Our first hint that it was good was the queue out the door on the Sunday we visited. We queued and read the menu. It was a good thing it wasn't raining, especially for the diners who were sitting outside. I should point out that this was the middle of November, as good as our Indian summer was it definitely hadn't stretched this far! This is Herb Street in a nutshell though, people are willing to sit outside in the middle of winter to eat their food.
Herb Street on Hanover Quay. Good enough to queue for and good enough to put up with the cold as well!
The menu is really varied, it goes beyond the usual stuff, there's fried food, porridge, eggs and fruit but also chicken wings and turkey burgers. You'd be hard pressed not to find something you'd like. M went for the full Irish while I opted for the mushrooms on toast.
The full Irish was more than just a fry. All the usual suspects were there, rasher, sausage, black pudding, scrambled eggs but they were also joined by a lovely potato cake. It was a little bit under-cooked on the top but further down it was delicious and filled with peppers and bacon. It would have almost made a meal in itself! The breakfast was served with a really rich brown bread.
Full Irish with a lovely potato cake and rich brown bread.
I had recently ordered mushrooms and bacon on toast in The Quarter in Liverpool. I can't describe my utter disappointment when a couple of dirty mushrooms on a piece of slice pan with a couple of rasher arrived in front of me. It was an abomination! I really needed this dish scrubbed from my memory and I was hoping Herb Street was the place to do it.
The hideous and depressing crap served to me in The Quarter in Liverpool. Supposedly a very good restaurant!
To borrow a phrase from M, the mushrooms on toast were amazeballs! They were close to perfect. A range of wild mushrooms were cooked with cream and a dash of truffle oil and served on brioche with roasted tomatoes and rocket. It was divinely rich and decadent. Personally I would have preferred sour dough rather than brioche but this is a personal preference. My horrible meal in Liverpool has been cast into the depths of my mind!
THE best mushrooms on toast. Ever.
We had some very good coffees and a decent, if somewhat watery, orange juice with the meal. The decor is really funky and if the queue wasn't still out the door we would have taken more time to examine it. Next time I come I'll definitely try to reserve a table and if summer '14 is as good as the last one I'd even consider sitting outside!
Herb Street
Hanover Quay
Grand Canal Dock
Dublin 2
01 675 3875
Website
Funky decorations and good coffee!
