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STRO GASTROGASTRO words Aoife McElwain photos Killian Broderick words Aoife McElwain photos Killian Broderick words Aoife McElwain photos Mark Duggan FANTASTIC... Mr Fox A plate of tender venison (€26) paired with plump blackberries, sweet salsify, autumnal chanterelles and a lick-the-plate jus is as nourishing and rejuvenating as taking a walk in a beautiful forest. Before the venison, we’ve been treated to a simply stunning plate of baby leeks (€8.50), fried in a light batter and served with a creamy gribiche laced with smoked eel. Who’s behind these delicious dishes? It’s the approachable yet impressive cooking of Dublin-born Anthony Smith, Head Chef and owner of Mr Fox. Smith, who has worked in Michelin-starred res at uran a p partnere in i Matt the Thresher Beattie’ w ts in Ilace I longe TO DIE FOR Assassination Custard Hussey o T e Pig’s E r to t’a e over th ra sf m tions, ausly hom arne n o Matt the Thresher is a bright stylish seafood restaurant and bar located within the heart of Georgian Dublin only a short stroll from St. Stephens Green. They specialise in fresh wild Irish seafood, but have an extensive menu with something to suit all requirements. Matt’s has a fully licenced bar with a superb range of local craft beers, whiskeys, gins, along with a well sourced wine list. What really makes the experience is the wonderful team providing the very best in Irish hospitality, all of whom look forward to welcoming you. Open 7 days, serving food and drink until late. s once me ’80s. Sébas eration. Tog ten Beth o, H It’s just before Chrihts ma m hd th un is laden down w ey had decided o shop sinug leaves. Their pur Tose is to be di Assassination Custard. 32 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2 t: 01-676 2980 www.mattthethresher.ie d4 Husse , who ie a o th hard Dner ol f The Pigs Earen and wa since thanager at L’Etcriien Masi and hi s ortner the op Kirst s r hten I was ou y Clairs ansl d Ric a t ter k ov ey and McAllister are h l ing Smith to lead a t n 2013, Hec When t e tehaelin Star.o a d the p many o Cae prev eious sd steer t e team t ve.rds receiving a Mic s an ad fe t ble bef e ms e p as Locks Brasserie. Ieam that inad Cludes f th rville h lpetaff at Th he Hot Stowa chickp wanlates of turmeric pickled cet o a rots, and roll rca n iom f tade bread l tt c oremiees but before thith bor l lle left t n a nament in t e s eas, pdering down F 2013 and the Brassreie lost t e stae came and c r across an eye-catc n oo emtuff d fouraaceddineg on iy ‘nd ja sa su y 2015. Keee are cigto , in and Cawvis of spiced and rurasted h was with spicts hinud legs aad holdinan Hishicol ry an antiq radish crudités ser. He bvoed alongside b copper pot full of b ef Coáud ’a, a ridiculously The new Locks i, sort of like colleagues and we’re celebrating the season with the evening dinner experience at one of the city’s most stubbornly original eating houses, When Ken Doherty and Gwen McGrath rant. “Thpen I heard a stppy a out Kitty O’S ea,” Chagna cnor ODowd. delicious hot garlic and anchovy dips smart-casual; the charmfondue, but better. I’m with twelve food-loving Dublin-born chef Anthony Smith tells me. “When she was organising liaisons with Charles Stewart Parnell, Parnell used the code name of ‘Mr Fox’. It seemed like a good name for a restaurant on Parnell Square and, because I already had the stuffed fox, it felt like a sign.” Mr Fox moved in last year and opened their opened this tiny lunchtime restaurant across the road from Kevin Street Garda Station in October 2015, they had just six seats. They have now expanded to eight seats. Which begs the question, is it possible for a casual lunchtime restaurant with so few seats to survive? Doherty, originally from Dublin, studied Arts Cirillos in UCC and lived in Cork City for five years. He worked as a chef at Dennis Cotter’s Cafe Paradiso, which perhaps explains Doherty’s adept respect for vegetables at Assassination Custard. He also wrote a food column for The Irish Examiner for a number of years. McGrath also studied in Cork and her background is in Industrial Design. The name Assassination Custard is in referJames Cirillo was surely destined to run a restaurant. His Italian dad and uncle both have connections