but they have stuck a tenner extra on the prices. The cheapest bottle was €29 and you could’ve run to Dunnes and gotten it for €12.99. It’s this kind of thing that restaurants got away with back when the Celtic tiger was roaring but you just can’t do this to customers anymore.

It’s an awful pity too as the food menu was full of delicous and very reasonably-priced choices. For starters we shared Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia with Olive oil and spanish aioli (not sure why the oil warranted a capital letter and not Spain). It arrived on a slab of oak, and was gorgeously presented. It tasted delicious too; warm focaccia with the bite of tomato and the dip was mouth watering. A perfect starter.

Presentation seems to be high on the list of priorities here as a couple of diners ordered Roasted Vine Tomato Soup With Bruschetta, which arrived in a tall mug. It looked great but seemed to be a pain to eat as they were having problems dipping.

For our mains I ordered Seared Barramundi on stir fried egg noodles with vegetables and Thai broth. Barramundi is an Australian fish that looks like mackerel but tastes like cod. Here, it was accompanied by perfectly-cooked noodles and a mouth-watering broth. The only problem was that the noodles were covered in a sauce that tasted like MSG got in there. Why on earth you would need/use a taste enhancer in any restaurant is beyond me, especially on a dish as delicately delicious as this should have been.

My partner chose Wild Mushroom And Spinach Tortellini with a Tomato and herb cream sauce, and was happy enough except the sauce was more cream then tomato. The pasta was, again, spot on with a touch of a bite to it and lots of ‘meaty’ filling .

We decided not to go for desserts and, with a bottle of red wine, our bill came to the bones of €60.

There is some great cooking going on in the kitchen in Café Novo but there are a lot of things they could improve. Maybe spend more time taking care of, you know, the food and not so much on presentation.

As we were walking out my ever-accurate lady said “this place could easily become a fantastic cheap-and-cheerful, but they have to sort out the wine list”. I suppose cheap-and-cheerful isn’t what you get in The Westbury dahling.

Official Site

Menu Pages

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When we arrived the restaurant was pretty empty but it filled up during the course of the evening, something that would have been unheard of a few years ago. This was a waiting-list venue. However, their loss is your gain.

The interior of Diep Le Shakur is all velvet luxury, crisp linens and beautiful glassware shrouded in a warm and inviting atmosphere. Our waitress for the evening quite simply couldn’t have been better; patient, charming and knowledgeable about the menu and wine list.

My mother and I opted for the Evening Value Menu Special “€60 for two persons, 3 Course Dinner including a bottle of wine”, while the other two went for the two course special for €21.95 each. It was worth double.

For starters I chose the Diep Mix, “a selection of Starters – Chicken Satay, Steamed Dim Sum, Caramelised pork rib,Vegetable Spring Roll”, my dad went for Traditional Hot & Sour Thai Soup with Prawns infused with Lemongrass, Galangal, Lime Leaves, Coriander Stems & Mushrooms, and my partner went for the Vegetable Spring Roll. All were shared around the table to much yumming and finger-licking. My Chicken Satay was a beautiful piece of chicken in a tangy peanut sauce which included actual peanuts (shock!), the dim sum was just perfect, meaty but not stodgy and the pork ribs were a real sticky treat.

We were all very awkward for mains, swapping this for that and asking for vegetarian this and not too hot for the other. Every request was taken and discussed without a raised eyebrow and, when they arrived, all specifications had been met to perfection.

I ordered a red curry which was spot on, not too hot and brimming over with flavours. My partner lapped up a green curry, which she refused to share, ’nuff said, and my parents both ordered Nua Phad Khing, Irish beef sirloin stir-fried with young ginger, peppers, spring onion, shitake mushrooms, light soya and sesame oil. The beef was moist and the sauce tasty but not overpowering. All-in-all a happy, satisfied group.

Diep Le Shakur has, according to the website:

has enjoyed international acclaim and rave reviews over the years for it’s wonderful ambiance, extensive wine list, high-end cocktails and award winning cuisine. Diep has also received the renowned Thailand Brand and Thai Select awards from the Royal Thai Government.

It’s not hard to see why, and all this excellence is now much more affordable.

Official Website

Diep Le Shakur on MenuPages

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Anyway, that out in the open let’s (lets?) get to the review. We’ve had a few miserable winter evenings this past week so I was in the mood to brighten things up when my partner and I met up with a couple of mates. It was between Christmas and New Year so party-time was still in the air and Alfies/Alfies’/Alfie’s was just the ticket. Cocktails for a fiver? Spell it anyway you want to, yum!

We were greeted by a lovely, friendly waitress who proved a bit scatter-brained later in the meal but she was so genuinely nice that it didn’t matter a bit. We sat and were not asked if our coats could be taken. Sorry, a major no-no on any evening but on a wet night we were left with dripping coats stuffed behind our backs. Not pleasant.

Awaiting the arrival of our friends, I decided to go margarita mad and was pleasantly surprised; this was as good as you’ll get around town and for half the price at just EUR5. I was enjoying it so much that, when our friends arrived, it was cocktails all-round.

For starters, we weren’t sure what we wanted to went for a taster plate recommended by the waitress, which was a combination of nachos, pate, camembert, garlic bread and dips. All delicious and the perfect cocktail partner.

Myself and one of my mates went for the chargrilled lamb chops, “Tender lamb chops char-grilled to order and served on creamy mash, buttered French beans, Cumberland sauce, rosemary jus”. I was expecting one chop but got three perfectly-cooked, juicy chops which were a gorgeous change from all of the chicken I had over Christmas – scrumptious.

My partner was in heaven as Alfies has a complete vegetarian menu, so she was spoilt for choice for a change. She plumped for vegetarian tagliatelle, “Fresh tagliatelli (sic) tossed in olive oil and garlic infused with roasted vegetables and topped with fresh basil”. As usual with pasta, the portion was too large but she was delighted with herself, giving it five-out-of-five.

Our other friend chose the bangers and mash, “Garlic and chive sausages served with a carmelised onion mash Crowned with crunchy baby carrots and a rich rosemary jus”, as she was feeling a bit iffy and wanted something to hug her as she ate it. Her grin at then end of the meal said it all.

We were too full for desserts but the cocktails kept coming and, as busy as Alfies was, we were never rushed. Alfies has the warmth and welcome of an old-school Irish restaurant, where you could sit for hours ordering courses an hour apart and never be hurried.

For two courses each, three glasses of wine, a brandy and what must have been around seven cocktails, the bill came to EUR168. There are few restaurants selling food as good for so little. Now just get your menu proof-reading sorted and you’ll be perfect.

Alfies is on South William Street, Dublin 2

Official website

Menu Pages

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My partner and I dropped in on a freezing Friday evening, as we were in no mood to cook after a stressful week.  Bel Cibo is right beside the Lighthouse Cinema, so there are always arty types chilling out over red wine and pizza, giving the place a great buzz. The interior could be better, to be honest. While I’m sure the chairs are very funky design-wise, they look like canteen chairs. Although they’re much comfier than they look. Other than that, the design is very ‘local Italian’, effortlessly so.

Bel Cibo is famous locally for it’s pizzas and offer a take out service so throughout the time we were there, people were dropping in and out to pick up a piping-hot pie box, licking their lips as they handed over the cash.

When we were there, we decided to forgo the pizza and my partner ordered Gnocchi Con Pomodoro Fresco E Mozzarella, while I chose Risotto Agli Asparagi. We also ordered a half bottle of Chianti from our attentive and courteous waitress. Didn’t hurt that she was cute as a button too

My partner loves gnocchi but has been disappointed many times (not mentioning any names Pichet), so when a plate with a generous portion of gnocchi, covered with a tomato sauce so full of tomatoes that the colour rose off the plate and with mozzarella melting throughout, that I thought her eyes could jump out. The sighs that greeted the first forkful told the rest of the story. It was just stodgy enough and the sauce was spot-on, with just a hint of basil through it.

Did I mention how cold the evening was? Freezing. Some people love a stew on a cold night, but for me there is nothing that ‘minds you’ like a good risotto. The problem, though, is that it’s very easy to make a bad risotto;  over-cooked it can start to look like gruel. The risotto was a steaming plate full of perfectly-cooked rice, not mushy but still holding its shape and with enough strength to hold up some beautiful asparagus.

