I havent been in for the dinner menu, but was in the cafe during the day time. Similarish to the likes of Gralinn that also opened up in Ross around the same time (expanding their Fethard and Duncannon locations) but they only do a coffee and breakfast set up. Have heard really good things about Bearu generally though. In fairness to Ross, there have been a few new places opening up there in the last couple of years. These places only opened up 2 years ago, so great to get a foothold so quickly.
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No it was up the very top of temple bar near Christchurch end . Eamon Dorans was at the back of central bank .
Mamó review: Why does this fabulous Howth restaurant not have a Michelin star?
Crisp white linen, relaxed service and ambitious cooking make this seafront spot a joy to visit
Mamó in Howth, Dublin 13: Don’t miss the best fish and chips you’ll ever eat. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times
Thu Sep 17 2026 - 05:00• 4 MIN READ
Mamó
Address: Harbour House, Harbour Rd, Howth, Dublin, D13 E9H9
Telephone: 01-8397096
Cuisine: Modern International
Website: https://www.mamorestaurant.ie/Opens in new window
Cost: €€€
I sometimes question how I feel about formal restaurants. It’s what happens when you visit rather more of them than a normal person would – not expecting sympathy here – and there is a danger of developing a jaded palate, an occupational hazard. They are restaurants you would typically visit once a year for a special occasion. The important thing for a critic is not to get bored because it is yet another tasting menu. Each restaurant has to be judged with fresh eyes. The danger is dismissing something simply because you’ve seen it before.
But then I walk into Mamó on a Sunday afternoon in Howth, escaping the traffic where tempers are at south of France levels – yes, people lepping out of cars and fighting over parking spaces – and enter the bright upstairs diningroom where every table is clad in a crisp, white linen tablecloth. It feels fresh and assured rather than formal, in the way that French and Italian bistros do. And there is no tasting menu, nor restrictions on ordering.
There is one non-negotiable on the menu of three nibbles, four starters, four mains and two desserts, and that is the cod chip (€9 for three). Perfect with a glass of champagne if you’re celebrating – champagne with fish and chips is a thing – but we instead go with a glass of Telmo Rodriguez ‘Gaba do Xil’ Godello (€14) and Château de Bousval ‘Gouttes d’O’ (€16.50), a Belgian Chardonnay, from an inspired list compiled by a true wine lover.
The cod chip has been on the menu since Jess D’Arcy and her husband, chef Killian Durkin, opened Mamó in 2019, which I think qualifies it for legendary status. Confit potato is pressed, cut into fingers and deep-fried until crisp and golden, then seasoned with salt and vinegar and topped with lightly whipped taramasalata. It is the best fish and chips you’ll eat, steaming hot and crisp, with a sharpness from the vinegar.
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Translucent slices of IPA-cured langoustine carpaccio (€19) sit beneath a Niçoise salad: frisée, haricot beans, crisp croutons and a breaded quail’s egg, cut in half so the runny yolk spills out. Capers and fresh anchovy add punch. There are quite a lot of flavours involved here, but it all works together, mopped up by a slice of very good sourdough slathered in whipped brown butter.
Summer tomato tart (€15.50) sounds simple, but once you bite into it, all you want to do is sit back and eat it slowly, relishing every bite of the Coolea sablé. It’s the crumbliest, cheesiest pastry imaginable, forming the base of the tart. Tomatoes are cut into ribbons and wound into flowers; ricotta, tiny basil leaves and finely sliced strips of chive bulb add creaminess and freshness, and black garlic brings a deeper note. I want to eat this so much again, it pains me to write about it.
Lobster linguine (€19), on as a starter special, works as a small main course for me. The house-made pasta, with generous pieces of lobster, is tossed in a light, buttery lobster bisque and dusted with Espelette pepper. It is delicious, although tiny bits of preserved lemon are a bit strident and surplus to requirements.
Hake is the market fish (€37), served off the bone and finished under the grill. It comes with a courgette flower stuffed with Morteau sausage, sitting on a very good courgette purée, and a side dish of gnocchi, girolles, tiny courgettes and pearl onions in a beautiful light broth.
Langoustine carpaccio, Niçoise salad and crispy quail egg from Mamó. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times
Mamó’s summer tomato tart, Coolea sablé, basil ricotta and black garlic. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times
Something fresh is required to clear the palate after all of this fish and the “pavlova” with passion fruit and lime (€14) sounds like just the thing. Initially, I am disappointed when I see that it comes in deconstructed mode, with flat shards of lime-flavoured meringue standing in for a marshmallowy base, but as I dig in, there’s frozen passion fruit mousse underneath, cubes of lime jelly, passion fruit pulp and piped, fluffy coconut cream. It is a wonderfully refreshing dessert.
