Jamie Oliver has just opened a brand new restaurant in Dublin and we tried some of the show-stopping dishes on the menu.
Chequer Lane, located on Exchequer Street, invited us to a special afternoon of sampling each dish from the menu. We got a chance to try lots of different dishes and for us, there were some clear stand-outs.
Entering the chic eatery, you'll be taken aback by the brightness of the place as well as the stylish bar where some rather elegant cocktails are made. While the space definitely gives off fine dining vibes, comfort is not compromised when it comes to the seating.
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Starting with some sourdough bread with butter and sea salt tells you everything you need to know about what's to come next. The food is simple but does what it's supposed to do, and does it very, very well, with the flavours of dishes carefully perfected.
To start, appetisers we sampled included the Scotch Egg, Scallop Crudo and Burrata. The scotch egg was the dish most packed with flavour, giving off the saltiness we look for in this kind of English fare. The Burrata, meanwhile, came with a gorgeously fresh salsa.
Next up was the seafood platter, stacked with shellfish delights such as Dublin Bay Prawns, Naked Oysters With Trimmings, Dressed Crab and Pickled Mussels. At €55 per serving, it will be more than enough to fill up two people, so we're lucky we had some help and were able to save room for the feast on its way to us.
The mains we got to try included the Chicken Kiev, Chequer Fish & Chips, Grain Salad and the Mixed Grill For Two. There's a lot to unpack here, so strap in.
One of the stand-outs among the mains was by far the Fish & Chips for its sheer size and the fall-apart freshness of the cod encased in the beer batter. The Grain Salad, somewhat surprisingly, also stole the show.
Salad can suffer from a bad reputation for being something we opt for instead of a more pleasurable dish, but that's not the case here. The salad was full of spice, with half an avocado in the centre surrounded by roasted roots, greens, yoghurt, harissa, dukkah and pomegranate. It is more than filling and will be enjoyed by those with a tongue for some spice.
The Mixed Grill For Two is a meat-lover's dream, consisting of coffee lamb chops, flat iron steak, Cumberland sausage, bone marrow, liver and toast. The sausage was beautifully packed full of interesting spices while the steak was nicely cooked rare.
Our final venture on this busy foodie journey was the desserts. While two of the mains already made a great impression, a certain dessert was about to steal the show.
The Creme Brulee was light and sweet while the Hot Chocolate was luscious and rich, consisting of gooey baked chocolate mousse and salted caramel ice cream. But the dessert that really blew us away was the Sticky Toffee.
The hot date sponge covered in toffee sauce simply melted on the tongue and proved a real treat for anyone with an insatiable sweet tooth. No matter what kind of starter or main you opt for, we highly recommend indulging in a Sticky Toffee when visiting this place.
Simple Irish and British fare aims to prove that quality is key at Chequer Lane. In a modern restaurant scene full of theatrics, launching a brand new venture with a menu of dishes known and loved by generations is a brave move, but one that will ultimately prove successful with attention to detail and carefully crafted flavour combinations at the fore.
Chequer Lane is located at 25–27 Exchequer St Dublin 2. You can book a table at Chequer Lane here.
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