WORDS
Gemma Billington
The background
Dublin’s nightlife is legendary, but, finally, the city’s dining scene is garnering equal attention. This is in part due to a swathe of luxury hotel openings and a hunger for more flavours – Indian, Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian, you name it. Then there’s the hip coffee shops and brunch spots that sit alongside the ubiquitous traditional Irish pubs. Now, following a multi-million-pound investment from the five-star Anantara hotel group, the newly launched Anantara The Marker Dublin is adding a new fine dining destination to the fold. A Dublin native, acclaimed chef Gareth Mullins is executive chef at The Marker and oversees the hotel’s five food outlets, as well as heading up the newly launched restaurant, Forbes Street.

The space
Anantara The Marker Dublin is an eye-catching feat of architecture. Like many dockside areas, Dublin Docklands was once rundown and disused, but heavy redevelopment in the early 2000s and, later, 2014, has transformed it into one of smartest neighbourhoods in the city, as well as being home to major tech hubs (Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Salesforce etc), earning it the nickname “Silicon Docks”. The new iteration of The Marker flows seamlessly into the contemporary architectural landscape. Forbes Street is located on the sprawling ground floor; a sleek open-plan dining space with floor-to-ceiling windows that make the space feel bright and modern. But, ahead of your dinner reservation, make sure to head up to the hotel’s Rooftop Bar & Terrace for an alfresco cocktail [main image] while watching the sun go down over the Irish Sea and mountains in the distance.
The menu
Gareth Mullins hails from the Donaghmede suburb of Dublin but cut his teeth training as a chef in five-star hotels across Australia and Asia before returning to his hometown. His stints abroad, particularly in Australia, taught him the art of cooking fish to perfection, but Irish ingredients and dishes are the focus at Forbes Street. The ingredient-led menu proudly showcases Ireland’s incredible produce, with oysters from Clare, butter from Cork, quality John Stone Beef from County Longford and rhubarb from practically down the road. The freshly baked bread and farmhouse cheese board of native delicacies is a highlight. The menu changes with the seasons and is a careful balance of traditional simplicity with modern flourishes. Of particular note are the roasted king scallops soaked in apple and chive sauce, the slow-roasted celeriac with hazelnut, watercress, golden raisin and sherry vinegar, and the king prawns with fennel, chilli and tomato butter. More traditional fish and meat dishes (such as cockles and mussels, steak and a market fish of the day) make up a large portion of the menu, but there’s plenty of inventive vegetarian fare to cater to everyone.
The bill
A meal for two plus a bottle of wine comes to around €150.
The verdict
Irish food may not always have the best reputation, but the nation’s love of quality, home-grown ingredients, simple cooking with subtle touches of genius (did we mention the Guinness and treacle bread?) makes it one of the most sublime cuisines in the right hands. And under the talented care of Gareth Mullins at Forbes Street, Irish food is firmly back on the map.