Morso, the sandwich shop from the Mani Pizza team with chef Tom Murray (Bitta Banging) in the kitchen, opened yesterday and sold out. They are back open on Drury Street from 12 pm today. If you’ve been following Tom on Instagram, you’ll know that these are no ordinary sandwiches…

Bujo Burger opened today at Central Plaza, and it looks great - looking forward to not having to go to Sandymount for a Bujo fix.

The rumours (written here) were true. Adam Nevin, who recently left his role at The Morrison Room at Carton House, is taking the reins at Glover’s Alley as Executive Chef. Glovers Alley will be reopening on Wednesday, September 2nd. No announcement yet on who is taking over Nevin’s place in Carton House, but another rumour tells me it’s someone from a Munster Michelin kitchen…

A commencement notice for work on the new food market at the CHQ building in Dublin 1 went live this week 👀 Plans are afoot for a multi-stall food hall and event space.

Have you followed Provenance_ie yet? Documenting the farmers & producers of Ireland, working on an Irish food verification system and building a map as they go.

Taste of Dublin is on this weekend, and tickets are still available for Saturday and Sunday. Always a fun day out.

How cool is this way to dispose of kitchen oil - do you think it would work here?

The Real House of Guinness

Justice for cauliflower

Shark-cuterie

This barrel 😍

Graham Herterich’s Pride Shortbread 🌈

Food Joke of the Week: it’s another cheesy one…

Q: What did the cheese say when it saw itself in the mirror?

A: Halloumi!

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

I just missed the breaking news last Friday that Jack’s, a new wine bar and small plates joint, opened next door to the ever-popular Loverboy on St. Gabriel’s Road. Perfect time as the summer gigs continue this weekend at St. Anne’s Park. I popped by Chubby’s just-opened taco truck last Saturday and it was buzzing before CMAT. I was just going to Lotts & Co to get some milk, but when I saw three tacos for €15, how could I resist??? Excellent value, they were delicious. There is also a great little aperitif bar in the yard. Delighted also to see that Seana O’Brien and Robert Stewart, well-known hospitality heroes previously at Hang Dai, have joined the team at Chubbys.

A new chapter is underway at Mr Fox on Parnell Square, with Adam Jordan stepping in as co-owner and executive chef, now fully leading the kitchen. Anthony Smith, who founded Mr Fox and remains involved on the ownership side, is stepping back from the menus. Jordan has a strong Michelin kitchen cooking pedigree - The Greenhouse, Chapter One, AnnaLena (Vancouver), D’Olier Street and Terre in Cork - so it will be interesting to see what changes he makes. I know for now that Saturday lunch is making a return, and both the à la carte and set menus are sticking around.

Hilary Quinn, senior pastry chef at Ballymaloe House, is running a doughnut pop-up at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday, June 6th, with lots of goodies on the menu, including a new, special edition elderflower glazed yum yum, Irish strawberry & fig leaf doughnut, the return of the “everything bagel” inspired savoury bun, & more. For this pop-up, Hilary is trialling a “BYOB” concept - Bring Your Own Box and you will get a €1 discount off your purchase. I can vouch for Hilary’s doughnuts being some of the best I have ever tasted. Worth making a detour for. Details here.

The teething problems for Karl Whelan’s Marée continue. After some booking system blips last week, reservations have now been postponed due to building issues. Writing on Instagram, he said: “This old building has waited a long time for a restaurant, so what’s a few more weeks?” Hopefully everything is resolved soon.

Restaurateur turned consultant Joe Macken (Crackbird, Jo’ Burger, Hey Donna, etc) launched his latest venture, Tiller, this week, a new certification for restaurants championing Irish produce. You can read more about it here, and if you’re coming to Beyond The Pale, I’ll be chatting to Joe about this on Friday at Beyond The Plate.

The Unicorn on Merrion Row has opened its terrace for the summer and launched a new Italian summer menu.

Kinara Kitchen in Ranelagh is now open seven days a week, with a new €22 Curry Club and a loyalty card offering a free dish on your 11th visit. There’s also a new Thali lunch with rotating options (lamb, fish, chicken, or vegetarian). See more here.

Bettystown House in County Meath has announced a new series of dinners across the summer, celebrating the Boyne Valley produce, led by chef Aidan Ryan. On the 4th of July, Reuven Diaz joins for an American-Irish menu and on August 15th, Chad Byrne, Executive Head Chef at The Brehon in Killarney, will host an evening of live fire cooking. Both evenings will be four-course dinners along a communal table on the grounds of Bettystown House. Tickets are €100. See more and book here.

Congratulations to Adare Manor on being named among the inaugural recipients of the Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown - a new award for hotels that have achieved all three of the publication’s honours: the Hot List, the Gold List and the Readers.

WineOnline.ie Summer Wine Festival takes place upstairs at The Morehampton, 135 Morehampton Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, on Thursday 11 June 2026, from 6.00 pm. Tickets are €45 per person and include access to a tasting of over 70 wines. Tickets here.

A very tasty way to celebrate Bloomsday season - Bia Duit x Three Castles Burning x Assassination Custard Present: Dining in Dublin 1904: Food in the Time of Ulysses at Cleary’s Pub. Tickets here

El Milagro are on the move this summer - here’s where you can find them

Put Tig Bhric Saturday barbecue on your list if you’re in Dingle this summer

Very sad to write about the death of Ernie Whalley, one of our finest food writers and a huge supporter of restaurants, chefs, producers and fellow writers. An incredible character - great fun, immensely knowledgeable, and always with a story to tell.

He began writing about wine in 1978 for a northern English newspaper and, after moving to Ireland in 1987, became a familiar voice through the Sunday Independent, the Evening Herald and his long-running column in The Sunday Times. An influencer before it was a thing, he informed generations of readers, while championing Irish food and mentoring many along the way. His legacy is lasting.

I was lucky to spend time with him through Irish Food Writers’ Guild events. He was generous with his time and encouragement and was deeply valued by so many. My thoughts are with his family and wide circle of friends. Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Plans for summer? The Great Northside Dart Pub Crawl, perhaps?

An absolute DREAM writing retreat - Bog & Thunder Telling Your Story: Memoir with Laurie Woolever. A writing retreat with longtime lieutenant of Anthony Bourdain. This September in West Cork

Get a 3FE cup for home

Dreaming of a stay in Ashford Castle and a cinema night with this snack box 😍

So lovely to listen to the wonderful Felicity Cloake on the Go To Food Podcast

I’ll have a Card-onnay Kim 🦘

Can you guess who the highest tipped cast member of all time on Below Deck is..

A pair of Louboutins I would 100% consider putting myself through the pain of wearing 🐌

Food Joke of the Week:

Q: What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?

A: Nacho cheese

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

PS, you voted overwhelmingly yes for the weekly food joke! So I’ve gone with one of my all-time favourites 🤭

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Beyond The Plate at Beyond The Pale, my first official festival stage of the season, is less than two weeks away - I chatted with Doireann Garrihy on 2FM about what’s ahead. Listen Here. We’ve also added the Beyond The Plate timetable to the festival website so you can plan when you will come hang with us. I promise there is always something tasty going on.

The Irish Times Summer Food Magazine is out with today’s paper. Make sure you grab a copy to check out the 100 Great Restaurants list I worked on with Corinna Hardgrave and Joanne Cronin. We’ve gone a different route this time and I think it’s v fun and perfect for summer - online here. I also interviewed some brilliant chefs who swapped hotter climates to make Ireland their home - look out for ‘No Taste Like Home’.

Right, some news that is not about me, perhaps?

We have a date for Banco, the long-awaited bakery from the Grano team - June 2nd! Conor Pope got a first look for the Irish Times.

And how gorgeous to see that Tartine Bakery have opened in the IFSC.

Bookings for Karl Whelan’s new Grand Canal restaurant Marée opened this week. There may have been a few technical hiccups, but all seems to be good now, and there are still some tables available.

Monty’s of Kathmandu in Temple Bar has long been a sommelier’s favourite restaurant thanks to their extensive wine list, so it’s great news to hear they are opening a wine bar.

Green Beards are opening a new spot at 18 Dublin Rd, Shankill.

It’s the end of an era for Captain Americas on Grafton Street - The Journal reported that the site will undergo rebranding and will reopen later this year as a New York-style brasserie.

Iconic New York Irish pub group The Dead Rabbit are popping up in Killarney next week for a collaboration with the brilliant Pig’s Lane. Thursday 4th June, from 7 pm.

Chubby’s in Clontarf just announced they will be open this Bank Holiday Monday, so if you have been waiting to get a table, this might be your chance! (I had the chicken burger last week, VERY GOOD). They also have a late night on Sunday with Billy Scurry on the decks.

For some fun Bank Holiday drinks, Franks on Camden Street is hosting a pop-up with Drinks Studio on Sunday and Monday.

Staying in this weekend? Floritz is now on Deliveroo, get their delicious sushi, bao and that crispy rice at home.

The annual Euro-Toques Ireland Food Awards took place this week in Wicklow. This year, the awards recognised producers across seven categories: Water - Aran Island Seafoods; Land - Garryhinch Mushrooms; Farm - Winetavern Farm; Dairy (Aged Cheese) - Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese for Kinlahan Reserve; Dairy (Soft Cheese) - Leitrim Hill Creamery for Cnoc Liatroma; Artisan Produce - Dunany Flour; and Traditional Craft/Skill - Micil Distillery for Micil Irish Poitín. Congrats to all the winners! See more here.

Summer has kicked off at Suesey Street with a new cocktail menu for drinks on the terrace and €5 Friday corkage. See more here.

Castleknock Hotel are hosting a Rosé Wine Evening on Thursday, 4 June, with Jamie Hunt of Tindal Wine Merchants. Tickets and details here.

Jess Murphy from Kai Galway is heading to Cork; she will be cooking at Blue Haven Kinsale with Meeran Manzoor on June 14th for a very special one-off evening. Book here.

Lewis Barker, executive chef at Terre in Castlemartyr Resort, is launching a new guest chef collaboration series, ‘Friends of Terre’. First up is Michael Wilson, chef of Michelin-starred Marguerite in Singapore, for two dinners on the 17th and 18th June. Details and booking here.

Redbreast Irish Whiskey will be at Pichet on 12th July for a special whiskey and fine dining event - see more details here.

The Big Grill is headed to Chicago!

Fellow writers - entries for the Irish Food Writing Awards close on May 31st; don’t forget to get yours in.

RIP Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, who passed away last week at 76. He was a visionary leader who leaves an enduring legacy. Read more about him and his big life here.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

📰 Inside the French House: How a Soho pub built its own art world

📰 The pizza oven start-up that came through the fire

🎧 Darina Allen on the Go To Food Podcast is just a great listen.

🎧 Pint expert Padraig Fox talking all things Guinness.

📺 Apple TV announced season two of the docuseries “Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars,” hosted by Jesse ‘Top Jaw’ Burgess, and we know they filmed in Dublin…

Ever wondered what the difference is between a Recipe developer vs Content Creator

💾 An essential map to save for the summer - every Cloud Picker Coffee stockist around Ireland!

RHOBH’s Dorit finally dropped her famous carcass out ‘recipe’ IYKYK 😆

How good do these affogatos look?

OMG the cuteness

Food Joke of the Week:

Q: Why did the tomato blush?

A: It saw the salad dressing 🤭

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Let’s start with a plug for me! I’m back for another summer session, curating Beyond The Plate at Beyond The Pale, returning to Glendalough Estate from June 12th to 14th. This year’s theme is “The Spice Bag Edition”, a mix of culture, creativity and a little bit of rebellion, packed with great chats, tastings and plenty of craic. Check out the full lineup and come find us if you’re heading to the festival.

The Irish Restaurant Awards run by the RAI (Restaurant Association of Ireland) took place in Dublin this week. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud took home the top gong of Best Restaurant, Ahmet Dede, Dede at The Customs House Baltimore, won Best Chef and Paul and Máire Flynn received the Outstanding Achievement Award for The Tannery Restaurant, Townhouse and Cookery School. There is a full list of the winners in the Irish Times.

“Guess what? Your baby Janet has huge news!” delighted that Janet has found a new permanent home at the Arthaus Hotel on York Street, Dublin 2. She’s opening Yíbu by Janet, bringing day and night concepts side by side. Whatever shape it takes, it’s sure to be fun and seriously delicious.