The meal was scrumptious and the wine was exactly as you’d expect a nice Chianti to be. All in all it was just what you need on a cold day in November. As with most restaurants, when the food is good, you start to notice the little things that bring a place up a notch or two. For example, the small bowl of Parmesan that arrived at our table was actual Parmesan shavings, not the processed breadcrumbs you usually get, plus, when the waitress poured our wine, she did that wrist-twist to make sure not a drop was lost. I know these are small details but they are the kind of thing that makes a difference.

The bill for this bellyfull of delight was just EUR33. Bel Cibo seem to have mastered the art of treating their customers like royalty while not ripping them off. Welcome to the new decade.

Bel Cibo on Menu Pages

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My partner, my parents and myself dashed through a rain-soaked capital on the way to South William Street only to sink into the welcoming atmosphere, tantalising scents and happy chatter in Dada.

The menu (link opens a pdf) is full of eastern delights with a concentration on tajines of every sort. There are also a choice of couscous, stew and lamb recipes to make your mouth water.

For starters, we went for a mixture of things as we were unable to make up our minds. There were Moroccan dips served with pitta bread; mini cigar, filo pastry wrap with sardine, black olives & spices; Briwat, filo pastry wrap of Manchego cheese & spinach and marinated chicken kebab and harissa dip. Everything was delicious. The dips were moreish, the sardine refreshingly Briny without being over-bearing and the chicken kebab was sticky and tasty.

As it was a cold night, the tajines were looking even more tempting than usual. I went for tagine of spicy lamb with sautéed French beans, preserved lemon and harissa, my partner chose green vegetable and preserved lemon tagine, courgette, french beans, peas and fava beans while Dad opted for lamb tagine with apricots, walnuts, almonds and cinnamon. The mother was determined to get something different so plumped for Dada’s roasted lamb shoulder with Ras el Hanout and saffron and rosemary potatoes.

My spicy lamb wasn’t spicy at all but that was immediately forgiven as soon as I started to eat; the lamb fell apart and was juicy and tasty. Dada know their lamb. My mother, not a woman to make huge statements, said that her lamb shoulder was “the nicest lamb I’ve ever had”. It was tender beyond belief, treated with respect by the chef and devoured with gusto by our party.

My partner is a tough nut to crack, gastronomically speaking. She’s a vegetarian who doesn’t like vegetables. Aubergine and courgette are particularly hated as people seem to think they ‘beef up’ a veggie meal and they, therefore, take over the plate. Her tajine had plenty of courgette (as stated in the menu, in fairness) but there were also lots of fava beans, green beans and other things to distract her. “Next time, I’ll ask if I can replace the courgette for spuds,” she said. Next time….sounds good!

We shirked desserts as we were well stuffed at that stage. Dad and I went for Moroccan lattés which were nutmeggy and spoiled the tastebuds. All of this and the staff were attentive, utterly charming and in no hurry to scurry us out.

With full bellies, warm bodies and happy smiles we left Dada, determined to be back as soon as possible.

The bill for four starters, four mains, two bottles of a gorgeous red wine, two Morocaan lattés and a tea, was just €168. Go on, you deserve it.

Official Website

Menu Pages

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Restaurant 1014 is located in a beautiful spot opposite the old wooden bridge on the seafront between Dollymount and Clontarf. In fact, it’s pretty close to the place where the Battle of Clontarf was fought back in….em…..oh yes…1014!

It’s a small, comfortable eatery with a warm atmosphere and a lovely buzz about it. You may feel that it’s a bit out of the way but I guarantee you, it’s worth it.

The chef Gareth Smith is formerly of Chapter One and The Charthouse in Dingle so this is serious food. Being so close to the sea, it’s no surprise that there is a concentration on fish dishes as well what can only be described as “good honest food”.

When we arrived on a Saturday evening, 1014 was buzzing. We were greeted by a rather stressed-out Maitre D’ who was a little curter than necessary but, hey we all have our bad days. Once were were seated at our table the night clicked into perfection.

For starters we decided to share Roast Wicklow Field Mushroom with Mushroom Risotto, Seared Haloumi Cheese and Sundried Tomato Salsa. Now usually when you share a course, the plate comes out and you are presented with a second empty plate to share as you like. Not in 1014. Here the starter was halved and plated up on two plates complete with all of the trimmings. Now that’s just classy.

And it was delicious. When I saw Mushroom Risotto, I thought it might be too much for a starter but this was all about the mushroom with the rice as a more-ish accompaniment. The shrooms were moist and full of earthy flavour, with the warm cheese giving it a feeling of velvet in the mouth.

There were lots of choices for mains. Rib Eye Steak, Duck Breast, Lamb, Tuna Loin, Hake and Scallops (right) as well as 1014′s own take on Fish and Chips – were I do describe them as the menu does, your keyboard would short for drooling. And that’s not even taking the daily specials into consideration.

I went for a duo of Carlow beef; a slice of meatloaf and slices of fillet steak with scallion and truffle mash. My partner went for Pan Seared Irish Wild Hake with Bacon and Shallot Mash, Sauté Spinach, Confit Tomato and Salsa Verde, minus the non-veggie friendly bacon in the mash.

Orgasm on a plate. Two orgasms on two plates. Oh. My. God. This is why we have tastebuds. The hake was full of meaty tastiness and the mash was to die for. But ladies and gentlefolk who knew that meatloaf could be this delicious? I mean meatloaf is a cheap leftover rehash! Here, what the chef had, rather cheekily, done was put the best of beef on the plate with what would usually be considered the worst and let your palate decide that, even though the tastes are completely different, each is just as scrumptious as the other.

We had a look at the dessert menu and I was seriously considering opening my belt for the Peach Cheesecake with Wild Raspberries, but, as my mammy always says “Enough is enough”.

We fairly splashed out on the wine with a fabulous Pinot Noir for €39, so the bill came to a total of €97. I’d go back everyday if I could.

Restaurant 1014 is run by The Caring and Sharing Association (CASA) and all profits go towards the charity’s work for people with disabilities. So not only do you get a meal to die for but a guilt free meal to die for.

Links:

Restaurant 1014 Official site

CASA

Menu Pages

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Over the past 10 years or so Capel Street has gone through a big change: lots of gay venues (ok 3), coffee shops, good ould Irish pubs  and plenty of that naughties stalwart the internet cafe. Then Asian people came along and upped the ante adding some real gastronomic gravitas (and karaoke naturally) to the mix. All the time, there was Ristorante Romano, offering homemade Italian goodness to the masses.

Ristorante Romano is nestled close to Panti’s breast, just a couple of doors up from Panti Bar so if you’re gay and have ever been to Dublin, you’ll have passed it. On peeping in, you probably thought “oohh blast from the past” and walked on. Next time stop and enter. Yes, Ristorante Romano is a blast from the past but so is a cuddle from mama.

When we arrived on that awful Friday evening, we were welcomed by the owner, Romano funnily enough, a diminutive man as in love with cycling as he is with food. The decor in Ristorante Romano is full-on 70′s Italian restaurant: white glass-top tables, plastic tablecloths, empty Chianti bottles posing as candle holders, candle lit as you seat yourself, real carnations in a small vase mid-table. The works. However, the atmosphere is so warm and homely that, instead of thinking “god bring out the half-frozen prawn cocktail”, you’re thinking “sigh, I hope they have meatballs”.

The menu arrived and had everything you would expect: starters such as Bruschetta, Insalata and Melon & Prosciutto; a variety of mains including chicken, fish, steak and of course pasta and pizzas. Homemade in a real person’s real home. To say I was spoiled for choice would be an understatement; think kid in a toy shop.

Myself and my little lady jumped straight (well as much a pair of lesbos can) into the main courses. She went for Pizza Funghi minus the olives please and I chose those meatballs. We also ordered a bottle of Chianti.

The wine was perfect for the evening, it won’t win any awards but it was the perfect vin de table; easy to drink and looks after you as you drink it.

