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Our Latest Great Place to Eat - Peperina

Our Latest Great Place to Eat - Peperina

Wednesday 13 February 2013

There was a really nice relaxed urban cool feel on our visit to Peperina Garden Bistro, on Dunville Avenue, in Ranelagh.   Set amidst a group of shops, which comprise an upmarket niche shopping area for the redbrick D6 brigade, the premises formerly housed Dunville Place restaurant and latterly a beauty salon.  It has now reverted to being a chic and colourful daytime café, serving breakfast, lunch, plus dinner from Thursday to Saturday and brunch at weekends.

It was all very welcoming, easy and informal, which we found rather appealing, when friend Rena and I rolled up to be ensconced in a table in the shop window. The owner is Argentinean Diego Cabrera and he has created an atmosphere that is light filled and colourful, with a “patchwork” tiled counter, retro chairs, dangling light bulbs of the fashionable variety and groups of ‘Granny’s beautiful old plates’ artfully arranged in a way I could never emulate.  To the back is a conservatory section opening onto an outdoor al fresco dining area.

The dinner menu is concise, and on our visit offered a quartet of starters, mains and puds, with two courses being €22 and three courses €25.   Soup of the evening was broccoli and cauliflower, which looked delicious ‘next door’.  Passing on goats’ cheese and caramelized onion brochette, Rena opted for Thai mussels to start.  They looked good, and were good.  Served in a white bowl, ‘heap style’ sitting in a coconut based sauce enlivened with a good whack of garlic and chilli, they were sprinkled with spring onion and had rustic bread perched to the side.  My crispy black pudding salad was simple and honest.  Tossed with sundried tomatoes, it was well dressed and was crowned with a perfectly poached egg.  I loved it.

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