The Scarlet Vetter says....the hubby and I decided to go to this restaurant for his 60th birthday while we were in Dublin. It had good reviews and we were able to get a reservation at a reasonable time with no notice in Open Table at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. Located in a trendy area of Dublin with cozy winding streets and shop upon shop, the Uber ride there was a study in fascinating people watching. We arrived and were seated quickly and given menus. Within minutes a server came to inquire about water and we requested still water. Then we sat for a good 20 minutes. A different server came to take drink orders but was amenable to taking our food orders as well. I ordered a nice bottle of red for us, which came quickly after we finished ordering. My husband ordered the Creamed of Corn Soup for his appetizer and I ordered the "Natural Hummus" appetizer. I thought that was a odd name as is there unnatural hummus? The soup was luscious---velvety and smooth and fragrantly spiced. The Hummus was beautifully presented with a bright green oil drizzled on it with small slivers of beets and slivers of dried garlic. The bread served with it was deliciously chewy and yeasty. It was truly great! Mark ordered the Coal Roasted Rare Breed Pork Rib Eye for his entree and I ordered a grouping of appetizers for my entree to share with him. I ordered the Black Pudding (blood sausage), the Long Sliced Smoked Salmon and the Sliced Parma Ham and Fennel Salami appetizers. Mark was very disappointed in the Pork Rib Eye. It was a beautifully presented dish, and very plentiful, but the flavor was lacking and a bit off, despite it being heritage pork. I tried it myself, and also decided it was not impressive. However the Kale, Carrots and dreamy Mashed potatoes that come with this entree were totally flavorful and scrumptious! The smoked salmon appetizer was quite good. Fresh and thinly sliced, a hit of lemon juice really brought it home. It was served with Irish brown soda bread. I liked the brown soda bread but was surprised it was not served with butter, which I requested after it came and which arrived quickly. The specialty Creme Fraiche served with the salmon, while super hyped up on the menu with mouth watering ingredients was absolutely nothing special, and had a very odd consistency. The chef needs to go back to the drawing board on that one. The Parma Ham and Salami dish was beautifully presented. It was accompanied with thin slices of bread that had been brushed with oil and slid into the facility's wood fired oven to toast crisp. This dish was as delicious as it was well appointed. The homemade mustard that accompanied the dish could have been left in the kitchen as it did zero to enhance the flavor of the meats and also had an off taste. In all, a good dining experience, solid, but not special. The main dining room was quite loud and a table near us that had a laughing hyena at it. No joke, all the tables would stop eating and look about when she laughed, which was often, and became even more frequent as the meal wore on and she became plied with more alcohol. It was both funny and annoying at the very same time if you can imagine the incongruity of that. The service model was interesting in that it appears they employ a team approach, which had its benefits and detriments. The pros were you felt free to flag anyone down when you needed something and there are more persons to assure a good dining experience. The cons are a lack of accountability of any particular server for the experience of the table and some lost continuity in service. The team clearly communicated well, as when I asked one server for butter, a different server brought it within two minutes. Interestingly, not one single server asked us how our food was in their multiple stops to the table, just whether we needed anything. The diners next to us were raving about their steaks, romaine salad and a baked macaroni and cheese dish with short ribs, so I would give this place another try to escape the current three star category we awarded it, and try different entrees. read more