It’s no surprise that many food industry business owners wept some iced-coffee tears over the introduction of the latest set of restrictions that ban indoor eating. From turning into takeaways, to introducing partitioning, to installing outdoor heaters, food business owners have been put through the mill. Rather than woefully despairing however, many places have unleashed their creativity and adapted to restrictions in quirky ways, bringing a spark back to the city centre.
McGowans
Many said that the launch of Tinder marked the end of romance – but it seems lockdown marked its actual demise. With people isolated for months, and the ongoing restrictions making chance encounters at a bar virtually impossible, online dating was on the rise once more. However, for those determined to resist, McGowans offered the perfect alternative with its internal phone system. Grab a pint and a plate of their famous wings with a creamy blue cheese dip and should you catch someone’s eye at a far off table and feel that spark – the sort that comes from having spent weeks without any social interaction – let them know you’re interested from a distance. Simply pick up the phone found at every table and dial their table number – the rest will be history.
Cloud Picker
Cloud Picker on Pearse street was a popular student coffee spot in times gone by. One would come for the filtered coffee and stay for the thick flaky swirl of the savoury morning buns. Its narrow layout, however, leaves little room for indoor tables and chairs. Combine this with the lack of city centre footfall during the height of lockdown and one can see why Cloud Picker had to get creative.
For them, collaboration was key. On Wednesdays and Saturday mornings, Cloud Picker sells goods from the croissant connoisseur Mariano Tejada, with buttery layers of pastry, pistachio coatings and fillings of Gubbeen chorizo and gruyere cheese ensuring that only crumbs remain on the counter within a few hours of opening. With guest baker Aoife Noonan providing seasonal decadent cakes such as a Greengage Plum Bakewell Tart on Thursdays, and a tantalizing new Taco Friday addition with Picado Mexicano, it truly seems Cloud Picker can do no wrong.
Alma
Moving away from the city center, nestled snugly in the corner of 12 South Circular Road, is Alma – a family-run, Argentinian café. Perched outside, using some crusty bread to sop up the last of your chorizo, egg yolk and avocado delight, you can enjoy the gentle murmur of busy-ness that spills over from neighbouring Camden Street. Without the possibility of squashing tables indoors to avoid the rain, Alma was quick to adopt a satisfying alternative: should it begin to drizzle, splashes of colour, polka dots and stripes will suddenly obstruct your view of the grey skies, as umbrellas are hurriedly handed out to tables by staff. “You’d find the likes of this on the continent”, I heard one woman sagely tell her friend as they peered out at one another from their personal awnings – all the while nibbling on plates of banana bread drizzled in caramel and cinnamon scrolls.
The Big Romance
The Big Romance, like most wet pubs, has faced months of being at a near standstill. Those wistful for its funky vinyl records and candlelit curved booths could sate their desires, however, by continuing to support the bar with a unique voucher offer. During March, The Big Romance, among other bars, offered a doubling up of any vouchers bought – if you bought a €20 voucher, you’d have a €40 drinks tab upon its reopening. With The Big Romance offering beer from cans that you could tastefully hang on your wall, and records that make you want to groove, there seemed little reason to resist.
At Home
Feeling hesitant about eating a meal in the open air as it quickly turns cold and biting? More expensive Dublin restaurants are also struggling and have thus provided people with the option of enjoying fine dining from the comfort of their very own kitchen – or bed! – with food boxes. While boxes from Allta and Etto look utterly delectable, it’s rare that a student would have the €75 to splash on a single meal. So, avert your gaze from sourdough soaked in shiitake miso butter and get lost instead in Yamamori’s sushi kit, Baste’s Beef and Bird BBQ box or roasties with brown butter and miso mayo from Mister S in their meal for two sets. With most of these costing approximately €25, grab a €4 bottle of Conde Noble from Lidl and you’ve got yourself fine dining on a budget. While you may be missing out on the atmosphere of individual establishments, food boxes are an easy way to soothe your taste-buds until they can reopen at full capacity.
