Disappointed in Temple Bar

With two neighbourhood restaurants already to their names, David Coffey and Damien Quinn have planted their flag in Dublin City, writes Lucinda O’Sullivan, who tried their new spot in Temple Bar

There are lots of restaurants with good food and service, but that doesn’t always make them financially successful. Is it all down to location, location, location? Are the burbs more difficult to crack than the city, not having the same passing trade and depending on keeping their local clientele happy?

I’ve been asking this recently, following the closure of a number of southside neighbourhood restaurants — La Plancha in Monkstown, Sivad in Leopardstown, Farmhill in Goatstown, the Roly Saul Restaurant in Dundrum (not connected to Roly’s Bistro in Ballsbridge). Dunne & Crescenzi closed its Blackrock Shopping Centre branch due to operational difficulties with ongoing building works there. Feast has relocated to Golden Lane from Dun Laoghaire — and others are teetering on the brink.

It’s interesting too that David Coffey and Damien Quinn — who co-own The Sussex Restaurant over O’Brien’s pub on Upper Leeson Street and The 105 Cafe Bistro in Clonskeagh — have headed to bustling Temple Bar for their third restaurant, the eponymous Crow Street, located in what was Nick Munier’s short-lived Avenue.

A three-storey-over-basement building, it’s an ambitious project, with two dining areas on the ground floor, a parlour and taproom upstairs serving small plates, and vintage cocktails. We really liked the new decor, with exposed-brick walls, parquet flooring, banquettes, stylish furnishings and tableware. It had a warm glow that would draw wandering tourists in — it reminded me of a place we once drifted into on a side street in Paris.

Opening night

We arrived on its first evening, and while one does make allowances, the food which, they say, aims to fuse “footstompin” Southern American food with traditional Irish fare, was sadly more confused than fused. “Irish soulfood” it was not. Starters (€8-€11.95) included the ubiquitous calamari; spicy chicken wings; Manhattan seafood chowder; and a terrine of ham hock and black pudding.

Seafood cobbler (€10.95) was an OK white fish and mussel melange in a leek cream, but a misnomer. A cobbler should have a thick, almost biscuit-like pastry ‘cobbles’ crust — this was a crumble. Grilled Macroom buffalo halloumi (€8) was billed with caponata and crispy potato

rosti. There was no sign of a rosti but there was a tian of colcannon (which featured with another dish). It’s better to advise people if one is substituting components, rather than taking a flyer.

As the Crow fries

Mains (€15.50-€27) included a trio of salads including a flat-iron steak salad with baby gem, chicory, tarragon mushrooms, Parmesan, and sourdough croute; and a superfood salad with sweet potato hummus, pickled red cabbage; and an Asian veg and glass noodle salad.

Hot dishes included a burger with Dubliner cheddar and smoked tomato chutney; a 9-oz rib-eye steak with colcannon boxty, Rioja jus; sticky pork ribs; and crispy lamb shoulder with crushed sweet potato and rosemary jus.

The main nod to Southern American grub that we saw was crispy fried buttermilk chicken, which could be had as a ‘full pile’ at €20 or a ‘half pile’ at €15. The friend’s half pile, with kimchi, red slaw and a ranch dressing, was as exciting as that featured on the political rubber chicken circuit. Monkfish scampi (€19,

pictured left) on a pea guacamole sludge

“It’s a three-storey overbasement building, so quite an ambitious project, with two dining areas on the ground floor, and a parlour and taproom upstairs”

and ‘hand-cut’ chips, was flat and disappointing. The ‘scampi’ resembled fish ‘nuggets’ rather than the effervescent joyous frothiness that is deep-fried scampi, and the “hand-cut” chips, to me, smacked of a commercial variety — a side of chilli and tamari greens (€4) was the best part!

Making a change

Their ice-cream machine “hadn’t arrived”, so we shared a small tranche of Belgian chocolate tart (€8). The drinks list is extensive, lots of wines, spirits, beer and cider, cocktails and soft drinks. A 500ml carafe of Australian, Clare Valley, Wakefield Estate Riesling (€28.50), with water (€5), one Americano (€2.90) and service, brought our bill to €111.35. It was clear the food needed a lot of sharpening up, so perhaps it was no surprise to receive an email a week later to say “we have changed our head chef since your visit and will be making changes to our menus.”