in the city. Authenticity lies at the heart of their offering bringing experience from traditional pizzerias in Naples to their kitchen. Cirillo’s offers authentic Italian antipasti, pasta dishes and wood-fired pizzas for lunch and dinner, with all our pasta, breads, pizza dough and ice creams made fresh inhouse every day. 60 54 140 Baggot Street, Dublin 2 01 676 6848 cirillos.ie doors in November. “We’re not going for a Michelin-star style,” Smith points out to me over the phone after my visit. “We want to be the best casual dining offering on the northside.” Also served up to us on our visit is a partridge errace in Sep emtor ebb o a smangside co-Head in a skilled in if ior designer thougke thve eaten a var ai tion what they’f this dish a milvlion t ce at leht it f r th itter dpandeliond r taue still un-nd ae d int c asot 2013, reo eneams Loesks 1 Windso abr out immediately, apain rop t e p a et . It logks really er 2015, aloll h ing maître d’/waiter is decked out in jeans and a subtly crisp shirt. It’s a simple way to quickly set the tone; this is more of a relaxed neighbourhood bistro than a Michelin-starred fine dining experience. There’s a lot of dude bros in this restaurant; I spot at least one man-bun in the kitchen. been a challenge at times, in that it’s simply quite hard for them to make any money. But still, he and McGrath have never compromised on their vision of celebrating seasonal ingredients through their Italian-ish small plates. Because of the minute size of the space, it means that Doherty personally selects every ingredient that he cooks. He goes to the McNally Family Farm stall in imr Fovd M kar et on a Sature t en Temple Baprooing everything, all th ad y to sime.”elect items of their m rvainello s pr come. “I like bitter taselect The w e mu u loduce fooks imopr thsive a with a good stes, like dion by tdelioln le nes,” says Doherty herry o es f s noo omt I’m di opsa upointed normall thae cey set, liklebo m n and s. “Bittern s ifn o er t t s u. B ething y aurants, the sa gammlcoharlic beverages as it is e sewl oun yhtere on the spark and atten o Food Market, he gets mteion tat f o detail isnt app Brough non-aon F m, a family farm in C Antrim with a keen eye to sus at inability. He rese we k to herhl ps brinoing beauterul and, even to mah I’ e most of ove got. “We ha e b en fo e imes bsincuef re, thiet oo h annd pe sfervy of the season.mith. ome peao t r’ le exp ht t t reshtatura bts to be og on g - ting the f fresd a d ther ectlice right,” says S “I think s We c np esis ec e c eaun riand sharing perfect on day one but we want to be here in 20 years time so we will be working constantly on end fun, board special (€15 extra per person and it’s worth it). We get plates of slowly braised short rib and then a board of pink slices of the tenderloin fillet (aka the chateaubriand), topped with onion rings and golden, fluffy chips on the e srated on ma y restenus.” While a me exciting rom the bril’liant lied to the anhe g a s as avd some ports t the rancis Ster u ne dher. Hr in 2014. That he rest oa, Smit h ummer of a lifloway d wts bith Stuthul front rosoer and bn f Th BEHIND THAT CLOSED DOOR Locks 1 Windsor Terrace I’m late for lunch at Locks with my friend, who’s already been seated at our table. ‘Don’t worry,’ she texts. ‘It’s nice to be here, looking out rather than looking in.’ For those of you who spent your 20s hanging around in the flat-lands of Rathmines and Porto eb llo surviving on chickpea stews and (very) cheap red wine, Locks might have a similar emotional pull for you as it does for me. It was r le and, Neo hd tw York ah d A ty to g eaepifen McAlli tm a d A droe speialed. en years laater, I kve gone t e p h a n ave t ne moneus ralia, o to; to sit ises on P of t ll Squrarea, previos has thi e to Joy e Hot St k . Smith calls hr ugo rem- umber s res at urant. Back es aurant Th tside looveing in, its owners were s paf o usser in 2010 and r be randed hef Rory dish (€24), with this succulently gamey bird paired perfectly with sweet, roasted pear and parsnip. A deer tartare (€11) to start is exquisite, and there’s beautiful sourdough bread on the side, served with a stonkingly good Parmesan cream, sort of a like a cheesy fluffy butter. We start everything off with a little snack of