The brutalist stacked tower on Dame Street in Dublin, formerly the Central Bank of Ireland, is a landmark building familiar to many. Designed by the late Sam Stephenson and completed in 1978, it has long divided public opinion, even though most people have probably never been in the building.
That will change later this week (subject to licence) when Díon (Irish for “roof”) opens on the top floor of what is now called One Central Plaza. A few days before opening, general manager Jamie Belton is showing me around what is still a partially unfinished site. The furniture still has to go in, the carpets uncovered, and the bars stocked. Even so, it is clear that the extraordinary 10th-floor restaurant and associated bars will be a destination dining and drinks experience.
For a start, there are the panoramic views. Over to Dún Laoghaire harbour, and around to the Sugarloaf. Across the Liffey to the Wellington Monument. The Aviva Stadium. Poolbeg. Planes taking off from Dublin Airport. The restaurant area itself wraps around the entire outer part of the space, so that every table has a view. “It feels very different from other places in Dublin,” Belton says.
The entrance on the ground floor of the building will be where people check in at reception, and leave their coats. Eileen Gray chairs and a Connemara marble-topped reception desk are features here. The idea is that you then take the lift to either the ninth floor, for a pre-dinner drink, or straight to the 10th for your dinner reservation.
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Three years in the development, Díon is backed by a group of Irish private investors. Serial hospitality entrepreneur Alan Clancy is a consultant.
The reconstruction of the top floor and interiors were completed by a number of different parties. Henry J Lyons studio was responsible for part of it; the former ICRAVE, now known as Journey – whose landmark projects include the remarkable Sphere in Las Vegas, and the equally remarkable Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore – was also involved. Laura Doherty, the design and project manager director, was responsible for the interiors.
If you follow the suggested route of a pre-dinner drink in the subterranean-feeling lounge on the ninth level, you then ascend a striking flight of stairs which appear to float, due to their curved treads. Upstairs you’ll find the double-height ceiling wraparound restaurant, two semi-private dining spaces and two additional bars.
“We’re not trying to turn people over,” explains Belton. “The goal is to be a destination. You don’t have to leave once you get here.”
What he means by this is once you have finished dinner, you vacate your table, but can then move on to have additional coffees or drinks in a designated space in the middle of the huge room. There is a bar space dedicated to serving this cohort of people only, whereas a second space makes drinks for those at the restaurant.
The wood is walnut, the banquettes are upholstered in either mossy green or autumnal orange, with leather seating, and the bar counters are either polished or unpolished marble. They all face out, towards the views. One bar, the 1942 bar, faces west – “the sunset bar” – and will be a champagne bar, with high stools at the counter.
There are also two semi-private dining areas, each seating 24, which get their privacy not from walls, but screens of planting, so diners can still experience the wider atmosphere. The glass ceilings feature lattice patterns, and LED lighting, which will change over the course of an evening. The lattice patterns are repeated on the carpeted areas.
Bathrooms are adjoining, with opaque glass blocks forming a wall between them.
Over all the combined spaces, there is room for 210 for dinner, and 120 for drinks at any one time. There will be 98 staff. Ambitiously for such a large space, Díon will open for breakfast, and stay open all day. “I don’t like telling people when they can and can’t eat,” says Belton.
The executive chef is Neil Mulholland, who is as excited about his state-of-the-art kitchen, which includes a bespoke Basque grill, as a rally driver is about a new model of car. The menus are described as “a take on Irish cuisine with an international flair”.
There are different menus for brunch, all-day dining, evening, dessert and cocktails. The all-day dining menu offers a starter of Irish crab soldiers with Lambay crab and Béarnaise dipping sauce for €16.50. A main from the grill is a 300g Iberico pork chop on the bone, for €45. A vegetarian main is whipped smoked tofu, with grilled courgettes, fried hen of the woods mushrooms, potato and penny bun gratin for €26.
Díon has a staggered opening from this weekend, subject to licence. This marks a delay on original plans, leading to the rescheduling or cancellation of some early bookings and generating some dismay among would-be pre-Christmas customers. The operators said the delay reflected the scale of the project, with “final elements” to be perfected before guests could be welcomed.
From December 22nd, Díon will be open for breakfast from 8am to 10.30am, Monday to Friday. The weekday all-day menu will run from 11.30am to 10pm, Monday to Friday. Weekend brunch is 10am to 3.45pm. The weekend all-day menu runs from 4pm to 10pm.