Following the news about The Silk Road Café in the Chester Beatty Library being told to close for six months? Let’s hope it gets sorted. See more here.

Wishbone, the chicken restaurant that used to be on Montague Street, has reopened at the Parnell Square end of Dorset Street.

The Lesson looks very close to opening 👀

How did I miss the news that Lidl is opening a pub in Co. Down? The pub is a workaround to get an off-licence for a new store and is due to open this summer. Please, can they have fun with the name? I think any of these could work - Lidl By Lidl, The Lidl Drop, The Lidl Lounge?

The Palace Bar in Dublin has released an exclusive 25 year old single cask Redbreast Irish Whiskey. If you fancy tasting it, they have a special Redbreast Cask Strength flight for €85 available until the end of June.

Speaking of whiskey, the Titanic Hotel in Belfast has a great offer that would be ideal for whiskey lovers: an overnight stay in the nautical-themed hotel, Titanic Distillers whiskey miniatures, and two tickets to a signature tour at Titanic Distillers from £229 per room. Book in here.

Dough Bros have done it again - a Scampi Fries pizza!

How good does this pop-up by Quinta An look? Sarah Hanrahan unearthing actual hidden gems.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

Howth Maritime Festival is happening this weekend and includes a brand-new Live Food Stage hosted by the brilliant Erica Drum.

The Eurotoque Food Awards are taking place on Monday at Tullfarris Hotel in Wicklow. Tickets are still available. Details here.

The eighth Dublin Gastronomy Symposium (DGS) is happening next week, May 26th & 27th at TU Dublin Grangegorman, centred around the theme Food and Crisis / Hope. Open to everyone curious about food, the ticket price includes lunches on-site and a final dinner at the King’s Inns. (And a TBA pub chat event on Tuesday) Register at arrow.tudublin.ie/dgs/

More €10 martinis for Dublin - Hawksmoor is hosting a collab with Equal Parts London on 27th May, with €10 Boatyard Martinis.

Note is hosting a Sunday lunch with Barra Berlin on 31st May. Book in here.

There are still some tickets for the Dash Burger X Alvin Cailan (the chef behind Eggslut and Amboy Quality Meats) popup on 31st May, but the location has now moved to Dash Burger on Capel Street. Tickets here.

Online event: The Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery Kitchen Table is back on Wednesday 3rd June - We Need To Talk About: What is a Recipe?

Clonakilty Street Carnival is a day of family fun and food taking place on June 13th, celebrating its tenth year. See more here.

Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins at The Marker Hotel is hosting a dinner with Champagne Ayala on Thursday, 11th June 2026, along with Rachel Mignon, Champagne Ayala Brand Ambassador. Details and tickets here.

If you want more food festival listings, I’ve got a bigger round-up over on the Irish Times.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Food is Never Just Food - a listening essay from the endlessly creative Jennie Moran

Conor Stevens in Totally Dublin with a very entertaining visit to Super Ramen and a shout out to one of my all-time faves, The Ramen Bar.

What Actually Keeps an Independent Restaurant Alive? UK article, but still a relevant read.

This is a really interesting read - The True Cost of Influencing: Part One and Part Two. A good reminder to stay sceptical because there are always a few bad eggs online. But also a reminder to value the good food content creators. Give them a like, comment, some love, when you can. And if you don’t like what someone does, just unfollow. Simple.

Tucci in Italy Season 2 is back on Disney!

When latte art is subjective…

A reminder of when we all discovered vodka and Red Bull from a very unlikely source

Darina Allen & Keith Floyd

Why does this feel so real?

Below Deck’s Most Memorable Cakes

The Sauvignon Blanc Flytipper - the comments on this post ⚰️

Food Joke of the Week:

Q: What’s the difference between a black eyed pea and a chickpea?

A: One can sing us a song. The other can only hummus one.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Two big Michelin-starred endings this week…

Chestnut, the charming Ballydehob one-star from Rob Krawczyk and Elaine Fleming, has announced it will close at the end of October. Here’s hoping this is less of a full stop and more like the start of a new chapter.

In Dublin, Glovers Alley will close on May 17th to “carry out some essential works and restructure our team and leadership,” following the departure of head chef Andy McFadden. He leaves after eight years, having held a Michelin star for five of them. Rumours are already swirling about who might step into the role, with one recently departed Michelin-starred chef from just outside Dublin being mentioned more than most…

Set your alarms 🚨 bookings for chef Karl Whelan’s much-anticipated new Grand Canal restaurant, Marée, will go live on May 25th

Dede is coming to Dublin! The two Michelin-starred Cork restaurant, led by chef Ahmet Dede, will take over Fidelity on Monday, June 8th, cooking alongside Alex Zhang of Big Fan/ Sister 7. Expect bold, exciting flavour combinations from two seriously talented chefs. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 22. Sign up to the Fidelity mailing list at www.fidelitybar.ie for first access.

Another whopper pop-up coming to Dublin - Kate and Lee Tiernan from London cult favourite Black Axe Mangal will take over Hen’s Teeth for a one-night-only dinner and show on June 6th. Dinner is five courses of BAM classics with a twist, alongside music from Wasman. Tickets are €95pp (but you have to book in twos), nab yours here.

Not at all happy to hear that Hong Kong on Eden Quay is closing. I will miss their char siu puffs 😭

Also devastated to hear Indigo & Cloth are being turfed out of Temple Bar. I’ve always loved how they felt like an injection of cool, creative Dublin in the middle of the touristy surrounds. And the coffee is consistently top-notch. They’re on the hunt for a new home, so if you have any leads, let them know.

Chef Jules Mak announced he would be closing his Ranelgah restaurant Mak at the end of May and pivoting to Fuoco, a “premium takeaway concept”.

There is a new branch of sandwich shop Carved set to open in Charlemont Square, marking its third outpost after Ballsbridge and Grand Canal Dock.

The Purty Kitchen in Dun Laoghaire has teamed up with brilliant butcher Rick Higgins for a special week-long menu running May 13th - 17th, celebrating the relationship between farm and kitchen. Expect excellent côte de boeuf, Wagyu burgers and on Sunday, they’ll be serving a pig on a spit from Winetavern Farm.

A huge welcome to the new members of the Irish Food Writers Guild - John Wilson, Dr Christina Wade, Blanca Valencia, Eunice Power, Matthew Nugent, Trevis L. Gleason and Liam Campbell.

One of Ireland’s most iconic bars, The George, is celebrating its 40th birthday this week. Read more about it here. And this afternoon, I will be tuning in to listen to Kieran Cuddihy and Liveline broadcast live from the venue, sharing stories from the past four decades and the many chapters this landmark space has held for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community.

Loving the sound of the new Sunday Steak Frites & Martinis deals from Coppinger. On the menu: steak frites for €30, and martinis, dirty, wet, extra cold, however you take yours, are €10 all day.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

The eighth Dublin Gastronomy Symposium (DGS) will take place on May 26th & 27th at TU Dublin Grangegorman, centred around the theme Food and Crisis / Hope. Always a fascinating couple of days, you’ll hear from Irish and international speakers presenting 53 papers across 15 parallel sessions, culminating in a four-way roundtable led by international experts in food and diplomacy. Open to everyone curious about food, the ticket price includes lunches on-site and a final dinner at the King’s Inns. Register at arrow.tudublin.ie/dgs/

China Sichuan is marking its 50th year with a special collaboration dinner with guest chef Barry Sun of Volpe Nera. Following a rapid sell-out of the first sitting, a second date has been added on Tuesday, June 2. Details and booking here.

The International Literature Festival Dublin kicks off next week and includes bookable food and literature walking tours hosted by Dee Laffan of Scoop Magazine. See more and book here.

Hell’s Kitchen Champion Ryan O’Sullivan returns to the Grill Room at the River Lee in Cork on May 18th for a seasonal dining experience. Tickets are priced at €70 per person and include a four-course menu; An Evening with Ryan O’Sullivan.

The Mountain House in Ardfield, Co. Cork, will host a special pop-up series featuring the Eurotoques Young Chef finalists in collaboration with chef Josef Quane, showcasing themed, seasonal menus from Ireland’s next generation of culinary talent.

After selling out their first even Dot Dot Dot pop-up is back this June with another dinner, bookings go live May 24th - see more here.

To celebrate 20 years in business, Green Earth Organics is hosting a Sustainability Festival on Saturday, September 12th, on its farm in Corrandulla, Co Galway. See more at www.greenearthorganics.ie.

The Comber Earlies Food Festival returns as the flagship of Ards and North Down’s Taste Summer celebration on Saturday, 20 June, showcasing the borough’s finest local flavours.

If you want more food festival listings, I’ve got a bigger round-up over on the Irish Times.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

📰 Mongoose review: This new Dublin 8 spot is now my favourite restaurant

📰 Andy Hayler visits the Yellow Bittern

📰 Behind the Scenes of London’s Most Influential Restaurant Group w/ Songsoo Kim

🎧 The wonderful founders of Honey & Co on The Go To Food podcast

How good do these modern day cool pops from The Fat Fox look?

There is always time for red

Pasta Disco Balls!

Dad Food Joke of the Week (thanks to popbitch, but should I share one each week I have lots…?)

Q: What was Romeo and Juliet’s favourite fruit?

A: Cantelope.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Bambino is opening a third location on Camden Street! It’s in the space that was The Port House Cava, so will this mean it’s a sit-down space? They also teased more big announcements coming soon.

Sprout has launched a new range of drizzles available to buy to take home from their restaurants.

The Libertine is back open.

Almost forgot Bujo Burger were meant to be opening in Central Plaza, looks like it should be happening soon.

The Nine Bean Row and Blasta Book lineup for A/W 2026 is very exciting.

Paula Pastry at The Drawing Room is a new haute pâtisserie concept created by celebrated pastry chef Paula Stakelum (aka, Paula Pastry) at Ashford Castle, open to residents and non-residents. Running from May, it’s €60pp and looks and sounds divine.

Entries are now open for Cocktail Bartender of the Year as part of the Bar of the Year Awards. Open to all bartenders, they are asked to submit a cocktail creation using the selected spirits available from the Edward Dillon & Co portfolio. Find out more and apply here.

Dash Burger announced a very exciting one-day-only pop-up with Alvin Cailan, the chef behind Eggslut and Amboy Quality Meats. May 31st at the Devlin, more details here.

Goleen Harbour Eco Resort has announced a series of summer dinner pop-ups from Tom Hayes (Almost Anywhere), The Glass Curtain restaurant, Leviathan’s James Gabriel Martin, Miyazaki Cork’s Pádraig Nagle and Epi Rogan (formerly The Glass Curtain / Paradiso, Cork). Dates and booking here.

Clonakilty Street Carnival is a day of family fun and food taking place on June 13th, celebrating its tenth year. See more here.

Osaka Social Club, a new monthly Japanese supper club, launches this month in Dublin, showcasing “Osakan flavours using staunchly Irish produce”. Details and booking here.

PETIT FOURS

Why did the trailer for Tony, the new Anthony Bourdain film out this year, make me teary?

For People With Autism, Can Restaurant Kitchens Be a Haven? via NY Times

Cinemas deciding what food to sell. Haaaaaaaa

If it swims, we have it

Cate Blanchett as Martha Stewart!

Ina - Store-bought is fine

The story of pork scratchings

“It feels like Ireland’s coastal areas are being turned into a theme park…” Sally Barnes in conversation with Tom MacSweeney

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Dublin continues to deliver good café & casual eating news. Dandelion is a new market, kitchen, and deli in Howth from chef Aoife Barker, who most recently was behind the 147 Deli sandwiches at Chubby’s, so you know there will be plenty of tasty offerings.

The Day Café opened this week in The Circular (in the space that was Daddy’s), and it looks great. The same team are also behind the Gaffe pop-up this weekend at Leonard’s Corner.

Happy Out and the Together Academy are opening a second cafe in the North Quays. If you’ve been to their Dun Laoghaire outpost, you’ll know this is one to look forward to.

Sandwich-making legends, Goats Gruff, are opening a cafe in Castleknock.

And the lovely Luna has opened a second café in Mount Merrion.

In Leap, Co. Cork, the team who previously ran Pilgrim’s in Roscarbery are getting closer to opening their new venture, Harnen, a bakery, cafe & provisions. Lucky Leap!

Flout Pizza no. 2 is opening today in Belfast.

Chef & baker Graham Herterich will be the guest chef on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch this Sunday. Cooking & talking about all things cabbage! Jessie Ware and Alex James are also guests def one to tune in for.

The Stapleton bar opened a few months ago, at the bottom of Powerscourt, and now they’ve added The Stapleton pub.

You know summer is getting a bit closer when we start to hear news of seasonal openings. The Currabinny Caravan is back open for the summer at Shankhill Castle in Kilkenny for delicious sandwiches and treats from William Murray.

In Monkstown, Mermaid is back open with lots of summery seafood on the menu.

Lovely Food Company, Glasnevin are back open for wine evenings.

Speaking of wine, there has been much online chatter this week about ‘Irish’ wine. A story that, just like a big shiraz, needs some opening up, I reckon…

Love to see a neighbourly collab - Rascals x Kari pizza.

Happy 15th Birthday to Galway’s Aniar, chef-owner JP McMahon will be marking the milestone through a series of collaborations, menus and signature dishes and launching a limited-edition sparkling Irish rosé with David Llewellyn of Lusca Wines.

The brilliant Cask in Cork have launched a new cocktail menu, ‘Tasty Anarchy’.

UK restaurant Richard Caring sold a majority stake in his UK hospitality empire, which includes the Ivy restaurant chain, to an entity controlled by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan. If you need another reason to avoid The Ivy and The Ivy Asia, this is it. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, nicknamed the “spy sheikh”, is involved in many controversies, including a half-billion-dollar corruption scandal with Trump. That glam Ivy backdrop can’t take away the taste of corruption.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

The gorgeous Blossom Bakery, usually based at Buddy’s Market in Ballymun are popping up in town on Wednesday 22nd at Little Lemon, kicking off at 9am with breads and pastries.

Waterford Festival of Food is coming up soon - April 24th-26th - with lots of events happening in and around Dungarvan, take a look here waterfordfestivaloffood.com

Tickets are now on sale for SommiT Ireland 2026, taking place this year in various venues around Drogheda, Co. Louth, from the 10th to the 12th of May. Tickets and details here: https://sommitireland.ie/

Then it’s time for Ballymaloe Festival of Food, May 15th - 18th https://www.ballymaloefestivaloffood.com/

And there’s still time to register your own street party and event with Street Feast 2026, May 23rd-24th; streetfeast.ie

Kilkenny-based The Wild Grazer and Kilfane House & Gardens have come together to launch a series of food and wellness experiences this spring and summer, set within Sanctuary at Kilfane House. A Wine & Cheese Experience on April 30th, marking the opening of the Wildflower Tearooms and The Art of Slowing Down retreat on June 14th, developed in collaboration with Solas Ort and Dr Cliona Cosgrove. See more at www.thewildgrazer.ie

Daróg Wine Bar in Galway will host Turas Fíona Wine Talk & tasting in May with Cathal McBride & Zsolt Lukács. Tickets €60 per person, including a wine flight of five wines, a cheese board and great insights. Tickets available via www.darogwinebar.com/wine-events

Food on The Edge 2026, which will take place on October 19th and 20th in Malta. The launch of this year’s symposium, FOTE2026, will also take place in Malta, on Saturday, 2nd May.

If you want a fuller look at the year ahead, check out piece I did for the Irish Times: Food and drink festivals: 36 of the best across Ireland this year

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Reading about the rise of anywhere and everywhere radio, I discovered Let Him Cook Radio, based in Marseille, where DJs do sets from a working kitchen, heavy bass & flames galore and in Montpellier, Piñata Radio broadcasts from a working bar.

Love a food-and-wine-adjacent rom-com? There is a new one out called You, Me And Tuscany starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page, the tagline alone sold me: “She came for the pasta and got lost in the sauce.” This kind of predictable, feel-good, food-filled film rarely makes it to cinemas, so I’ll be watching - even if Donald Clarke only gave it one star in The Irish Times (clearly not his genre).

Anthony Bourdain in Dublin 💚

Dave Mulligan on Poitin Parlour this week

These ceramics 😍

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

The bar space at 199 King Street North has lived many lives over the years - Taco Libre, Beerhouse, Rúta, The Last Watering Hole, and most recently, Underdog. This weekend, it re-emerges with a fresh identity: Bar Anam, a “bar for cocktail drinkers and natural wine lovers or indeed drinkers and lovers of any kind” with Korean-inspired soul food, fried chicken and dumplings, by Dak, from the team behind Dudley’s on Thomas Street.

Further down Capel Street, there has been movement on the planned Bullitt Hotel after significant delays when they found a burial site dating back more than 1000 years on the site. The Belfast hotel company, Beannchor, is working on a 98 room hotel in the buildings that were once Bolands Bakery and, more recently, Riverdance HQ.

Brindle Coffee & Wine, who are already in Portobello and Charlemont Street, are opening a third spot on Manor Street in Stoneybatter.

Love to see another tearoom in a public park open - this week, Copper & Straw officially opened in Palmerston Park in a transformed former depot building with indoor and outdoor seating. It will be followed later this year by another tearoom, currently under construction, in Merrion Square Park.

The Leeson, the latest iteration in the space that was The Leeson Lounge on Upper Leeson Street, seems almost ready to open the doors to this new “neighbourhood bar”.

Mountain House opened this week in Ardfield, West Cork and already has a glowing write-up from the McKennas.

A gorgeous new thatched coffee spot, Parlour, has opened in Boher, Co Limerick.

Spotted some renovation activity on Dawson Street in the building that was home to The Greenhouse; the only clue I could find was a Japanese poster hanging on the door. Anyone know what’s going on there?

Bookings are now open for Table 2 on Grattan Street, Table 45’s new spot.

Chef Adam Nevin announced he is leaving Carton House, where he has been leading the kitchen at The Morrison Room.

Huge congratulations to Dr Christina Wade, her brilliant book Filthy Queens is on the shortlist for the Fortnum & Mason Awards.

Chef Shane Smith’s new book, Loaf Tin Bakes, is officially out next week - I got a first look at his media launch on a vintage bus, take a look here. He will also be launching the book this coming Wednesday at Books Upstairs, all welcome.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

Dublin Coffee Festival kicks off today and runs all weekend at the RDS, tickets still available here.

On April 26th, Park Hotel Kenmare will host a celebration of fine art and fine winemaking, with a wine dinner featuring the organic and biodynamic pours of Château La Coste, introduced by their head winemaker, Paul Guillouard. Details and booking here.

If you’re headed to Beyond The Pale in June, bookings are now open for the sit down restaurants Host, Reggie’s and IBILE: itsbeyondthepale.ie/restaurants

JP McMahon announced that this year’s Food on the Edge will be taking place in Malta this October.

Looking ahead, I’ve put together a round-up of 36 food and drink festivals taking place around Ireland this year for The Irish Times.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

I wrote about great pub roasts around Ireland for the Irish Independent and chatted to Alison Curtis about it on Today FM.

In the Irish Examiner, I round up 18 Delicious Days out around the country.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills legend Lisa Vanderpump announced her first cookbook, Home at Villa Rosa, Cooking & Living the Vanderpump Way.

New York Restaurateur Danny Meyer announced his new book, What Could Possibly Go Right? almost 20 years since his first book, Setting the Table, was published - a must-read if you work in hospitality.

Enjoyed listening to London Irish restaurateur and Pied à Terre founder David Moore on the Go-To Food Podcast, talking about the evolving restaurant scene in London, growing up in Ireland and Michelin stars.

How beautiful

Haaaaaaaaa

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Exciting changes at Margadh RHA as they welcome chef Cathal Leonard to the team, who was previously chef and co-owner of the celebrated Potager restaurant in Skerries. Early reports on the new à la carte menu have been glowing. Can’t wait to give it a try.

There were many tributes and heartfelt posts this week for Chef Gearóid Lynch, who lost his battle against motor neurone disease.

Chubby’s in Clontarf gets two big write-ups this week. Both reviewers have almost as much to say about the challenge of getting a table as they do about how much they love the food. Corinna Hardgrave in the Irish Times has to hijack her way into what she concludes is one of the top restaurants in the country. In Totally Dublin, Conor Stevens reckons getting a table at Chubby’s is akin to the legendary Battle of Clontarf. Being the warrior that he is, he secures a table and is also suitably impressed. It reminded me that I was quick off the mark on Chubby’s last table release and secured a booking for next Sunday, April 12th, for 4 people. Turns out I don’t think I can make it now - anyone here fancy taking my place? Comment below or get in touch. Subscribers get first dibs, of course. And don’t worry, I was there last weekend and will be back again soon!

There’s a new food truck and community space called The Linen Yard, which opened in Harold’s Cross in the space that was home to Scorchio/ Me Auld Flower. So far, it looks like they’ve got Shaka Poke, Sweet Churro, Brew Brothers and Bak’d, and they are open all this weekend.

The gorgeous independent food and art magazine Guzzle landed in Dublin this week. I was sorry to miss the launch party in Note, but it looked fab. If you want to get your hands on this latest issue, where I write about my love for biscuits, you can buy a copy at Note, Indigo and Cloth, The Library Project and online here.

Nan Chinese on Stephen Street is no more, but the good news is that they will be reopening soon as Little Canton, a Cantonese Cha Chaan Teng, which I think is a Hong Kong-style Canto-Western diner. Sounds very fun.

Saucy new series at the Washerwoman - Wednesdays it’s unlimited chicken wings for €20, with a different flavour each week.

The K Club, in Straffan, Co. Kildare, has added a new restaurant offering, the Barton Grill, serving a classic French-leaning menu with lots of Irish sourcing, think beef, seafood and French onion soup.

Also in Kildare, Voco The Club (formerly The Club Hotel at Goffs) has been adding new food options, including Friday Supper Clubs and its daytime offering, the Club Pantry.

Leonards Corner is hosting a new lunch pop-up called Gaffee with a menu from chef Dan Chambers, happening Saturday, 4th April. Details here.

Hang Dai is hosting a Hawker takeover this Thursday.

Angelina’s is launching a Monday Supper Club starting from April 13th, seasonal menus designed by their exec chef, Dan Hannigan, are €32 for 2 courses or €39 for 3, book through www.angelinas.ie

The Centre of Food Culture Ireland has launched a new series of events, and the first one, Meet The Meadmaker, kicks off on Saturday, 18 April at Kinsale Mead in Cork. Find out more here.

The Tan Yard in Killarney are hosting a pop-up on Saturday 18th April with Aniar and JP McMahon, tickets and details here.

Fondita Mestiza’s next pop-up on April 25th sounds very fun - Carnitas Ramen Pop-Up By MSG Noods and Fondita Mestiza.

Very exciting London news, Mursal Saiq and Joshua Moroney’s Afghan BBQ restaurant, Cue Point, has finally found its first proper permanent home. They open at The Garden Bar in White City on 22 April. Big Grill goers will be familiar with Mursal Saiq’s brilliant cooking and her infectious love for all things barbecue.

A couple of bits for food and drink businesses -

If you’re a startup, emerging or scaling food and drink business, you may be interested to know that Taste 4 Success Skillnet’s BrandBite – The Brand Acceleration Programme is back and open for applications. For full programme details and to apply, visit www.t4s.ie/brandbite

SuperValu, in partnership with Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) are seeking new Irish food & drink producers to supply their shops via the Food Academy programme. See more here.

Inch House Pudding is no more, what a shame to lose a food producer like this.

Happy 20 years to the fabulous Fab Food Trails.

That KitKat Robbery? It was all just a very clever marketing stunt.

Does anyone agree with me that AI has ruined April Fool’s? It’s just taken away that extra bit of edge; it’s all too easy to mock up a fake food product or pretend someone was in your restaurant, etc., etc. Bring back analogue fooling, please! And don’t get me started on these AI vegetable videos, although this is an interesting read.

In case you missed my Good Friday pubs & pints post last year, take a look back here.

If you’re not cooking this weekend and looking for a proper pub roast instead, I put together a roundup for the Irish Independent here. (Also in print tomorrow)

They earn their living by transforming food into art: a meeting with food designers.

Thank you, Cherry Bombe, for alerting me to Martha Stewart’s Lamb Cake

No thanks to Loewe, who have once again made a bag that I feel should be mine spiritually, but my finances say otherwise - The Shell bucket bag 🥹

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Also I can’t quite believe it’s Easter next week. I had meant to do an Easter egg roundup, but time got away from me. I can tell you that I’ve tried the Sugar Plum Sweetery eggs - they’re great fun and still available to order. I’m waiting patiently for Bon Chocolatiers to restock their Mikado Egg later today. Fingers crossed. I probably shouldn’t share here because they’ve already sold out once, but have you seen it?