Mamó is a joy to visit. The room is crisp, the service is friendly and professional, the food is playful and original and the wine list is one you want to dig into. Durkin has a light touch and, even though some of the dishes have numerous elements, there is a harmony here, with nothing over-laboured. The restaurant is listed in the Michelin Guide but has no star. Perhaps it’s time for a return visit.
Lunch for two with two glasses of wine was €144.
The verdict: Playful, original cooking that deserves Michelin’s attention.
Food provenance: Fish, Kish Fish and Glenmar; meat, Higgins Butcher; Redmond’s Fine Foods and La Rousse.
Vegetarian options: Cheese beignets, tomato summer tart, Cáis na Tire agnolotti, and sides.
Wheelchair access: Fully accessible with an accessible toilet.
Music: Unobtrusive, ranging from St Germain to Bill Withers to Air.
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Nice to be on someone else’s dime
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And walking distance from their office…
Anyone who orders chicken in a seafood restaurant deserves what they get.
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Even if the chicken swan all the way from Netherlands?
Gerald Kean eats there so it’s obviously aimed at people who lack class.
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It’ll probably be chicken though.
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Bah33° on Dawson Street is well worth a visit, Brazilian Barbeque. For €60 you get an all you can eat buffet. Waiters come around with a big skewer of meat and cut it up in front of you. There’s a load of stuff for starters as well that’s included.
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And it owned by the main man in Bord Bia. Sure the stories write themselves
Farmers protest outside Larry Murrin-linked restaurant after row sparked by Irish Times review
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Irish Times restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave dies aged 64
CORINNA HARDGRAVE: ‘FAIRNESS AND CREDIBILITY WERE HALLMARKS OF HER JOURNALISM.’ PHOTOGRAPH: DARA MAC DÓNAILL
ÚNA MCCAFFREYCorinna Hardgrave, restaurant critic at The Irish Times, has died after an illness. She was 64. Corinna Hardgrave had worked with The Irish Times for six years, having previously been a wine columnist for the Irish Independent, a food writer with the Sunday Times and restaurant critic and wine writer with Irish Tatler.
She was widely admired and respected for her authoritative and skilled food writing. She won numerous awards, most recently the Restaurant Critic Award at last year’s Irish Food Writing Awards. She also wrote lively and knowledgeable travel articles for The Irish Times, combining her critic’s eye for the best destinations at home and abroad with her expert knowledge of both food and wine.
Her husband Steve Hardgrave yesterday described his wife’s role as restaurant critic at The Irish Times as “her dream job” and “the culmination of all her writing and eating”.
Irish Times editor Ruadhán Mac Cormaic said: “Corinna Hardgrave joined The Irish Times in the midst of the Covid pandemic, that period of food boxes, social distancing and outdoor dining. Already a noted restaurant critic, she quickly became an expert on the byzantine rules and etiquette of dining in those strange days.
“Corinna had an easy and personable writing style, always wrapping her deep knowledge of the Irish food scene in entertaining prose.
“Fairness and credibility were hallmarks of her journalism during her six years as restaurant critic. She never set out to skewer a business; nor was she afraid to call out poor service, too-high prices or bad food. She bestowed praise, but only on places that deserved it, and she knew that her first duty as a critic was to the reader.
“Corinna’s untimely death is a deep loss to The Irish Times and its readers.”
Chef and co-owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Chapter One, Ross Lewis, said: “Corinna will be a great loss to us all, because she understood our industry and always told it as she saw it. She also had an amazing ability to champion new Irish restaurants and food producers.
“Her praise meant something, and her passion inspired those in hospitality. Her words changed how we saw and consumed food just as much as anyone on our side of the pass.”
Corinna Hardgrave’s extensive body of work also displayed her talent as an interviewer, with her renowned chef subjects over the years including Ferran and Albert Adriá, Michel Roux, Yotam Ottolenghi, Madhur Jaffrey and Clare Smyth.
She was born in Co Carlow and grew up in Dublin. Her first job was with Guinness, which she joined from school. She subsequently worked in the Middle East, initially as a flight attendant and subsequently in promotion and public relations. This brought her to England, while her food writing career began after they moved back to Ireland when their first daughter was born.
Corinna Hardgrave is survived by her husband Steve and their two daughters, Katherine and Isabelle.
That’s a pity, no age, I enjoyed her column. She would often go to non fancy neighbourhood restaurants or even takeaways and give them a great review, which I think reflected well on her.
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A window of opportunity for the forum’s legendary grubber to step in and fill the void this lady’s departure has created.
Her husband said she loved ‘writing and eating’ so what’s not to like……
We’ll all chip in with a few lines extolling the qualities of exotic vegetable hot garlic gravy or chestnut stuffing….
Had my lunch there in Glas on Chatham St. Birthday lunch for a vegetarian pal. It’s a vegan/ vegetarian restaurant and fairly high end. The food was tasty enough but some of the textures were a bit odd to say the least. They put me in mind of the old Charlton Heston film Soylent Green which isn’t a good association to get in a restaurant.
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