Restaurant review: Baste BBQ — including the best chicken burger I think I have ever tasted
Baste to go: Beast of a Feast box
bastebbq.com
Opening times:
Thursday-Friday: 5-7pm
Saturday-Sunday: 2-7pm
So we are back at level 5 lockdown as you read this but once lockdown is over this outdoor restaurant is likely to be among the first to re-open, and I will be in the socially distanced queue.
In the meantime the takeaway service will continue and these guys are doing things with meat you will find very difficult to do at home. However, if you fancy having a go, they also have an online shop selling restaurant-grade lumpwood charcoal and charcoal briquettes (€30 for 10kg).
Baste BBQ is from the BodyTonic people — the ones behind the Big Grill Festival, the Bernard Shaw and EatYard in Drumcondra (formerly in Portobello) and MVP just opposite Baste at Harolds Cross Bridge. Back when such things were allowed they also ran the BeatYard Festival in Dun Laoghaire and would regularly organise mini festivals at Eatyard such as their semi-regular Cheese and Wine Festival focusing on natural wines and fine cheeses.
If the restaurant industry is to survive then this kind of creative thinking allied with the potential to dine outdoors is a must. I visited Baste BBQ twice in the past six weeks and once we are allowed to eat communally again, the large space is perfect to allow distance. And there is the added bonus of bringing your own wine with no corkage charge.
My first visit was with three friends from the wine trade on a sunny Sunday afternoon in September — the week before level 3 was established in Dublin. We had each pre-booked a BBQ Box for €45 per person and shortly after we were seated at our picnic table our starter of doughy flatbread with creamy smoky baba ganoush and tzatziki was placed on the table. As we munched on the flatbread the sun seemed to shine even more strongly, warming our backs and faces so we put on our sunglasses, sipped some excellent Craven Pinot Gris Rosé (bought in Greenman Wines) from plastic cups and ‘twas very heaven.
First of our meats to arrive were some enormous chicken wings, simply grilled and served with a pungent Thai style dipping sauce. The chicken wings were good quality and cooked until nicely tender but were perhaps a little bland on their own — thankfully any bland elements were dispelled once drizzled with the sauce which had lively chilli and lime flavours and the intense feral umami punch of nam pla Thai fish sauce.
Beef brisket was nicely smoked with a sweet caramelised crust and the meat melted nicely thanks to long contact with the grill. Peter Hannan Sugar Pit Bacon ribs were salty and sweet at the same time and the Argentinian style sausages were rich and meaty. Chicken thighs and breasts had perfect crispy skin and tender flesh, and, on the side, for contrast, we munched on pickled cucumber, couscous, and crunchy coleslaw. Among the wines we had brought the 2000 Château Fonplégade Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé was perhaps fading a little but it felt pleasingly decadent to be drinking it from plastic cups in the sunshine while we tucked into smoky rich barbecue.
For dessert, we ordered ice-cream from the Arctic Stone truck which is also in the yard. Fresh cream is pushed across a cold stone and made into instant creamy rich ice-cream and served in a crisp cannoli shell — these were outstandingly good and we licked the dripping ice-cream from our fingers and punched at the cannoli crumbs with our fingers.
Experiencing the same food as a takeaway a few weeks later was perhaps a little less enjoyable but only because it lacked the social joy of eating outside in the sunshine with friends I hadn’t seen in weeks. The menu was similar but there was one extra dish which I particularly recommend: the Chargrilled Chicken Bun.
Big meaty tender free-range chicken thighs had been grilled to perfection and placed in a toasted brioche with tomato, onion, and lettuce and a magical Alabama White Sauce containing lip-tingling horseradish and cayenne pepper that made this the best chicken burger I think I have ever tasted.
So, if you are lucky enough to live near Baste BBQ I promise it will banish any lockdown blues perfectly — give me a wave if you spot me in the queue.
