Dublin Dining chronicles my food & drink experiences during six months living in Dublin, Ireland.
As I write this, I’m spending my very last morning in Dublin, so it feels right to look back on what was probably my most fun dining experience. I booked a table at The Vintage Kitchen a few weeks in advance (it’s a small restaurant with only two evening seatings), and made it a girls’ night. And thanks to the BYOB policy, I was able to bring along the last bottle of wine that I had brought back from Tuscany. The silky-smooth red paired well with all three of my courses.
The star of the meal for me was the starter of duck liver creme, an unctuous spread topped with a thin layer of lime jelly and lots of crushed pistachio. Spread onto crustless toast points together with an apple-raisin jam, it basically made the perfect sweet-and-savory bite. And thankfully, there was enough of the creme and jam to form a whole lot of those bites, especially after a few more slices of toast magically appeared without asking.
I went for the pan-fried hake as my main. I’ve ordered hake a few times before in Dublin, but never have I seen it presented with such height and pizazz. The bed of mussels bathed in white bean-tomato sauce and the seashell full of lump caviar were excellent accompaniments. And again, the portion was incredibly generous for a modestly priced prix-fixe menu.
The half-baked chocolate cake for dessert lived up to its name. The inside oozed with liquid, melting into what felt almost like cake batter ice cream. It was a rich ending to a genuinely fun meal. The vinyl records and pop-art decor keep the tiny restaurant’s setting feeling at once cozy and fashionable, so it was an ideal venue for laughing and reflecting on the past several months.
The details: The Vintage Kitchen, 7 Poolbeg St., Dublin 2, Ireland.
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