Rasam, Glasthule Road, Glasthule

Rasam is often described as the best Indian restaurant in Ireland so needless to say my expectations were high in visiting this restaurant which is above a pub on the main street of Glasthule. 

The decor is refined and comfortable.  On a Sunday evening the restaurant was two thirds full so there was a nice atmosphere and a relaxing ambience.  They offer an early bird every evening from 5.30-7pm except Saturdays and it includes a starter, main course, rice, plain naan, side dish and tea/coffee.  This seemed like good value as the main courses on the a la carte menu were around €17.

The menu is interesting, and slightly different from your typical Indian fare.  For starter I went for the calamari, as I’d never seen it on the menu in an Indian restaurant so I wanted to see how it would be done.  The squid was perfectly cooked inside a semolina batter.  It was accompanied by a home-made tomato chutney, which was very nice, but there was just not enough of it.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable and elegant starter.

Rob went for the Pork Chatpata, which was pork meat marinated in chili and mango powder and served with peppers.  The meat was tender and flavoursome and again the presentation was good.

For main course I went for the safe option of chicken tikka, which was served with a spicy tomato sauce.  The chicken was moist and there was lots of it.  The sauce was just the right level of spice for my tastes, however there could have been a bit more depth to the flavour.  The accompanying rice was fluffly rather than fragrant but was still nice.  The naan bread was excellent.  It was thin and slightly charred; just the way it should be. The side dish of potatoes with mustard seeds added another dimension to the meal and all in all it was a considerable amount of food.

Rob had the Kosha Mangso, which was lamb flavoured with fennel, peppercorn, curry leaves and finished with coconut milk.  It did not look very appealing as the sauce looked like thick gravy and there was something overpowering in the spice blend which was quite an unusual taste and made the dish difficult to finish.

I would definately return to this restaurant as the flavours being used are more exciting than an average Indian restaurant.  The dining room is very pleasant, as were the staff.  A nice bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc for €20 was also favourably received.

 

Skinflint, 19 Crane Lane, Dublin 2

Skinflint is tucked away down a laneway just past the Olympia theatre in the premises of the pop-up Crackbird restaurant early last year (before it moved to South William St).  Although it is sister restaurant to Jo’Burger and Crackbird, Skinflint is not a pop-up, but is here to stay if successful.

The decor is great with a modern New York style urban feel.  The table are old doors covered with wood.  Like Crackbird it is dark and the seating is high stools and slightly tight if busy, so not really a place for a long, relaxing meal.

The speciality here is pizza, but these are not your regular bog-standard pizzas.  The toppings are very unusual – there’s no ham and pineapple, but there is a varied aray of cured hams and meats.  There are also lunchtime wraps (torpedos) and a daily special. 

 I went for the Maria pizza, which listed potato, truffle oil, mushroom, mozarella and cream as it’s toppings.  The pizzas are rectangular, thin based and served on a wooden board.  At 9.50euro the size was decent.  The combination of flavours was not something I had ever had on a pizza before, but were delicate and complemented eachother.  However, there was no tomato sauce/ puree below the cheese on this one so it was depending on the cream for moisture, which did make it a bit rich so I struggled to finish it.  They obligingly wrapped it up for me to take home though.

Rob went for the Tess pizza (13euro), which consisted of pulled pork, fennel seeds, braised fennel and marscapone.  Suprisingly the fennel was not overpowering and was lovely with the pork, which was nice and tender.

Even though the restaurant was fairly empty when we were there on a Friday lunchtime, the service was quite sporadic, with attempts to get the bill fairly arduous.  However, I think this place deserves to do well.  It’s taking the much-loved pizza and giving it a fresh approach.  The flavour combinations are interesting and well thought out, but I think they need to keep changing the menu on a regular basis in order for it to stay interesting.