Restaurant review: Wrapped up in warmth of Big Mike’s

A big hug of a restaurant with generous seafood platters and a warm welcome

Sat, 29 Oct, 2022 - 02:05

Leslie Williams

Big Mike’s
Rock Hill, Blackrock, Dublin A94C2N7
Tel: 01 551 0332
www.michaels.ie

“Go big or go home” goes the cliché; for Gaz Smith it’s a life philosophy. Big Mike’s is Gaz’s new restaurant, a sister venue to Michael’s in Mount Merrion (and the more casual Little Mike’s).

I’ve praised both so was looking forward to trying the big brother which opened just a month ago at the front of Blackrock Shopping Centre.

At this stage, Big Mike’s is a larger shinier version of Michael’s but Gaz tells me that he is still figuring out exactly what Big Mike’s will become — right now it is Michael’s writ large.

Seven of us descended on the place on a rainy Sunday evening recently, and a few of us remarked on the warm welcome. The menu is short, with a choice of seven starters, mains such as steak-frites and pasta ragu, plus Gaz’s signature seafood platters.

Big Mike's restaurant in Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan

A (gratis) amuse bouche of crispy ham hock arancini croquettes felt like a statement of intent. The salty-sweet hock in its crunchy crumb was a big flavour and Gaz had doubled down by sitting them on a zingy lemon aïoli with a punchy chilli-garlic dressing on the side. I could have eaten ten.

Confit duck and wild mushroom arancini (€11) were meaty and rich, Fivemiletown Goat’s Cheese mousse (€11) was creamy-light, but had pleasing contrast from beetroot and pistachio crumbs, while a clementine dressing added tang.

Seared yellowfin tuna (€16) was a standout, the tuna pristinely fresh and barely seared to make it closer to sashimi, A yuzu jelly, some nutty sesame and soy flavours, and a dashi dressing rounded out the flavours nicely without overwhelming the tuna.

My wild boar pâté-en-croûte (€11), was a half-inch slice of meaty deliciousness while oat-fed mussels in a “zappy lime leaf and coconut curry sauce” (€10) were indeed ‘zappy’, and a creative tasty take on this much-underrated shellfish.

Next came our platters, designed for two but big enough to feed three. The seafood platter had prawns, dressed crab, lobster fishcakes, cockles and mussels, Dublin Bay prawns and a medium-sized black sole, all dressed with a rich Béarnaise sauce.

Surf ‘n’ Turf (with Rick Higgins Fillet Steak) was similar plus a whole sea bream with sweet delicately flaking flesh.

Chateaubriand (€100) meanwhile was a generous pile of flavourful rare beef with a pepper sauce for dipping. Chips were not Gaz’s usual crispy perfection, but they came close enough.

The drinks menu is nicely chosen and has at least 15 wines I would be happy to order; a significantly higher hit rate than usual. Names like Judith Beck, Château Le Puy, Roda and others showed that wine director Jules Mahon knows exactly what she is doing.

We began with a light crisp Passoa da Vinha Vinho Verde which was perhaps a little too light, but was still well worth its €30. Altos de Torona Godello (€41) was textured and generously flavoured so a good match for the seafood, while two bottles of black-cherry flavoured Pepe Mendoza Monastrell (€48) had been cooled down a few degrees at my request by our efficient, attentive and rather brilliant sommelier on the night, Pascal.

The dessert menu had just two options: a rich chocolate orange cake (€9) made with quality dark chocolate; and ‘Old School Sticky Toffee Pudding’ (€9) with a butterscotch sauce which could have been a bit stickier.

Big Mike’s has generous cooking with big flavours (as big as Gaz’s personality), and we left smiling with bulging waistlines. It’s not perfect yet, but my son’s comment rather sums it up: “It’s a glutton’s paradise.”

The Tab

Dinner for seven with seven starters, sharing platters, desserts, and four bottles of wine cost €562.50 — a very fair €80.35 per person.

How To:

Wednesday — Thursday 4-11pm

Friday — Saturday: 12pm-12.30am

Sunday: 12-11pm

(subject to change — 7 day opening is coming soon)

The Verdict:

Food: 8.5/10

Drink: 9/10

Service: 9.5/10

Ambience: 8.5/10