Latest news with #ModernInternational
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Notions restaurant review: This is intelligent, considered food, without ceremony
Notions Address : 74 Francis St, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 KA43. Telephone : N/A Cuisine : Modern International Website : Cost : €€€ It's called Notions – which tells you everything and nothing. Once an insidious put-down designed to keep you in your place, it's now tossed around half-laughing by the same people who used to mean it. Oh, notions! – as if ambition were something to be embarrassed about. It's an interesting name for a restaurant – either dry wit with a flick of the fringe, or a quiet middle finger with polite defiance. Possibly both. Notions is what happens after Two Pups cafe on Francis Street, Dublin 8 , closes for the day and flips from flat whites to fermented funk. It's the evening shift – a hybrid wine bar and restaurant with no minimum spend. You can drop in for a glass and a couple of snacks, or do as we do: rifle through most of the menu, which runs on a spine of nibbles, snacks, and plates (small and large). The wine is natural – of course it is – organic or biodynamic, probably foot-stomped in a 200-year-old stone trough for Percheron horses. Everything's by the glass, arranged not by grape or region but by natty wine taxonomy – Go-To, Elegant & Playful, Lil' Funky, Mad Funky – a spectrum from 'you'll like this' to 'you might not, but at least it's interesting'. [ Summer 2025: 100 great places to eat around Ireland Opens in new window ] The staff are charming and quick with tasters. A few natty heads linger outside, but most – including two high-profile influencers – are just here for a good glass and a bite. We steer clear of the funkier stuff and go for a bottle of Château Coupe Roses (€48) – crunchy red fruit, bursts of bramble, a vin vivant – which throws off a reassuring amount of debris. READ MORE We start with sourdough (€6), baked that morning in Bold Boy, the in-house bakery. It's topped with whipped cod's roe and chives chopped with the kind of precision that would earn full marks from @ratemychives on Instagram. A Connemara oyster (€4) with jalapeño granita leaves my mouth tingling, the oyster's brine a prominent note against the heat of the granita. Notions, Francis Street, Dublin 8. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times And then on to the snacks, at €9 each. Radishes are piled on top of romesco sauce and dusted with hazelnuts. The romesco delivers a rich, peppery depth, lifted with a splash of wild garlic oil. Ham hock croquettes are made with a light hand – hot, loose, and smoky with Gubbeen, with an assertive mustard mayo. If you're a little croquetas-jaded, these will restore your faith. And the tempura of purple sprouting broccoli, dappled in filaments of a light crunchy batter, is glossed with gochujang mayo and dusted with nori powder. The small plates section is where the chef starts speaking in ingredient haiku: oyster mushroom, shimeji, black garlic, tarragon (€12). It is a great dish. The oyster mushroom and shimeji have an earthy, roasted edge, the black garlic smoulders, and the tarragon adds a bit of punch. Notions: From left, radish, romesco, chive oil and hazelnuts; asparagus, guanciale, gnocchi, Parmesan and cavolo nero; Connemara oyster with jalapeño granita; caramelised white chocolate, strawberries and buckwheat sponge. Photograph: Alan Betson Ham hock croquettes, mustard aioli with smoked Gubbeen. Photograph: Alan Betson Sommelier Finn Lowney and chef Andrew Kelly. Photograph: Alan Betson Crispy purple potato, greens, anchovy dressing (€14) turns out to be the dish of the evening. The Ballymakenny potatoes are smashed, cooked in their skins, and just this side of charred. The greens are a mix of rocket, kale and roasted spring onions, and the anchovy dressing is sharp, with a smoky finish pulling the whole thing together. On to the large plates and asparagus, guanciale, gnocchi, Parmesan, kale (€18) is smaller than expected – but the price reflects it. Pan-fried spears of asparagus are nestled alongside gnocchi and crispy cavolo nero in a Parmesan cream, with crispy guanciale adding a punch of salty umami. Iberico pork cheek, nduja, butter bean cassoulet, salsa verde (€26) is a satisfying dish. The meat is tender without falling into 'melts in the mouth' territory; the cassoulet is loose, thick, and rich with nduja heat; and the salsa verde is snappy, vivid with acidity, bringing a welcome counterpoint. For dessert, there's just one option – caramelised white chocolate, raspberries, and buckwheat sponge (€10), an unfussy end. The raspberries are sharp, the sponge is light and nutty, and the white chocolate comes in just enough to soften the edges. An unfussy end: Caramelised white chocolate, raspberries, and buckwheat sponge. Photograph: Alan Betson Andrew Kelly, who heads up the kitchen, has an impressive background – Ballymaloe, Noma , Bastible , Potager – and it shows. The food is intelligent, modern and deeply considered, but never overwrought. The kitchen works with a precision that quietly outclasses the influencer glow in the diningroom. There's technique, sure, but also restraint – the rarest thing in a city still impressed by edible flowers and truffle oil. There's no plate pile-up. No ceremony. The pacing just works. And Notions? For all the irony, all the shrugging cool, here's the joke: it's not style over substance. It's quite simply, substance, styled well. Dinner for three with a bottle of wine was €165. The Verdict: Small plates, natural wine, and no minimum spend. Food provenance: Crowe's Farm, Ballymakenny Farm, McNally Farm, La Rousse and Caterway. Vegetarian options: The menu is primarily vegetarian. Wheelchair access: Accessible room with no accessible toilet. Music: Soul, jazz and reggae.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Notions review: No style over substance here. This is intelligent, considered food, without the ceremony
