M.J. Wright

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Climbing up the Victorian staircase, with its fine bannisters and historic photos adorning the walls, the evidence of traditional craftsmanship at M.J. Wright is visible at every turn. Owned by Michael Wright, whose Wright Group includes 24 bars, cafes, restaurants etc, primarily north of the Liffey, this is their first city centre venture. An Irish pub, it’s named for his dad, Michael Wright, the legendary Howth fishmonger. With the ground floor doing casual pub grub, the upstairs Eating Rooms serves a modern take on grill room stalwarts, with dinner from Thursday to Saturday. Kevin Arundel of the former Chop House, lauded by Anthony Bourdain, is on board as group head of innovation, with the head chef being Adrian Dragoman, ex Chapter One with Mickael Viljanen.

We bagged a window table in what is a fine room with a high-beamed ceiling, stripped floorboards, bentwood chairs, and a long red banquette on one side facing a bar on the other. Bites sported crisps with feta mousse; olives and almonds; or Carlingford oysters with Japanese vinegar and wakame oil – perfect nibbles with a New York Sour.

An amuse of in-house focaccia arrived with a quenelle of sun-dried tomato butter on shallot jam – ace. Starters, thankfully, were sans the ubiquitous croquettes of every menu in the country. Beef tartare, another hot-to-trot dish right now, was there, but with a Franco Japanese Italian twist of boulangère potato, wasabi mayo, pickled shimeji mushrooms and aged Parmesan. A trio of plumptious seared scallops for the fashionista had pickled beetroot, a hazelnut veloute and dill creme fraiche, while a silky goat’s cheese mousse for moi was paired with salt-baked beetroots, candied walnuts and crisp breads.

Carnivores can salivate at the thought of a 10oz Irish Black Angus striploin or a 6oz dry-aged Irish Hereford fillet with the works – caramelised onion, chips, choice of sauce, and watercress – not to mention a 30oz cote de boeuf to share. Other mains included a cassoulet of slow-braised short rib; a walnut shiitake Bolognese; and a French-style chicken breast with foie gras veloute.

A tranche of pan-fried stone bass was on point and succulent, while my ‘special’ of black sole on-the-bone with caper butter was top notch as well – perfectly cooked, expertly deboned and reassembled. Served with Joël Robuchon-style Fifty-Fifty mash – equal amounts potatoes and butter (yep, as good as it sounds) – or chips.

To finish, we shared a delicious passion fruit creme brulee. Service was excellent and overall there was the feel of a real city restaurant – a vibrant addition to Dublin’s Creative Quarter.