I was in Laois yesterday to visit Ómós, the hotly anticipated new venture led by chef Cúán Greene, for a PR-led “hard-hat tour,” which seems to be all the rage for pre-opening visits these days. About twenty of us food media types changed into steel-toe boots, yellow hard hats, high-vis vests, and even safety goggles for a detailed nose-around of the very busy site, led by Cúán himself.

Our starting point was the red-bricked Millbrook House, built in 1885, which began it all for Cúán. He tells us that he spotted the building while doing private chef work on the Abbeyleix Estate, on which it stands, owned by Stripe co-founder John Collison. He pitched it as the perfect location to build a hospitality business, Collison was on board, and so they began planning what will soon be Ómós - a 16-bedroom guesthouse and 40-seat restaurant set on 4.2 acres of land just outside Abbeyleix town.

There were no photos allowed as we began the tour in the main part of the guesthouse, a Victorian building that has been meticulously restored. Light pours into every room through custom-made wooden sash windows. Detailed cornice and crown mouldings sit perfectly with limestone-washed walls, exposed brick and pale ash hardwood floors. We all oohed and aahed over the muted pastel Portuguese tiles in the bathrooms and the hand-built wooden beds that will soon hold specially sourced Scandinavian horsehair mattresses. We admired the breakfast rooms where they’ll serve Farmstead coffee, daily pastries, eggs from their own hens and locally made jam. Beside the main house, restored stables have been transformed into more bedrooms with windows looking out over a babbling brook. See some of what I’m talking about here.

From there, we moved to the custom-built restaurant, which Cúán says was designed around the idea of a vernacular Irish farmstead building, bringing in design influences from Denmark and Japan - ideas developed with architect Ryan Kennihan. We entered the copper-roofed building through a central courtyard where magnolia trees had just been planted. Inside, the design centres on light and the flow of food from the fully open kitchen. Tables and chairs being made in Wicklow and ceramics from David Holden in Dingle will sit beneath high wooden beamed ceilings. There’s a private dining room that will no doubt get plenty of use, especially given the calibre of clientele drawn by backers. The restaurant opens out onto a patio overlooking a pond on one side and what will soon be their market garden on the other. We finished the tour in the staff area, which has the same fixtures and fittings as the restaurant and the same gorgeous countryside views.

Speaking of staff, we also met some of the core team: General Manager Patrick Healy (previously at Cashel Palace), head chef Matt Smith (previously at Lignum and Inver in Scotland), head baker Ryan Lally (who you may know better as Grá Pizza), and Alanna Starnes, who’s been busiest of all this week managing reservations. Bookings opened this week for July to September, with lunch reservations snapped up within 45 minutes. Non-resident dinners are mostly gone now, too, but overnights are still available, which should guarantee a seat in what’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting Irish openings of the year. The Ómós team then took us to Morrissey’s down the road in Abbeyleix for a pint, a delicious sandwich and a chat where the chefs talked about their meet cutes with Cúán, wholesome all around. Exciting to also hear that this much-loved pub is also undergoing a transformation, adding a 70-seater restaurant and rooms upstairs. Abbeyleix looks set to become quite the destination in 2026.

What’s happening around the rest of the country?

Devastatingly sad this week to hear of the sudden passing of Alex Lawes, co-founder of Whiplash Beer and Fidelity. Alex was a true pioneer and an absolute sounder to boot. Generous with his time, his knowledge, his creativity and a genius when it came to brewing. He was adored by so many people, and I’ve no doubt his legacy will live on for a long time. My heart goes out to his family, his friends and the vast group of work pals and fans he amassed; there are many.

Elliot’s Bakery is now open on Mondays, so you can get your baked goods 7 days a week from two locations. Chubby’s in Clontarf are now open on Wednesdays.

Chongqing Hotpot has opened in Ranelagh in the space that was once Michie Sushi. Early reports are good.

There’s a new art cafe opening on South William Street from the team behind Create & Sip creative workshops.

Eoin Cluskey from Bread 41 told the Irish Times he is planning on opening four new locations this year, including one on the Northside, but no exact details have been revealed yet. (I’m on the case).

It looks like work has started on the new brewpub set to be called Smithfield Brewing Co. on Arran Quay. Remember when I shared this Irish Independent story about it, where Ronan Rogerson, who also owns Drury Buildings, All Bar None and the Dublin Bar Academy, said it would be a “guy version of Drury Buildings”? Hopefully, us girly beer fans will still be welcomed in!

Meanwhile, around the corner on Queen Street, the building that was the original Token, and then we thought we were getting a sit-down Bambino, has changed hands once more, and planning has been submitted to change it from a restaurant space into a theatre space - the company behind it, Atlantic Collective Limited, specialise in traditional Irish entertainment.

Writer and podcaster Sophie White announced that her brilliant cookbook, Recipes For A Nervous Breakdown, is being adapted into a TV series this year.

Pint lover Jason Hackett, aka Prime Mutton, is in Dublin this weekend and will be doing the rounds at various pubs, announcing them on Instagram if you fancy a creamer and a chat with this pub legend.

Late-night bar The Mezz in Temple Bar is reopening, news via Alternative Dublin.

Bar 1661 has a new offering - the Distilled Experience is the best of BAR 1661 distilled into an hour and a half, and a 14-drink tasting experience. Find out more and book here. They also do a 28-drink three-hour-long experience, which I sampled last year. Take a look at that here.

The reason I have sort of neglected your dates for the diary here is that I’ve been working on a whopper of a 2026 food and drink guide for the Irish Times - loads to look forward to! Have a read here.

Excellent pop-up happening at St Francis Kinsale - doughnut queen Hilary Quinn is taking over on Bank Holiday Monday, April 6th.

On April 27th, the two-Michelin-starred Terre restaurant is coming to Dublin for a one-night-only takeover at Library Street. Executive Chef Lewis Barker and his team at Terre will present a curated four-course menu. Tickets are €150 per person here.

Also happening on April 27th is a fun-sounding wine event, Alsace Rocks! happening in Bewleys. Taste and learn about the wines of Alsace and nibble on French cheese. Get your tickets here.

Registration is open for the Dublin Gastronomy Symposium 2026 on the 26th- 27th May on the theme of Food and Drink as Crisis / Hope. It’s always so insightful. Find out more and book tickets here.

If you wanted to go even deeper into all things food, what about an MA in Gastronomy and Food Studies? TU Dublin is open for registration for later in the year. See more here.

The men who worship pie - 1,000 pastries, one Supreme Champion, Welcome to the British Pie Awards.

Fancy A Coddle? New merch from the Gravediggers.

Guinness Global Brand Ambassador Padraig Fox talks all things Guinness on The Curious Bartenders Podcast. There is very little this man doesn’t know about pints - he was a brilliant support to me when writing my book.

I love when my parasocial worlds collide - this week Jessie Ware from Table Manners podcast was on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, talking about Dorit’s famous drinks order! IYKYK.

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Passed by La Vespa on Castle Street this week, just opposite La Maison, who I believe are also the team behind this new Italian spot. Looks like it’s open. Here’s the menu.

Two Fifty Square has opened a new location in Sandyford.

Kin Dee is a newly opened South East Asian restaurant that has taken the space that was Indo-Chine on Lesson Street.

The cafe that was Studel in Dun Laoghaire is now Croissantly, who you may know from Glasnevin and Marlay Park markets.

Got a few million hanging around and fancy buying a hospitality space? Cliff at Lyons location, The Village at Lyons in Celbridge, is for sale for €20 million. In Temple Bar, the Vintage Cocktail Club building is for sale for a more affordable €2 million.

I forgot to share the Hot Dinners Murphia List last week! Always interesting to see how much great Irish talent contributes to the creativity of London’s food and drink scene.

This event at Cleary’s pub on April 1st sold out, so they’ve added another one for April 2nd - be quick! Bia Duit & Assassination Custard present: Food at Easter Time in Ireland

The Centre of Food Culture Ireland and Sheridans Cheese have launched their 2026 series of Meet the Maker and Farm Walk events, kicking off with Kinsale Mead in April. Take a look at the full lineup here.

Did you know Keogh’s Crisps are the only mainstream Irish brand that is still fully Irish-owned? Although technically, there is also the lesser-known Irish-owned Manhattan, based in Finglas, which makes ELITE cheese and onion crisps.

Food and drink producers - Boyne Valley Flavours are hosting the first Regional Producer Showcase on 30th April 2026 at Emerald Park, County Meath, bringing together food and drink producers from across the Mid East and North East in one dedicated trade-focused event. Trade only - find out more here.

Dates for the diary will be back next week, plus I have a mammoth listings piece I’ve been working on for the Irish Times that I can share very soon too!

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Listen to JR Ryall, pastry chef from Ballymaloe House, on Radio Cherry Bombe.

Richard Corrigan’s guide to the best Irish spots in London.

It’s Not Easy Being Green - Inside the UK’s Matcha Boom.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

St Patrick’s Day – or Paddy’s Day, as we usually call it (never, ever Patty’s!) – is the most famous Irish occasion when pints are consumed around the world. It’s technically a holy day to honour our patron saint, St Patrick, best known for spreading Christianity throughout Ireland during the 5th century. Oh, and for getting rid of the snakes too. The day itself has been observed since around the 10th century, with the first official feast day taking place in 1631.

It’s a giddy time of year. Spring is coming after a dark winter. Then March 17th, St Patrick’s Day, arrives, a global celebration that usually makes people think of a day-long party with everyone in the pub, sinking green beers, knocking back sticky shots and wearing leprechaun hats. Paddy’s Day is like that friend who has a reputation for always having a good time – the one who will buy a round of shots too early, convince you to stay out and will have you dancing on the bar and forgetting that you ever did so.

The reality of St Patrick’s Day (in Ireland, anyway) is more nuanced than that. Yes, we celebrate, and yes, some of us go to the pub, but it always feels like the rest of the world and the tourists who flock to Ireland for the day are having a much madder time than us. With every St Patrick’s Day that passes, Ireland is successfully inching further away from booze being the central part of it. So where does the party reputation come from? The date it falls on, March 17th, is probably the first thing that plays a role in the party vibe. St Patrick’s Day usually occurs halfway through Lent, the Catholic observance of prayer and fasting for 40 days before Easter, when people choose to abstain from things as a sign of sacrifice and to test their self discipline. In effect, St Patrick’s Day is considered a day off from Lent. When we were kids we were expected to give up sweets and treats for Lent, so St Patrick’s Day was a big deal. It was a chance to eat something lovely – sweets from the shop or maybe a green ice cream. For adults, it meant you could reach for a drink. It’s human nature – take something away from us and we’ll want it more. The fact that up until 1973 you couldn’t even go to the pub on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland was another factor, as Dr Marion McGarry writes in her book Irish Customs and Rituals:

“Lore has it that until then, the only legal place to get a drink in Ireland was within the Royal Dublin Society Dog Show. In the years that the pubs were closed in Ireland, people still found ways around the ban to consume alcohol. They tended to celebrate at gatherings in their homes or the local ‘rambling house’. The alcohol consumed on St Patrick’s Day was known as Póta Phádraig or ‘St Patrick’s Pot’. The tradition known as ‘drowning the shamrock’ involves making a toast to St Patrick then tossing a shamrock over the shoulder for good luck (most convenient considering that adults wore bunches of shamrock on their lapels). The shamrock was unpinned, placed in the last drop of alcohol, then when the toast was drunk removed from the glass and tossed over the shoulder.”

So booze has long been a part of the day. But what about the parades? It turns out they’re a result of the Irish Temperance movement trying to stop us boozing. Again, McGarry tells us:

“Because of the association with alcohol, the day became a focus for the Irish Temperance movement, which was an anti-alcohol, religious association that exemplified good behaviour and national pride. From the mid-nineteenth century, they held colourful parades on St Patrick’s Day which offered a celebratory teetotal alternative to alcohol pursuits. These parades spread to Irish emigrant communities abroad and they became embedded in the international celebration of St Patrick’s Day and brought it to a global audience.”

So we have the Temperance movement to thank for the parades but probably more so the Irish diaspora, who have made St Patrick’s Day such a global phenomenon. The parades are now a big part of the celebrations. You’ll find flashy versions all over the world but the best are still the authentic home parades that take place in every town and village across Ireland, with tractors, Irish dancing and local GAA teams marching proudly. Pints always optional.

