There are wine bottles everywhere. Hand-written chalkboard signs carve the shelves into regions: Italy, Austria, Germany, Jura/Savoie, Loire, Burgundy, Bordeaux. The space reads more as a wine shop – as you’d expect in 64 Wine in Glasthule, one of the country’s most highly awarded wine shops – than as a restaurant. Floor-to-ceiling shelving is lit from within, giving the space a warm, amber glow.
We have a bird’s-eye view from our high stools by the door as the locals pop in to pick up a bottle or two, but we are somewhat separated from the rest of the room. A brick pillar, adorned with a framed Bloomsday picture, is the big divide. At the back, seating is close, sociable and a touch improvised: cafe-height tables in the aisles, and stools at the wooden counter and lower marble-topped counter overlooking the galley kitchen.
Head chef Ionut (Johnny) Apostol from Bucharest – who previously worked in Brookwood, and Margadh in Howth – is busy getting plates out. A large vintage-style clock hangs over the pass, and the counter is dotted with scales and containers, giving the sense of a working kitchen embedded inside a wine shop.
The concise menu is built for wine: a run of small plates – olives, smoked almonds, sourdough with olive oil – before moving into the structured snacks, most of which we order, although the fermented porcini dumplings and duck leg spring rolls have already run out. There’s also a charcuterie section offering a cheese and cured meat board or a smaller all-cheese option.
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The by-the-glass wine list, which focuses heavily on organic and biodynamic wines, is compiled with thought and priced with a sense of proportion that is rare in Dublin. Glasses run from €6.50 into the teens, covering everything from bright Italian whites to German Riesling and a couple of well-chosen reds. An extensive bottle list is also available.
We start with a Saladini Pilastri Falerio (€6.50) and a Georg Breuer ‘Sauvage’ Riesling (€12.50) – crisp, refreshing wines to accompany padrón peppers (€8). The peppers come blistered and wrinkled from a hot pan, the skins catching just enough char to give them that smoky, slightly bitter edge. They’re sprinkled with coarse salt and served with a wedge of lemon.
The free-range chicken liver parfait (€12) is particularly good, piped on to the plate in soft, whipped folds – creamy and light enough to hold its shape, but rich the moment it hits the tongue. There’s a clear boozy thread running through it, something sweet and fortified – sherry, Madeira or similar – giving the parfait a rounded warmth and a bit of lift. A scatter of crisp chicken skin brings texture. It’s served with thin toasted slices of baguette and a few cornichons.
The wild Atlantic prawns (€14) come in a nduja sauce that is sharp and spicy – the sort that clings to the prawns – and the sweetness of the flesh holds its own against it.
We switch to a glass of Trediberri Barbera (€11.50) and Stempel Spatburgunder (€13) to accompany the sliced, smoked duck breast (€14) which is drizzled with hoisin sauce. The lamb rump (€20), fanned out across the plate in thick slices, is an even pink (cooked using sous vide, I imagine) and lightly seared on the outside, accompanied by roasted baby potatoes. It sits on top of caponata in a puddle of balsamic jus, which tilts the balance towards the acidic side.
The rice pudding (€7) is quietly impressive, lightly flavoured with cinnamon and flecked with orange zest. The flavour notes are repeated in the neat quenelle of whipped cream and mascarpone on top, with candied orange zest, toasted flaked almonds and sharp pops of acidity from redcurrants, dropped like Christmas lights across the surface.
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64 Wine – a shop, wine bar and restaurant, where diners sit within arm’s reach of stock, cooking, and service – is one of the most glorious neighbourhood restaurants you are likely to find, except for the table by the door, which appears to fall off the staff’s map entirely. It is well into the Christmas season, so no doubt it is booked solid with locals. But in the new year, when the evenings close in and something cosy is required, it would be the place to head to with a few fellow oenophiles. Gerard Maguire and Anthony Robineau’s list runs to more than 1,700 wines, so there’s plenty to read before you start tasting – and enough depth to justify repeat visits.
Dinner for two with four glasses of wine and 12.5 per cent service charge was €133.31.
The verdict: Exceptional wine and good cooking.
Food provenance: McLoughlin’s butchers, La Rousse, George’s Fish and Tartine Bakery.
Vegetarian options: Padrón peppers, fermented porcini dumplings, cheese and olives.
Wheelchair access: Fully accessible, with an accessible toilet.
Music: Lounge and modern jazz.
