You may be familiar with the saying “Don’t [redacted] in your own back yard”, which as a restaurant critic is a potential hazard of the job. But on this occasion, it is not my patch that’s under scrutiny. Instead I have headed to the decidedly posher Dublin 4 village of Sandymount and am joined for dinner by my dear friend and local resident Ernie Whalley, former editor of Food & Wine magazine and former Sunday newspaper restaurant critic. So any fallout will be his to deal with.
Crudo is Ernie’s favourite neighbourhood restaurant, and the legacy goes way back. Eileen Dunne, who is one half of the Dunne & Crescenzi restaurant duo, is a woman he admires greatly, as do I. Three years ago her son Sean Crescenzi teamed up with best mate Jamie McCarthy and took over the Dunne & Crescenzi restaurant in Sandymount. Between them they have a serious amount of industry experience, from working together in Dunne & Crescenzi, to McCarthy’s time spent in Kevin Thornton’s Michelin-starred kitchen, as well as The Chophouse, The Unicorn, and managing Joe Macken’s Hey Donna back in its heyday.
The room remains very much as it was, with the wine shelves removed to open it up a bit. It feels very Italian, with its whitewashed walls with a wooden floor and wooden furniture. An impressive display of McCarthy’s cookery books line the high shelf that runs around the walls.
The menu is divided into spuntini (snacks), smalls, large and dessert, with the expected focus on Italian dishes. Two specials are chalked up on a board. The wine list is reasonably short with quite a few wines by the glass. A few bottles hit in around the €40 mark, with pricier options such as Prunotto Barolo at €150 and Tignanello Chianti Classico Riserva at a punchy €201. Spritz and beer are also available. We opt for a very pleasant Colombia Bianca Vitesse Nero d’Avola (€36) which works nicely with our food.
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For starters, morcilla flambé (€14) sounds rather tempting; it’s a little bit of theatre. Our waiter flambés the fresh morcilla sausage in Sambuca tableside, and tells us to wait for the flames to die (good advice) before spreading it on the focaccia. It’s delicious, like a soft black pudding with a hint of anise.
The padella di mare (€18) arrives in a mini cast-iron frying pan, filled with Kilkeel crab claws and Killary Fjord mussels, which have been sautéed in a Vermouth-scented sauce with jalapeño salsa verde. We question whether the sauce is a shade salty: the brininess of the mussels and crab claws would have provided ample seasoning on their own.
For mains, I opt for one of the daily specials, baked orzo with cockles and red mullet (€25). Red mullet is highly prized on the Continent, known in France as rouget. It is one of Rick Stein’s favourite fish – in particular, as he told me a few years ago, the red mullet landed in Cork at the end of the summer. Served in a scalding hot cast-iron skillet, the mullet sits on top of cockles and orzo in a most beautiful shellfish sauce with a touch of anise from Sambuca.
Our other dish, arroz al horno (€28) is similar to a prawn risotto with Arborio rice in a Dublin Bay prawn and Sambuca bisque, which has a nice kick of chilli heat. It is finished with prawn oil and crème fraîche.
To finish we have a tasty tiramisu (€9) scented with Frangelico and topped with grated chocolate, roasted hazelnuts and a pan di stelle, an Italian chocolate and hazelnut biscuit, which is decorated with white chocolate stars.
An affogato of Sicilian pistachio ice cream (€9) has been doused with Frangelico and served with a double espresso, which does its magical thing of melting the ice cream. And more magic follows. As we ask for the bill, we are offered a grappa, the Italian digestif that ranges from throat ripping to the perfect end to a meal. This grappa is quite special. I imagine it’s one of the benefits of dining with a local.
Crudo is not just a very fine neighbourhood restaurant, it is a restaurant that seems to embody all that is great about Italian restaurants: the food, the service, and the conviviality, not to mention the grappa. It is a restaurant I would be very happy to have in my own backyard.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €139.
THE VERDICT Delicious Italian food in a wonderful neighbourhood restaurant.
Food provenance Glenmar, Doyle’s Seafoods, Mushroom Butcher, Pat Mcloughlin meat, La Rousse.
Vegetarian options Burrata with Romesco and padron peppers, oyster mushroom fritti, ravioli and cacio e pepe fritti.
Wheelchair access Fully accessible with accessible toilet.
Music Sorry, I was listening to Ernie. Not sure there was any.
