I have the bad habit of rarely getting out of Dublin city centre for a meal, which isn’t great considering how much the food offering has increased in some of Dublin’s neighbourhoods. I know it’s something I need to work on, especially after visiting a place like Craft a few weeks ago.
Craft is located in Harold’s Cross and opened last year. It’s run by chef Philip Yeung whose menu focuses on using as much Irish produce as possible. Craft serve brunch on Sundays from 11am to 3pm, a ‘neighbourhood menu’ on Wednesday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm (€22 for 2 courses and €27 for 3 courses) as well as an ‘a la carte’ menu.
There is a small room at the front of the restaurant with a few tables and some stools around the bar, as well as a second room at the back just passed the kitchen. The décor is modern, not to flashy with white and blue walls and beautiful golden lampshades.
We visited on a Friday evening and the place was buzzing with what I guess was mainly local clientele. There were four options for each course which all sounded appealing. From glancing at the menu you know it’s all about seasonality and featuring Irish ingredients.
Snacks were advertised on the board and we happily ordered some gougères, they’re savoury cheesy choux buns, one of my childhood favourites. They were really good gougères, light and golden and they were piped with a moreish Coolea cheese creamy filling. There was some grated Coolea on top too and dots of caramelised onion puree if I recall correctly.
I rarely order soup in restaurants but this time I went for the wild garlic and leek soup (€8). It was a bright green colour and came with a quenelle of mashed potato and an impeccably crisp quail egg which was halved, revealing a soft yolk and sprinkled with bacon crumbs. Overall a great, rich soup with a lovely mix of textures.
Mr. FFID’s starter consisted of slices of Kilkenny rosé veal with roasted beetroot, slivers of onions and black garlic. He enjoyed it but I thought mine won it terms of taste.
My main was simple but worked very well, perfectly cooked seared Thornhill duck breast and confit duck leg (€26) served with rhubarb, a swede leaf and braised endive. The portion of meat actually defeated me, possibly my fault for having cooked duck breast for dinner the previous night.
Mr. FFID had a piece of Andarl farm pork belly and slow cooked melt-in-the-mouth neck (€24) which came with pickled radish, fennel and leek.
Dessert (€7.50) was a stunner and the highlight of my meal, a rare occasion in restaurants I have to say. There was roasted pineapple, white chocolate, lime, rum and coconut sorbet, surely made by someone who enjoys making desserts. It tasted like a holiday cocktail, perfect flavour combinations and great contrasts of textures and temperatures.
Craft is a lovely spot where Irish food is celebrated beautifully and with professional, attentive staff. It was definitely worth getting out of the city centre and I’ll be back for sure!
This is in an independent review, I paid for my meal
Craft restaurant
208 Harold’s Cross
Dublin 6
Craft restaurant's website
PS: I'm delighted to be a finalist as a Food Influencer of the Year at the SHEmazing! awards. I'd love if you could vote for me here if you appreciate what I do.
PS: I'm delighted to be a finalist as a Food Influencer of the Year at the SHEmazing! awards. I'd love if you could vote for me here if you appreciate what I do.