[Blog] Most popular reviews of 2017

I always find it extremely interesting to load up Google Analytics, and analyse my blog statistics. I particularly like to do it at the end of every year with the specific objective of understanding what reviews were most interesting to my readers. Thankfully this year, your preferred spots coincided largely with with my favourite venues from 2017. So without further ado, here are 5 most popular restaurant reviews from 2017, plus one wildcard from yours truly.

5. Rachel's, Cork

In 2007, TV chef and Ballymaloe family member, Rachel Allen opened her eponymous restaurant and cocktail bar on Cork's Washington Street. Within a few months, Rachel's had garnered a selection of mixed reviews with an overall consensus that Cork had gained a smart new restaurant, with a strong focus on using local produce.

Rack of spring lamb with wild garlic and almond crumb

[Review] The Legal Eagle, Chancery Place, Dublin 7

The Legal Eagle pub on Chancery Place, next to the historic Four Courts and beloved of solicitors, barristers and court attendees, had stood empty since 2012. It was acquired by Brian Montague and his business parter Elaine Murphy in 2014, but work on their other projects The Woollen Mills and The Washerwoman took precedence, delaying the opening until just recently. Was it worth the wait?

Every part of the overhauled Legal Eagle speaks in muted but confident tones. (In fact, just like the kind of solicitor or barrister you want to represent you should you ever find yourself appearing before the courts). A solemn and decorous dark green exterior with touches of gilding gives way to the spruced up interior. The general layout is true to the original, but now smart high backed leather stools line up alongside the bar, while exposed red brickwork and assorted copper vessels gently warm the walls. It's smart and modern, yet feels so comfortable and barlike.

Homemade pickled eggs

[Review] Boqueria, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7

UPDATE: Boquera has since left its Stoneybatter location and moved north to 30 Church Street, Howth. 

Inspired by the world famous "La Boqueria" market in Barcelona, the newly opened Boqueria Tapas and Gastro restaurant in Stoneybatter promises to deliver dishes made from locally sourced ingredients cooked with love. The man in the kitchen is chef Matt Fuller, who has spent time cooking in Ireland at L'Ecrivain, Salon des Saveurs (one of the few restaurants I miss in Dublin) and Citron at the Fitzwilliam, as well as spending several years cooking in Valencia, Spain, where it's said that Ferran Adria was quite a fan.

We had arranged to meet several family members for Saturday dinner at Boqueria and, as our taxi headed across the river Liffey and up through Stoneybatter, I wondered if we would be getting tapas or tapas concept. The first thing I learned is that Boqueria is already proving very popular with diners being turned away due to no space at the inn, although several were able to return later in the evening when tables had emptied. The second thing I learned is that the dining room is attractively clean and simple, with cream walls and bright chairs. The third thing I learned is that the menu reads wonderfully well, with an equally imaginative wine list. 

With 6 of us at the table, we ended up ordering a substantial amount of dishes from the menu. Interestingly, we weren't allowed order for a short while, in order to give the kitchen time to process the existing orders. In order to keep us occupied, we ordered bowls of olives (€3.50) and baskets of bread with flavoured butters and wonderful olive oil (€4.50), along with a superb Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva (€48) and a Louro de Bolo Godello (€39).  

2oz Dexter beef burger

Lamb belly with Manchego cheese 

Pork cheeks with caramelised pineapple

After a short while, our dishes started to flow from the kitchen.  Crispy cubes of fried potato were artfully arranged on a slate platter with stripes of spicy tomato sauce and dots of roast garlic mayo (€5.00). The perfect presentation on this simple dish indicated that we were dealing with a kitchen that was aiming for more than just good. Irish rare breed pork cheeks were cleverly paired with tangy caramelised pineapple (€7.00) while a mini burger made from Dexter beef came with a small portion of chunky chips (€5.50). Goatsbridge rainbow trout starred in a vibrant bright dish with fennel velouté and fruit salad (€7.50) while the humble mackerel was enhanced by apple and fennel salad (€6.50). 

The intriguing lamb belly "San Jacobo" with manchego cheese (lamb with cheese!) had to be ordered and arrived as breaded portions of soft lamb and melting cheese (€7.50). A sublime pea risotto was a perfect shade of gentle green topped with shreds of smoked pork belly (€6.50) and perfect scallops came with delicious tarragon rosti and muted passion fruit (€12.00). There were many more dishes enjoyed and savoured, but I think you get the picture. 

Barrel chips with tomato sauce and garlic mayo

Pea risotto with smoked pork belly

Cured Goatsbridge rainbow trout with fennel velouté and fruit

Chargrilled tuna with pistachio and mango

The dessert menu is equally tempting with standout dishes such as a tantalising strawberry and basil soup (€7.50) and a wonderful combination of chocolate mousse, bright olive oil and flakes of crunchy sea salt (€7.50). Unfortunately, there was no sweet wine selection when we dined, but I am told that a selection will be available shortly. If the main wine menu is any indicator, I'm already looking forward. 

