Having just completed a major refurb and a change of culinary direction, this already delightful hotspot on Dublin’s Merrion Row is better than ever
Squid stuffed with pigtail arroz cebolla on sobrasada sauce. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
Striking me as being bang on trend, as it were, with its chic new iteration focusing on the contemporary cuisines of the Iberian Peninsula, Bang on Merrion Row is more assured, confident and vibrant than ever. There were no castanets, flamenco dancers, or images of sexy matadors, but rather a subtle, soft focused, sophisticated decor, which make’s slipping quietly down to its subterranean main room, with its romantic cosy corners, feel like you’ve discovered a secret hideaway on some back street in San Sebastián.
A stone’s throw from the Shelbourne Hotel, Bang is in fact one of Dublin’s best-known restaurants and has amassed a colourful history since its opening originally in 1999 by identical twins Christian and Simon Stokes, and named after their Danish mother Pia Bang, who had a very popular boutique on Grafton Street.