{"id":389516,"date":"2026-04-09T08:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389516\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:33:09","slug":"a-mesmerising-two-michelin-star-experience-from-a-spectacular-chef-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389516\/","title":{"rendered":"A mesmerising two-Michelin-star experience from a spectacular chef \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liath <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d8 <\/p>\n

Address: 19A Main St, Blackrock, Dublin, A94 C8Y1<\/p>\n

Telephone: 01 212 3676<\/p>\n

Cuisine: Modern International<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.liathrestaurant.com\/Opens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Cost: \u20ac\u20ac\u20ac\u20ac<\/p>\n

Eating at a white linen-clad table in a restaurant conjured out of three shipping containers, you may well ponder why a Rowan Gillespie sculpture \u2013 he of Famine Memorial sculpture fame \u2013 is sitting in front of you. Cast by the lost-wax method from a gnarled apple tree, it is a knobbly lump of bronze that could be carried off only by somebody with a proclivity for art theft and a capacious Bottega Andiamo. <\/p>\n

Each table has one, all with subtle differences. Snacks begin to appear, and the job of suspending them as if each branch is a high-art gallows falls to our server and general manager, Ailish O\u2019Neill. It requires the kitchen to tailor the first bites accordingly and the waiter to adapt their placement to each sculpture, because plainly, there is no logistical challenge that can\u2019t be made even more difficult by Australian chef-patron Damien Grey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is a two Michelin<\/a> star meal that would sound ghastly if you tried to explain it to anyone sensible. <\/p>\n

There is a menu, certainly, but not in the practical sense. Here the food is arranged into flavour provinces, translated from Irish: bitter, sour, salt, savoury and sweet, and includes an explainer for the word \u201cmoth\u00fa\u201d \u2013 feelings, perception, sensations, consciousness. You would be forgiven for confusing it with the side effects of a drug. Menus only appear at the end of the meal, which is probably wise.<\/p>\n

The snacks on the \u20ac190 tasting menu are a parade of tasty bites: a curl of fermented carrot, a black treacle pretzel rolled in roasted yeast, a beetroot tartlet with rye crumb and kefir, salsify with oyster and kelp, barbecued red mullet with kohlrabi, and a neatly tied bunch of herbs to refresh the palate \u2013 eaten last. In another restaurant this could feel like being nibbled to death by ideas. Here, it works.<\/p>\n

The wine list offers a tempting opportunity to part with more money, with three pairings from an impressive cellar \u2013 classic, \u20ac120; prestige, \u20ac260; and private cellar, \u20ac520. We pass on all that and order the Johannes Zillinger Velue Gr\u00fcner Veltliner (\u20ac55), an unfiltered and textured Austrian white wine that works beautifully with the food. <\/p>\n

A classic dish of gently poached white asparagus in a Chablis Grand Cru beurre blanc, with caviar and truffle pur\u00e9e, opens the \u201cbitter\u201d section of the menu with restraint. The asparagus still has some crunch, while the caviar and truffle are not just there for two-star bling \u2013 they bring seasoning and depth to the outstanding beurre blanc. It is focused and resolved. A dish of snail and crispy trumpet mushrooms follows, with spinach linguine so fine it looks made for fairies.<\/p>\n

\"LobsterLobster – Caviar – Onion\u00a0at Liath. Photograph: Ruth Calder-Potts \"ArtichokeArtichoke Textures at Liath. Photograph: Damien Grey \"DamienDamien Grey in Liath. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni <\/p>\n

We have graduated to the \u201csour\u201d dishes, which arrive as textures of lemon. I have an inbred suspicion of \u201ctextures\u201d of anything, but not, I now discover, lemon. This is a playful glass of lemon sorbet, foam and jelly; finished with lemon flesh and lemon salt, with a drop of Donegal rapeseed oil to keep the acidity in check. I am happy to sit back and go along with whatever comes next.<\/p>\n

It is now fairly common to get bread as a course and, considering Liath brews its own stout to use in it, I am prepared to give a pass on something I generally find a bit perturbing. I prefer to keep bread on the side to eat alongside the dishes rather than risk getting full too soon.<\/p>\n

The \u201csalty\u201d dishes begin with grilled langoustine glazed with chilli, on fermented sweetcorn draped with lardo. A cone of eel and aged Parmesan foam nudges the menu from salt towards savoury, or umami, if you must. <\/p>\n

Apparently we\u2019re not the first to gaze in disbelief at the Barbie-sized rack of rabbit that arrives on our next dish, alongside loin and a morel stuffed with rabbit mince. A lobster bisque foam works surprisingly well with the dish, adding savoury depth without overpowering the more delicate flavours. <\/p>\n

\"DarkDark Chocolate – Preserved Raspberries at Liath. Photograph: Ruth Calder-Potts \"DamienDamien Grey in his kitchen at Liath. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

The cheese course is shaved slivers of Old Amsterdam, resting on a posh cousin of a prawn cracker, made from puffed cheese dusted with tomato powder, and then we\u2019re into the \u201csweet\u201d courses. A blood orange sorbet with olive oil and sake is fresh and palate-cleansing, followed by a richer dessert built around four kinds of chocolate. The meal ends with a clever reveal that ties the whole menu together, though I will keep the spoiler to myself.<\/p>\n

There is a philosophy behind the menu at Liath, with backstories and on occasion, instructions on what to eat when. It sounds like a nightmare, but Grey and O\u2019Neill carry it off with a light touch and plenty of humour. The 14-seater room is lively, with people enjoying themselves rather than gawping at the food in hushed reverence. It is difficult to explain how much of the evening is influenced by the experience \u2013 and it takes quite a bit to impress me on that front \u2013 but Grey is mesmerising. If he were the leader of a cult, we would all be skipping after him like the Pied Piper.<\/p>\n

Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was \u20ac435.<\/p>\n

The verdict: A spectacular experience and delicious food<\/p>\n

Food provenance: Shellfish Ireland, Artisan Foods and Caterway<\/p>\n

Vegetarian options: Menu can be adapted for vegetarians<\/p>\n

Wheelchair access: No accessible room or toilet<\/p>\n

Music: Ambient, down tempo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liath \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d8 Address: 19A Main St, Blackrock, Dublin, A94 C8Y1 Telephone: 01 212 3676…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[13318,93,61,60,709,46885,5861,5863],"class_list":["post-389516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-blackrock-co-dublin","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-magazine","tag-michelin","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}