Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

About The Restaurant

Overlooking the water at Grand Canal Quay, the superb 5 Star Anantara The Marker boasts perhaps the best roof top terrace in the country, which is perfect for light bites and cocktails, as is their excellent ground floor Marker Bar & Lounge where you can enjoy a drink or casual food such as a Charolais Irish Beef burger; Liscannor crab mussels & scallop chowder, in front of their feature fire in winter and maybe dining al fresco on Grand Canal Square in summer.

With upgrades and improvements throughout the hotel since being acquired by Anantara Hotels, a luxury group of resorts and spas spanning Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, they’ve done a great job too on their new iteration of the former Brasserie, with great big windows to the world, and an airy cool white landscape highlighted with colourful comfortable banquette seating in front of a large open kitchen. The new Forbes Street name also tickled me pink – it’s clever. Rather than using any of the other ‘old Dublin’ street names surrounding the hotel – you can see why - Misery Hill and Horse Fair Street - subliminal messages will have their many American guests thinking of Forbes Business Magazine, and the top Forbes 500 Hotel lists worldwide.

Quite amazingly for the hospitality industry, the very accomplished Executive Chef, Gareth Mullins, has remained at his post here ab initio, playing a blinder throughout lockdowns, and all the rest, steering the ship and his team on a steady course, adapting to culinary trends and demands with a focus on Irish foods. This is an onward process with a menu that continually changes, evolves and grows. That's because as Mullins finds interesting new Irish producers or flavours, he and his team adapt, so there is always an interesting menu.

Being ‘Summer in the City’ as it were, on our visit we kicked off with cocktails – a Lemon Bon Bon of Absolute Vanilla, Butterscotch Liqueur, Limoncello and Lemon Juice, and Marker Dream of Bombay Gin, Chambord, St. Germain. The menu was tempting with something for all pockets from oysters and caviar 30g to a selection of nine small plates from which my dining companion had a trio of the best King scallops I’ve seen in a long time. These fine fulsome molluscs had been seared and paired with smoked black pudding, apple, and chive sauce. Meanwhile, I was loving my delicious mélange of slow roasted celeriac with hazelnut, watercress, golden raisins and sherry vinegar, blending and lending that lovely sweet-sour combination.

Steaks from the flame grill included 2 sides and 1 sauce, while sharing dishes for 2 offered Moroccan lamb shoulder and a T-bone aged with Pearse Lyons whiskey. Other mains included corn fed chicken, two vegetarian dishes, and turbot.

The friend followed up some stupendous large Tiger prawns, grilled in their shells, and served in a cast iron dish with fennel, chilli and tomato butter, along with house cut chips. I had the ‘daily special’ of sole on the bone, this elegant poisson being something I can never resist. The price also included a choice two sides, broccoli and almost the real star of the show – chunky ‘chips’ of black pudding and potato hash with tarragan and bacon mayo.

Desserts too were divine. Wexford strawberries were paired with grapefruit, pannacotta, and shards of meringue, whilst North County Dublin rhubarb was an artistic presentation involving smoked vanilla, herbs, and strings of crispy potato.

Excellent service, a great buzz, and just thoroughly enjoyable on all fronts. 

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