Over two years ago I reviewed a lovely vintage Citroën truck selling pizzas in Greystones called Gaillot and Gray, so I was very happy to hear they opened a pizza place on Clanbrassil Street a few months ago. This is an interesting corner of Dublin 8, next door to craft beer pub 57 The Headline and very close to trendy Bastible; it's definitely worth a visit.
Gaillot et Gray is owned by a French man, Gilles Gaillot and his Irish wife Emma Gray. They sell French style pizza, using Emmental cheese instead of the usual mozzarella as well as many other French products. There is a choice of eight pizzas ranging from €10 from a simple cheese and tomato to €15 for a Bayonne ham and rocket. During the day they sell homemade sourdough breads (€4.50), croissants (€1.50), pains au chocolat (€1.50), madeleines and hot drinks, so it's kind of a bakery too.
The design of the place is pretty cool, it's bright, they have communal tables and a lovely picture of the food truck where it all started. You can see Mr. Gaillot cooking his pizzas in his wood-fire oven and the smell of freshly baked pizza instantly opens your appetite.
There is also a terrace at the back with potted herbs and plants. The atmosphere is very casual, there was a family, a group of 30 somethings and a few couples when we visited, it's super laid back and at the moment you can bring your own wine.
The pizzas are 12 inches wide and beautifully thin, the crust is nicely crispy and charred on the sides and with a generous emmental layer on top.
Mr. FFID went for the chorizo and fresh chilli toppings (€14) which he devoured.
I was 'excira and delira' to see a merguez, onion and mushroom pizza (€15) on the menu and I couldn't possibly order anything else.
A lot of French people love their merguez (spicy sausages) and I'm one of them. We also drizzled quite a lot of the Broighter chili rapeseed oil on them, just because there was a bottle of it on the table and it would have been rude not to!
We had a pizza each and it was a lot of food (even for us, highly trained in intense eating), however the crust is thin and the toppings not too heavy so we didn't feel too stuffed. Smaller (more reasonable) eaters could probably share one, but why would you want to do that?
Gaillot et Gray
59 Lower Clanbrassil St
Dublin 8
Gaillot et Gray's Facebook page
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
