The festival, now in it\u2019s fifth year, is taking the taste of south Dublin out to the woods, with Ranelagh\u2019s<\/a> Host and Rathmines\u2019s<\/a> Reggie\u2019s Pizzeria<\/a> offering dining experiences, as well as Ibile, a pop-up restaurant showcasing West African-dishes<\/a>.<\/p>\n But just how easy \u2013 or difficult \u2013 will it be to bring high-quality restaurant<\/a> dishes to a festival environment?<\/p>\n Host\u2019s head chef Niall McDermott says their main focus for the weekend will be cooking steaks on an open fire, paired with some Irish and Italian produce. Their menu for the weekend shows a sharing 800g McLoughlin\u2019s strip loin on the bone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll try to keep it simple enough with the other stuff, so everything\u2019s kind of fresh and ambient and dressed. We won\u2019t have much other hot stuff apart from the meat,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Structurally simple, perhaps, but these dishes certainly won\u2019t be an afterthought. Expect the likes of burrata with Sicilian peach and white balsamic; fennel salami with marinated peppers; and Sardinian tomato with onion and tarragon.<\/p>\n Those who may be having flashbacks to outdoor dining in the times of the pandemic need not fear, however, as the experience is set up for rain, hail or shine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a proper marquee with proper seating and a proper floor and everything, so it will be like a restaurant experience. If the weather\u2019s great, it will obviously make it a lot better,\u201d McDermott says.<\/p>\n For Reggie White, of the much-loved Rathmines pizzeria, he knew he wanted to be involved when he saw what a \u201cquality operation\u201d it was going to be. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t give it much more thought other than, \u2018How nice would it be to be down at a festival to get restaurant quality food?\u2019,\u201d White says.<\/p>\n Like any other busy Saturday night, he says a lot of prep has to be done in advance so it won\u2019t take too much adjustment to bring it all down to Wicklow.<\/p>\n White wants his customers to feel like they\u2019re in the restaurant with the quality of food that is delivered \u201cas opposed to a burger and chips out of a van for 14 quid\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI just couldn\u2019t ever see any joy in it \u2013 even if you told me I was going to make five-times the money \u2013 in watching every person walk away and feel like they\u2019ve been mugged. I feel like it has to be just as good when we\u2019re down at Beyond the Pale as it would be at the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Reggie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/A7KHQQQUCVEMDEVJJKZU7Y5NPY.JPG\")
Reggie White, owner of Reggie’s Pizzeria. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n