Restaurant review: Dublin's branch of Hawksmoor is impressive for a chain restaurant
Hawksmoor in Dublin
- Hawksmoor
- 34 College Green, Dublin 2, D02C850.
- Tel: 01-4854720
- www.hawksmoor.ie
- Mon - Tues: 5-9pm; Wed - Sat: 12-2pm, 5-9pm; Sun - 12-8pm
- Dinner for Two including Starters, Mains and Desserts each, plus sides and a bottle of Wine cost a not unreasonable €171.10.
What would Daniel O’Connell think? This was my thought as I sat in the Italianate neoclassical splendour of the former National Bank (1845), a bank founded by The Liberator himself.
The English Steakhouse chain Hawksmoor (and the 1845 architects) have done a truly stunning job with the interior which is light-filled and airy with comfortable banquettes, understated lighting and warm dark wood everywhere you look.
Would O’Connell have thought “More bloody English coming over here to exploit our resources!”? Or would he have thought, as I confess I did, thank God someone with taste got hold of this beautiful building?
My choice of guest for Hawksmoor had to be my old butcher friend Dave Lang of the Craft Butchers Association who has been preparing, cutting and thinking about beef for over 50 years and knows as much as there is to know - he is not easily impressed.
He was impressed with his Fillet Carpaccio (€14) which was simply dressed with some rocket, parmesan and sliced onion and was declared ‘properly hung’ and given ‘full marks’ for flavour. I have to agree, the meat was wafer-thin but still tasted rich and beefy.
My Andarl Farm Pork Ribs (€14) were sweet and succulent and served with ‘vinegar slaw’ - the meat tender and almost luscious, edged with contrasting smoky charcoal flavours from the grill.
The vinegar slaw had a strong hit of malt vinegar (Sarsons?) which I confess I found difficult to love, but it did serve its intended purpose and cut (scythe-like) through the porky intensity.
Amid discussions of longissimus muscles and hanging techniques, we agreed (as per usual) that the best flavours are always to be found in working rather than sedentary muscles so we settled on a Rump and a Sirloin cooked rare and rare-to-medium - the latter involving a detailed discussion with our (very attentive) server as to the exact level of redness and configuration of long-chain proteins.
The steaks arrived alarmingly naked but we soon decorated our plates with properly tasty mash & gravy (€5), Beef Dripping Fries (€5.50) and sauces (€3.50 each).
Both steaks were perfect - seasoned, cooked exactly as ordered, and with rich grassy sweet flavours. The 300g Rump (€26.10) was firmer with a denser more mineral taste while my 350g Sirloin (€36) was almost floral with a delightful lingering nutty-beefy-herbal flavour.
My generous jug of Béarnaise was excellent with the tangy richness of the hollandaise offset nicely by the anise of the tarragon and spikes of lemon acidity.
The Butcher’s peppercorn sauce meanwhile was watery, too sweet, and barely tasted of pepper.
Our ‘beef-dripping’ fries were thin McDonalds-style frozen frites with no discernable beef flavour - stick with the triple-cooked chips, as the one I stole from our neighbouring table was excellent.
Hawksmoor’s wine list is large with 200+ wines and includes a good selection of ‘Wine Geese’ wines such as Ch. Léoville Barton 2008 (€285). A few more wines under €50 are needed, but at least the bottles at the lower end are well chosen.
Our organic Monastrell (€41) from Famillia Castaña in Yecla near Valencia was fruit driven and matched our steak well. Note: there is a Monday Wine Club which charges just €5 corkage if you bring your own.
For dessert my Sticky Toffee Sundae (€8.50) was a treacle-tinted light sponge topped with fine quality ‘clotted cream’ ice cream drizzled with a toffee sauce.
The Butcher opted for Hawksmoor’s take on the Alain Ducasse ‘Dessert Louis’ (€10) - a sort of chocolate mousse biscuit to which they have added peanut butter - it is virtually perfect.
Hawksmoor’s prices at the top end can be stratospheric but just keep in mind that the cheaper beef cuts always have more flavour and you will do fine. Alternatively, visit for Sunday Roast which is just €23 per person or on a Monday for the €5 corkage
For the very first time in my eating (and reviewing) life I am glad that a UK-based chain has come to Dublin - Hawksmoor isn’t perfect but it does the most important things very well.
- Food: 8/10
- Wine: 8/10
- Service: 8.5/10
- Ambiance: 9/10
- Value: 7.5/10
- In a Sentence: Hawksmoor is serving outstanding quality steak in a truly beautiful room - it’s not perfect, but it is fairly close.
