Diane was a regular restaurant reviewer for Ireland's top city magazine The Dubliner. Yes, it was a fabulous gig...

Ho Sen

One of my most vivid memories of traveling through Vietnam is the Phô (soup). That’s how foodies are – we’ve got one eye on the military architecture of the Imperial Palace and the other checking out that cute café across the road. Our travel memories are a mixture of interesting sights and detailed recollections of exotic cuisine.

Phô is on offer throughout Vietnam, from every noodle stand, restaurant and backpacker café. It is a delicious combination of rice noodles, flavourful broth, and beef or chicken, served with lime, cilantro, traditional fish sauce and chili for seasoning.

Five years after traveling the length of Vietnam, from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, I was delighted to stumble upon a purveyor of Phô right here in Temple Bar.  Hô Sen, Dublin’s first Vietnamese restaurant, opened on Cope Street in December.  Owned by an Australian and his Vietnamese fiancée, it is a long-awaited addition to the city’s ethnic food offerings.

My first meal was lunch, when the Phô is served in meal-size portions for only €6.50. The Phô Gá (chicken soup) was excellent, exactly the taste I remembered and craved, and even better for being eaten on a cold, rainy, Dublin winter day.  I was joined for several dinners by my husband (and Vietnam traveling companion). The dishes are quite varied, and we found the wait staff to be expert at steering us towards the recommended ones. For starters, the Chim Cúc Muõi, or roast quail with salt, spring onion, garlic and chili was perfectly done and served with crunchy and flavorful sautéed onions and peppers. The G?i Cuõn or fresh spring rolls were light and fresh, with a spicy dipping sauce on the side.

The selection of mains covers fish, beef, chicken, lamb (a nod to the locals, as we don’t recall seeing even one sheep in Vietnam) and a small selection of vegetarian dishes. We agreed that the most spectacular dish was the Cá Kho Ta?, or catch of the day in a hot pot with cane sugar, ginger and Vietnamese spices. It was aromatic and exotic, with a sublime mix of herbs and spices.

The end of the meal was a bit of a culture shock, as the dessert selection turned distinctly Australian, with bread and butter pudding, apple tart, and ice cream on offer. We could’ve handled the transition better if some traditional Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk had been available to accompany.  Maybe next time, as we hear the owner is currently in Vietnam shopping for the individual drip pots needed for brewing.

After having been to Vietnam, we couldn’t be more delighted that a taste of Vietnam has finally come to Dublin.  Hô Sen is well worth a visit for some fresh, delicious and authentic Vietnamese food. 

Ella

Howth needed a place like Ella. After years of domination by culinary heavyweights King Citric and Aqua, Ella offers a small, inspired alternative. Only eight tables and a generous use of hanging rugs and fluffy back pillows creates a warm and intimate atmosphere. The live jazz on the weekend is unobtrusive and excellent. 

Ella's menu changes monthly to take advantage of the freshest seasonal ingredients. We had the french onion soup - a delicious version of a classic with carmelized onion, light cheese and crunchy croutons that gave a light, sweet taste (€5.00). The cod goujons with mixed leaves were very fresh (€9.50), and made us wish that there was more fish on offer for the mains. After all, we didn’t come all the way to Howth to eat beef. The seabass Thai style was done perfectly and served over rice in a mild coconut sauce, and the medallions of venison in a red wine jus were perfect on a crisp fall evening (€24.50).

We ordered a simple chocolate brownie for dessert and it was everything a good brownie should be: made of excellent chocolate, and rich, warm and soft on the inside with a slight crunch on top.  We meant to share but ordered a second.

This one’s worth the trip.

 Cape Greko

  Cape Greko opened in November and finally brings authentic Greek food to Dublin. Located in newly renovated second floor space on New Street in Malahide Village, the crisp blue and white décor and lively Greek music create a welcoming taverna atmosphere.

Chef Demetris Pieri obviously gathered together all his old family recipes to produce a tempting and traditional menu of homemade Greek and Cypriot dishes.  To begin, the mezze dish offers a small sample of each of the starters, and is the best way to find a favourite. The signature main is an amazingly tender and perfectly spiced lamb, slow cooked until it falls off the bone at the mere mention of a fork. The homemade tzatziki that accompanies most dishes was so good that next time we ordered it as an appetizer with pita bread. The menu also features traditional staples of moussaka, pastichio and kebabs.

