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Irish Times
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Baba'de restaurant review: You won't eat like this anywhere else in Ireland
Baba'de Address : The Mews, Baltimore, Co. Cork, P81 TC64 Telephone : 028 48112 Cuisine : Turkish Website : Cost : €€€ I'd expected Baba'de, Ahmet Dede and Maria Archer 's more casual follow-up to their acclaimed two-Michelin-star restaurant, Dede in Baltimore, west Cork , to focus on Turkish street food. It does – but there are also rogue dishes at incredibly reasonable prices. You're as likely to get seafood in a fine dining foam as a kebab on flatbread. The setting is the old Mews site , where Dede formerly held a Michelin star as head chef – a 30-seat cottage a few steps from their two-star flagship. The mood is stripped back: bare tables, a short menu split into sea, meadow, garden and dessert, and a wine list that starts at €35. We go for the entry-level red, a chilled Bobal from Valencia (€35) that works across the summer menu. Celebrating? There's a grower champagne, Pierre Moncuit Coulmet, and a strong showing of by-the-glass options. Dede's içli köfte (€16) is about as far from its street food roots as you can get without a wine pairing. If you're sniffy about foams, rethink your position. The yoghurt-garlic sauce is whipped to the brink of collapse but hits with refreshing acidity. On top: dots of isot pepper and fresh mint leaves. Four bulgur dumplings surface – crisp spheres above the froth, sealing in spiced lamb. And under them – because this dish doesn't stop – is a slow-cooked ragout of Fastnet Farm lamb, thick with tomato and heat. Layered, precise, and technically sharp – it is influenced by a two-star signature dish from Dede, served here for the price of a Negroni. Dede's hand shows again with the squid erişte (€15), another dish that arrives under a blanket of aerated sauce – this time a whipped roast pepper velouté, a vivid orange, fizzing at the edges like embers. It comes in a black bowl, dusted with chives and isot pepper, topped with a single curled piece of baby squid. READ MORE Baba'de restaurant: Chef-proprietor Ahmet Dede. Photograph: Andy Gibson Baba'de restaurant: The site of the former Mews in Baltimore. Photograph: Andy Gibson Beneath, tagliatelle-style pasta is cut short to match the thin strips of squid running through the sauce. Traditionally, the dish uses offal – not seafood – and never a red pepper base. But of course it works. Puffed rice, almond crumble and pomegranate molasses pull it squarely into cheffy territory. After two composed, high-wire plates, the menu shifts gear. Ali's hummus (€8) comes topped with crispy chickpeas, red onion and smoked paprika and house-made sourdough. In Turkey, hummus is eaten straight with a fork, like a vegetable side dish, but I fancy it as a dip, so order more of the bread (€2) to swipe it up. The Adana kebab (€16), a thick sausage of grilled lamb, lands on a charred flatbread, streaked with chilli mayonnaise, pickled beetroot and yoghurt. Pickled onions and torn herbs lift the richness, while the bread soaks up the juices. It's satisfying. You ditch the cutlery and just dig in. A rival plate of chicken shawarma (€11) feels almost polite by comparison: barbecued chicken breast, smoky and succulent, spread across another flatbread, topped with garlic yoghurt, sumac and a dusting of crunchy chicken skin. [ Comet review: Is this Ireland's next Michelin star restaurant in the making? Opens in new window ] It would be enough to offer just the hits – a signature from Dede, a knockout Adana kebab – but the menu keeps moving. Baba'de-style fried chicken with brown butter dip lands at the table beside us. Cured haddock with seaweed dashi, and cod with confit leeks (the most expensive dish at €23), are making the rounds for fish lovers. The langoustine spring roll seems particularly popular. There are dishes for people who want fireworks, and others for those who just want to be fed – children, anyone not up for lamb ragout in a yoghurt espuma. One plate looks like a tasting-menu showpiece, the next a weeknight favourite. Somehow, they all belong. Baba'de restaurant: Haddock lakarde. Photograph: Andy Gibson Baba'de restaurant: Içli köfte. Photograph: Andy Gibson Baba'de restaurant: Langoustine spring rolls. Photograph: Andy Gibson Baba'de restaurant: Twomey Clonakilty beef. Photograph: Andy Gibson Baba'de restaurant: Annemin sütlaç. Photograph: Andy Gibson Dessert is annemin sütlaç (€13), billed as 'mother's warm rice pudding'. It's a bowl of warm, loose sütlaç with a scoop of cold brown butter ice cream and a dusting of crushed nuts. It's restrained, with rice that's soft but not overcooked, and a punch of brown butter to finish. This is modern Anatolian cooking, structured around a Nordic-style menu layout, with quietly cheffy execution and a top-tier prep kitchen doing the heavy lifting. It's a lucky dip in the best way – bewildering at times, with no telling whether the next plate's a two-star throwback or a late-night classic. Still flinching at the word 'espuma'? Stay home and eat yoghurt with a spoon. Otherwise, get to Baba'de – the food is bold, the prices are ridiculously reasonable, and you won't eat like this anywhere else in Ireland. Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €116. The verdict: 9/10. Fine dining meets Turkish comfort food at Ahmet Dede's latest restaurant. Food provenance: Glenmar Fish, Anthony Dwyer, Michael Twomey and Walsh's butchers, and David Bushby. Vegetarian options: Oyster mushroom shawarma, wild chanterelles with mushroom consommé, bulgur köfte, and fennel, goat's curd and beetroot salad. Wheelchair access: Accessible room with no accessible toilet. Music: Modern Turkish pop, rock and jazz mix.
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
How to make the perfect burger and lamb kofta on the barbecue
This week we are back on the barbecue, using up cost-effective minced meat to produce two quick and delicious dinners. While there are many recipes for koftas and burgers on the market, elements such as pickled red onion and burger sauce will really elevate your home cooking. Flavour is often found in the less fashionable ingredients. The word koftas, from Persian culture, translates as 'to grind'. I've taken inspiration here from acclaimed Turkish chef Ahmet Dede of Dede restaurant in Baltimore, Co Cork, whom I've long admired for his talent, work ethic and ability to make complex food look incredibly simple to prepare while making it taste incredibly complex. It's quite the skill. His staff food is legendary and I've no doubt these have appeared a few times. The key is an even split of lamb and pork mince; the lamb is packed with flavour while the fat content of the pork mince prevents them from drying out. Toast your spices to reactivate them before blending it all together. Try not to overwork the meat when mixing – it should be ground and tender when you cut into it. Remember, we don't want meat paste. Pickled red onion is another go-to in my house during the summer. It can be made in a large batch and kept in the fridge, adding vibrancy and colour to so many dishes. In fact, the same recipe can be applied to loads of different vegetables that are sliced thinly. By pickling, you are also adding shelf life and saving on waste, as well as adding flavour options. READ MORE The second recipe is a classic smash burger, where the meat patty is pressed into the grill or grate to encourage browning and crisping of the edges. Note the specific cuts of meat for the mince. You can ask your butcher to do this for you. Going the extra mile will repay you handsomely in flavour – all you need to do is add some salt and pepper. Like the kofta, the aim is to avoid overworking the meat so it doesn't turn into paste. The real magic lies in the sauce. The addition of chopped capers, gherkins and dill will remind you of a very famous burger from a notable fast-food chain. This is delicious; once you try it, you'll never go back. Now, all we need is proper sunshine. Recipe: Barbecue lamb kofta with pickled red onion Recipe: Barbecue smash burgers with dill pickle sauce
