{"id":598940,"date":"2026-08-20T07:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/598940\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T07:44:13","slug":"osteria-nove-review-i-expected-more-from-oliver-dunnes-new-dublin-spot-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/598940\/","title":{"rendered":"Osteria Nove review: I expected more from Oliver Dunne\u2019s new Dublin spot \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Osteria Nove <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 \ue9d7 <\/p>\n

Address: 9 James’s Terrace, Malahide, Dublin, K36 KR66<\/p>\n

Telephone: 01 265 6292<\/p>\n

Cuisine: Italian<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/osterianove.ie\/Opens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

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

There\u2019s a common misconception that Oliver Dunne<\/a> handed back his star, the one that the Michelin Guide for Britain and Ireland awarded Bon Appetit in Malahide<\/a> in 2008. That isn\u2019t quite right. I spoke to him just before the 2015 guide was published, and he made it clear that a Michelin<\/a> star is not yours to return; it is awarded by the guide. Michelin sends listed restaurants a questionnaire each year asking for updates, and Dunne had outlined his planned change of direction \u2013 to drop the fine-dining element and move to the more casual approach of the Bon Appetit brasserie downstairs.<\/p>\n

He has since expanded his empire to 10 restaurants. Eight are in Dublin, including One Bar and Restaurant<\/a> in Ballsbridge and Beef & Lobster in Parliament Street, with one in Galway and another in Louth. On January 4th this year, he closed Bon Appetit for a month\u2019s refurbishment before reopening it as Osteria Nove, an Italian restaurant, overseen by Aaron Carroll, his group executive chef. <\/p>\n

There may be no Italians in the kitchen or front of house, but the exuberant room upstairs with terracotta walls, gilt mirrors, potted plants and a large olive tree dominating the space has plenty of Italian charm and warmth.<\/p>\n

The white linen-clad tables add to the sense of occasion. We\u2019re sitting beside a large Georgian sash window, with a partial view out to the estuary, and it\u2019s a relaxing way to start the evening.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing on one particular region of Italy, the menu has dishes from Puglia, Piedmont, Campania, Rome, Sicily, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, including accessible favourites such as burrata and carpaccio, alongside pasta, fish and meat. <\/p>\n

Dunne, a native of Malahide, is very tuned in to his local customers, so the well-priced menu encourages repeat visits rather than one-off destination dining.<\/p>\n

The broadly pitched Italian wine list is priced to match the menu, with bottles starting at \u20ac39 and a substantial choice in the \u20ac40\u2013\u20ac70 range. The by-the-glass offerings include familiar favourites such as Pinot Grigio and Montepulciano, as well as more premium wines poured by Coravin, the preservation system. While I don\u2019t see any of the Tignanello or trophy bottles being opened around the room, bubbly is being popped for celebrations.<\/p>\n

The focaccia (\u20ac7), which we nibble with a glass of Gavi di Gavi (\u20ac14.50) and Sangiovese (\u20ac8.95), is light and fluffy rather than chewy, and comes with a mild whipped Caesar butter covered in a drift of finely grated Parmesan.<\/p>\n

We share the fritto misto (\u20ac16), a generous dish designed for sharing. There\u2019s a swirl of mild \u2019nduja mayo in the middle, with two types of prawns, whitebait, squid and slices of courgette and carrot on either side. The batter is a little oily on everything, but the squid is tender. The courgette has perhaps spent too much time in salt to draw out its moisture before being battered and deep fried.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe interior of Osteria Nove, with linen-clad tables. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \"TheThe decor in the room upstairs creates a sense of Italian warmth. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill
\n \"InteriorInterior decor of Osteria Nove, Malahide. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

I\u2019m expecting the sweet pea and mint ravioli (\u20ac24) to be a burst of summer, but the filling is quite dense, making it feel heavy. It is tossed in a lemon ricotta sauce, with smoked pancetta adding another layer of richness. Somehow, it\u2019s just not about the peas.<\/p>\n

A thick tranche of slow-cooked porchetta (\u20ac26) arrives with an impressive outer ring of crackling. It appears to have been finished in the pan and is served on an assertive salsa verde, topped with long ribbons of marinated courgette, while a swirl of Vermentino jus circles the plate. The pork has been rolled with herbs, which seem to be heavier on parsley than fennel. I\u2019m unsure whether the salsa verde is too strong and overwhelms the pork, or if the pork is short on flavour. It all feels a bit overwrought. The crispy Parmesan fries (\u20ac7) are good.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Black Sheep at The Grace review: The service is wonderful but the prices might raise eyebrowsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The tiramisu (\u20ac9.95) is served in an individual stainless-steel coupe rather than spooned from a large dish. It\u2019s layered with boozy cake that has absorbed plenty of coffee flavour. The mascarpone cream, however, is much denser than I would expect, missing the lightness that a good sabayon can bring.<\/p>\n

Dunne knows the bistro market well. Osteria Nove makes no claims to be an Italian restaurant with a nonna making pasta in the corner, but I had expected the dishes to taste more summery. Instead, too many feel heavy and a bit flat. It is, however, a smart neighbourhood restaurant, with people coming back for keenly priced food, a convivial room and a short stroll home.<\/p>\n

Dinner for two with two glasses of wine was \u20ac113.40.<\/p>\n

The verdict: Well-priced neighbourhood restaurant that needs a lighter touch <\/p>\n

Food provenance: Fish, Select Seafoods; pork, not free-range, McCarron\u2019s; beef, Kerrigan\u2019s Butcher; lamb, Watergrasshill Farm; vegetables, Keelings<\/p>\n

Vegetarian options: Burrata, goat\u2019s cheese crostini, cacio e pepe bucatini, basil pesto casarecce<\/p>\n

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

Music: Italian playlist<\/p>\n

\"TheThe exterior of Osteria Nove in Malahide. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \"TheThe lobby of Osteria Nove in Malahide. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \"TheThe diningroom in Osteria Nove in Malahide. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Osteria Nove \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 \ue9d7 Address: 9 James’s Terrace, Malahide, Dublin, K36 KR66 Telephone: 01 265…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[615,93,61,60,71183,709,1455,46885,5861,5863],"class_list":["post-598940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dublin","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-italian-cuisine","tag-magazine","tag-malahide","tag-michelin","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598940","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=598940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}