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outdoor seating vegetarian kid-friendly full bar
wi-fi booking recommended red luas line green luas line available on Just Eat James Cirillo owner of Nannetti’s Can you tell us how Nannetti’s got its name? It is named after the old Lord Mayor of Dublin, Joseph Nannetti. His family had that Italian/Irish immigrant history like my own family, so we thought the connection was fitting. He actually lived around the corner from where the restaurant is, so it seemed like a nice tip of the hat to old Dublin. What is Nannetti’s food all about? The idea came about from looking at the typical old school Italian trattoria and trying to modernise those homely dishes. The old classics hadn’t really been done anywhere else, so we wanted to bring those dishes back with a modern twist. For example, we wanted to incorporate the old Roman style dishes back into the menu because we saw a market for that. Is it intended to compliment your other restaurant, Cirillo’s on Baggot Street? Both places have the same core values. However, Cirillo’s is primarily homemade pizza and pasta, but we only have a small kitchen which limits what can be done. Whereas, Nannetti’s has a larger kitchen that will allow us to grow and produce some really amazing Italian dishes. We’ve broadened the menu for Nannetti’s to bring a wider variety of food to showcase. How have your opening plans been impacted by the pandemic? From a project point of view, we are actually a couple years behind. We were looking to do something and then had the opportunity to take over the premises on Dawson Street so we jumped at it. There were rumblings about the pandemic coming down the line as we were getting into it, but we decided to move forward thinking it would be maybe two months. We never dreamed it would be this long, however. Can you work around a summer of outdoor dining? How many people can the terrace hold? The terrace has four tables, so a maximum of 16 people. Things are entirely dependent on the unpredictable weather. Last Sunday we had zero business due to the weather. We can’t continue to do that though. It’s a double hit - lack of revenue and obviously our costs are still there. It’s unsustainable. What changes do you perceive in the industry as a result of what it has been through? It’s hard to know at this point in time with regard to the long-term changes. I don’t think there will be any fundamental changes. As long as people feel like they are safe, it does seem that they will gravitate towards doing things that they did pre-pandemic, such as going out to eat and enjoying themselves. That will always be there. From a business point of view, the city centre has completely changed from what it was 18 months ago - the usual ebb and flow is completely gone. The suburbs are seeing a boost because the city centre is just less attractive than it was before. Hopefully the heart will come back and people will gravitate back to the city centre. Where is the place that you most look forward to dining once the travel restrictions are lifted? I can’t barely think about traveling because I am so busy, but I’d love to go back to Venice. There is a really cool wine bar that a friend of mine owns called Enoteca Mascerata. That is where I’d go to relax and enjoy myself. 22 Dawson St Dublin 2 (01) 662 4736 nannettis.ie @nannettisdublin