Review of 'Fade Street Social'

Over Easter we visited Ireland including a day in Dublin. Taking a quick look at the reviews we decided to give “Fade Street Social” a try despite it being a Friday night on a holiday weekend yet! Located just a short distance from Temple Bar, a few streets south of Dame Street this busy restaurant on the corner of Fade and Drury Streets is trendy to the max. It is a restaurant of two halves with “The Gastro Bar” and “The Restaurant” with the former extremely lively serving a tapas-style menu while the later, the one we visited, is a much more formal restaurant.

Showing up at just after 6 pm we appealed to the staff to see if they could find us a table. They talked amongst themselves for a few minutes before finding us a table that we “had to return before 8”. Taking our coats we were shown through the very busy tapas area that really was not our scene - Way too busy and noisy - It is a narrow crowded area along one side of the entire space. Passing through here to the far end we were taken down some steps and taken to our table in the modern, simply decorated restaurant area, thankfully separated by a glass wall from the noisy tapas eaters. The kitchen featuring a large pizza oven dominates the end of the restaurant on an elevated platform overlooking the space. The street-side wall has a small bar tucked away in the corner. Chalk boards on the wall feature various cuts of meats and the sizes/prices available (a la what you would see at “Lobster and Burger” in the UK).

Interior

We were shown the rather confusing (large) single-page menu that we eventually asked the server to explain (the low light did not help in trying to make out the large amount of small print). Dominated by Irish dishes and produce it is divided into “To Start”, “Woodfired” (basically pizza-style baked breads with various toppings), “Braised” (stews), “Charred and Smoked”, “Vegetables & Salads (Shareable)”, and “Sides from the Farm (Shareable)”. Though each section has a paragraph of explanation each dish is quite simply described.

To start I picked the unusual “Crispy lamb tongue - With mint gribiche sauce, a warm pea and broad bean salad and a lamb stock” (€11) which was quite tasty with an odd flavour but a great crispy texture to the tongue. The mash the tongue sat on and the amazing sauce stole the show here though with an amazingly zesty, deliciously meaty flavour. The peas and broad beans along with the greens added a lovely fresh and light touch to the dish.

Tongue

My companion started with the “Sea trout - Smoked trout with new potatoes, watercress, pickled shallots, hens egg and a pommery mustard sauce” (€11) which was absolutely beautiful on the plate though the trout was so strongly smoked it could have been salmon but for the texture. Another nice and light dish.

Sea Trout

A short wait and our mains were delivered to the table. We both picked stews from the “Braised” menu. I had the “Beef - Rich beef and Guinness stew with parsley, oyster cream and parsnip puree” (€26) which was simple looking but beautifully tender in a creamy sauce with the sweetness of the Guinness adding to the richness.

Beef Stew

I ordered some “Spuds - Great creamy mashed potatoes” (€6) on which to put my stew which were really tasty.

Mashed Potatoes

My companion tried the “Lamb - Classic Irish stew with spiced cream, drops of potato mousse and crispy balsamic fillet, scented with lovage and celery leaves. (Served with crusty bread and hazelnut butter)” (€28) which had a lot more going on several breaded crispy pieces of sliced lamb on top of a stew more liquid than the beef.

Beef Stew

The generous bowl of stew included a side of a small round loaf of sourdough bread which was absolutely delicious - Still warm and very crispy.

Bread

Thinking that we would not have a lot to eat we foolishly also ordered the “Pickled carrot and tarragon salad - Strips of pickled carrot, wild leaves, nasturtium, rocket, shallots and chives bound in fresh carrot juice dressing” (€8 for side, €15 as main) which was delicious but far too much even to share between the two of us. A delicious dressing and the freshness of the vegetables really helped alongside the rich and creamy stews.

Carrot Salad

I do have a bit of an issue with restaurants that give me a time limit to eat - After all, I am a paying customer and I don't feel it should be my responsibility to leave on a timetable to allow them to jam more diners in. Surely this is something the restaurant should deal with not the diner? In the past I have never let this bother me and not “eaten to a schedule” so as 8 pm approached I was a bit annoyed to be told, respectfully it should be said, that our table was needed. For me this was the only negative to an overwhelmingly positive experience though I do realise we were lucky enough to have a table at all having just walked in off of the street. Having been told we needed to leave the table we were not able to spend any more money on dessert should we have wanted to (we were, truth be told, quite full).

At almost €100 for the two of us this was not a cheap meal but it was top quality all the way though we did order far more than we should have. The staff were polite and pleasant throughout as they always seemed to be zipping from table to table. Though modern the interior was quite comfortable and surprisingly quiet even as the tables filled during our visit.

Outside

Fresh and delicious modern Irish cuisine in the heart of Dublin. Most definitely recommended.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2018-03-30


Cuisine: American/British

Address: 4-6 Fade Street Dublin 2, Ireland

Location: Dublin (Ireland)

Map:

 

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Telephone: +353 (0)1 6040066

URL: http://www.fadestreetsocial.com/