Mel y mato with fresh fruit

Chocolate mousse with olive oil and candied bread

The word "tapas" has definitely been enthusiastically embraced by the restaurant industry lately. Tapas now rarely means small Spanish dishes, but instead it is now used largely to mean small plates and food designed for mixing and sharing. How many times have you been faced with an enthusiastic waiter who has offered to explain the restaurant concept to you, only for him to start with the now-dreaded words "Our food is served tapas style…."? Sigh…

Boqueria isn't traditional tapas; there are no pintxos, sardines or bits of toasty bread here. It's what I call tapas-style dining, but also very much influenced by traditional tapas and Spanish cooking. It's thoroughly classy, which is no surprise given the pedigree of the chef. But it's also enhanced by the friendliness and chattiness of the superb staff who clearly enjoy working there. Post-dinner analysis on the way home was of the opinion that we had just dined in a standout spot. 

My single regret is that I think that having 6 of us gathered around the table was just too much. Everybody wanted a bit of everything, which largely meant that no one got to have enough of any one thing. Some dishes were vigorously defended from intruding forks, but I think that the best way forward is to visit as part of a couple or smaller group. In my mind, there's no doubt about it, this is going to be a hot restaurant for 2015. Get there while you still can. 

Boqueria, 3 Prussia Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
Tel: +353 (0)1 868 3575
URL: www.boqueria.ie
Twitter: @BoqueriaDublin
Instagram: @boqueriadublin

[Review] My Meat Wagon, Smithfield, Dublin 7

One of my first work projects involved spending a lot of time around Smithfield and the Four Courts area. I was reasonably new to Dublin and to be quite honest, some of things I witnessed in that area did little to enamour the area to me. In fact, if I was in charge of public health, I might have erected a biohazard zone in some places. Smithfield Square had been built, but even with the large Fresh supermarket, it felt like a big, grey, desolate space. The Celtic Tiger Thomas Read's pub failed, just like our economy, and a horde of marauding zombies probably wouldn't have felt out of place. In fact, they'd have brightened the place up a bit.

I wasn't the only person disappointed by the regeneration project at Smithfield, but slowly, inch by painful inch, the area is coming to life. The old Park Inn hotel is now the Generator Hostel, complete with Jameson whiskey bottle chandelier and a buzzing atmosphere. The Lighthouse Cinema has survived bad times and is now a well-established alternative cinema. But any self-respecting area cannot consider itself as truly regenerated until the hipsters arrive. If only hipsters could exist without jam-jar glasses, if only.

Standing outside My Meat Wagon

And if my visit to the recent Big Grill festival taught me anything, it was that hipsters like BBQ. It's like catnip to them. BBQ, craft beers and RayBans seem to complete the hipster trinity. Therefore, the opening of My Meat Wagon, an American BBQ restaurant, in the corner between the Lighthouse and Oscars is part of the Smithfield barometer. 

First things first, I really liked the decor at My Meat Wagon. There are jute sacks, rough wooden planking, galvanised zinc sheets and suspended pallets. We have many storage sheds with all these ingredients on our family farm, except that no West Cork farmer ever thought of setting up a BBQ in their shed. Despite all these design clichés, the overall effect here simply works, with low, warm lighting and original bluegrass music.

The simple menu at My Meat Wagon

Beef good (tofu bad) - seating at My Meat Wagon

We both ordered the Meat on a Board with a mix of Cow, Pig and Bird. To be honest, I was a little perplexed why beef and pork get named, but the source of "Bird" remained a mystery. Each board has a main meat, accompanied by a selection of other cuts and two sides. BBQ chicken has often been a disappointment to me, left dry and dusty by the BBQ process, but here there was a darkly golden laminated skin with juicy meat underneath. 

The Ole Hickory Texas smoker shipped over to sit at the heart of My Meat Wagon had been equally good to the soft, deliciously fatty beef rib, chorizo sausage and excellent pulled pork. Beef brisket, normally my go-to BBQ meat, was a little dry but tasted well. Sides were equally well executed with mash, fresh slaw and fries (served in a mini shopping trolley, perhaps a tribute to the River Liffey?). 

Meat board with pig, bird and cow

There is much to like about My Meat Wagon and it seems like Dublin is not done with BBQ food yet Two huge meat boards, a beer and a glass of white wine came to under €50 with friendly and efficient service. What started out as a small gourmet burger van has matured into a slick, fine BBQ, which would not be out of place in the US. In fact, I'd definitely rate it above quite a few US joints that I've visited. By the time we finished eating, my initial skepticism over the design had been utterly defeated by the fine meat treatment. Put the diet to one side and order the beef rib with sausage. Trust me...

My Meat Wagon, Smithfield Market Square, Dublin 7
Tel: +353 (0)1 874 8172
Twitter: @myMEATwagon