Restaurant review: The Meeting House, Dublin
This, we instantly agree, is not the kind of restaurant where you’d go to tremulously propose to your nearest and dearest.
On the other hand, the noise levels are such that it could well be the ideal venue for a relationship break-up – the sound levels are such that, much like the tagline for the first Alien movie, no one can hear you scream.
Before you wander off in search of earplugs, however, let’s put the Meeting House experience into context.
Located on the same site as Eden Restaurant (those with long memories will recall Eden as a totemic Celtic Tiger era eatery that was populated by fearless people spending borrowed money that they now can’t pay back), Meeting House is located as close to the centre of Temple Bar as you can get.
Fronting Meeting House Square, an open space used regularly for cultural events and weekly farmer’s markets, and adjacent to Sycamore Street (which one way leads to Dame Street and the other way to the centre of Temple Bar Hell), the restaurant is, commercially speaking, caught between a rock and a hard place.
In other words, it’s perfectly placed to capture not only the foodies that will undoubtedly venture out to investigate the restaurant’s relatively unique Burmese fare, but also stray tourists who have walked through the gauntlet of Temple Bar and found its eateries not to their tastes.
We booked for a Saturday evening, so we had a feeling it was going to be busy – and busy it was, with birthday party groups just starting their celebrations. And yet there was something really brilliant about the place.
Firstly, the Meeting House is no mere re-tread of Eden – it’s a completely different experience altogether.
Eden was all clean lines, with a very contemporary-hotel-room design aesthetic. Meeting House is bare walls, subdued lighting, open spaces and nooks’n’crannies; an interesting element is the artwork that adorns most, if not all of the walls.
Brash, bold and audacious, Dublin-based Spanish artist Katrina Rupit delivers images that directly reference the vibrancy of the food on offer.
As for the food, we’re unsure whether there has ever been a Burmese restaurant in Dublin before (to our knowledge, the Meeting House is the first), and to be honest we can’t see any point in pretending that – blindfold test or not – we could tell the difference between Burmese and several other country-specific Asian cuisines. All we can say with certainty is the food is gorgeous.
The menu is explained very efficiently. All of the dishes (which include gluten free options) are pitched as tapas-style sharing plates.
The advice offered (for two people) is to choose up to three dishes for each person; dishes are priced at €9.99 each, but you can get four dishes for €35, or six for €49, which is good value.
Side order dishes are €5.99 each (or any two for €9.99), and for €3.99, steamed jasmine or brown rice.
sashimi tacos (yellow fin tuna, or salmon, with tamarind chilli soya sauce), spicy seared steak salad (with lemongrass, coriander, mint), organic chicken coconut curry (with enoki mushroom, pak choi, chestnuts, peppers, lime leaves), warm duck salad (with pomegranate, grapefruit, cucumber, basil).
From the Sides Menu we select steamed rice and wok greens (which includes pak choi, asparagus, tender stem broccoli, black kale, and snap peas).
As we wait we look at the Cocktail Menu, which tempts us into ordering a Barrel-aged El Presidente (Havana club 7, Cointreau, martini rosso, pomegranate syrup, angostura bitters) and a Paloma Faith (Olmeca tequila, Benedictine lime, grapefruit soda).
We also order a bottle of Villa Sandi Chardonnay (it was that kind of night— it doesn’t happen too often, believe me).
As the music thudded, as the birthday party slammed, and as more and more people came in, we get into the zone pretty quickly. The only gripe we have, as we make our way into the night, is that portions should be a bit more substantial.
Aside from that, the Meeting House rocked and rolled. We’ll be back – when the hangover subsides, and when we feel we have the energy to stay up well past our bedtime.
Dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, and two cocktails, came to €94.48, plus €10 tip.
Mon-Sun: 5.30pm-12.30am
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Drink: 8/10
Value: 8/10
A perfect city centre place for those that want a buzzy atmosphere and a very different restaurant experience.
Meeting House Square,
Dublin 2;
tel: 01-6703330;
www.themeetinghousedublin.com