Notions Address : 74 Francis St, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 KA43. Telephone : N/A Cuisine : Modern International Website : Cost : €€€ It's called Notions – which tells you everything and nothing. Once an insidious put-down designed to keep you in your place, it's now tossed around half-laughing by the same people who used to mean it. Oh, notions! – as if ambition were something to be embarrassed about. It's an interesting name for a restaurant – either dry wit with a flick of the fringe, or a quiet middle finger with polite defiance. Possibly both. Notions is what happens after Two Pups cafe on Francis Street, Dublin 8 , closes for the day and flips from flat whites to fermented funk. It's the evening shift – a hybrid wine bar and restaurant with no minimum spend. You can drop in for a glass and a couple of snacks, or do as we do: rifle through most of the menu, which runs on a spine of nibbles, snacks, and plates (small and large). The wine is natural – of course it is – organic or biodynamic, probably foot-stomped in a 200-year-old stone trough for Percheron horses. Everything's by the glass, arranged not by grape or region but by natty wine taxonomy – Go-To, Elegant & Playful, Lil' Funky, Mad Funky – a spectrum from 'you'll like this' to 'you might not, but at least it's interesting'. [ Summer 2025: 100 great places to eat around Ireland Opens in new window ] The staff are charming and quick with tasters. A few natty heads linger outside, but most – including two high-profile influencers – are just here for a good glass and a bite. We steer clear of the funkier stuff and go for a bottle of Château Coupe Roses (€48) – crunchy red fruit, bursts of bramble, a vin vivant – which throws off a reassuring amount of debris. READ MORE We start with sourdough (€6), baked that morning in Bold Boy, the in-house bakery. It's topped with whipped cod's roe and chives chopped with the kind of precision that would earn full marks from @ratemychives on Instagram. A Connemara oyster (€4) with jalapeño granita leaves my mouth tingling, the oyster's brine a prominent note against the heat of the granita. Notions, Francis Street, Dublin 8. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times And then on to the snacks, at €9 each. Radishes are piled on top of romesco sauce and dusted with hazelnuts. The romesco delivers a rich, peppery depth, lifted with a splash of wild garlic oil. Ham hock croquettes are made with a light hand – hot, loose, and smoky with Gubbeen, with an assertive mustard mayo. If you're a little croquetas-jaded, these will restore your faith. And the tempura of purple sprouting broccoli, dappled in filaments of a light crunchy batter, is glossed with gochujang mayo and dusted with nori powder. The small plates section is where the chef starts speaking in ingredient haiku: oyster mushroom, shimeji, black garlic, tarragon (€12). It is a great dish. The oyster mushroom and shimeji have an earthy, roasted edge, the black garlic smoulders, and the tarragon adds a bit of punch. Notions: From left, radish, romesco, chive oil and hazelnuts; asparagus, guanciale, gnocchi, Parmesan and cavolo nero; Connemara oyster with jalapeño granita; caramelised white chocolate, strawberries and buckwheat sponge. Photograph: Alan Betson Ham hock croquettes, mustard aioli with smoked Gubbeen. Photograph: Alan Betson Sommelier Finn Lowney and chef Andrew Kelly. Photograph: Alan Betson Crispy purple potato, greens, anchovy dressing (€14) turns out to be the dish of the evening. The Ballymakenny potatoes are smashed, cooked in their skins, and just this side of charred. The greens are a mix of rocket, kale and roasted spring onions, and the anchovy dressing is sharp, with a smoky finish pulling the whole thing together. On to the large plates and asparagus, guanciale, gnocchi, Parmesan, kale (€18) is smaller than expected – but the price reflects it. Pan-fried spears of asparagus are nestled alongside gnocchi and crispy cavolo nero in a Parmesan cream, with crispy guanciale adding a punch of salty umami. Iberico pork cheek, nduja, butter bean cassoulet, salsa verde (€26) is a satisfying dish. The meat is tender without falling into 'melts in the mouth' territory; the cassoulet is loose, thick, and rich with nduja heat; and the salsa verde is snappy, vivid with acidity, bringing a welcome counterpoint. For dessert, there's just one option – caramelised white chocolate, raspberries, and buckwheat sponge (€10), an unfussy end. The raspberries are sharp, the sponge is light and nutty, and the white chocolate comes in just enough to soften the edges. An unfussy end: Caramelised white chocolate, raspberries, and buckwheat sponge. Photograph: Alan Betson Andrew Kelly, who heads up the kitchen, has an impressive background – Ballymaloe, Noma , Bastible , Potager – and it shows. The food is intelligent, modern and deeply considered, but never overwrought. The kitchen works with a precision that quietly outclasses the influencer glow in the diningroom. There's technique, sure, but also restraint – the rarest thing in a city still impressed by edible flowers and truffle oil. There's no plate pile-up. No ceremony. The pacing just works. And Notions? For all the irony, all the shrugging cool, here's the joke: it's not style over substance. It's quite simply, substance, styled well. Dinner for three with a bottle of wine was €165. The Verdict: Small plates, natural wine, and no minimum spend. Food provenance: Crowe's Farm, Ballymakenny Farm, McNally Farm, La Rousse and Caterway. Vegetarian options: The menu is primarily vegetarian. Wheelchair access: Accessible room with no accessible toilet. Music: Soul, jazz and reggae.