But the food’s the thing. My partner’s pizza was attacked and digested in about 10 minutes; it was something else to behold, she’s got a talent. Apparently the base was perfectly thin and they had the crispy-balance right, whatever that means.

My Spaghetti All’ Meatballs was just gorgeous. The meatballs were moist and delicious, the sauce excellent and the spaghetti spot on. This is my kind of comfort food, it fills you up without giving two fingers to your taste buds.

We didn’t go for dessert but they had the best 70s and 80s desserts – Banana Split, Fresh Fruit Pavlova and they have to be one of the only places left in Dublin where you can get Banana Flambé.

Ristorante Romano is like going to your mammy’s for dinner. If she was Italian and a great cook. She’d also have to be pretty open-minded about the gays too as Ristorante Romano was full of like-minded people when we were there. OK, it’s close to Panti Bar and OUThouse, but us gays are a picky bunch of eaters so proximity alone doesn’t persuade us. Obviously, I’m not the only one who like good, simple food cooked by someone who knows what they’re doing.

Our meal came to €42 altogether; a steal.

Ristorante Romano on Menu Pages

Ristorante Romano is located on 12 Capel Street, Dublin 1

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If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes” then Jimmy Chung’s just might be for you! (Now, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about: every town in Ireland has at least one of these establishments. Ours was Wongs or – *shudder* – the North Ocean take away. The girlfriend’s was The Embassy.)

One of the latest restaurants belonging to the Scottish chain, Jimmy Chung’s, opened on Eden Quay, Dublin, about a year ago. Last night, the girlfriend and I paid our first visit after earlier spending a busy hour solving a tricky homicide cold-case in the Ambassador. Having worked up quite the appetite, the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet for Eur17.90 sounded perfect, so we set off down O’Connell Street, avoiding gangs of yoofs, junkies and loud Spanish students.

When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a smiling maitre d’ who quickly showed us to a table for two near the buffet. Glancing around, we took in the open airy space which was three-quarters full. After ordering drinks from the full bar menu (one pint of Bulmers and a bottle of Tsing Tao beer), we took it in turns to visit the troughs.

Hungry as we were, we went all out and helped ourselves to starter, main course and dessert. The ladyfriend ventured up first, and returned beaming and triumphant, with a plate heaped full of all sorts of deep fried delights. I did likewise. The selection of starters is extensive, including chicken satay sticks, chicken balls, spare ribs, sesame chicken toast, wan ton, vegetarian spring rolls, crispy aromatic duck with all the trimmings.

For our mains, we sampled a little of everything. She had sweet and sour chicken, chicken satay, Cantonese style crispy duck, “special” (ahem) curry, topped off with lashings of egg-fried rice, prawn crackers, and that Chinese delicacy, chips – as only Irish Chinese take aways can do chips! I had pork in honey sauce, beef in black pepper sauce, Mongolian style lamb, with plenty of prawn crackers to mop up. These are only a small selection of what’s on offer, so a perusal of the menu is a must.

With just a teensy bit of room left in the tums, we considered the dessert options. Before our visit, I had heard of their ice-cream machine (you remember? From the ’80s? Wot produced 99 cones? It’s true!), so I promptly grabbed a bowl and bumped a young child out of the way to get to it. I – what’s the verb for this? – poured out (?) my ice-cream and slathered chocolate sauce on top, as did the misses but with raspberry sauce. So, the dessert was basic but good. There were, however, cakes and pineapple fritters on offer (*shudder*) but we were beginning to get that post-Christmas dinner feeling so had to admit defeat.

As we tucked in to the meal, I noticed that nary a Chinese customer were to be found in the premises. Jimmy Chung’s has a menu and style of food that is wholly catering towards typical Irish perceptions of Chinese food: the more gloop the better!

Bearing that in mind then, the food generally is high in taste, but in all likelihood low in nutritional value and authenticity. The secret ingredient in the “special” dishes could well be buckets of MSG; who is to say? Jimmy Chungs is not the place to find authentic Chinese cuisine (head to Parnell Street East for proper Chinese food at great prices), but if you’re an Irish ’80s kid looking for a good, inexpensive slap-up meal before heading out on the town, there is plenty to recommend.

While we were there, the staff were busy yet attentive, and always on hand for fresh plates and fresh drinks. Including two beers and one pint of Bulmers, our bill came to Eur44.50.

Jimmy Chung’s website
Jimmy Chung’s on menupages

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We arrived early (5.30ish) to an empty but welcoming restaurant. The staff were professional, seemed busy, and avoided the awful habit of jumping on the first customers that arrive at the door. We were brought in and allowed to choose our table. The seats were comfortable even if the tables were slightly too close to the next ones, not conducive to private conversation!

The Early Bird/Pre-Theatre menu is priced at e17.95 per person but the main course selection is tiny bit limited for my tastebuds (salmon, lasagne, pasta and chicken!) so we moved on to the A La Carte menu. This is composed of starters to suit most palates including soup, salad, meat, bread and seafood. We opted to share a Crostini starter which arrived a reasonable few minutes later. Thick bread, piping hot and fresh, smothered in tomato and mozzarella cheese, cut in two with ground black pepper = scrumptious.For the mains I went for Filetto di Manzo, charcoal-grilled medallions of fillet steak. It was served with a garlic & herb butter on the side and a generous portion of mixed salad with dressing. The meat itself was cooked just as I had ordered and the salad was crispy fresh. My partner order a pizza with a variety of topppings, it arrived piping hot and I’m assured it was just as tasty as it looked. We were so full that we skipped dessert even though the Apple and Cinnamon Crumble was very appealing!

Our bill came to just under 50 euro (no service charge included) and it seemed very decent for the quality of the organic food we had just consumed. As we were leaving we noticed that the place had become quite busy with plenty of couples, groups and families. It’s a popular spot and not diificult to see why. The food, price and service are just right. Toscana is definitely worth your tastebuds, whatever the occasion.

Toscana Website

Toscana on MenuPages

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The brain-child of Hell’s Kitchen’s very own Maitre D’, Nick Munier (left) and L’Ecrivain’s former head chef, Stephen Gibson, this has all of the credentials of a top-class restaurant but at a fraction of the cost. The pair wanted to get away from fussing about Michelin stars and get down to some ‘real’ bistro food.

The result is mixed to say the least. Pichet has a restaurant area ‘in the back’ which I never got to see as the place was full, and a cafe-like area at the front which was cool and chilled out when we arrived. French music was playing and there was a lovely buzz about the place.

The menu arrived and my partner and I licked our lips in anticipation. We perused the menu and chatted excitedly about the options available; a rare thing these days. I was spoilt for choice and did an eeny-meeny-miney-mow to choose.

I ordered a dinner-size portion of Roast Cod, Basil Orzo and Salt Cod Mayonnaise with a side order of green beans and the little lady a dinner-sized portion of Smoked Haddock, Potato Gnocchi, Spinach, Light Curry Emulsion and a side of fries. We ordered a white wine and chatted over some delicious bread warm from the oven.

While we were waiting, a group of six VIPs arrived. I’ve no idea who they were but the waiters went into convulsions, falling over themselves to take care of them. Munier himself even came out to serve them. I’m sure, considering the pedigree of the owners this will happen a lot, and Pichet will be one of the places to be seen.

Just don’t go if you’re hungry. Our meals arrived and, in my ignorance, I thought “it must be quite rich as the serving is small enough”. Wrong. It was delicious, don’t get me wrong. The cod was flaky perfection, melting in the mouth and the salt cod mayo was the perfect accompaniment. This is real, honest food, cooked with obvious skill. But it was tiny, I mean starter-size tiny.

The poor missus though, got a beautifully plated meal of four teeny pieces of potato gnocchi, asparagus, which wasn’t on the menu and no spinach with was. You can chalk that up to seasonal availability of vegetables, which is fine. But it was actually funny how small her portion was; like doll food. To top it all off neither of our sides arrived and we couldn’t get the attention of the staff as they were too busy with the VIPs, whose money is obviously a different standard than ours.

I’ve read other reviews of Pichet and every, single one of them rave about the place. Maybe we were just unlucky on the night but, to be honest, I won’t be giving them a second chance.

The service of the only waitress who paid us any attention (even though we weren’t in her section) was excellent but she was the exception.

