Restaurant review: A talented new chef brings art and value to the table at hip Margadh RHA
Margadh Cafe & Wine Bar, RHA Gallery, Dublin Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
The great French food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin famously said that the invention of a new dish conferred more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star.
With apologies to my astrophysicist son, I have to agree.
What reminded me of this quote was not actually a new dish but the revival of an old one by chef Cathal Leonard, a simple but utterly delicious bowl of potato dauphines, of which more later.
I last reviewed Margadh in May 2024 when Leticia Miranda was at the helm, (she is now head head chef in Orwell Road). Margadh (Irish for ‘market’) is from the creative team behind the excellent Mamó folk in Howth, and has had a few chefs over the years. All have stayed true to the market-led menu and kept their focus on the joy of eating.
Cathal Leonard’s last claim to fame was the missed Potager in Skerries, so it is wonderful to see him be given a new platform for his creativity and flair. Margadh is open weekdays from 10am every day except Monday, serving snacks and lunch, with an à la carte menu available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch.
We visited on a warm Thursday evening in April and the small restaurant had a nice buzz with a mix of diners, the plain white walls and tables a nod to the gallery space next door. The menu is short with a choice of three snacks, starters, and mains. Three courses cost €47, four for €53 and there is an extensive wine list.
We began with a snack of tuna tartare (€7) on delicate feather-light rice crackers, the tender sweet fish enlivened by black sesame seeds, while blobs of avocado purée added creamy textures and a grassy freshness.
My guest’s starter of beetroot and ricotta agnolotti (€15) was a delightful dark magenta colour and had the perfect texture, firm but yielding with a pleasing silkiness. Pickled walnut pesto was a fine contrast, as were cubes of al dente beetroot, while a whey foam added a light milky accent.
Asparagus and smoked duck (€16) was another creative combination, two large spears of crunchy, vibrant new season asparagus offset by some delicately smoked duck and a punchy horseradish sauce. Red sorrel leaves added a citrusy kick and were so much more than a decoration.
If our starters sang of springtime there was a more wintery touch to our mains, April after all being a transitional month for the larder. Potato gnocchi (€29) was paired with oyster mushrooms, red and white onions, and a sweet onion mushroom jus. The joy that is correctly braised onions shone bright in the dish, sweet, savoury, and packed with an almost brothy umami flavour. The best thing about the dish was its composition and mix of textures, the weightier doughy gnocchi versus the sweet onions, offset by the caramelised sticky fennel and pops of sweetness and acidity from black garlic and crunchy herbal notes from a scattering of pea shoots.
My braised lamb (€34), meanwhile, broke easily into sweet fleshy flakes while its herbal crust added pops of brightness, bonus creamy-meaty sweetbreads popped with flavour while a slow cooked baby gem added crunch and sweet green flavours, and a rich jus held all the flavours together.
I mentioned the potato dauphines (€6.50) already, fluffy crunchy croquettes of potato made by mixing choux pastry and mash and then deep frying them. They were one of the best things I’ve eaten in the last year. Even if you don’t get to go for lunch, call in some Thursday for a bowl of them plus a glass of riesling. You won’t regret it.
Margadh’s wine list is a reason to visit on its own, a hugely diverse selection of around 80 wines with prices starting at €39. As well as the classic European regions you would expect, wines from across the global wine world plus orange wines and chilled natural reds with a good emphasis on organic and biodynamic producers.
My guest’s glass of ‘Zahringer’ weissburgunder (chardonnay) from Baden (€11.50) was pleasingly crisp and clean, while my glass of Lebanese Massaya ‘tempranillo blend’ (€12) was bright and juicy with an earthy complexity. Unfortunately, as a result of the warm day the wine arrived at blood temperature so to find those flavours I had to drop in an ice cube for a few seconds to bring it down to the correct temperature.
We finished with a dessert of barely sweetened poached rhubarb (€12) with a creamy nutty white chocolate icecream and a lemon sorbet. Once again texture was an important focus of the dish. Leonard is cooking creative, thoughtfully composed dishes and Margadh is selling them at very fair prices: Put it on your short list.
- Dinner for two plus two glasses of wine cost €124
- margadh-rha.ie
