With cheerful service and delicious fare, our critic thoroughly enjoyed her visit to the new Cantina Valentina at The Hoxton Hotel in Dublin
The starters at Cantina Valentina, clockwise from right: Scallop ceviche; fried calamari ceviche and tiger’s milk; smoked miso aubergine. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
The Hoxton Hotel mantra is “a good neighbour with an open house”, and while that may be a bit dreamy, they go on to say that “every Hoxton hotel reflects its neighbourhood, rooted in culture and community”. Part of the vast Accor Group, the first Hoxton was opened in London’s now hip hot Shoreditch in 2006, since establishing locations in 13 cities from Amsterdam to Rome to LA.
Known, they say, for their vibrant, homey lobbies and celebrations of the locality through art and design, they’ve certainly kicked the old Central Hotel on Exchequer Street into the modern world. Taking five years, they’ve created an accessible ‘meeting house’ with the revival of the old Library Bar, a high-top cafe deli, and a colourful Peruvian restaurant. Despite all that, they never seem to answer their bloody phones, nor indeed my email to the restaurant requesting a reservation.So, I just turned up a few hours later.