devilled eggs (€6), made with a chipotle-tinged filling and topped with Goatsbridge trout caviar, a fancy take on one of my favourite retro party snacks. The menu is seasonal and will change regularly to reflect that. The decor is largely the same as it was in e co-owoug as, and had b’Aessassination Custard vain, the brain in s of h hing sh ee resta x, snanlos d its doors in or struc wt e of a rcom iks ot s J lu nge. Therlg a p gs, who has b ueeen at Locks restauran cheroeect on a tre micro-g e When Ken Doherty and Gwen McGrath opened this tiny lunchtime restaurant across the road from Kevin Street Garda Station in October 2015, they had just six seats. They have now expanded to ten. The menus are hand written in blue biro on the back of small brown paper bags with fresh produce sourced from McNally Family Farm stall in Temple Bar Food Market. It might be a bowl of stinco (the Italian word for ham hock) with gremolata (€7), or small plates of artichoke, radish, walnuts and pomegranate (€5) or a saucer of endive paired with tahini and zhoug (€6). The name Assassination Custard is in reference to a cake reportedly made by James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, made for their friend Samuel Beckett who was in hospital in Paris after being stabbed by a pimp. They called the cake an ‘assassination custard.’ years old. “It’s more cost effective to only open when they’re at school and creche rather than paying for a child-minder,” Doherty tells me. Doherty admits to me that their model has Beattie’s time, though there are a few additional fox fixtures, such as the stuffed fox that Smith found on Francis Street. The room is tasteful and spacious, yet it’s a space that struggles to contain an atmosphere. I had the same issue with it when it was The Hot Stove. Perhaps it’s the beautiful tiled floor creating a problem with acoustics, or that the shape of the room with its centre piece of an antique stove is too much of a hark back to its original purposes as a basement kitchen in a grand house. But making drastic changes to the interiors ething a new h d The food is a beautiful mix of unfussy and intricate, delivered via a pleasin lg y precise menu. Three courses are €28, with substantial supplements for the specials. The starter s ep cial of plump m kac erel (an additional €6) is grilled until bli ts ered and blackened, with charred cucumber, crab meat and blobs of avocado sauce. It’s delicate without being up its own arse. From the regular menu, baby beetroots are served salt-baked with their lovely long roots attac e , sprinkled urith matoh icst s nof apmople and blobs of soft goat t pesj . There aight budg r enet can do much lar discs of sauce pretty g urt f m p s and circu s one tastes Locks 1 Windsor Terrace launch their Christmas lunch menu on Wednesday 2nd December. Locks 1 Windsor Terrace 1 Windsor Terrace, Portobello, Dublin 8 01-4163655 locksrestaurant.ie 17 Kevin Street Cross, Dublin 2 079971513 // www.facebook.com/assassinationcustard d4 has a close relationship with Ennis Butchers in Rialto as well as Hogan’s B t hu c er on Camden Street. You will never see a deli erv y van from a large, generic food supplier pulled up outside of Assassination Custard. The menus are hand written in blue biro on Le Bon Crubeen ence to a cake reportedly made by James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, made for their friend Samuel Beckett who was in hospital in Paris after being stabbed by a pimp. They called the cake an ‘assassination custard.’ Another interesting quirk about Assassination Custard is their opening hours, which are Monday to Friday, noon to 3pm. They are specifically designed around Doherty and McGrath’s two daughters, who are six and a half and three This award-winning brasserie in the north of Dublin city centre is well known for delivering some of the best value for money in the city. The menu delivers a grassroots experience, sourcing ingredients from the very finest Irish producers delivering consistent quality. The pre-theatre menu is hugely popular with diners visiting the nearby Abbey or Gate theatres while a diversity of offerings mean vegetarians, coeliacs and those looking for low calorie options are also catered for. Shortlisted as finalist in 2012 of the Irish Restaurant Awards’ Best Casual Dining Restaurant. 82 Talbot Street, Dublin 1 www.leboncrubeen.ie @LeBonCrubeen 01 7040126 the back of small brown paper bags. Every time I’ve visited and eaten here, the little menu on the brown paper bag has opened up a whole new avenue of flavour for me. It’s either introduced me to a new ingredient or cooking method or food pairing, so that when I leave I’m thinking about how to recreate something or other at home. It might be a bowl of stinco (the Italian word for ham hock) with gremolata (€7), or small plates of artichoke, radish, walnuts and pomegranate (€5) or a saucer of endive paired with tahini and zhoug (€6). Doherty makes a strong case for offal, too, with dishes like goat kidney served on toast with a dollop of quince aioli. There are certainly Italian influences on disAssassination Custard 17 Kevin Street Cross Dublin 2 The Woollen Mills 087-9971513 FB.com/ assassinationcustard A SITE FOR GLAD EYES Introducing our spanking new website, the perfect complement to your inky friend. Featuring a dazzling array of things to do, You don’t have to pay a toll to cross the city’s infamous Ha’Penny Bridge and even better is the news that this fine eatery greets you. If the provenance of your food and unique Irish flavours is your thing then Elaine Murphy’s ‘Eating House’ should be a priority stop. It’s a sumptuous delight which was even name checked by Samuel L Jackson recently. Unfortunately, he was recollecting when it was a sweater shop though. He’s in for an event more pleasant surprise on his return trip. To find out about Assassination Custard’s supper parties, contact Doherty and McGrath on 087-9971513 between 12pm and 3pm Monday to Friday. Mr Fox 38 Parnell Square West Dublin 1 01-8747778 www.mrfox.ie 42 Ormond Quay Lower, Dublin 1 thewoollenmills.com d4 supper experience. The space holds eight to ten people, but we comfortably squeezed twelve in. Doherty and McGrath are open to catering for small supper parties mid-week and on weekends. Since their McKenna’s shout out, their private party service has been booked up right until the early summer. Assassination Custard, like the writers who inspired its name, is one of those rare things: a true original. menu served by a great team. There’s a playfulness and informality in the menu, such as their delicious Cloudpicker Coffee Iceberger (€7) or their fancy version of a Walnut Whip (€2.95). It packages Smith’s careful cooking in an open, friendly way and the food makes it a delight to eat here. Our bill, which includes two glasses of tonic water and a 15 percent tip to reward the warm service, comes to €101.85. Konkan Indian Restaurant, located in Upper Clanbrassil Street (near Harold’s Cross Bridge) has been serving delicious Indian food since 2004. The food is always fresh with complex authentic & regional flavours. Konkan has garnered rave reviews both for the food and the friendly service and is a firm favourite amongst the locals. Their Tasting Menu at € 23.50 is definitely worth a try. They also offer restaurant quality food for delivery and take-outs at great prices. They have another branch in Dundrum Village, just a 2 min walk from the Dundrum Luas station. Konkan Harolds Cross 46 Upper Clanbrassil Street, Dublin 8 Web exclusive content also. Clickety-clack now! www.totallydublin.ie 28 26 Minetta Delicatessen Hard Rock Café Dublin This is no ordinary deli. Despite its tiny size, the Hughes sisters manage to serve up the best Italian pizza, pressed sourdough sandwiches, wholefood salads, take-home meals, and deli pots for miles. Everything is made in-house, with the exception of a few well-considered suppliers such as Tartine Bakery’s sourdough, and Nick’s locally roasted coffee. Their signature ‘Devilled Crab’ sandwich is a marvel! And as for the ‘Bee Sting’ pizza? Oh my! The recent addition of a wine license allows the girls to pair up some excellent Italian wines with their fab food. Currently open 7 days and 2 evenings a week, this little deli is punching way above its weight. side. It’s truly divine. The meat is so exquisitely seasoned and delicious, that it demands all of my attention and focus. All of the week’s stresses melt away, much like the short rib. And isn’t the goal of all nurturing cooks to make