An extract from my book, A Compendium of Irish Pints: The Culture, Customs & Craic

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, you can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Mani Pizza has moved…across the road. They opened at 35 Drury Street to big queues this week. I had a quick peek inside to admire the gorgeous interiors and indoor seats, yay! Pizza looks as delicious as ever, will be trying asap.

Boco Pizza, a favourite spot on Bolton Street, are finally opening the long-awaited Clontarf outpost today on Vernon Avenue. After they left their pop-up stint beside Harry Byrne’s, I’ve been impatiently waiting for this one. The new place looks fab, and I can’t wait to get in for a pie.

Darwins on Aungier Street is relaunching next week as Darwins Tavern. They’ve switched out an all rounder menu offering “contemporary international cuisine”, to focus more on their steakhouse and butchery roots, “celebrating a collaboration between chef & butcher”. Looks interesting, let’s hope that it is. Bookings here.

Daddy’s Cafe in Rialto is also having a bit of a glow up. Full details still TBC, but I do know it will no longer be called Daddy’s, and there are some delicious plans that will be coming very soon.

There’s a new Venezuelan spot opening in Temple Bar called Cantina Latina.

Some nice bakery pop-ups happening in Dublin - Wexford based Broné will be at Brew Lab this Saturday, 14th. Next Saturday, 21st Rock Bakery will be at Harry’s in Malahide.

Katy McGuinness gives Allta a rare 10/10 score in this week’s Irish Indo review.

There seems to be no stopping the lads from Fierce Mild, their latest PR hosting a booze free pub crawl for a New York Times feature!

Food magazines Vittles, Pit and FatBoy Zine are putting on the first ever Food in Print Magazine Fair this April in London. What a dreamy day that would be.

Where to go for a Ramadan Iftar feast via All The Food.

The restaurant news this week has been the discourse around Noma and René Redzepi after the New York Times published a damning piece detailing abuse allegations, including details of René Redzepi punching a chef in the stomach; read it via the Irish Times here. It’s resulted in major sponsors pulling out of Noma’s residency in Los Angeles. Redzepi has since resigned from his role in Noma and from the board of MAD, announcing it to the world via Instagram by sharing a video of him resigning to his team. It’s so weirdly meta and performative. The close-ups of the teary team, but then the shaky camera to make it feel spontaneous or something. Serious ick. There has been so much said and written about Noma, lots of emotion, some valid backtracking and some interesting takes. Here are a few I’ve thought were worth a read/watch.

Christian Puglisi - Now what?

Katia Valadeau - On Seasoning, Abuse, Gordon Ramsay and Double Standards**

Christine Walsh/ Bogger Chef

Billy Wagner Nobelhart & Schmutzig

Andy Lynes - Smashed: You oughta know by now - media and diner due diligence in the post-Noma scandal era

**Since I pressed publish, the Substack piece I referenced here has been removed because of a legal letter the writer received. Unfortunately, freelance writers don’t have the budget for legal battles, etc. A real pity, as it was a sharp, considered take on the Noma story and ripple effects in the Irish restaurant scene. And ironic as one of the lines was “I’m often asked about why the press doesn’t write more openly about this subject”….

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

“London’s cult dining sensation”, Whyte’s Restaurant are back at Row Wines for a Japanese-inspired pop-up “The Rotten Octopus” on March 22nd. Bookings here.

Bisou Bisou x The Glasshouse: Award-winning Montréal bartender Gregory Buda brings world-class cocktails to Cork for a one-night takeover at The Montenotte on Friday, 20th March. Walk-in only, see more here.

Chef Beth O’Brien from The Fat Badger in London has devised a special St. Patrick’s Day menu for the Market Restaurant at The Guinness Storehouse running until March 18th that includes this scone bagel hybrid which should 100% be a thing.

The Waterford Festival of Food, happening 23rd - 26th April, announced their lineup, including a series of one-night-only chef collaborations. At the House of Waterford, the home of Waterford Crystal, the culinary team from Ashford Castle will collaborate with chef Eric Matthews. Chef Paul Flynn will welcome the team from Uno Mas to The Tannery for a rare and highly anticipated takeover. Sham Hanifa will be cooking at Cass & Co, and Café Paradiso is doing a pop-up at the Tannery Cookery School. There’s loads more happening, check out the full lineup here www.waterfordfestivaloffood.com

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

For the week that’s in it, a brilliant list of Irish drinks and ingredients from Shamim de Brun in the Irish Times.

And if you’re looking for some classic Irish recipes, check out this St. Patrick’s Day post from Leanne at The Lemon Thymes.

I was a guest on the podcast Rails, Ales & Old Towns, where I talked about pubs & pints and a bit on St. Patrick’s Day. Take a listen here 🎧https://railsalesoldtowns.com/ep36/

It’s been twenty years since Jamie’s School Dinners first appeared on our screens and local resident turned writer Heather Parry takes a sobering look back at how it all unfolded via Vittles - Bad People, Bad Food, Bad Place.

This is the correct amount of butter for a hot cross bun.

Speaking of butter, how cute is this new book on butter?

JW Anderson x Guinness - want it all.

A schnapps hike in Germany - yes, you drink schnapps along the way!

Do you agree with Larry David’s “appetizer allotment”

Is a roast dinner spice bag a step too far?

This is all I want for Easter tbh

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

The Irish Food Writers’ Guild announced the winners of its 2026 Food Awards on Tuesday, celebrated over a lovely lunch at Ananda in Dundrum Town Centre. Every year, our seventy-plus members are invited to nominate standout Irish food and drink producers and products, then come together to taste, test, and debate before choosing the final winners. It’s always such a gorgeous day, catching up with Guild friends, meeting the awardees, and celebrating the incredible work happening across Irish food. Speaking of, here they are:

The Food Product Award Winners were:

Moyletra Moileds - Irish Moiled Beef

The Curly Pigs - Ór Bán Whipped Lard

Coolattin Cheddar by Tom Burgess

Irish Drink Award: Fierce Mild

Contribution to Irish Food Award: Gary Harty of Galway Oysters

Environmental Award: Lunasa Farm

Community Food Award: Duhallow Community Food Services

Lifetime Achievement Award: Hilda Crampton and Dominic Quinn of Castleruddery Organic Farm

Some fun openers this week - Tábla is a “take on cozy French bistro” just opened on Deerpark Road, where Little Mikes once was. Tábla means table as Gaelige, which I love, but I had also just heard of another restaurant in town opening soon with the same name…

Mister Magpie is spreading its wings again. They will soon be opening their fifth spot, this time in Blackrock, taking over the beautifully restored 1890s Victorian kiosk in Blackrock Park. You love to see it.

Looks like Drop Dead Twice is back open on Francis Street.

McSorley’s in Ranelagh is firmly in its new era, now under the Grand Slam Bars group (The Bridge 1859, The Blackrock, Lemon & Duke, Little Lemon). They’ve just opened Upstairs at McSorley’s, a piano and cocktail bar. Downstairs will remain a pub, although it has been renovated with some “subtle design upgrades” and a cocktail bar, but the press release says “regulars will still recognise the pub they know”.

Osteria Nove has opened in Malahide in the space that was Bon Appétit. Same owner, Oliver Dunne, but the new place is all about Italian food and glamour. Scrolling through their Instagram, the Glorious interior style seems a bit familiar…

Dawson Street continues to become the most un-Dublin street in Dublin - Danish chain Joe & The Juice is set to open on Grafton Place in a few weeks.

Great news for Belfast, Flout Pizza is opening a second spot on Cathedral Street. No doubt this will be just as loved as their always busy Portview location.

Lyla’s is a new 46‑seat restaurant and cocktail bar from siblings Michael O’Neill and Bee O’Grady, opening this week in Kilkenny City. It’s the family’s third venue, joining Mountain View Estate and Petronella.

Salty Buoy Food Truck has a new home for Mon to Fri lunches at CHQ, Dublin 1.

A bit more news on allta na farraige, the 14-seat seafood counter at Allta with an all-Irish cocktail menu. Bookings are now open, two sittings a night, it’s a standalone menu from the main dining room with a menu that moves across grilled, raw and sweet. Think: Scallop barbecue in the shell w/ Connemara cockle XO butter and dulse and an Oyster and Guinness Extra Stout soft serve.

Midleton Very Rare has unveiled its 2026 Vintage Release. The 43rd annual edition and the 6th crafted under Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman. I tasted it a couple of weeks back, and it was exceptional. Shop online at Midleton Distillery Collection

Speaking of whiskey, how clever is the campaign from Foxes Bow whiskey? For International Women’s Day, they launched a “40% Missing” bottle this week to highlight whiskey’s power gap. Read more here.

Gloria Osteria are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Patrizio’s Girella, a handmade green pasta roll filled with Irish lamb ragù, available on 17 March only, with €1 per portion supporting Good Grub.

Paris Fashion Week is in full swing, and I think Kitchen Press readers know by now that I can’t resist a little peek into the world of high fashion, especially when there’s a food connection. And in Paris, there has been plenty. The Olsens’ luxe brand, The Row, served fresh blackberries, cherries, and Plaq chocolates. Chic, non? Jacquemus had models wearing leather-braided garlic chains as accessories, and at Miu Miu, it was all about aprons (see more below). Just grab your Moschino cooking pot bag, and you’re good to go!

High fashion aprons - What does a £3,400 apron say about modern feminism?

Has Noma had its day? René Redzepi is set to launch his $1,500-a-seat Noma pop-up in Los Angeles on March 11th, and outside the venue, on the same day, there is a planned silent vigil protest organised by former employees to protest “years of physical violence, sexual harassment, and unpaid labour.” There is also a website documenting the experiences of ex-Noma staff https://www.noma-abuse.com/reports

“Can we trust the Irish food influencers eating up our social media feeds?” - this is the title of an Indo Daily podcast shared by the Irish Independent Instagram on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, the clip of the podcast had quietly disappeared, and comments were turned off on Spotify. One of the featured contributors, Bri Burke Carroll, previously known online as Les B Cookin’, has made quite a name for herself over the years within the online food community, and not always in a good way. Various creators and food folk she has previously gone after (me included) pointed this out under the post. I’m guessing the Indo didn’t quite realise she brings more controversy than candour - hence, the quiet delete.

Also - I listened to the podcast, so you don’t have to! Actually, the first half is a good listen, with journalist John Meagher. The most interesting take from the Burke Carroll section? When she said, “I’ve developed a bit of internet etiquette I didn’t have before,” and that she tries to be “fair and balanced”. Hopefully, this new etiquette will extend beyond her reviews and rebrand…

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

Kerrygold are hosting a one‑day crisp sandwich pop‑up at The Storyteller pub on March 12th. From 12 pm to 6 pm, guests are invited to drop in for a complimentary crisp sandwich, made with a generous spread of Kerrygold butter, of course. First‑come, first‑served, at The Storyteller, 9 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2. There will also be some limited edition Hephee merch available…

UCC will host its annual Myrtle Allen Lecture on March 25th, titled ‘The Nourished Table: Terroir, Tradition, and the Future of Real Food.’ Free to attend, but booking is advised.

Mara in Waterford will welcome Little Catch for a seafood tasting menu pop-up on March 27th & 28th. 10 courses, €100 per person, book via www.marawaterford.com

The Shelbourne’s Horseshoe Bar will host a Japanese whisky tasting with House of Suntory on Thursday, 26th March, led by Brand Ambassador Josh McMahon-Smith. Explore the 100-year legacy of Japan’s first distillery, Yamazaki, with a curated flight featuring the Yamazaki 12-Year-Old. Book here.

Jancis Robinson & Bo Barrett in Dublin for a fun event with Tindal wines on April 14th, The Judgement of Paris, 50 years later LIVE. Tickets €20 book here.

Blackthorn at the Twelve Hotel in Galway are hosting chef Paddy Philips for a pop-up called Umi on April 21st, serving a 10-course omakase tasting menu paired with rare Japanese teas. Book tickets here.