The bill came to €54.50, not including the sides, which we obviously didn’t pay for. Should I add the money for the chipper on the way home?

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Located in Dublin’s dockland area, on the south quays, the first thing that strikes you when you enter, is the fabulous interior! Seriously, I know that the two men who founded the place are French and Italian, respectively, but this place has a bang of the gay off it. No heterosexual – even cultured European types – could do so much with what is a relatively modestly sized space.

So, it looks great, but what about the food? It’s also fantastic! Caffè Parigi is located right beside a building I frequent at least once or twice a week in the course of my day-job, and it’s a god-send. (Till then, we relied on the local over-priced convenience shop, or a nearby hotel.) There are two menus: breakfast and lunch. I haven’t sampled the breakfast yet, so I’ll limit my views to simply being impressed by the options, and the prices.

Have I mentioned the prices? They are recession-tastic! Panini are a fiver; salads are from four euro to around six or seven; decent helpings of pasta are six or seven euro; and the little tasty Italian and French desserts are a steal – on average about two euro. And with the quality of the food on offer, that’s even more wondrous. Now, let me make it clear, that this is a café, so you won’t be able to get a full-on three course meal. But the food is wonderful, with fresh, tasty, actual Italian and French ingredients. Thus far on my various visits, from the lunch menu, I have sampled: the crudo, pizzico, and cotto panini, the bresaola salad and the minestrone soup, which was soup of the day last Thursday.

The crudo panini contains parma ham, mozzarella, tomato; the pizzico contains spicy salami, emmenthal cheese, sun-dried tomatoes; and the cotto contains roast ham, emmenthal cheese, rocket salad. All of their panini are drizzled with the tiniest amount of olive oil, before being toasted to perfection. The ingredients are fresh, fresh, fresh: the cured meats are sliced on an actual slicer (do you remember them, from the local butchers, in the 1980s before retailers and pre-packaged meats got in on the act?); the sun-dried tomatoes are more sunned than dried, remaining tasty and succulent and juicy (and this is from someone who is typically repulsed by tomatoes..!); the rocket leaves actually taste of rocket!

Okay, I’ll calm down.. Well, in a minute: the bresaola salad was perfection, and generous: several large slices of cured beef, which were, again, not at all dry; rocket salad with plenty of flavour; great big parmesan shavings; plus a drizzle of olive oil, to keep everything together and flavourful! The minestrone soup was also a delight. I was afraid I’d be presented with a bowl of thick-ish soup, littered with bits of pasta. Not a bit of it! The soup itself was deliciously light and brothy, and it contained plenty of chopped , tasty veggies. Even the celery (another evil vegetable) was good! (Yes, I know tomatoes are a fruit, shurrup!)

Right, so you understand that I’m a fan of the food. But I’m not the only one. The place is invariably heaving, especially from noon time, with nearby workers, local residents and tourists. If you’re a bit late, you may have to join the wee queue. Plus there are always plenty of Italians there (customers, as well as the staff), which is an excellent sign: they like the food, they love the coffee. I can only assume that it reminds them of home, which can only mean that Caffè Parigi has quality by the bucketload.

With all that food and coffee and whatnot, you may find yourself in need of the facilities. Well, I’m happy to report that the toilet (there’s just the one) is perfectly adequate and is fully accessible. In fact, the entrance to the café itself is flush with the pavement, and good use has been made of the interior dining space, so access and a place to eat should be relatively easy for those with mobility difficulties.

Caffè Parigi is located on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, between the Seán O’Casey Bridge and the new Calatrava bridge. You can view the Jeanie Johnston ship on the opposite quayside, especially if you take a seat in the small, sheltered outdoor area.

Okay. I’ll finally stop raving about this place. If you’re in the area, just visit the place, it’s excellent! (Oh, and they do take-aways, including catering and delivering lunches for the workplace. Plus, they have a teeny-tiny gift “boutique“. Is there anything they can’t do?!)

Caffè Parigi
17-19 Sir John Rogerson Quay
Dublin 2
w: caffeparigi.com
t: +353 (1) 697 00 22

(More pics will be on the way, as soon as I take ‘em!)

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