Restaurant review: A joyous Italian meal and a Ferrero Rocher Dome at Rosa Madre

The Rosa Madre wine list is always good but since my last visit has been turbocharged with a new temperature-controlled cellar

Sun, 28 Nov, 2021 - 15:07

Rosa Madre, 7 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
5pm - 11pm Tuesday-Saturday
rosamadre.ie
Tel: 01-5511206
Instagram @rosamadredublin

I miss Italy. Before you-know-what I would travel there at least a couple of times a year to visit vineyards and it is now more than two years since my last trip.

I’m happiest in wine country — wherever that happens to be — but there is something about the joy and enthusiasm that Italians bring to wine, food, design, and living in general that makes me want to live there.

Rosa Madre restaurant might be the next best thing — the creation of Luca de Marzio who acts as sommelier and as the restaurant’s ebullient and ever-enthusiastic host. Luca is as Italian as you could possibly imagine and I love him for it, even his outrageous studded sneakers (possibly Gucci!).

Seafood is a specialty here so we start with that. A fat juicy Rockall Squid (€22) had been cross-hatched and artfully dismembered and quickly cooked with some baby carrots and butternut squash purée to add extra sweetness. Tender, squeaky, and succulent it is no wonder our squid fishermen are in dispute with the English over possession of Rockall. My own starter of Gratinated Wexford Scallops had been topped with Parmesan and breadcrumbs and simply grilled with the flesh pert and translucent.

Rosa Madre makes their own fresh pasta which is now widely available in gourmet shops and helped the restaurant get through the lockdowns while creating a new business — buy it if you see it. A half portion of Linguine with Irish Clams (€18) was creamy and sweet with the briny clams adding a pleasing counterpoint to the silky al-dente pasta while a half portion of Pappardelle with Porcini (€15) was even better, rich and flavourful and a perfect Autumn dish.

A whole turbot (€70 for 2) had been simply oven-baked with some sliced potatoes, garlic, rosemary, olives, and tomatoes and was then artfully carved and plated up at the table. The pristine firm Turbot flesh and the crispy roasted potatoes were off-set with a classic tangy beurre blanc and the tomatoes and olives added welcome salty Mediterranean zing. A pitch-perfect match for our ‘Bianco Pomice’ white from Sicily.

André Correia in the wine cellar at Rosa Madre restaurant in Crow St., Temple Bar. Photograph: Moya Nolan

‘Bianco Pomice’, as the name suggests, is a reference to the Sicilian volcanic soil which was particularly noticeable in its flinty freshness. Scents of lemon verbena and wild herbs with citrus tones and a stony mineral kick on the finish — another gem imported by Taste of Italy in Wexford.

The Rosa Madre wine list is always good but since my last visit has been turbocharged with a new temperature-controlled cellar where you can find bottles of Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tâche nestling beside bottles of Sassicaia and Ornellaia and lots and lots of Champagne. If you’ve ever wanted to sabre off the top of a Champagne bottle it is Rosa Madre’s speciality — we witnessed it twice during our meal.

For our two desserts (€19) we went North and South, beginning with a large Sicilian Cannolo (singular) filled with sweet ricotta and pistachio in a crisp shell. We particularly liked that the filling was not over-sweetened or pulped so that the texture and flavour of the ricotta cheese offered a pleasing contrast with the crisp shell.

Next was a joyous thing — ‘Ferrero Rocher Dome’ created by patisserie chef extraordinaire, Karen Smith, who works with a few of Dublin’s restaurants (Created by Karen is her brand). This was effectively a fist-sized homage to every Ambassador’s favourite chocolate with a hazelnut mousse in the centre plus a whole hazelnut, surrounded by hazelnut and milk chocolate cremeux and some feuilletine wafer flakes for texture. It was a triumph.

It wasn’t just our dessert, this was a joyous meal overall from the freshness and simplicity of the ingredients to the assured cooking and the charming staff. We didn’t need that whole roast Turbot on top of

our pasta and shellfish but it was the right decision — an Italian diner would have probably ordered Champagne as well, perhaps next time.

The Tab:

Dinner for two including two shellfish starters, two pasta dishes, a shared whole Turbot, two desserts and a bottle of Sicilian white wine cost a very fair €221.

The Verdict: