Sprout review: Is this the best takeaway in Ireland?

Ottolenghi-style food in compostable bowls that just happens to be healthy

Sprout's bowls of goodness are packed full of different textures and tastes.
Sprout's bowls of goodness are packed full of different textures and tastes.
Sprout
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Address: 3 Dawson Street, Dublin 2
Telephone: 085 145 6496
Cuisine: Modern International
Website: https://sproutfoodco.com/Opens in new window
Cost: €€

What’s on offer?

Locally-sourced, seasonal food is a catchphrase these days, but there’s quite a bit of difference between a typical acai bowl and what you will get at one of Jack and Theo Kirwan’s seven Sprout restaurants.

They first opened on Dawson Street at the height of millennial “clean eating”, a farm in Kildare followed, and you will now see a blackboard that lists off their organic farm produce when you visit. There are meat and vegetarian options, in bowls, warm wraps, salads, and a seasonal soup, as well as a breakfast menu earlier in the day.

What did we order?

A Chick-Please bowl, a Sataysfied Chicken bowl, and a Umami Knows Best salad.

How was the service?

Service is noticeably efficient, we visited the Dawson Street restaurant, where the staff are accustomed to preparing orders. The food is suitably packed for takeaway, and there are plenty of tables for eating on-site. A bonus is the Fable Bakery pop-up at the front of this outlet.

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Was the food nice?

The food here is incredibly tasty, with everything prepped as you order it. The warm chickpea bowl had an Ottolenghi level of detail, with a spicy zhoug sauce topping the chickpeas, warm quinoa, pickled red cabbage, curried cauliflower, roasted peppers, a pocket of hummus and green leaves.

The combination of warm chicken in a satay sauce with brown rice and salad was equally good, quite different from the first bowl, with pickled cucumber and ginger sesame dressing bringing an Asian influence. The vegan umami salad had a serious amount of flavour, with spicy tofu, miso glazed mushrooms, beansprouts, cabbage and spicy peanuts adding real texture to the bowl.

What did it cost?

Came to €32.40 for lunch for three people — satay chicken bowl €11.50; chickpea bowl €9.95; and umami salad €10.95.

Where does it deliver?

Order for delivery on the Sprout app or Deliveroo, or order for collection.

Would I order it again?

Most definitely. This is as good as it gets. Very tasty food that just happens to be healthy. There’s nothing samey about the bowls. And everything is absolutely delicious.

Corinna Hardgrave

Corinna Hardgrave

Corinna Hardgrave, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes a weekly restaurant column