The planning process is proving a pain for the investors behind a proposed new hostelry on Merrion Row in Dublin, on the site of Il Segreto restaurant.

Il Segreto, now closed but formerly owned by Jeff Stokes, sat next door to the famed Unicorn, another Stokes family venture.

It is now slated for an as-yet-unnamed pub and restaurant backed by Rory Gleeson, the son of Whelan's publican Frank Gleeson, and his partner Paul Rooney.

Central City Catering, the entity behind the new venture, applied for planning permission to erect a wall between it and the Unicorn, as well as a revamp of the layout and a small extension.

Site notices
The first planning application was thrown out by Dublin City Council in September because the site notices weren't sufficiently detailed. The investors reapplied in November, but the council again declared it invalid just before Christmas because the site map hadn't outlined everything in red.

Local publicans, including Eddie Fitzgerald, son of uber publican Louis, have been grumbling about another new outlet encroaching on to their patch.

Some of the many objectors came up with their own nickname for Gleeson’s new venture – Il Regreto.