There’s something quite Italian about a dish of peas, broad beans and ricotta. It’s a dish I had in many restaurants I visited in Venice last year, the produce straight from the Rialto market that morning, each interpretation tasting slightly different; and indeed, it is similar to a dish I recently enjoyed at Homestead Cottage in Doolin. This is a good thing. I am all for celebrating the seasons. The peas are deliciously sweet, the ricotta gently lactic and the ethereal aroma of fresh mint lingers seductively.
It is one of the small plates on the menu at Bar Pez, Peter Hogan and Jumoke Akintola’s new wine bar on Kevin Street in Dublin, a sibling to Fish Shop in Stoneybatter and Beach House in Tramore. The name, meaning fish bar in Spanish, is painted in gold capitals on the glass, brown framed door, visible above the parchment-coloured cafe curtains. It is walk-in only. There are just a few stools available at the high counter when I arrive on a Friday at 6.15pm; the three tables for four are already occupied. Within 10 minutes, a queue has started to form outside.
Initially serving just bar snacks, there is now a kitchen menu, which changes regularly to reflect what fish has been landed, and runs from Friday to Monday. It is primarily in the small plates vein, with a couple of larger dishes, accompanied by a wine list that is designed to make you weep.
It’s not so much the prices, and definitely not the absence of accessible Pinot Grigio, that are likely to have you blubbing, it’s the sheer beauty of the organic and biodynamic list, classified by oceans, rivers, mountains, hills and plains, with a dedicated section for Burgundy.
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Boudin noir (€12) is the only meat-related dish on the menu. Open textured and deliciously earthy, the coarse ground meat is spiced with espelette peppers and served with girolles, which are dressed with a nice touch of acidity
Don’t go looking for inexpensive, mass market Sauvignon Blanc, although a few bottles do clock in below €40. What you will find on this list, as you always do with this team, are margins that are considerably slimmer than most places in town, so it’s worth scaling up. In the absence of a Burgundy budget, a Marie-Pierre Chevassu Fassenet wild ferment Chardonnay (€59) from the Jura region of France is quite beautiful with the peas and ricotta dish (€9).
Crab and lobster, bought directly from a local fisherman in Boatstrand in Waterford, is delivered to Dublin a few times a week by Hogan and features on two of the smaller dishes on the menu. The lobster (€9.50), is on the snacks menu, tossed in seaweed mayo and served on toast. It’s tasty, but I would perhaps lose the seaweed and have some slightly chunkier pieces of lobster. The crab (€13), is quite spectacular, delicate and sweet, it is piled on to sourdough toast and topped with thin slices of courgette glossed with basil oil.
Boudin noir (€12) is the only meat-related dish on the menu. Open textured and deliciously earthy, the coarse ground meat is spiced with espelette peppers and served with girolles, which are dressed with a nice touch of acidity. I discover afterwards that it is sourced from France, a Basque blood sausage made to Christian Parra’s recipe (a renowned Michelin-starred chef) and is considered to be the best in the world.
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There are two larger dishes on the menu, both fish. The mackerel (€19), which is lightly cured and pickled, has been torched so that the skin is black and the fish is slightly warm. A touch of sweetness brings an almost Japanese note to the dish, and the accompaniments of a fennel salad and sliced peaches are not just about textural interest, they are inspired.
The halibut (€27) with pickled cockles and broccoli is a thing of beauty. Golden and dusted with chopped chives, once again a touch of sweetness gives a Japanese slant to the green leaves on the plate.
We finish with an apricot tart (€9.50). Much like a Bakewell tart, a buttery pastry case is filled with frangipane and studded with pieces of apricot, served with a puddle of pouring cream.
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Clever simplicity has always been a hallmark of the food at Hogan and Akintola’s restaurants, and head chef Éanna McAtamney delivers it with restraint and skill in the compact open kitchen. While the no-reservations policy may be off-putting, Hogan sees Bar Pez as a place that you can drop into for a quick glass of wine and a snack – a chilled glass of Montrachet and crab on toast perhaps – as well as spend time over a bottle and a full dinner. Either would be magical.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €158.
THE VERDICT: This is my idea of the perfect wine bar
Music: An interesting mix
Food provenance: Kish Fish, Kelly’s Oysters, lobster and crab from Boatstrand, Vernons, Caterway
Vegetarian options: Very limited, peas and ricotta and pan con tomate. No vegan options.
Wheelchair access: Accessible room with no accessible toilet.
