Review of Dillinger's, Ranelagh
On a rainy Tuesday evening – what better way to round of the
evening than a sneaky dinner out in Ranelagh. Ev and I said that we’d get the LUAS as we fancied some
booze! We meandered past Pinocchio's, Kinara Kitchen, TapHouse and came across
Dillinger's. Reading the menu outside we saw ‘Super Nacho Tuesday’ was on and
knew we had found our newest haunt.
We were greeted upon entry and sat down at a rickety table
that was soon steadied by the helpful waitress with the help of some corks. For those of you not familiar, Dillinger's is a kind of cool,
modern bar that serves food and yum cocktails.
A place with a very trendy vibe, and considerably busier than we expected
on a November weekday evening.
Supernachos – a huge sharing main course of nachos topped
with mince, guacamole, salsa, cheese, jalapenos and sour cream – is the special
on Tuesday at €10, so we naturally chose these to split as a main, along with individual
starters – gnocchi for Matt and pork belly for me. We rounded our dinner off with a cocktail
each – whisky sour for Matt and a classic margarita for myself.
Drinks (€10): The cocktails were well-made and nicely presented – it was
clear they had lashings of alcohol, always a bonus. My margarita came with loads of salt around
the glass (a good thing, for the girl who loves salt) and Matt’s blend of wild
turkey bourbon, lemon, orange, sugar and bitters was tangy and refreshing.
On to the starters (€7-10): My spicy pork belly was glazed in ginger and soy molasses
and served with a mint salad and crushed peanuts. It was a nice portion size – not too big,
considering we knew the Mexican feast which was to follow – and the flavours
really blended well together. I
especially liked the accompanying salad which was crisp and fresh.
Matt had the sautéed potato gnocchi, artichoke heart with
parmesan cream, spinach and truffle. It
was covered in a foam emulsion which while appealing and ticking the ‘fancy-food’
box disguised the neat presentation of ingredients underneath. Taste wise,
delicious. Gnocchi (never know how to pronounce this correctly – assuming ‘knocky’)
was tender but not soggy or glupey, Parmesan and spinach flavors were not
overpowering but ever present.. overall great dish that I didn’t want to share.
( - he really didn't. Ev)
Nachos: Normally with nachos, the first ½ is brilliant as you’ve
plenty of toppings but then you run out and it’s like eating original flavour Pringles…not
the case here – plenty of cheese, sour cream, guacamole or guac as I've heard
it referred to as. We had originally ordered sides but the waitress advised
against it due to the size of the main dish, we took her advice and were glad.
Overall: Very happy with the experience – a sharing mains for €10 in
Ranelagh – how could you go wrong and who doesn't eat nachos? Cocktails were
made with love and had none of this premixed bullshit. Nice staff.
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