For dessert, skip the uninspired ice cream choices and sample the freshly baked baklava or custard dishes that are so sweet and flaky they melt in your mouth.  

 The Glass Onion

Suzanne Galvin left the popular Expresso Bar Cafe to open the Glass Onion this month with head chef Grainne Walsh. Located on Dunville Avenue, the Glass Onion borrows its unusual name from the 1968 Beatles song. The interior has been revamped and now offers elegant lighting and the option of a convivial long row of tables or a cozy round conservatory in the back for seating.

Glass Onion's menu is an innovative delight. Rarely do you see a choice of several organ dishes on the same menu that also offers three tempting options for vegetarians. We started with the Glass Onion soup, which is French onion (€4.50), and the marinated prawns in a spicy lime and chile sauce (€11.95). The pan fried lamb kidneys were cooked to perfection, and the seared scallops parpardelle (€22.95) included a generous portion of fresh and tender sea scallops.

A wonderful menu feature was the long list of vegetable side orders. For €3.95 each we tried the generous portion of tender carmelized sweet potatoes and the slightly crunchy and spicy haricot verts with chorizo.

Homemade desserts and coffee that eventually arrived finished the meal. Service was rough, and often slow, but for Dubliners seeking inventive fare in a sophisticated atmosphere, this is the place.

Aya Sushi

Recently returned from a trip to Tokyo, I couldn’t wait to sample Dublin’s version of the sushi conveyer belt.  The belt is the ultimate in quality fast food - sit down, watch the sushi go by and grab whatever looks good.

In Tokyo, ambiance is fast and furious as chefs behind the belt rapidly make sushi, take special orders and shout greetings. Here the sushi belt is less entertaining and more subdued, with chefs back in the kitchen. The biggest disappointment, though, is the sushi, which lacked both authenticity and variety.  Aya's sushi belt included an unusual mix of fruit plates, BBQ chicken, fried spring rolls, noodles and chocolate desserts. The limited selection of sushi included was hardly the stuff of Asian food fantasies, consisting mainly of salmon, more salmon, cooked shrimp, crab and a few token plates of sashimi.

It’s a long way to go to Tokyo, and Aya has a long way to go before it even comes close. Until it wakes up and smells the wasabi, stick to Chinese.

El Bahia

If you’re feeling the need to escape the rain and clouds of another Dublin summer, transport yourself for an evening to the exotic world of Morocco at El Bahia on Wicklow Street.

Begin with a selection of starters, all reasonably priced from €5.50 to €8.50. The zaaluk, a mix of aubergines, tomato and spices, made me ponder how aubergines could ever be made to taste that good. The ladas, or lentils, and the felfa dish of peppers in olive oil and spices, were perfectly flavored and even better slathered on some fresh pita bread.

For the mains, we tried two of El Bahia’s specialties. The tajines are Moroccan stews slow cooked in cone shaped earthenware pots. The Marrakesh tajine (€16.00) was a sublime mix of spices, fresh vegetables, and lamb so tender it broke apart at the slightest touch. The chicken bastilla (€18.90) was an unusual and deliciously sweet dish of chicken in crisp, flaky filo, topped with a sugar and cinnamon coating.

Live bellydancing, the absolute antithesis of Irish stepdancing, completed the out-of-Dublin experience and made the perfect end to a lively, fun and exotic evening.

Kinara

If first impressions count, the finely dressed doorman at Kinara makes a good one. So does the stunning view of Dublin Bay if you get the right table by the windows. Reading the extensive descriptive menu will take you through your aperitif. Even the ordinary poppadom was unusually enjoyable, with three very tasty dips ranging from mild to spicy. Who wouldn’t be thrilled with such attention to detail?

If only such focus was directed at the food. The tandoori quail (€10.95) was an interesting twist on the traditional chicken but lacking succulence and kick. The Kinara khas was a dry and flavourless selection of chicken, lamb and prawns (€19.50). The aloo zeera side dish was all potato with no hint of aubergine, and the lentil dish was just plain dull.

Kinara caters well for the mass Irish palate, but will disappoint those seeking spicy and authentic Indian dishes.