Cow Lane Tapas shows why Stoneybatter is a foodies paradise
Culinary quarters can make a city more interesting and vibrant. Foodies, love visiting these places, mainly because you have a lot of interesting restaurants to choose from. One of my favourite cities is London and I have eaten in its various cultural quarters. My brother used to live in Notting Hill. I loved its wide variety of restaurants, such as The Electric Diner, The Elgin, The Mitre, The Ladbroke Arms, and Portobello Gold.
I also loved the Portobello Road market which took place every Saturday. It was great to grab something from the numerous food stalls. Before going to watch some live music as our food was consumed. The last meal I had in London was in the Notting Hill branch of Carluccios. Lovely wholesome, hearty, Italian food and the actor Colin Firth was sitting behind me and my brother with his children.
Other culinary quarters
As I am a curry lover, I just had to visit Brick Lane the mecca of British Curry. A street lined with Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani curry houses. You won’t walk away disappointed and will be spoilt for choice. The Marble Arch area has some great restaurants including a hidden gem, The Salt Whisky Bar and Dining Room. Which combines two of my passion’s, whiskey, and Indian cuisine. Having the largest whiskey menu in London, the Salt Whisky Bar and Dining Room also serves a mean Biryani.
Another area in London that has great restaurants is Covent Garden and I have eaten there on numerous occasions. Including the Big Easy Bar BQ & Crabshack, Maxwell’s Bar & Grill, Shake Shack and Jamie Oliver’s Union Jacks. Covent Garden is just a stone’s throw from Leicester Square, and close to Piccadilly Circus and Charring Cross. All in all, culinary quarters make cities come alive, just think of China Town in San Francisco.
Dublin also has its own culinary districts including around Camden Street, Capel Street, around Grafton Street, Ranelagh, Stoneybatter, and Temple Bar. Each of these districts features all types of food for all types of prices. Fine dining, casual dining and cheap and cheerful happily mixing side by side. Asian cuisine, burger joints, chippers, nouvelle cuisine and pizzerias offering you a wide variety of choice.
This week’s restaurant is?
Well, having mentioned culinary quarters, it will come as no surprise when this week’s restaurant is based in one. The culinary quarter I am referring to is Stoneybatter and the restaurant is Cow Lane Tapas. Opening on March 12th, 2020, where Beo Wine Bar+Kitchen used to be, it did not stay open long. The pandemic hit, and on the day, it opened, Leo made his lockdown announcement to the nation.
It has since reopened delivering takeaways and you can now eat in person. Cow Lane Tapas has gotten rave reviews and is very popular with foodies. That should come as no surprise. Since it’s a sister restaurant of the very popular restaurant Mi Thai, based in the same street in Stoneybatter. Cow Lane Tapas as the name suggests do Spanish foods and according to online reviews, they do it rather well.
So what did I order?
Well, I wanted something hearty and wholesome and I remembered having previously looked up the menu Cow Lane Tapas. On the menu was Cow Lane Beef Stew, which I quickly ordered from the Just Eat app. Slow-cooked tender Irish beef with our smokey spicy tomato sauce potatoes and mixed peppers was how the menu described it. The stew was also described as gluten free which is perfect for any coeliacs out there.
So how was my Meal?
What I ordered arrived neatly packaged and warm.
The beef was lovely and tender and potatoes came in lovely big chunks. It tasted like a stew should with a nice kick to it and vegetables plus their juices added into the mix.
The only issue I had as a fussy eater is that some of the vegetables came in large chunks. This resulted in me only eating the vegetables that were in smaller pieces.
Ordering again from Cow Lane Tapas is a no brainer. The food was just as expected and did the trick but I would try the chefs meatballs next time. It was nice to try a stew that was a bit different in that it had a spicy kick.
So what did my meal cost?
The Beef Stew cost €11.95. With a service charge of €0.50, and a delivery fee of €3.00. The bill came to €15.45.
Cow Lane Tapas, 50a Manor St, Stoneybatter, Dublin, D07 FV09
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