Restaurant review: Parrilla is a true taste of Mexico in Dublin
Parilla Mexican restuarant in Ranelagh, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney
- Parrilla Restaurant
- 7-9 Sandford Road, Ranelagh, D06E519
- parrillaranelagh.com
- Tel: 01-4970122
- Open: Tuesday-Sunday: 5-11.30pm; Closed Monday
- The bill: Dinner for two including several bites, large mains and desserts, plus cocktails and beers cost €173.10
Mexico is having a moment, certainly in its food offering in Dublin. There are too many spots to mention, but I am happy to highlight Masa Taqueria which now has two branches and makes their own masa: Pickostito Taqueria on Little Mary Street (run by Mexican expats); and John Farrell’s long-established 777, plus his new place Suertudo in Ranelagh (which replaced Dillingers).
Parrilla got to Ranelagh first having opened in the late summer of 2024 and is 100m up the road from Suertudo, and 450m from Parrilla’s sister restaurant Mak, which serves Hong Kong dim sum.
Parrilla’s room is comfortable and bright, with booths and table seating arranged around the sides of the central (and all important) bar area. The room has a bit of a party feel and will work well for large groups, although our table for two was equally comfortable.
My guest was Mexican cook Lily Ramirez-Foran, author of (Blasta Books) and owner of Picado Mexican Grocer, which will soon have a second branch on Cork Street featuring retail, a cookery school, test kitchen, and a mill for making fresh ‘nixtamalised’ masa dough to order with Mexican heirloom corn.
Parrilla’s menu is split into ‘bites’, ‘tacos’ and ‘grill’, and is 90% Mexican with just a couple of extra dishes such as empanada (South American) and padron peppers (Galician). Chips and guac (€10) were a must-order, and what arrived was a properly generous portion with a large bowl of guacamole which was nicely seasoned and pleasingly chunky. Also on the board was a piquant, tasty salsa verde and a blander, less-successful salsa roja. We soon finished off the purple and yellow tortilla chips and a free refill was quickly provided.
Pork carnita sopes (€13) with refried beans and slow-cooked pork was meaty and umami-rich, although the sopes (fried masa dough) themselves could have done with some sides to stop the generous topping from sliding off.
Fish tacos (€13) of beer-battered cod with guac and chipotle mayo worked very well, as did grilled sweet, tangy and spicy pineapple chunks (€8), although I think they might be even better if served warm.
We greedily ordered two mains and both performed brilliantly. Slow-roasted duck carnita (€34), inspired by Cosme’s sublime signature dish in New York, was rich and satisfying with a sweet-savoury and lightly smoky flavour, offset by a pineapple pico and served with corn tortillas (which we felt could have been a little thinner and kept warm in a tea towel).
Slow-cooked pork birra ribs (€26) from the grill were also enormously satisfying with complex savoury, meaty, spicy flavours. I tasted adobo, garlic, clove, tomato and smoke notes but that is scraping the surface and barely does them service. Charred corn (€7) was a fine accompaniment, but the crispy potatoes (€7) were disappointing with barely any crisp noticeable.
Parrilla has around 25 wines listed with prices starting at €28 for a basic Spanish red or white, and a mix of the usual suspects such as gavi, chablis, Argentinian malbec and rioja. Much more interesting is their cocktail list, which seems to be linked to Casamigos Tequila, once owned by George Clooney but now owned by Diageo.
My verdita margarita (€15) made with tequila, Cointreau, avocado syrup and verdita juice was sophisticated and beautifully balanced. Lily’s paloma (€14.50) — made from tequila, grapefruit sherbet and grapefruit soda — was tangy, refreshing, and ‘just about perfect’ she declared. We also had two Modelo beers, arguably Mexico’s best lager, which I think suited the food and our mood better than any of the wines.
Desserts were very fairly priced at €6 and the winner by far was a warm corn cake, a fluffy soft lightly sweet sponge made from cornflour and topped with popcorn, cream, and ice-cream on the side with a moreish dulce de leche. My white chocolate tart was a sort of rich milk tart with good white chocolate flavours offset by raspberry coulis.
Service throughout the evening was personable and welcoming, and staff had good knowledge of the drinks and dishes on offer. They also dealt professionally with a complaint about our crab tostadas, which we both felt did not taste quite fresh. A manager came to talk to us and they were removed from the bill with lots of apologies. We left Parrilla with doggy bags containing enough food to provide us both with lunch the following day, and waddled out fully sated and happy. I’m fairly certain you will too.
Food: 7.5/10
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8.5/10
Value: 7.5/10