Lisnavagh Estate in Carlow has launched a series of spring events, including a Seasonal Feast and Walled Garden Tour - Thursday, 30th April 2026. For details, see www.lisnavagh.com

Ballymaloe Festival of Food returns from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May, and they have just announced their pop-up dining experiences, including Martini masterclasses, Irish Icons afternoon tea, a Dim Sum brunch and dumpling making class, and a special guest appearance from Bosco…

Fancy a fully immersive food writing retreat? Food writer Kate Ryan is hosting what sounds like a dreamy weekend in October at Castle Townshend in West Cork. Find you more and book here.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Watching: The Pub That Refused to Die, a documentary about 26 Limerick locals who banded together to save their local pub.

Reading: ‘It’s the quickest way to understand a place’ – Irish foodies on their supermarket

Peeling spuds saved me - restaurant work matters: Working in hospitality is something we should all experience

This gem from Ruth Reichl’s archive made me laugh - The Downside of Being a Restaurant Critic.

‘Where the magic really happens’: the influencers out to celebrate – and save – Britain’s ‘proper boozers’

Scrolling: Can’t stop watching parodies of McDonald’s “product” video this week

Deep in the pistachio conspiracy world

Brigerton desserts

Dreaming of this churros bag from Mochsino

books flights immediately

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Much-loved Portobello cafe Alma finally unveiled their second spot last weekend. Around The Corner is now open at 12 South Circular Road. They say it’s “Still us, just calmer.” Serving coffee, sandwiches, pastries and lots more.

Festival season is coming, and if you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know summer usually finds me buzzing from one festival to the next. My first big stop will be Beyond The Pale in June, where I’ll be back hosting ‘Beyond The Plate’. Along with that, the festival is going all out with the food this year, and just announced that Host in Ranelagh will be doing a restaurant on site! This will book out fast, so get clicking to secure your spot.

If you’re a chef, cook, food producer, drinks nerd, or just deeply into the delicious side of life, I’m putting together my Beyond The Plate stage programme now - so if you’ve got a brilliant idea or something you’d love to share, I’d love to hear from you. Just fill out this form and tell me all about it.

I’m also working on All Together Now, year two of The Kitchen Press Live. If you’re interested in that, tell me about it here.

Host in Ranelagh doing their first every festival restaurant at Beyond The Pale

Fermanagh-based Boatyard Distillery has launched a new collection of batch-bottled cocktails, featuring Wet and Dry Martinis alongside a classic Negroni. To celebrate, they hosted a party at Host & Co’s South William Street office, which doubled as a lovely little food & drink media catch-up over crisp martinis served in icy glasses and giant Bambino pizzas that kept everyone happily fed.

Will Hughes, aka What Willy Cook, is in Dublin this weekend to sample a few pints and a spice bag. Wonder where he will end up? Meanwhile, The Foo Fighters were in Rosa Madre on Monday!

The brilliant Shane Smith has announced his first-ever book, Loaf Tin Bakes, published April 16th and available for preorder now.

Easter is just over a month away, and if you’re like me, you’re thinking about what fancy egg to splurge on this year. One of my favourite chocolatiers, Tara Gartlan, just opened preorders for her divine Easter Eggs. The Hazelnut Rocher is egg-cellent ;)

Or what about a Hot Cross Bun Sharing Slab from Wexford-based chocolate magicians Bean and Goose? They’ve also got goose-shaped chocolate and a seasonal bar made of Buttermilk, Rhubarb & Vanilla. Take a look and preorder here.

Speaking of hot cross buns - has anyone spotted any great ones? Please let me know I am ready to dive into hot cross bun szn.

Do people still love a boozy brunch? NYX Hotel in Portobello has a new brunch menu at Clash Bar & Bites with the option of a bottomless drinks for €29.95.

Tastiest thing spotted on Insta this week - Chicken, whiskey & pickle juice? Yes, please - love the look of this collab from Foxes Bow & Chimac.

Speaking of pickles, London’s getting a pickle festival. Can someone do this here, please?

Ickiest thing spotted on Insta this week - “No Onion” flagging women in the dining room.

Also saw lots of people like and share this clip from an interview with Thomasina Miers, talking about ultra-processed food, but what about all the people in the comments listing the very long processed ingredient list from her Wahaca at-home kits…

Why you should order The Mary cake next time you’re in Bewleys.

Congratulations to Metro Cafe on South William Street, celebrating thirty years in business in March!

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

PRs, event organsiers etc etc if you have cool food and drink events happening this year, I want to know ASAP for a big listing I’m working on. Fill in details here, please.

All Shucked Up, the annual Howth Guinness, oyster and music festival kicks off today. There’s a big roster of events, foraging, music and the East Coast oyster shucking championship. Find out more here.

Plant-based Glas Restaurant are hosting a Spring Tasting Event on March 3rd, five courses for €42. Book in via glasrestaurant.ie

International Women’s Day is coming up on March 8th, and I’m thrilled to be heading to The Park in Kenmare to host a “Women Building Purpose” panel. I’ll be joined by Doireann Healy of Begley & Bowie, Dr Helena McMahon of Seabody and Orla and Anna O’Carroll from Valentia Island Vermouth. Together, we’ll be exploring what it takes to build meaningful and creative careers. Tickets include lunch, find out more and book your place here.

Why talk about food through cinema? is an online event run by Slow Food aimed at students, teachers, cultural operators or just anyone curious about how cinema, food, and sustainability can come together. Happening March 11th, register here.

The Guinness Storehouse is gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. On March 17th they will have Chipeen, formerly Prátaí, popping up at the Guinness Storehouse for the festivities, bringing their iconic chips to Dublin for the first time. The Guinness Open Gate Brewery will also be serving a limited edition Oyster Stout, made with Carlingford Oysters. More details here.

Fondita Mestiza are always up to something interesting. Their next pop-up on 28th March is all about Mexican tortas.

I feel like I mention Polish Wine Fest a lot, but I think that’s because they are always planning great stuff! Here are some of their upcoming events:

• 28 March – Winemaker dinner: Polish wines + Seafood @ Sea Shanty - tickets

• 29 March – 5th Polish Wine Fest (consumer) - tickets

• 30 March – Polish Wine Fest (trade only), register here.

• 4 July – Cosmic Splash (dressup-boat-wine party) - tickets

Homegrown, the Richard Corrigan-led food festival weekend, just announced its 2026 dates. Happening 16-19 October at Virginia Park Lodge and confirmed names so far include the wonderful Prue Leith, Angela Hartnett and Henry Harris, with more names TBA. Tickets start at €1,150 per person but do include accommodation, all dining and full access to the programme of events. Details and tickets here.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Love food and fashion? Then check out Bia Zine’s mini online Zine, it’s a gorgeous read.

The Booming Business of Luxury Grocery Stores from WSJ, read the full piece here.

Very interesting read - Britain Lost 14,000 Third Places. They Were Called Pubs. Is Your Local Next?

Great insights from Indo food critic Katy McGuinness, writing about her experience with weight loss drugs.

And love to see her latest review, shining a light on 1826 Adare this week for her Indo Review

Graham Herterich is running a gorgeous series on his Instagram, an A-Z of Irish food producers. This week, he’s on C and sharing a recipe with Cashel Blue Cheese.

What do you mean you only had five types of potato?

The skirt of my dreams 🍔

Kylie Jenner considering Scampi Fries.

No notes

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

The Hoxton Hotel is in hot water since news spread about a legal dispute between Yamamori Izakaya and Trinity Hospitality, the Hoxton Dublin’s building leaseholders, over noise complaints. Writing in the Irish Times, Una Mullaly rightly pointed out that the broader issue here is the pattern. Dubliners are fed up, and this latest dispute hit a nerve as it feels like another threat to the declining nightlife in the city. It led to what seemed like a very fun protest on Tuesday evening. The case has now been adjourned to March. With so many eyes and column inches on the dispute, let’s hope they sort it out soon. Although it remains to be seen how much damage it will have done to Hoxton’s plans to open their own nightclub next door to Yamamori Izakaya…

Meanwhile, the edges of the city continue to flourish. I walked past a busy building site this week in Stoneybatter, next to L. Mulligans, that is taking shape and word on the street is that it will be a bakery of sorts from the team behind Grano and A. Fianco.

It looks like Variety Jones second spot, which is in their old building at 78 Thomas Street, might be open soon. This week, chef Keelan Higgs announced he will be cooking there on March 1st, describing it as “a very very soft launch of what’s to come”. Bookings here.

Over in Ranelagh, local nosy parkers have been getting excited about what’s happening in the site that was Mario’s - apparently it’s been taken over by a local hard-to-get-into favourite opening their second location there in a few months. Any guesses who it might be?

Etto has quietly welcomed a new head chef into the kitchen, Ben Fehily, who you may have come across last year cooking at Note. Looks like he has a stellar CV, including cooking in Lyle’s and Perilla in London.

Popped into Loverboy in Clontarf last weekend, which was buzzing on a Saturday morning. Nice little flat white, plus they were handing out Valentine’s chocolates with every order. There’s a big seating area out back where they’re adding a co-working space and maybe a pizza oven. It’ll tie in nicely with the spot opening next door - a small plates and wine place, called Jacks, by a former Uno Mas staffer.

Great news for Mayo, Misunderstood Heron has found a home for this summer at Campbell’s at the Reek pub in Murrisk. Looks like a gorgeous spot for gorgeous cooking.

In Cork, Cold Cuts, a French Bistro & Italian American Deli mashup, is opening this weekend as a pop-up at the Liberty with a more permanent location planned for later in the year.

I love Uncle Roger on Instagram, so I’m very interested to hear that he is opening a restaurant in London.

Restaurateur Jeremy King shared his disdain for influencers in his restaurants this week in the Evening Standard, and to be fair, it sounds like he had an especially intrusive bunch. Meanwhile, Gordon Ramsay was also making headlines with his own take on influencers, pulled from his new Netflix “documentary,” Being Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay declares in the show that “influencers are the most powerful critics on the planet today.” Why the quotation marks around documentary? Because I can’t see the series as anything more than a glossy advert for Ramsay himself. And I’m clearly not the only one who feels that way. Will I still end up watching it? Probably.

In other food TV news, I’m delighted to see Irish chef Mark O’Brien on Masterchef The Professionals this week. He’s doing very well so far. Make sure to tune in!

There’s another cooking show starting on ITV called The Heat, following ten chefs competing in Jean-Christophe Novelli’s Barcelona restaurant. One of the Irish competitors has quite the cooking pedigree - Cork chef Alex Whelan is the grandson of Myrtle Allen and the son of Ballymaloe House head chef Dervilla O’Flynn.

How gorgeous does this cafe in Glin, Co. Limerick look?

This is genius, at The Light House Cinema, add a scoop of Galaxy Minstrels to your popcorn for €2!

Soup Dragon is to close after 25 years in business; lunches on Capel Street won’t be the same.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

Mick Kelly, founder of GIY, is hosting a series of workshops dedicated to helping people make better food choices, kicking off with one in Waterford this weekend and in Dublin in May. Details and booking here.

Ballymaloe announced a new session of Grainstore pop-ups starting strong on the 13th March with Tiger Balm Club.

Chef JP McMahon will be popping up at the Cong Food Village Festival in July, along with a host of other great names in food.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

With the non-stop rain this week, it was a delight to chat with Laura Fox on 2FM about foodie escapes around Europe. I’m a firm believer that you can make any city break a foodie one with the right research. Listen back here. It also finally spurred me on to post about a trip to Nice last year.

Donal Fallon’s potted history of the Library Bar in the Central Hotel feels like a timely read this week.

Making the perfect chip in a small community is a passion for Italian takeaway owner in Sligo.

Loving Donal Skehan’s new online series, On The Menu.

The new Lazy Oaf bakery collection is delicious

Stop the lights - chocolate hobnobs!!!

So wrong, but so right

I can’t 💀

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

Dublin at the start of the week felt like the Saturday Kitchen greenroom. I spotted Paul Ainsworth on Grafton Street and was elbowing for taxis outside the Westbury with Claude Bosi, all the Tom’s (Brown, Kerridge, Kitchin) and Jason Atherton’s posse. It could only mean one thing: Michelin time.

Monday’s event at the Convention Centre turned out better than expected, in some parts. I was dubious about the location, but it actually worked well, and that glass-fronted view over the city looked great. At the ceremony, the seats were comfy, but the show, less so. I don’t know what it is that makes it so awkward to watch; is it that cliched idea that chefs “don’t get out much”? And I don’t think the presenters help. Amanda Stretton was back as host, although without Gwendal Poullennec, who only appeared by video (a sure sign we weren’t getting a three-star). From watching previous years, I wouldn’t say those two ever exactly crackle with chemistry on stage, so I momentarily perked up to see a new face on stage, Lisa Hogan. She was introduced as a proud Dub and is apparently well known for her role on Clarkson’s Farm (I have never watched). She was not the missing part of the presenting puzzle. Getting Gordon Ramsay on stage did add a bit of pizazz, at least.

