The Irish Food Report #6
Roundwood Stores, Roundwood, Wicklow
Little Italy Mercato, Ballymun, Dublin
Senbazuru Izakaya, Fairview, Dublin
This week I visited one of Ireland’s best cafés in the Wicklow hills, enjoyed an Italian deli serving incredible sandwiches in Ballymun, and found my favourite new sushi restaurant on Dublin’s north side.
Roundwood Stores - Irish food, warmth, and charm at its absolute best
https://www.instagram.com/roundwoodstores/?hl=en
Food 10/10
Vibe 10/10
Value 10/10
Roundwood Stores is everything you would picture an Irish café at its best to look like. Tucked into a courtyard next to a pub on a charming village street in the green hills of Wicklow, the setting is a Hallmark film’s dream of Ireland. The atmosphere and decor - and course the food - are just as idealic.
Founded by the founder of Avoca (now in the American ownership of prison food giant’s Aramark, and substantially worse-off for it), Roundwood Stores has the charm Aramark thought it has bought in Avoca.
The food is a mix of fresh salads, quiches, soups, and sandwiches, sweet cakes, pastries, scones, and more. Basically, all the good stuff you want from a wholesome Irish café lunch. The fresh slice of sourdough bread we had with our coconut and tomato soup is the nicest I can remember having.
Roundwood Stores in definitely one of Ireland’s best.
Little Italy Mercato - Italian deli sandwiches in a specialty supermarket
https://www.instagram.com/littleitaly_mercato/
Food 9/10
Vibe 8/10
Value 9/10
Little Italy Mercato is hidden down the back of an industrial estate in Ballymun. It’s tucked so far into it, that I thought my maps app had brought me to the wrong place at first. This Italian supermarket shares a building with Buddy’s Farmer’s Market, where you can find food trucks and stalls every Saturday, and Blossom Artisan Bakery, where (unless it is sold out) you will find a great selection of pastries and breads. The Italian deli gets it fresh focaccia from here.
I went for the best-selling sandwich: a mortadella, pistachio pesto, and stracciatella on focaccia. It was excellent.
Senbazuru Izakaya - lively Japanese spot opposite Fairview park
https://www.instagram.com/senbazurudublin/?hl=en
Food 9/10
Vibe 9/10
Value 9/10
We got a walk-in counter table for two at Senbazuru on a busy Friday night. This is a great place for friends to meet for a fun night of music and great Japanese food. This place calls itself the “first 5D Japanese music theme restaurant in Ireland.” There is definitely a high-tech element with interesting lighting and even a robot waiter delivering food to tables.
We went for sushi and it was the best I can remember having in Dublin. Very fresh, delicious, and made to order. The staff were great and so was the atmosphere.
Thank you for reading my sixth report. Make sure you’ve joined the mailing list if you want to read the next one first. I send my reports out every Monday. Happy eating!
