Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

About The Restaurant

Bar Italia is owned by Stefano Crescenzi and David Izzo and has been a huge success since it opened a few years ago on Ormond Quay. I often pop in there for lunch when I have been shopping in town. Now they have opened a second Bar Italia at the I.S.F.C. where you can also enjoy their zingy very reasonably priced delicious Italian food from early morning until evening.

It is really clean cut and sharp with white tiles and walls highlight by flashes of vibrant modern paintings and red and cream hanging shades. It is young and bright and what people want nowadays – good food without breaking the bank – from really good pizzas, to cracking risottos and pastas.

At lunchtime they will always have a really good homemade minestrone soup with fresh seasonal vegetables served with croutons and DOP Parmigano Reggiano – you can have it with or without pasta. They also do an excellent chickpea soup with pasta and rosemary. Antipasti platters are at Bar Italia – Antipasto Misto has the chef’s choice of Italian charcuterie, olives and farmhouse cheese, with toasted ciabatta, whilst there is also a vegetarian antipasto of grilled and marinated vegetables such as artichokes, aubergines, courgettes, olives and farmhouse cheeses served with bruschetta. You can have Caprese Salad with buffalo mozzarella cheese and lovely vine tomatoes with basil and extra virgin olive oil, or maybe a plate of Bresaola the Italian cured beef with Parmesan and rocket, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and lemon. Pastas will include Tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and Italian Pancetta, enhanced with garlic, parsley and Tuscan white truffle oil, or ravioli filled with mushroom and truffle, Marzolino cheese from Siena, Mascarpone and Parmigiano…and that is just a couple of examples.

The dinner menu has a vast selection of Antipasti platters from organic Irish smoked salmon with mascarpone cheese, dill and black pepper to Tagliere di salumi misti e formaggi senesi which is a selection of Italian salami and Tuscan Pecorino cheese from Sienne. There are mussels with dry white wine, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and black pepper to various crostini and bruschetta with all sorts of toppings. Likewise there is a wide selection of lovely pastas and risottos. I rather like the Bar Italia orecchiette pasta with shrimps, tomatoes, aubergines, rocket, Tuscan white wine, finished with belt of chilli and cream – yum.

Their pizza dough is made fresh daily on the premises – they don’t use any frozen products – so you are getting the real thing. All your favourties will be there and then some – Funghi, Margherita, Diavola, Romano. I love Diavola which has tomato, Mozzarella from Campania and spicy salami. I also like Napoli Verace which has the statutory tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and anchovies.

They also do “Secondi Piatti” with really good Irish beef fillets cooked and served with a choice of presentations – Pepe Rosa – pink peppercorns, cream, DOP Extra Virgin Olive oil…. All Ginepro….juniper berries, shallots, red wine…and so on. They also do one of my favourite fishes in two manners – Sea Bream either with lemon juice, mint, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and black pepper or with cherry tomatoes, basil, Sicilian white wine, garlic, Parsley, and extra virgin olive oil from Puglia. Lamb is there in the form of Irish organic centreloin lamb chops cooked Italian style with rosemary and extra virgin olive oil whilst free range Irish chicken is cooked with Provolone cheese, fresh spinach, Mortadella and white wine. Oh yes, another good dish is Salsiccia fresca di Siena arrosto con patate – fresh Italian sausage from Sienna oven roasted with rosemary potatoes. Most of the mains come with a choice of “contorni” sides – delicious roasted vegetables, roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary, rocket and cherry tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and lemon.

Desserts include a delicious pear, ricotta cheese and chocolate tart, lemon and peach tart, traditional Italian chocolate cake, pannacotta with wild berry sauce – wow. Or you could have a lovely selection of Italian farmhouse cheeses served with wild honey and grapes.

This place is a cracker. Sit outside on a good day with a glass of wine and the world is your oyster – and it didn’t cost a fortune.

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