As for the winners: Kinsale restaurant St. Francis Provisions bagged the Special Service Award, with owner Barbara Nealon crediting her success to simply “liking your customers.” The Pullman in Galway and Forest Avenue in Dublin earned well-deserved first stars, the latter long overdue. The ceremony seemed to end quite abruptly, but that’s probably because the Irish attendees were holding their breath just in case that elusive Irish three-star was finally happening, alas it was not to be but once everyone was out with a drink in hand the mood was celebratory and I’ve got to say the food and the drinks put on by La Rousse Ireland was top notch. It was an incredible spread, and chefs and guests worked their way around the room grazing on great Irish cheese and oysters as the champagne flowed and the caviar was bumped. I bowed out early enough, but heard reports that the after party after party at Díon kept going till the wee hours.

Now for some big news about a much-anticipated opening that’s sure to be on everyone’s lips come Michelin time next year. Cúán Greene’s Ómós is almost ready - bookings open March 24th for July to September.

In case you need reminding why this is exciting: Greene worked at Noma and Geranium in Copenhagen, then returned home for a very successful stint as head chef at Bastible, and has since built a cult following through inventive pop-ups and his Substack, also called Ómós. A few years ago, he announced this ambitious project, transforming a Victorian house outside Abbeyleix into a 40-seat restaurant and guesthouse on 4.2 acres, with it seems no expense spared. It looks to be every bit as considered as his cooking. Greene is a huge advocate for artisan everything, so you just know the interiors, the plates, the linens are all going to be beautiful and purposeful and no doubt achingly chic and in an annoyingly authentic way. Get ready to log on on the 24th - these bookings will be the hottest ticket of the summer. www.omos.co

Allta opened its new seafood bar and cocktail bar, “allta na farraige”, on Wednesday and is offering 50% off this week for their soft launch. Be quick and book a spot here.

Tír Deli quietly opened its second location at CHQ on Wednesday, also.

Great news for Limerick, Rift Coffee are opening a second location on Thomas Street.

Açaí seems to be doing well in Dublin. Roots Acai, who currently operate from a food truck at Monkstown Dart Station, are opening a new cafe in Dun Laoghaire. And Tribe, who’ve been serving açaí in Knocklyon, have opened a cafe in Rathgar.

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and of course, a few fun activations are happening. Nutbutter are giving away Valentine’s treats to the first 40 customers. Local? Seasonal? Single? Sprout is back with their viral Valentine’s “Dinner’s on Us”. From 6.30 pm until 8.30 pm on Saturday, head to their Dawson Street branch with “proof of Single ID” for your free salad bowl.

There is also a wonderful free food-focused art tour in the National Gallery with Art Plate at 1 pm, no booking required.

If you’re stuck for a last-minute gift, skip the flowers and give some whiskey instead. At least that is what I would want. In particular, the new launch from Redbreast - Moscatel Wine Cask Edition. Or these Jammy D’s from The Bakery.

And then it’s pancake day on Tuesday! Must scour Instagram for some fun pancake specials. Let me know if you have any. Also, how great is this annual fundraising Pancake Race that takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire?

Food writers, or budding food writers, the brilliant Bia! Zine is open for submissions. Looking for pitches from the Global Majority* community in Ireland. Send your poetry, short stories, personal essays, handwritten notes, recipes, art, photos, archival images. Submissions close on 1 March. www.biazine.com/submit

*by Global Majority they mean anyone who identifies as African, Asian, Latin American, having a mixed-heritage, being Indigenous to the Global South or racialised as an “ethnic minority”

Chef Anna Darling (previously of Goldie in Cork) shared news this week of her new private catering business venture and a pop-up with Goldie at the Dockhouse, Kinsale, on March 8th.

The Cork restaurateur, a $16m Miami mansion and the spectacular legal bust-up with her former romantic partner. Get her on RHOM, please!

Irish chef Christine Walsh announced on Instagram that she’s finishing up at Chishuru in London, where she’s been head chef for the last few years. She wrote, “Off to spend as much time as possible now with my bébé boy and plan for my own exciting endeavour (finally)”.

Love this: A new community-led food alliance in Cherry Orchard is working towards Dublin 10’s own cooperative grocery store – a brilliant, grassroots answer to local food poverty and access. (from the Dublin Inquirer).

Also love this - If you work in hospitality, Notions on Francis Street is offering 20% off dinner every Tuesday and Wednesday in February.

Oh, and Morso are finally dropping teasers of their sandwiches.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

This Sunday, Smock Alley Theatre is hosting an afternoon of stories from Irish farmers, with live music and tasting moments woven through. Voices of Irish Farmers: A Love Story, Sun 15th Feb.

Celebrate the 5th anniversary of Polish Wine Fest on February 25th at the Fumablly Stables. Book your tickets here.

On Saturday, February 28th, The Heritage Hotel hosts Anna Nardi of Perlage Winery for a guided tasting of vegan, organic, and biodynamic proseccos paired with canapés by Executive Head Chef Marek Zboril, followed by afternoon tea in The Galleria. Tickets are priced at €59 per person. Book HERE.

The Gathering Table returns on Sunday, March 1st at As One, Dublin, featuring Food & Wines Young Chef of the Year 2025 Shauna Murphy, senior sous chef at two Michelin-starred Terre, for a four-course supper celebrating Ireland’s small food producers and rich food culture. Tickets available here.

Bread Naturally in Raheny is doing a doughnut pop-up in their bakery on March 8th.

To mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, The River Lee, Cork, hosts a Charles Heidsieck Champagne dinner with international ambassador Sophie Kutten on March 8th. Tickers are €125, to book contact the hotel.

Overends Kitchen at Airfield Estate launches its new Seasonal Supper Club on March 14th, an after-hours farm-to-fork dining experience featuring ingredients from the estate’s own farm, dairy, and gardens. Tickets are €80, grab yours here.

Dot Dot Dot is a new pop-up taking place in Clondalkin on 28th March, tickets released on March 1st. Find out more here.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

I’ve been catching up on lots of reading, plenty of good stuff in The Financial Times recently:

Marina O’Loughlin on restaurant critics: “The job of newspaper critics — film, TV, restaurant, whatever — is to sell newspapers, not proselytise for what they’re employed to critique.”

Our own Jane Gleeson, editor of Guzzle, writing about oysters - Can cheap oysters save the restaurant economy?

What fast food’s downturn says about the US economy

And in the Guardian, reading about the Pie and Mash Crisis.

Often Dismissed by the Industry, Club Bartending Endures

Wondering what it takes to become a hospitality consultant?

I’ve also been catching up on The Go-To Food Podcast and really enjoyed listening to restaurateur David Carter’s episode. And looking forward to host Ben Benton’s book being released next month, All You Can Eat.

Love Stanley Tucci’s Warchild T-shirt from my head to-matoes.

I feel like we should all be doing Department Store Bar Crawls in big cities.

The Lord Edward’s Seafood Restaurant Menu.

Look at this gorgeous butter bread fridge.

Imagine serving your eggs from this - the dream.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

P.S. A few of these are behind paywalls, but sometimes you’ve got to pay for the good stuff.

Interesting read from Eric ( @_fonditamestiza_ ) writing as El Michelín on Substack about Michelin being a Eurocentric system of valuation.

Also on Substack, Chef JP McMahon has written about Michelin coming to Dublin, “feels, in its own quiet way, like a turning point”.

In the Irish Times, restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave says it’s like a game of Traitors predicting what might happen.

Joanne Cronin dug into how it Michelien judging actually works, talking to two restaurant managers with plenty of Michelin experience.

And just dropped today, Trevor White, an ex-Irish Times restaurant critic, writes about why the Michelin razzmatazz makes him queasy.

Over at the Business Post, Gillian Nelis seems pretty confident that The Pullman restaurant at Glenlo Abbey will getting it’s first Michelin star.

Joe McNamee in the Examiner has a great piece, “Everything you need to know about the Michelin Guide ceremony in Dublin”. Then, for his Saturday piece, The Menu, he takes a look back at Michelin in Ireland over the years and reckons that of the five two-starred restaurants, “the smart money is currently on chef Mickael Viljanen’s Chapter One”.

In the Irish Independent, Katy McGuinness gives a good overview of the “circus” and her hot tips for new one stars include Comet (her restaurant of the year for 2025), Amai by Viktor and also the Pullman in Galway.

Katy was also on RTÉ Radio News At One, where she said she was optimistic Ireland would get a three-star today. Listen back here.

Chef Ross Lewis, on Bobby Kerr’s Down to Business, was much more subdued about three-star predictions.

Ciara McQuillan gives her take in the Gloss, noting that when it comes to predicting the three stars that Dede in Baltimore, “offers an equally compelling proposition, embracing its remoteness while expressing Irish ingredients with global execution”.

In the Echo, Kate Ryan checked in with Cork chefs on their thoughts ahead of the awards.

RTÉ spoke to Denise McBrien, GM of the Old Spot, which was recently added to the Michelin Guide listings.

Alex O’Neill did have an article live on Image titled “How Ireland squandered the opportunity of the Michelin …” but it seems to be awol at the moment - guess someone wasn’t happy with her thoughts?

Did I miss anyone else’s thoughts? Or let me know yours below!

You can watch the awards live here. I may also be doing some posting from the event over on Instagram.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Slán, Ali

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

The countdown is well and truly on for the Michelin Guide Ceremony 2026 happening on Monday, 9th February at the Convention Centre in Dublin, where the new Michelin stars for the UK and Ireland will be announced. Details on how to watch the ceremony live are here. There’s a proper buzz building around the city and word is plenty of chefs are flying in from across the water. I’ve heard London lads Brett Graham, Adam Byatt, and Tom Brown will be eating their way around town over the next few days. You can bet plenty of visiting chefs and their teams will be dipping into Host PR’s chef sessions too - details on those below.

Ahead of the awards on Monday, Michelin also brought out an early announcement of this year’s new Bib Gourmands – their award for good food at a great price. Among the 37 new additions were some brilliant Irish businesses, including Bigfan, Borgo, Forêt in Dublin, Farmgate in Lismore and Beau in Belfast. Huge congratulations to them all!

Hospitality legends Paul and Máire Flynn announced they will be closing their Dungarvan restaurant, The Tannery, in 2027 after thirty years in business. Posting on Instagram, they said, “We’ve had the run of our lives” and that they will continue with the Tannery Townhouse and Cookery School on a seasonal basis.

Last week, I mentioned Mani Pizza’s new business, Morso, but I got the locations mixed up. The new building will be the new home for Mani, and Mani’s old building will be Morso. No menu yet, but they told me “MORSO starts with the bread. We bake it ourselves every day and it’s always hot. Then we build sandwiches that work hot or cold, using proper ingredients and no shortcuts -just really good sandwiches. Hot bread, big flavour, done right”. Sounds delicious.

Janets is back! Much-loved ex-Eatyard vendor will be available at Zozimus Bar (the place with the umbrellas outside) on weekends.

Tír Deli are looking for tasters for their new sandwich menu!

The Unicorn on Merrion Row has launched a new pre-theatre menu from €32 for two courses, available Monday to Friday 5-630pm and at lunchtime.

Fetch Coffee in Clonmel has new digs and it looks fabulous.

I was back in the airport this week for a little day trip to London and was so impressed with the T2 glow up and it’s much improved food and drink options.

More lovely Nigella news, she’s back writing, this time in the Financial Times, where she will publish a monthly column using “cooking as a lens onto all facets of life”. She joins a powerhouse of food columnists there, including Jay Rayner, Marina O’Loughlin, Tim Hayward and Jancis Robinson. Putting it out there that maybe 2027 will be the year I pitch a food column…although the Kitchen Press is one of sorts. Still, any editors reading, my keyboard is ready…

Interesting post here on pub and pint economics.

This is wild, people swapping eggs in UK supermarkets. Also, the comments are wildly mean to this poor woman!

It has been a depressing week in the news, as more and more information comes out about the Epstein files. As various outlets do their takes, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone put together the food connections. If you can stomach it, take a look at Gourmet Magazine’s notes.

More horrible news this time involving a London restaurateur - avoid Bernares at all costs.

