When you think about Dublin, you don’t typically think about elevated cuisine. Usually its more of the fish n’ chips and bangers n’ mash variety of food. But don’t let its cruddy reputation fool you – Dublin has some really amazing eateries and we enjoyed a wide variety of cuisine from, yes, fish n’ chips, to fancy fish we have never even heard of like “plaice”! Delahunt was easily my favorite meal of our five nights in Dublin due to the innovative food, pretty plating and totally reasonable price. This is true farm and forage to table cuisine, and it is well known that the chef actually does forage for some of the food that he puts on our tables here.

The restaurant itself looks like an old pub and has a very inviting vibe. Each table is set aside in a “snug” which is basically a totally separated booth. This place was all set for COVID before it even happened with each table being completely separated from the next one. As the name suggests, though, snugs are super cozy and intimate, and not a sterile version of social distancing. The whole place was warm and cozy and I loved the vibe here.

The service was excellent. We had a couple of ladies regularly helping us out, taking orders and explaining what the food was. The only option was the tasting menu for dinner, which was an extraordinarily reasonable 70 Euro per person, and we had a ton of options when it came to drinks. The pacing of the tasting menu was pretty much perfect! There was no set wine pairing, but they offered a really nice selection of bottles and wines by the glass. We started off with some sparkling wine and then ordered a bottle of Fleurie to go with the rest of our tasting menu. It was so light and floral and had just the right amount of tannins to go with the more delicate courses as well as with the venison.

The tasting started off with “Snacks” and this is easily becoming my favorite course at any nice multi-coursed tasting menu. I think it’s because you have to get really creative getting a high amount of flavor and interest into just one bite without being overbearing. I really am going to have to start writing down what each of these snacks are, because I always friggin’ love them and I want to be able to describe them better for you all!

After the snacks was some excellent Sourdough bread and then the first course of beets, smoked eel and green apple. I love beets, so this one was easily one of my faves.

Next was a fish called plaice with chanterelle mushrooms which was delicious. The fish was not super fishy and was very firm. The fish itself was sweet, almost like perch, but a little more steak-like in texture which was a nice mix.

Finally for the savory courses was what I like to call “venison three ways.” It was ground up in a mash with potatoes, sort of like a shepherd’s pie style without the pie, smoked, and wrapped in a ravioli. It was seriously amazing. All three ways were juicy, flavorful and the meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender. This was a massive course and was super filling. I thought it was cool to showcase venison, typically thought of to be tough and gamey, in a whole bunch of different ways – none of which were tough or gamey. Hats off to the chef and creator of this incredibly innovative course, and cooking the venison to absolute perfection.

Dessert was a beautiful tower of “Corn, Brambles, Blueberries, and Roasted White Chocolate.” This was an incredibly complex dessert full of cool flavors you would never think go together, but were seriously symphonic. A super fun way to top off the food portion of the evening.

I say food portion because Delahunt has a literal salon upstairs called “The Sitting Room” to enjoy drinks either before or after your meal. It is super casual and formal at the same time with a mish-mash of traditional and classic decor including lush, thick curtains and original ornate moldings, along with mid-century modern seating and tables. I absolutely loved this space and it was vibrant with folks enjoying a cocktail or a beer. This is where I discovered that espresso martinis are a THING in Dublin. Perhaps they are coming back around the world, but seriously every single restaurant we went to had their own version of one, and this was our first – so delicious and a great night cap following our meal. It had just enough oomph to give us the energy to walk back to our hotel.

We left Delahunt in a super happy mood, having eaten some amazing food, and had some great wines and a delicious cocktail to top it off. This place seems to be vying for a Michelin Star, and it should probably get one in my opinion. The only improvement I would suggest is to provide diners with cloth napkins instead of paper ones. This was a weird oversight especially considering they had cloth towels in the toilets. Definitely check out Delahunt though, the next time you’re in Ireland!