In Dublin’s fair city, the tasting menu at Bastible is a pretty good reason for an Irish weekend break
Bastible, 111 South Circular Road, Dublin D08 RW2K (+353 1 473 7409). A la carte, two courses €42; three courses €50; tasting menus €45 to €65. Wines from €36
At Bastible in Dublin, each dish comes with a commentary. Somehow, it manages to improve the experience, rather than make you squeeze the edge of your seat until your knuckles are white. Early on chef Cúán Greene delivers a small, rough-hewn ceramic dish to the table. There’s a pillow of dried lemon verbena leaves overlaid with greaseproof paper upon which perch four curving, layered pieces of pearly kohlrabi, interleaved with sorrel leaves. The kohlrabi, we are told, has been marinated in quince vinegar. “It’s a kind of chilled salad in finger-food form,” Greene says, cheerfully. He’s not wrong: it’s crisp and boldly refreshing. It’s also clever without being irritatingly, look-at-me distracting. Most importantly it tastes nice. Important, that.
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