Hellfire is the latest exciting addition to Dublin’s restaurant scene
As we start a New Year, I briefly look back at an interesting year. The Covid-19 pandemic is still having an effect, resulting in restaurants closing or raising their prices. Talking of restaurants closing, one of my favourites, Fasta closed, and I can sadly see a few more restaurants closing this year.
The lunchtime carvery has practically disappeared. O’Neills Pub on Suffolk Street that used to do a legendary all day carvery has now changed their menu. Another pub that used to a great carvery is the Lagoona Bar in the IFSC. Now opening at 3pm they just offer their bar food menu.
As I look forward to visiting more old and new restaurants this year. I also look forward to introducing something new to this blog which readers will love. Starting from today, this blog will make it easier to find the restaurants I review, as I bring in a new addition. Video intro’s of each restaurant so you can actually see where the restaurant is.
One thing that I always look forward to is seeing a new restaurant open, especially after the strange previous three years. This neatly leads me on to this week’s restaurant which opened earlier this week, and enticed me with the cuisine it served. I had briefly mentioned Hellfire to William. Once he saw the menu on their website, he wanted to go here. So I booked us a table online.
This week’s restaurant is?
When I took the video it was a windy day, so please excuse the sound quality. Hellfire has been creating quite a buzz on Instagram, teasing us as it got everything one hundred percent ready before it opened. Offering contemporary European cuisine with an emphasis on Italian and steakhouse influences. You will have also noticed that Hellfire’s location looks familiar and that’s because in a previous life it was Thai Orchard.
Hellfire is the brainchild of the Italian Chef Roberto Rapisardi who has 35 years’ experience at home in Naples and abroad. This experience shows in the menu that tantalises your tastebuds and is a meat lovers paradise. So, if you are vegetarian this may not be the restaurant for you, as the menu has limited vegetarian options.
Utilising Ireland’s first Hornos HBE® charcoal oven, matched with the best of local produce, bringing you the finest, smoked, flamed and roasted food experience. Their meat supplier is my parents local butcher Higgins in Sutton, one of Dublin’s top butchers. Their seafood supplier is Kish Fish in Howth Harbour. With that quality of suppliers, you know you are going to have a great meal.
Arriving at the restaurant during a quiet period, gave us the opportunity to pick where we would sit. This resulted in us seating upstairs which as you can see below was spacious.
If you want something a little different you can sit by the open kitchen.
What I like about open kitchen is that they offer you something unique. A birds eye view of your meal being prepared. Making your dining experience more enjoyable and exciting.
What did I order?
We both decided to forego starters and deserts and just order a main. The menu offered a variety, of meat dishes, fish dishes, pasta and pizza, alongside some homemade focaccia with a variety of sandwich fillings. Before we ordered, we were shown a meat board, seen below which showcased some of the meat and sausages available on the menu.
The spare ribs looked great but they came with sweet potato fries which I am not fond of. The Pollo Piri-Piri was what we both went for in the end, and that came with hand-cut chunky fries. To accompany our meals we had two beers, O’Hara’s IPA and Estrella Galicia Premium.
How was my meal?
A few minutes after we ordered we were offered a complimentary tasting plate as we waited for our main courses. The tasting plate consisted of 3 slices of toasted focaccia bread topped with some pork lard. You can see below one of the slices of focaccia bread which tasted lovely.
The pork lard was salty but it was not too salty and it was a nice touch by the restaurant to offer us the focaccia bread.
Our main courses soon arrived and as you can see below we got two pieces of chicken on the bone.
You will also notice the corn on the cob, hand-cut chunky fries, tomato and dipping sauce that accompanied our main courses.
Our spiced & succulent boneless organic chicken legs were soaked in a 24-hour house citrus marinade before been cooked. As I am not a fan of garlic, especially when used as a main ingredient in dishes like garlic bread. If garlic was used in the preparation of our chicken. I hoped it would not be too overpowering. I could not detect a hint of garlic. So, any fellow fussy eaters out there who are not fond of garlic there is no need to worry.
Tasting delicious and crispy with no dryness. Our chickens were cooked to perfection. Adding to the flavour of the Chicken was the Hornos HBE® charcoal oven they were cooked in. The hand-cut chunky fries were perfect and tasted oh so nice. The portion we got was just the right amount. The cooked tomato was delicious but as I am not a corn fan I did not try the corn on the cob. After we finished our meal, William had a Latte which he enjoyed.
What did my meal cost?
Our main courses cost €16 each, our two beers cost €7 each and the Latte cost €3.50. This brought the final bill to €49.50 before tips. The food was wonderful and the waiter and waitress, Nabila and Jesus really looked after us. The quality of service, food suppliers and décor inside the restaurant combined to give us an enjoyable experience. Hellfire is a restaurant that I can highly recommend. Your tastebuds and stomach will thank you and where else will you see Jesus in hell?
Hellfire, 7 Westmoreland St, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 XF76
See more reviews here.