Dublin's Best Gastropubs
Monday 03 June 2013
What defines a Gastropub from a pub serving food you might well ask? The Gastropub moniker came about in 1991 when two guys took over The Eagle pub in Clerkenwell in London. Their mission was to raise the bar on regular pub grub by providing restaurant style food in a pub ambiance and the concept took off.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland and Sunday Life Magazine 2013 Irish Restaurant Awards are taking place in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, on June 10, and nowadays, as well as Best Restaurant, Best Hotel Restaurant, Best Chef and so on, it also includes a Best Gastropub Award, previous winners of which include The Chophouse on Shelbourne Road, the eponymously named Exchequer, both nominated again this year, and Stoop Your Head in Skerries, which I visited recently. Eight establishments have been shortlisted for Best Gastropub in Dublin and, in advance of the big night, here is a taster of them.
On Upper Baggot Street, a year or so ago, the former Waterloo pub morphed into the vast cool Waterloo Bar & Grill with a large high atriumed rear section. The food is best described as New York style Italian Grill but with a strong focus on Irish produce. Annagassan smoked fish is used in a clam chowder and on a smoked salmon plate. Locally sourced crab claws are served with wild garlic and rocket butter, whilst sautéed Irish pancetta comes in a warm salad with black pudding, poached egg and a Crozier blue cheese vinaigrette. 35 day dry aged Maurice Kettyle steaks are very popular, and they also have an Irish rose veal burger served Pizzaiola style. www.thewaterloobarandgrill.ie The Exchequer, located on the corner of Exchequer Street and Dame Court, has two late night bars and serves lunch and dinner. With vintage sofas and armchairs as well as high seating and funky diningroom, they serve contemporary Irish food such as crab and crayfish salad with chicory, cherry tomato and asparagus, as well as Roaringwater Bay steamed cockles and mussels paired with spiced sausage, Bulmer’s cider and homemade bread. Braised shoulder of lamb is served for two people to share whilst their ‘fish ‘n chips’ are ling fingers battered in Dungarvan blonde ale. www.theexchequer.ie Ely Gastro Pub is a totally contemporary space on Grand Canal Square serving organic, artisan and local food. Smoked Irish salmon and blue crab is with crème fraiche, lambs lettuce and Guinness bread, whilst beetroot, fennel and Fivemiletown goats cheese has smoked almonds, blood orange and oak leaf salad. They do a great organic Burren beef burger using the best of beef from the family farm. www.elywinebar.ie
On the other side of the river L. Mulligan Grocer serves food from 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 12.30 Here too they specialise in Irish food and producers as well as majoring in Irish craft beers. Their beef is grass fed and Irish. and they source from impeccable suppliers such as T.J. Crowe in Tipperary, Ballyshonag Farm, Ed Hick, and Jack McCarthy in Kanturk. They change their menu weekly and dishes might include potted crab with sourdough soldiers, or Sir Jack’s whiskey and golden raisin black pudding with apple boxty, pickled forced rhubarb and pistachio pesto. www.lmulligangrocer.com The Hole in the Wall on Blackhorse Avenue, beside the Phoenix Park in Dublin 7, is another Gastropub with excellent food, atmosphere and friendly service. Here they do a good Beef Bourguignon with creamy mash, as well as panfried hake taking on an Asian twist with wilted greens, soya and oyster sauce, and paprika potatoes. They also do excellent Irish steak, cracking homemade 9oz burgers, and tasty tapas plates. www.facebook.com/Hole-in-the-wall
Moving into the realms of D4 you will find previous winner, The Chophouse, owned by the effervescent Kevin Arundel. A chef himself, Arundel knows good grub. Food here is top notch – great Irish produce delivered with a Francophile twist. Ballotine of chicken and foie gras is with pickled Shitake mushrooms and a Port vinaigrette, whilst Clogherhead crab salad is with mint and apple. Great 35 Day Dry Aged Hereford beef here from fillet of Dundalk beef with a parsnip cream and foie gras Cromoiskies, to sharing viands such as Porterhouse and rib eye on the bone for 2. Visited some time ago by American Chef and author, Anthony Bourdain, he declared it “the best f**king meal I ever eaten in Dublin.” With that endorsement what more can I say”! www.thechophouse.ie
The Purty Kitchen, the oldest pub in Dun Laoghaire, dating back to 1728, was taken over last year by Ashley Sheridan, who is also co-owner of the excellent Step inn in Stepaside. Sheridan has renovated ‘The Purty’ but retaining its famous historic ambiance as a seaport hostelry complete with open fires. Stocking 45 craft beers and ciders, the menu is eclectic and with each dish there is a beer recommendation. The seafood chowder with homemade bread is ace, as one might expect of a seaport venue. Kerry crab claws are with pink grapefruit, cherry tomato, garlic butter and rocket whilst goat’s cheese is paired with polenta cake, aubergine, courgettes, roast pepper pesto and sweet potato wedges – the beer recommendation with that is Schneider Weiss Kristal. O’Hara’s Irish Pale Ale is recommended with their Prawn Korma which includes spring veg, Basmati rice, pineapply chutney and naan bread. Great steaks and burgers here to – on or off the stone. www.purtykitchen.com In the pretty village of Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Rachel Clancy’s Magpie Inn is a hot favourite with locals and visitors alike. There is always a buzz here and it even had the real James Bond himself, Pearse Brosnan, propped up at the counter a few weeks ago not to mention being the haunt of other local celebrities. At The Magpie they use free range and organic produce when they can and are great supporters of local Irish artisan producers. With a great selection of Starters and Small Plates as well as Great Salads, Mains & Big Plates, you can eat as lightly or as fully as you wish. The chef here, Hadi Fahes, is originally from the Lebanon, so there is an additional interesting element to the food with tagine dishes, a mini mezze selection of hummus, artichoke hearts, avocado and pistachio tapenade and red pepper tapenade. Carlingford Oysters are served Rockefeller style whilst crab and crayfish salad is with fresh radish, mango salsa and crispy oat biscuits. Great chargrilled 28 day aged rib eye steaks are with chunky chips (sweet potato ones if you wish) and rack of lamb is with wild mushroom polenta, Balsamic red onion puree and mash. I love the Moroccan spiced lamburger with Harrissa yogurt, crispy pancetta, tomato, lettuce and chips. It’s also a great place for brunch at weekends – think Eggs Benedict with smoked bacon and crushed paprika potatoes. Expect lots of daily fish and seafood specials, not to mention fabulous fabulous lobster, and delicious Gathabawn icecream from Kilkenny. www.magpieinn.ie
Get Gastropubbing!
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT.