Back to Dublin, back to another restaurant that I ate at both in the summer of 2022 and in the summer of 2023 (Fish Shop was the other). I first ate at Mister S (located on Camden St. Lower in a hotbed of hip places) in July 2022 when visiting Ireland for program planning. I ate dinner there with a colleague. In August 2023 I was in Dublin for a longer period, this time for the program we had been planning in July 2023 and I ate at Mister S again; this time, with an old food forum buddy: we have known each other, we calculated, for almost 20 years online but only met for the first time this August. She now lives in Germany but visits Ireland often on work and happened to be in Dublin for a few days towards the end of our stay. Both meals were very good indeed. I took notes from the earlier meal last year but never got around to posting that review—and so here is a combined report.
Mister S is a restaurant in the modern style that marries serious cooking with a casual setting. Their shtick—if you want to call it that—is that everything on the menu passes under/over wood fire to some degree or the other. From small plates to dessert, everything is touched by smoke. The menu is edited. On both visits, a year apart, there were a handful of small plates, a handful of larger plates and just a few desserts. The menu is heavy on meat and seafood but it is certainly possible for a vegetarian to make a full meal there as well (a vegan would have more difficulty).
On both visits, our table shared everything. In July 2022 my colleague and I began with the Burnt Ends Rendang Spring Rolls, the Seared Scallops with Fennel and Kumquat and the Leek, Romesco and Smoked Mozzarella. The spring rolls and scallops were tasty enough—though I can’t say I got very much of a sense of the rendang in the spring rolls. The charred leeks etc., however, were excellent. Also excellent were both mains. We got the Grilled Monkfish with Hay Smoked Mussels and the Aubergine with Labneh, Cashew and Chilli. The monkfish was done perfectly but the grilled aubergine was the star of this round as well. To end, we split an order of the Grilled Pineapple with Rum and Coconut Sorbet. Also very good. My colleague had a beer and I had a glass of rosé.
A year and a month later the menu had many similarities to the previous but was not identical to it. My friend and I began this meal with the Charred Octopus with Baby Potatoes and Saffron Aioli and the Smoked Lamb Belly with Baby Gem and Salsa Verde. Both were very good, I thought, with the edge to the fatty lamb (the salsa verde was very reminiscent of Indian green chutney). We then split the Smoked Shortrib with Chimichurri and the Blackened Monkfish with Green Mole and Pickled Chilli. Both were done very well indeed. We also had a side of excellent charred broccolini, billed as Tenderstem Broccoli with Black Garlic Caesar and Chilli. To end, some delicious Bread Pudding with Rum Custard and White Chocolate Ice Cream that I think I ate most of. We had more to drink at this meal, with a cocktail each to start and then three glasses of red wine between us.
For a look at the restaurant and the food and drink at both meals, please click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down for notes on service and price, and to see what’s coming next on the food front.
Service is in the same casual mode as the rest of the restaurant and was able enough at both meals. Price? We paid just short of 100 euros before tip at the first dinner and just about 130 euros at the second. The difference is pretty much the cost of the extra drinks. So prices have been stable for a year.
On the whole, I would recommend Mister S for their food. I’m less enthused by their cocktail offerings. They barely have any and my Old Fashioned was not great. Wine is probably the better choice.
Okay, back to Italy reports this weekend, with my first report from Venice.