Restaurant review: Osteria Lucio, Dublin 2
If truth be told, there’s a strain of individuality seeping out of Osteria Lucio that we’ve rarely experienced in an Italian restaurant based in Ireland.
Now that we think of it, with the proliferation of generic Italian restaurants in and around Dublin city centre (and other cities and towns in Ireland), most of what appears on the menu is a repeat of what you can buy either ready-made or make at home with standard ingredients.
Sorry to be so posh, like, but to say that we are delighted when we don’t see Lasagne, Fettuccini Alfredo, Spaghetti Bolognese and other staple Italian choices on the menu is an understatement.
The physical structure of the restaurant hasn’t changed since the late 2000s, when it first appeared on the landscape as the Bridge Bar & Bistro.
Just over a year ago, Pizza e Porchetta arrived, and now this; names change, menus morph out of one chef’s likes and skillsets to another, but what has made this building rather more interesting than many others is its shape and size.
Located under a railway track/tunnel (you can hear the trains rolling by overhead, which engenders a New York City sensibility that is impossible to shake off), the room is narrow and, well, tunnel-like.
The lighting is superb, however, and far removed from the low wattage atmosphere that barely lit up the space when it used to be Bridge Bar & Bistro.
The downside to the size of the space is that if you’re a hefty or tall person then the toilets are just too small. Even someone as, erm, dainty as myself has to manoeuvre this way and that.
Thankfully, there’s enough room to negotiate your way around the menu without such restrictions — and what a menu it is.
We start with a selection of cicchetti (Italian appetizers, derived originally in Venice, that are typically served in a bar or informal restaurant) that include wood-roasted olives with orange, fennel and rosemary, and arancini (stuffed rice balls, coated with breadcrumbs and fried) with radicchio (Italian chicory) and gorgonzola.
The latter are fulsome and a perfect crispy starter, while the former — served on a piping hot pan — could have arrived with more of the same, some focaccia, and a carafe of wine and we’d have died with smiles on our faces.
From the main course menu, we select (from the House Special section) beef tagliata, and from the wood-fired pizza section, a Tirolese, with extra jalapeno.
The beef is served more rare than medium-rare (which was requested), but traditionally this recipe leans more towards a light dusting of intense heat than prolonged exposure so we’re good with that. When in Rome, etc.
The pizza, meanwhile, is perfect without being in any way exceptional, but the wood stove cooking definitely adds an extra hint of earthy taste to it. For dessert we share an affogato (a neat mound of vanilla gelato, with a separate shot glass of espresso for pouring as required, with crushed amaretti biscuits), which is pungent, smooth and crunchy.
We sit back, relax (no one is in much of a rush to see the back of us, which is a good feeling in such a busy restaurant), and finish off a bottle of La Cavea, Pinot Nero, 2013 (there is what the restaurant terms a ‘premium’ wine list available on request, which we guess is outside our budget).
We agree that when we come back we’re going to go for broke and select the Big Lucio, which is a selection from the full menu of vegetables, salumi (Italian cold cuts), greens, handmade pasta, meats from the grill, and selections from the pizza range. At €39 per person (minimum two people), we reckon it’ll be terrific value.
Essentially, that’s the feeling we took from this smart and very different Italian restaurant: value for money, value for your time and consideration, value for your appreciation of its singularity.
That’s a rare commodity these days, but Osteria Lucio and a few others (notably the Dunne & Crescenzi restaurants) clearly have more going on than the usual culinary suspects.
Dinner for two, with wine, came to €82, €10 tip.
Monday to Friday: 12pm to 3pm; 5pm to 10pm; Saturday: 5pm to 10:30pm; Sunday: 1pm to 8pm; Closed Bank Holiday Mondays
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Drink: 7/10
Value: 8/10
In a sentence: A wholly individualistic Italian eating experience based in one of the sleekest, most stylish restaurants in the country.
Osteria Lucio, The Malting Tower, Clanwilliam Terrace, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2; tel: 01-6624199, www.osterialucio.com