Great little piece in Popbitch:

Taste of Dubai, one of UAE’s biggest festivals, returns this weekend.

Hosting around 25,000 people, it spotlights the best restaurants and music in the city along with bringing together “celebrated chefs from around the world” for a three day festival.

Who’s headlining this year?

Cancelled ITV darling Gino D’Acampo!

(Gregg Wallace must already be prepping himself for the call up in 2027.)

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

I’m hosting a not-to-be-missed webinar with Square Ireland on Tuesday Feb 10th discussing “The Gold Standard: Achieving and Maintaining Culinary Excellence” with John McKenna, Jane Frye of D’Olier Street and Nathan Walshe from Square Ireland. It’s aimed at anyone in the Irish F&B sector, and you can register for your free place here.

Watch the Michelin Ceremony live on Monday here.

The best place to chef spot over the next few days is probably at Dublin-based Hospitality PR company Host & Co’s series of events, The Chef Sessions:

Saturday 7th February, from 6 pm til late, head to Rei Momo on Drury Street where Marcus O’ Laoire x Thom Lawson will host ‘A Substantial Meal’ – new-school chicken in a basket & DJ. €20 per basket.

On Sunday, the 8th, Camden Street is the place to be. Cúán Greene and team Ómós will be at Frank’s Wine Bar doing €10 hot dogs!!! From 5 pm until they are all gone, first come first served and walk-ins only.

Also on Sunday, Barry Sun (Volpe Nero) will be cooking at Hang Dai - what a combo. €80 pp for supper with a cocktail or glass of Champagne. 2 sittings (4-5 pm/7.15-8.30 pm). Booking is advised via Hang Dai.

On awards day, Monday 9th, Mark Moriarty will be doing breakfast muffins at Egan’s on Aungier Street, served with Bar 1661 cocktails - €25 pp, from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm.

From 1 pm to 3 pm, chef Rob Krawczyk (Restaurant Chestnut) will be making toasties at Row Wines on Coppinger Row. €12 toastie, €5 glass of wine!

And over in the river, check out The Sisters of Smithfield event at Sister 7 Sister 7 @ Fidelity, where Chef Chun Li will be serving Swanky Swanky Spice Bags for €22 and Sally Cinnamon is on the decks - 8 pm to 12 am.

The Hospitality Expo takes place next Tuesday and Wednesday at the RDS and some great talks are happening over the two days, put together by Dee Laffan. Take a look here. I’ll be there on Tuesday afternoon for a panel on The Irish food trend with Gillian Nelis, Anna Haugh and Dan Hannigan.

The first ever Cork Cocktail Week takes place Feb 20–March 1, with 31 venues, signature drinks and cocktails from €7 citywide. See more here.

Ballina Whiskey have announced a mini tour of whiskey tastings, where you can try their whiskey.

March 4th, 7.30 pm - McSwiggans Galway. Ticket link here.

March 5th, 7 pm - An Sean Sibín, Ballina. Ticket link here.

April 22, 7.30 pm - Bar 1661, Dublin. Ticket link here.

Kaizen in Blanchardstown celebrates Chinese New Year on Thursday, 26 February, with an eight‑course sharing menu, live Chinese harp music & a glass of Prosecco (€60 pp); booking essential by Wednesday, 19 Feb at (01) 824 338

Sheen Falls Lodge is hosting a Four Hands Dinner on Sunday, 5 April, where Executive Head Chef Mark Treacy of The Falls restaurant will be joined by Chef Patron Rafael Cagali of two Michelin-starred Da Terra in London for a special one-night collaboration. Details & booking via www.sheenfallslodge.ie

Registration is open for the 2026 Dublin Gastronomy Symposium at TU Dublin, taking place 26–27 May 2026. This year’s theme, ‘Crisis / Hope’, promises lively discussions and thought-provoking ideas. More information here. https://arrow.tudublin.ie/dgs/

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

Curious about the sustainability of caviar? This is worth a read.

This is very true

Haaaaaaa

@dezria.smithessential to the recipe #heatedrivalryedit#shanehollander#ilyarozanov @Katie Newman👾 @Daydra_Smith

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WANT - JW Anderson tableware.

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now

Fresh ingredients:

News & stuff I’m excited about

It’s Brigit’s Day weekend, which is great in itself but even better because she has so many brilliant food and drink connections - Bia Duit has a round-up of some of them here. If you fancy some more hands-on learning about Brigit and her food and drink stories, then please come join me, Santina Kennedy and a host of brilliant Irish food producers on Monday, January 2nd, at the Imbolc Fair in Temple Bar, part of the Brigit Dublin City Festival. We are hosting Brigit’s Table, where we explore Brigit’s legacy with tastings from some of Ireland’s finest artisan food and drink producers. Booking is advised (last year we sold out!). Tickets are only €5, and the tastings run every hour from 11 am to 4 pm. Get booked in here.

And don’t miss the Brigit-focused food tours happening with Scoop & Dee Laffan; book your tickets here.

Opening news - The new Mani, due to open on Drury Street, will not be Mani but Morso, and according to their Instgram it will be about big sandwiches, no shortcuts. I love the double-meaning name, Morso, which means bite in Italian, but also could be read as more so. Lol. Opening date and details to follow…

Volumes is a new, almost open café on George’s Quay that, according to their Instagram, will offer “Speciality Coffee, Bagels, Sandwiches, Events, Collaborations”. It looks like it’s going to be very slick, and no wonder, since Paddy Kirk is involved.

Good news for Portobello, there’s a new cafe coming to the space that was home to 31 Lennox. Róisín Lawlor of Saucy Cow teased on her TikTok that she’s taken over the space with her sister. Not another Saucy Cow but a cafe this time, more details to follow next week…

Also heard that there was a cafe due to open soon in the place where the OG Bernard Shaw stood, but there’s nothing concrete on that. One local tells me, let’s call her Portobello Polly, that the building was offered back to the Bernard Shaw team (Bodytonic), but they declined…

Speaking of pubs, there is a new “traditional Irish pub” opened in Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 called Ryan’s Pub run by The Wright Group. I hope the pint is better than the Gate Clock Bar in Terminal 1, which is dreadfully inconsistent.

In town, it looks like The Stapleton at Powercourt House, a new cocktail bar and late-night venue on South William Street, is open.

More good news for Dundrum, where Nutbutter recently opened, Sprout is opening soon, and it seems so too are Vice pizza and wings.

There’s a new pop-up coming to Dublin called Dot Dot Dot.

There was lots of valid social media outrage over the last week about gross mislabelling of fresh produce in supermarkets. Super Valu was selling herbs from Africa and labelling them as Irish, putting the Bord Bia mark on the packet and a photo of the Irish herb farmer! Have a look here. Tesco labelled Spanish tomatoes as Irish, ‘Irish’ corned beef, using beef sourced from Brazil. It’s so sneaky trying to confuse consumers like this and has been called out for years, yet it’s still happening?! In 2016, I was a producer on an RTÉ food consumer show called What Are You Eating?, where we covered this topic loads, particularly in a fish-focused episode with John McKenna (you can watch back here). It’s depressing to think it may have gotten worse. The moral of the story is read your labels very carefully.

If you want to know more about why stuff like this matters and LOADS more about the food industry, get hold of Mallika Basu’s new book - ​​In Good Taste: What Shapes What We Eat and Drink – and why it matters.

UCC have launched a new food programme, with Dr Bill Schindler (author of Eat Like a Human). Food Heritage in Action: Turning Tradition into Sustainable Enterprise is a ten-week online course that would be a great fit for anyone interested in traditional and indigenous food. More details here.

The brilliant gang at Cherry Bombe have started a new substack series called “So You Want to Open a Restaurant”.

Dates for the Diary:

Tasty things to book ahead

The wonderful award-winning Cork cocktail legends Paladar are popping up at Fidelity x Sister Seven on Monday, February 2nd. €55 gets you a cocktail and five course menu, plus tunes and cocktail specials all evening. TBH, I’m surprised there are tickets left! Snap yours up here.

Berghain fans, next Friday, Feb 6th, as part of MOLI (Museum of Literature), Historian Donal Fallon will interview Liam Cagney, author of Berghain Nights: A Journey through Techno and Berlin Club Culture. Free event, but booking is advised. See here for more.

Dublin-based Hospitality PR company Host & Co has announced a series of very tasty events to ‘create a festival feel across the city’ for what they have dubbed the ‘Michelin weekend’. On Monday, February 9th, Dublin hosts the Ireland and UK Michelin Guide Ceremony for the first time at the Convention Centre, which means there should be an influx of well-known and talented cooking teams from all around looking for stuff to eat. In response, Host PR have been working on The Chef Sessions, a tasty lineup of fun events & eats:

Saturday 7th February, from 6 pm til late, head to Rei Momo on Drury Street where Marcus O’ Laoire x Thom Lawson will host ‘A Substantial Meal’ – new-school chicken in a basket & DJ. €20 per basket.

On Sunday, the 8th, Camden Street is the place to be. Cúán Greene and team Ómós will be at Frank’s Wine Bar doing €10 hot dogs!!! From 5 pm until they are all gone, first come first served and walk-ins only.

Also on Sunday, Barry Sun (Volpe Nero) will be cooking at Hang Dai - what a combo. €80 pp for supper with a cocktail or glass of Champagne. 2 sittings (4-5 pm/7.15-8.30 pm). Booking is advised via Hang Dai.

On awards day, Monday 9th, Mark Moriarty will be doing breakfast muffins at Egan’s on Aungier Street, served with Bar 1661 cocktails - €25 pp, from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm.

From 1 pm to 3 pm, chef Rob Krawczyk (Restaurant Chestnut) will be making toasties at Row Wines on Coppinger Row. €12 toastie, €5 glass of wine!

And over in the river, check out The Sisters of Smithfield event at Sister 7 Sister 7 @ Fidelity, where Chef Chun Li will be serving Swanky Swanky Spice Bags for €22 and Sally Cinnamon is on the decks - 8 pm to 12 am.

The Chef Sessions is gorgeous, a whopper lineup of events and a great idea, loads of fun and good food to be had. I would love to see more female-led events in the mix, particularly when Michelin already comes across as a boys’ club (Read my thoughts on this at last year’s event here). Host are still announcing events, so if you have an idea ready to go, let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the right people and see what we can make happen!

After all the Michlien madness on February 10th, I’m hosting a v intersting panel with Square Ireland, discussing “The Gold Standard: Achieving and Maintaining Culinary Excellence” with John McKenna, Jane Frye, D’Olier Street and Nathan Walshe from Square Ireland. It’s aimed at anyone in the Irish F&B sector, and you can register for your free place here.

One for the Fawlty Towers fans - on Saturday, April 11th, The Dropping Well in Milltown will host the travelling ‘Faulty Towers The Dining Experience’ that has amazingly been touring venues around the world for 29 years. Described as “Fully immersive, highly interactive and completely original, this is the show where anything can and usually does happen”, tickets are €68 for three course dinner and the two-hour interactive show.

Petit Fours:

Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over, etc.

I say, I say Liz McDonald loves Sandymount and Barry’s Tea.

I was wondering why I kept seeing Tuna Melt recipes everywhere. Need to catch up on my cultural references/ TV after that holiday! Heated Rivalry is next for sure.

It is true, the petrol station bakes up North are elite. I still look out for one brand of French Fancies I found in a petrol station one time. They were so good. I wonder whether they could rival the new Claridges Bakery? It’s just reopened after an overhaul with star baker Richard Hart, and the menu is full of reimagined British baking classics, including French Fancies.

Love this from the Dead Rabbit in New York.

What do we all think of Noma LA?

Can someone please knit me this jumper?

From The Fence - Whining and Dining - read about the growth of private equity taking over restaurants and what it means (and is St. John to be sold soon?).

Also found this via The Fence, Is My Pub Fucked, a website that rates UK pubs according to how good/ bad they are doing financially.

Why are onions turning up on Brighton Beach?

Did you know there are Loo of the Year Awards in the UK?

Thanks for reading The Kitchen Press, my weekly round-up of Irish food, drink and hospitality news. If you liked my writing, I’ve got a very fun book out, A Compendium of Irish Pints. You can also follow my eating and drinking, and other writing work, over on Instagram and sporadically on TikTok.

The Kitchen Press Food News is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription, free or paid, means I can keep delivering it weekly, so please do subscribe. GRMA x

Subscribe now