Journalist/Broadcaster/Author
Some chefs have reputations they don’t deserve; others definitely so, and when word got around that Jian Carlo – initially the pizza maker at County Louth, Drogheda’s La Pizzeria, when it opened about 25 years ago, and subsequently the owner/chef – was quite likely the grumpiest person ever to stand behind a food counter … Read more Review: La Pizzeria, Clogherhead, Co Louth
We have been to smaller restaurants but usually they’ve been located in much larger cities than Dublin; hideaways in side streets and alleyways in Paris and New York spring to mind, but we have yet to visit one as downright charming and quirky as Vintage Kitchen (which can seat, at an all-too obvious squeeze, 30 … Read more Review: Vintage Kitchen, Dublin
The first things you notice are the baseball caps. They hang down from the ceiling – over 3,000 of them – in neat rows, looking for all the world like multi-coloured bats. Hats from the locality, hats from around Ireland, hats from across the globe. Each hat has been donated by customers, who have … Read more Review: The Snail Box, Ashbourne, Co Meath
Born and bred Dubliner Eileen Dunne met Italian Stefan Crescenzi in the early 90s, married, moved to Dublin from Rome in 1995, and started stocking and selling fine Italian produce and wine from a tiny shop in Sutton, north of the city. In the late 90s, the husband and wife team opened up their city … Read more Review: Dunne & Crescenzi, Dublin
Whether paying customers know it or not, some restaurants have a lot of memories attached to them. Your reviewer, for example, recalls spending more time in the Winding Stair second-hand bookshop/coffee bar throughout the 80s and 90s than was good for the bank balance. Your reviewer, also, is very much aware that part … Read more Review: The Winding Stair Restaurant, Dublin