food so absorbingly delicious and comforting that the eater forgets their worries, even temporarily? An apple tart on a crispy circle of puff pastry with salt caramel and praline ice cream stays true to its origins while delivering a flair of finesse. The elements in the chocolate tart with stout ice cream and a condensed plum sauce (adding another €4 to the menu) are too intense on their own but work really well as a mouthful. Our bill, which includes two bottles of still water and two macchiatos, comes to €104, excluding tip. This restaurant may have gone through a play but Doherty also folds in Middle Eastern and Indian flavours, such as the zhoug and the collard thoran, a Keralan stir fry. On the counter are jars of their wondrously piquant piccalilli (€5.50 for a large jar), ready for you to take them home. The daily cake, such as a recent blood orange bundt cake, are baked in-house and go down well with their dark roasted coffee from Two Fifty Square across the canal in Rathmines. At the beginning of this year, they received a massive boost when they were selected as one of John and Sally McKenna’s Top 100. “That brought a lot of new visitors in to see us and it has been fantastic. It’s helped spread the word about our private parties in the evening.” Which brings me back to the pre-Christmas Konkan menu. Non-drinkers have a choice of Coca-Cola, 7Up or a tonic water. This beverage blindspot is widespread and, though I understand a large portion of diners do enjoy wine with their dinner, it irks me that non-drinkers and designated drivers are repeatedly overlooked. “Our next mission is to work on our bar,” says Smith when I call him on this. Mr Fox are not alone in having to make this improvement in terms of a non-alcoholic offering, but today they’re in the unfortunate position of bearing the brunt of my built-up frustration. At Mr Fox, you’ll find an exciting, accessible 1 Sutton Cross, Dublin 13 01 839 6344 minetta.ie twitter: @minettadeli fb: @MinettaDeliSutton Instagram: @minetta.deli lot but it’s still a beautiful room over-looking the canal, with really lovely food and service. It doesn’t appear that this team is chasing a Michelin star. Nonetheless, it’s certainly still a treat to eat there. If you’re looking for fantastic food and live entertainment in a unique, laid back environment, Hard Rock Café Dublin is the place for you. Located just a few blocks from the Liffey in famous and vibrant Temple Bar, a pedestrian friendly area of Dublin featuring cobblestone streets, wide sidewalks, and plenty of attractions. Hard Rock is a great central stop off point which serves fantastic food with a smile. Try their legendary burgers with a delicious cocktail or beer to wash it down. Have a rocking day! 12 Fleet Street Temple Bar, Dublin 2 t: 01-6717777 d4 TGI Frid TGI Friday restaurant home of th making the the best ta lection of d an exciting and a hard #InHereIt Fleet Street Stephen’s G Blanchards Dundrum S Airside Ret fridays.ie d4 The Revolution Le Bon Crubeen The Revolution specialises in artisan stone baked pizza and craft beers. Located just south of the city in Rathgar, they offer creative styles of food including pizzas, steak and tacos, a vast selection of both local and international craft beers, and an array of quality wines by the glass. Their friendly staff will go the extra mile to make your time at The Revolution unforgettable. All their bread and pizza dough are made in-house daily, and their ingredients are sourced locally when available. At The Revolution, it’s all about good food, good beer, and good people. places to visit, editor's picks & countless ways to fall in love with the city and its people. 10 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6 t: (01) 492.6890 w: www.therevolution.ie @rathgarcraft This award-winning brasserie of Dublin city centre is well k delivering some of the best v in the city. The menu delivers experience, sourcing ingredie the very finest Irish producer consistent quality. The pre-th hugely popular with diners vi by Abbey or Gate theatres w of offerings mean vegetarian those looking for low calorie catered for. Shortlisted as fin the Irish Restaurant Awards’ Dining Restaurant. 82 Talbot Street, Dublin 1 www.leboncrubeen.ie @LeBonCrubeen 01 7040126