Powers Court, Dublin looking stunning with its Christmas decorations
Following on from my Lovin Dublin post, I'm going to give you a flavour of what makes Dublin such a great food destination.
The Dublin food scene is experiencing a revival. Fantastic cafes, restaurants and bars are popping up on every corner, and the food is becoming more creative and delicious. Local produce is being used more widely and there's an emphasis on fresh ingredients.
Coppinger Row restaurant
Menu
Bar area
Open kitchen to watch the chefs do their magic
One of the restaurants we visited on our trip was Coppinger Row, a Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of the city, very near to some of Dublin's famous landmarks and the large shopping area. It's an informal relaxed place to go, but the food is fabulous and interesting - owners Marc and Conor Bereen's philosophy is to keep their ingredients seasonal and their menu broad, but focusing on core flavours.
Barbequed Carlingford oysters with Merquez sausage and spring onion, with Jack McCarthy, Kanturk, Co. Cork black pudding with baby leeks and gorgonzola in the background
Liscannor Bay crab claws with garlic butter
Kilmore Quay mackerel with Moroccan spices, fennel, olive and orange
We started with some taster dishes, including Carlingford oysters, Jack McCarthy black pudding and Liscannor Bay Crab Claws, before moving onto our main courses and ending with Cavanbert, Corleggy Cheese. There was a good choice of vegetarian options, something which is often overlooked these days (I'm not sure why!) I really liked the Liscannor Bay Crab Claws with garlic butter, which I had not had before. The crab was really fresh, very well cooked and the amount of garlic butter was just right. My favourite dish was the Kilmore Quay Mackerel with Moroccan spices, fennel, olive and orange, which was beautiful! I loved the hint of spice, and the orange and fennel balanced the fish perfectly.
Tomato bruschetta
My main course of spinach and ricotta gnocchi with gorgonzola cream - rich and creamy without being too heavy
Someone else had a plate of dressed crab & crayfish with basil & lemon
Colourful cocktails
Finishing with Cavanbert, Corleggy Cheese, Co.Cavan
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One of the highlights of our Dublin trip was a food tour led by Róisín Fallon of Fab Food Trails. A wonderful morning spent with an experienced local guide, taking us to spots we wouldn't otherwise have found, sampling nibbles from each place, intermingled with snippets of information on the city's history - my idea of heaven!
Fallon & Byrne
Cheese counter
Brimming with fresh produce
Nuts and dried fruits
Edible flowers
Tasting pastrami on rye bread
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Entrance to Powers Court Centre, I'm loving the wall art!
The Pepper Pot Cafe
We tried their fresh bagels & scones
Poppy seed bagels with smoked salmon
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We paid a visit to Sheridans Cheesemongers, where they had a massive selection of Irish cheese, and also European cheeses, lovingly cared for in a specially controlled atmosphere. Our cheese tasting was expertly delivered by French shop manager John Leverrier, who explained that the life of a traditional cheesemaker is getting tougher all the time, as modern technology is takes over.
Huge selection of Irish cheese
Cutting cheese for the tasting
Milleens, a soft cows milk cheese from the Beara peninsula of South West Ireland
Dilliskus, a semi-hard cheese, made from raw cows milk & flavoured with handpicked dillisk, a type of seaweed
They also sell meats, chutneys & food gifts
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They also sell meats, chutneys & food gifts
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The Swan Bar is a typical Irish pub and it's here we tried generous samples of Powers Gold Label Whisky. Served to us by Ronan Lynch, who's father Sean achieved fame as an international Irish rugby player, I learned that Powers Gold Label Whisky is aged between 5 and 6 years in Bourbon casks and has notes of caramel, honey, malt and cereal grains.
The Swan
Inside the pub
Powers gold Label
Smooth and silky
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After leaving the pub we headed to Blazing Salads, a great little family-run deli selling a wide variety of vegetarian/vegan salads and organic breads, all made without any artificial or chemical additives. You can visit the salad bar and hot food bar, and the food goes into a convenient carry-out box which is sold by weight. They also sell the Nobó dairy-free ice cream, which recently won the Lovin Dublin food start up prize of €25k.
Blazing Salads
I couldn't stop eating these delicious hot samosas
Heart warming soup
Red lentil & vegetable burgers
They sell sweet things too!
Nobó dairy free ice cream
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Our last stop was Cocoa Atelier.... a chocolate shop!! Cocoa Atelier is a French-inspired, Irish-owned boutique, selling gorgeous chocolates, truffles and macarons - what a way to finish our tour!
Cocoa Atelier
Freshly made chocolates
Macaron tower, but which one to choose?
Chocolate Christmas bauble
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Chocolate Christmas bauble
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We stayed in the friendly, centrally located Kelly's Hotel, which was perfect as Dublin is a small city and it is easy to walk to most places.
Kelly's Hotel, Dublin
Inside the hotel
Inside the hotel
Yes, I had Guinness bread for breakfast!
You don't just have to love food to enjoy Dublin (although we all have to eat, right?), there's also museums, galleries, great architecture, and the Guinness Storehouse which is on my list for next time!
View from my room, very festive!
Street with Kelly's Hotel
Enjoying the architecture
You'll find Guinness & Baileys in fudge, truffles, chocolates and biscuits!
Chocolate lounge at Dublin's airport
I'm definitely going to go back as the journey to Dublin is super-easy, only taking an hour from Gatwick and about half an hour into town from Dublin airport - perfect for a weekend get-away. If you don't get a chance to buy food bits to bring back, Dublin airport has its own stash of chocolate, cheese, jams biscuits etc. in the departure lounge. There is also a chocolate cafe and a chocolate lounge to relax in while waiting for your flight, yes I said CHOCOLATE!
On a side note, Dublin knows how to cater for those who follow a gluten free diet, as it has a high incidence of coeliac disease. This apparently stems from way back, when people were largely dependent on the potato and didn't eat wheat.
Bye Dublin, hope to see you again!
It doesn't always rain in Dublin, we enjoyed two glorious sunny days, but do prepare yourself to be immersed in green! Also check out the Lovin Dublin website for up to date restaurant reviews, events and the latest on Dublin's food scene.
Thank you to Visit Dublin, and Lovin Dublin sponsors O'Briens Wine, Heinz Ireland and SuperValu for giving me the opportunity to visit Dublin.
Disclosure: I was invited to Dublin for the Lovin Dublin event, all views expressed here are my own.
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This content belongs to Nic at Cherrapeno. All writing and photography copyright N Fowers © 2007-2014 unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
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