TD 1
outdoor seating vegetarian kid-friendly full bar
wi-fi booking recommended red luas line green luas line available on Just Eat H Stuart Heeney What is the concept behind Zampas restaurant? Zampas brings Lima to Lord Edward Street, celebrating two countries and cultures through something that brings us all together — the pleasures of the table. This is Peruvian food and drinks with a distinctly Irish accent, in the good-looking setting of the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin. As Head Chef, I wanted to tell the story of Peruvian food through some of this island’s finest produce and that’s exactly what we’ve done. There’s some intense flavours added to our grill dishes with open flame cooking too and the restaurant ambiance is a stylish background to a great night out. Dublin’s famous nightlife may be a little more low-key at the moment, but a memorable night out in the city is still waiting at Zampas, ready to be enjoyed. What kinds of things were important to you when compiling your menu? As our mission statement at Zampas ead Chef, Zampas Bar & Restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin is to tell the story of Peruvian food through the best quality Irish ingredients, authenticity was absolutely key. I spent a lot of enjoyable time researching, immersing myself in Peruvian cuisine and flavours. Peru is the original home of the potato, so there is that important Irish connection there already. Our menu is to create Peruvian food as seen through the lens of fine Irish ingredients, so matching the best suppliers to our needs was really crucial in designing our menu. There’s been some debate recently about whether or not to include a list of suppliers on restaurant menus. What’s your view on this? We’re proud to showcase exceptional Irish ingredients on our menu in Zampas Bar & Restaurant from a range of fantastic Irish suppliers — from incredible steaks from John Stone Meats to Kelly’s of Rush for heirloom tomatoes and St. Tola for some of our cheese. We are delighted to list our family of fine suppliers on our menus — they are the backbone of what we do. While expectations about the quality of hotel food have been steadily increasing, Covid has also had a big impact on dining out this year. What kinds of things are you noticing in the ‘new normal’? I think eating out has become more of a treat again and expectations are high, plus everyone is competing for the same diners and we really need to impress to get repeat business. Covid has created a lot of great home chefs too, so we need to make sure our game is good! Any autumn dining trends we should be tuned in to? I think the dining public’s interest in provenance and sustainability is going to continue to grow. That focus on sustainability is important to us so we try to use wild, locally landed fish on our menus — especially in one of our signature dishes, our ceviche — whenever the boats go out. Also I think that as many people haven’t had the opportunity to travel outside the country for a while, and may not have that chance for some time yet, lots of diners are looking for exotic and interesting flavours to transport them somewhere far away, even if it’s just for a long lunch or a special dinner. That’s something I think we can do very well in Zampas — provide a mini break to foreign shores without leaving Dublin City centre! Autumn offer: Visitors to Zampas can now enjoy their signature Asador Peruvian Roast Chicken for two with delicious sides and a bottle of wine for just €49. Sunday to Thursday 12 – 9pm and Friday & Saturday up to 4pm. Zampas Bar & Restaurant Hard Rock Hotel Dublin 16-18 Lord Edward Street Dublin 2 www.zampas.ie 01 482 5000