Update: Hey Donna is permanently closed
I should probably rename my blog, since I realised that I haven't written a Dublin review in almost... 5 months. I blame college and the fact that I don't eat out as much as I used to. However during the Christmas break I managed to try out some places that I am happy to recommend and that hopefully will make it to the blog soon.
I tricked Mr. FFID, telling him we were going for a long walk while in fact I had an organised plan: visiting the new Fallon and Byrne and going for lunch in Hey Donna in Rathmines. Honestly, I didn't really have to twist his arm, he was delighted with my foodie plans. Hey Donna is the brainchild of Jo Macken, the man behind an empire of casual eateries that I've blogged about in the past (Skinflint, Crackbird and Jo'Burger). It's actually located in a former location of a Jo'Burger which has been revamped and tuned into an 'all day canteen' with long tables and benches, cool neon signs and cookbooks scattered around the place. With its big windows, the dining room is bright, funky and colourful.
Breakfast is served from 7am to 11am, lunch between 11.30am - 4.30pm and dinner from 5pm, with some brunchy options available all day. The menu has strong Middle Eastern vibes with ingredients like sumac, labneh, date syrup, pomegranate and harissa oil just to name a few. Mr. FFID and I visited during the day and I honestly found myself wanting to order pretty much everything. Hey Donna serve my kind of food so I had high expectations. I was tempted to go for the banana bread (€7.50) or crushed avocado on squash 'toast' (€8.50) but finally decided on lunch food instead. Plus they get brownie points from mentioning Le Levain bread on their menu.
I wouldn't normally order chicken but I decided to get the turmeric chicken (€11/€12.50) to which I asked for an egg to be added but it really didn't need it. The chicken was tender and moist and came with beetroot, spiced red cabbage and yogurt sauce served on a flat bread. It was good but I added chili oil to give it a kick and I got massive food envy on Mr. FFID's dish which was lip-smacking good. I washed my food down with a lovely pomegranate and lime lemonade (€3) that went down a treat.
Mr' FFID's fried lamb mince with sautéed onions, toum (garlic sauce) and hot chili sauce on toast (€12) was everything I like. The amount of lamb was substantial and the bread had soaked up all the juices; the meat was nicely spiced and the dish was fiery. He also asked for an egg on top which really wasn't necessary but we both agreed that this dish was proper tasty stuff.
It was rather quiet when we visited, probably because of the time of the year but I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Hey Donna. I love this kind of casual place, with an attractive menu and reasonable prices and I know I'll be back for more. I'm glad I went because it was the first place in ages that made me want to write about a Dublin restaurant here again.
Hey Donna
137 Rathmines Road Lower
Dublin 6
Hey Donna's website
Disclaimer: This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
