Restaurant Review: Dublin's Allta hits all the right notes
The interior of Allta, Dublin
- Allta
- 1 Three Locks Square, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, D02A5W7
- allta.ie
- Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday: 5.45-11pm; Lunch: Friday noon; Closed: Sunday-Monday
- Dinner for two with cocktails, starters, mains, sides and desserts plus a bottle of wine cost €197.00
It seems like only last week that I was on the 5th floor of a car park in central Dublin in a state of reverie.
In fact, it was in February 2022 that I ate in that Allta pop-up and wrote probably the most laudatory review I’ve ever written.
Well, chef Niall Davidson is back in a new purpose-built home in Dublin docklands combining the best elements of their original venue on Setanta Place (now Library St.) with that infamous car park.
The dining room is large and open with a full view of the kitchen but felt intimate thanks to thoughtful lighting and spacing.
The Glove Box lounge area meanwhile has comfortable couches, a fancy sound system, and a proper cocktail list - expect live jazz and DJ sets once it launches properly.
Allta’s menu is familiarly short and focused with snacks, small plates, sides and mains and includes fresh pasta and show-stopping grilled options. I was optimistic but apprehensive.
Whole baby Union Hall Shrimps calmed me - simply grilled and seasoned with a yuzu-dulse tartare for dipping on the side.
These were popped into our mouths whole, with just a smear of yuzu-dulse sauce - the crunchy soft shells mingling with the sweet flesh and making for a joyful and rather visceral beginning.
Next, a crisp finger of Rosti (€6.50) topped with salt-popping trout roe and smoked trout smeared with a horseradish cultured cream - spuds and fish, the way to my heart.
Cabbage is not the way to my heart usually but grilled January King Cabbage (€17) had pleasing charred elements to cut through the sweet-bitter flavours.
A Cáis na Tíre cheese sauce and luscious lardo added silk, while hazelnuts added crunch and a spicy XO sauce added heat and vivacity. A rather glorious way to celebrate an underrated seasonal vegetable.
BBQ rabbit (€26) with fresh cavatelli pasta shells had a creamy tangy buttermilk sauce and some capers to cut through the doughy sweetness and really didn’t need the rabbit at all.
The only off note of the night for me was the lack of anything ‘bbq’ about the pleasingly delicate rabbit which had more of a steamed flavour.
Achill Island Mutton Leg (€34) was revelatory however, immaculate sweet flesh with salty Achill air in the background - I may have imagined that last bit, but I was in a bit of a reverie it tasted so good.
Carrot purée and grilled sweet carrots added extra sweetness to mingle with the meaty lamb jus, and a handful of clams added fleshy salty umami.
The wine list has 41 well-chosen wines and is split between sparkling, orange, red and white with prices starting at €39.
Our bottle of Little Odisseia Douro red was served pleasingly cool and its earthy dark fruits were a perfect match for the pasta and mutton in particular.
For dessert, there were three sweet choices and a cheese plate (€12) from the incomparable Lost Valley folk in Carraignamuc in West Cork.
Given we had a large block left over from Christmas we opted for the soft serve sheep yoghurt ice cream (€8.50), and the chocolate sabayon tart (€11).
The third option of a half-dozen spelt madeleines (€8) seemed more suited to a group.
The Engineer does not have a sweet tooth and needed persuasion, but there were no regrets.
The silky smooth ‘soft-serve’ had a light tang countered by candy sweetness from rhubarb syrup, but the whole was given spiky, lip-numbing tension with the addition of szechuan pepper.
My chocolate sabayon tart had intense dark chocolate cream that barely held itself together, a bit like Sally Field in that infamous Oscar speech.
The flavours just burst out and it was tough not to shove the whole thing into my mouth.
The desserts were a strong highlight of the meal (the Engineer’s favourite course she declared). We were later told that the pastry chef is relatively new to pastry - you would never guess..
So you better get booking, it won’t be easy to get into the main dining room for a while, but remember that Glove Box accepts walk-ins and will be easier to access once it officially launches in the coming weeks.
I can’t think of a better way to while away an evening than sipping cocktails and lounging on one of the couches while I munch on Union Hall Shrimp watching live jazz.
Welcome back Allta, we missed you.
- Food: 9/10
- Wine: 9/10
- Service: 9/10
- Ambience: 9/10
- Value: 8/10
