Eatily - Dublin Road, Ratoath

TL;DR: nice experiment flirting with some fun ideas, but felt like it was chasing a flavor it never quite achieved My wife and I saw this place when we were down at the theater and, being big foodies in the states with an active pop-up scene, we resolved to stop by and try some of the dishes. The atmosphere was fitting its status, though the bulbs used in the lights cast too much heat and thus we spent most of the meal somewhat uncomfortably warm. The service was friendly and informative, what I would expect from the caliber. The cocktails were top notch, with a twist on the mojito really bringing a refreshing touch to the evening. For a starter we had the chips with pancetta that were flavorful yet had a difficult time marrying the two ingredients in a single bite. For a main course, my wife had the BBQ pork belly with duck fat fondant. It was satisfying and the pork had a good flavor, but the dish never fully developed the apple, ginger, and duck fat. My dish was the roast salmon with gnocchi and each item individually, including the pancetta were flavorful in themselves. However each felt as if they were looking longingly at each other trying to find common ground and could never quite come together. Finally, we ordered a side of the creamed corn with Parmesan and black truffle because I'll usually throw money at anything with truffle in it. Sadly, the creamed corn overpowered the other ingredients, leaving nothing but a slight whiff of the truffle. Due to the heat and a tiring end to the day, we were unable to try dessert. I would like to try some of the other items on the menu, but I doubt we'll be able to before our trip comes to a close.

TL;DR: nice experiment flirting with some fun ideas, but felt like it was chasing a flavor it never quite achieved My wife and I saw this place when we were down at the theater and, being big foodies in the states with an active pop-up scene, we resolved to stop by and try some of the dishes. The atmosphere was fitting its status, though the bulbs used in the lights cast too much heat and thus we spent most of the meal somewhat uncomfortably warm. The service was friendly and informative, what I would expect from the caliber. The cocktails were top notch, with a twist on the mojito really bringing a refreshing touch to the evening. For a starter we had the chips with pancetta that were flavorful yet had a difficult time marrying the two ingredients in a single bite. For a main course, my wife had the BBQ pork belly with duck fat fondant. It was satisfying and the pork had a good flavor, but the dish never fully developed the apple, ginger, and duck fat. My dish was the roast salmon with gnocchi and each item individually, including the pancetta were flavorful in themselves. However each felt as if they were looking longingly at each other trying to find common ground and could never quite come together. Finally, we ordered a side of the creamed corn with Parmesan and black truffle because I'll usually throw money at anything with truffle in it. Sadly, the creamed corn overpowered the other ingredients, leaving nothing but a slight whiff of the truffle. Due to the heat and a tiring end to the day, we were unable to try dessert. I would like to try some of the other items on the menu, but I doubt we'll be able to before our trip comes to a close.

I am a huge lover of Oliver Dunne's Cleaver East and I've previously written about it here. When the Eatily popup was announced I knew I had to try it. It's a pop-up and only open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for four weeks. Unfortunately, I think it's finished now unless they are extending it. Anyway here's what I got. I had Italian Goats Cheese and Pesto Cornetto's, Pecan Praline, Blood Orange and Beetroot for my starter. Visually I thought this dish was stunning and it tasted as nice as it looked. The goats cheese (which I've recently become a huge fan of) was gorgeous and goats cheese paired with beetroot is a great combination. The pecan praline gave the dish a nice crunch and the blood orange gave it a nice tangy edge. For his starter, my partner had Crab and Pear Cannelloni, Piccolo Tomatoes, Basil and Mascarpone Mousse, Roast Pine nut Dressing. Again, another visually stunning dish. While I wasn't hugely converted to the texture of the cannelloni (because it was soft) the filling was very fresh and appetising. LP loved it. Proclaiming he'd won with his choice but mine was definitely nicer.Both starters were designed to look like desserts which is a concept I haven't seen in Dublin before. It's pretty cool and it did impress me and I'd order what I had again. For my main, I had Roast Rump of Leccese Lamb, Sprouting Broccoli, Gorgonzola Jelly, Smoked Almonds, Roast Spring Garlic and Agrodolce Sauce. Having never tried Agrodolce sauce before I didn't really know what to expect. I'd never even heard of it. To me, it tasted kind of like BBQ sauce. Kind of sweet and sour. Not something I'd have put with lamb but it worked really well. I found the lamb a little tough to cut but it tasted gorgeous. The broccoli and garlic were lovely as well. My partner had Slow Cooked Spiced Rare Breed Pork Fillet, Dublin Bay Prawn Ravioli, Pea Puree, Prosciutto and Copa Farce. The pork was mouth watering. Every part of the dish was perfect. The prawn ravioli was a nice touch. There was an option of 3 sides and as per usual, we ordered them all. Chips with Parmesan, Tomatoes, and Feta, and Broccoli with Goats Cheese and hazelnut. All three were gorgeous but the broccoli stood out for me as the nicest. I'm just a massive lover of broccoli, though. The tomatoes and feta was a nice change for a side. It was cold but very refreshing. The chips had some sort of thick gravy on them which was gorgeous as well. For dessert, I had Coconut Milk Panna Cotta, Fresno Chilli and Pineapple Zuppa, Passionfruit and Mango Gelato. TBH, I was a bit let down by this. It was a nice dessert but compared to the starter and main it didn't seem to be at the same standard. Don't get me wrong, it was lovely and if I got it anywhere else I probably wouldn't bat an eyelid but it just seemed to be a slight step down from the gorgeous goats cheese and lamb I had previously. My partner had Mascarpone and Coffee Tiramisu, Dulse Chocolate Glaze, Candied Pistachios, Stout Ice Cream. He felt the same about his dessert. While it was nice, it wasn't anything memorable. He liked the stout ice cream but I wasn't a fan at all. Both desserts didn't look as visually appealing as the previous courses which is a shame. Overall though it was a gorgeous meal and I'd happily go back.

From the time we arrived until we left, sometime later, we were treated professionally and taken great care of. The food was sublime the combination of flavours in all the dishes I had were divine. I heartily recommend the goats cheese cornetto, the lamb and the tiramisu. It was truly a fantastic experience.

Simply the best! We watched Oliver Dinner on TV3 talking about this pop-up so we signed up. The email said 5000 people showed interests but they could only take 1200 guests in the timeframe that they're open for so lucky us. The service was friendly and suggested options to try. The food was unreal; crab for starters, lamb for main and panacota for dessert. Tea and doughnut to finish it off. If we can, we will go back!