I usually try not to rush to newly opened
places but this time I couldn’t help it. The place was on my side of the Liffey and I have had my eye on it for a while as they have been getting ready to open.
Elaine Murphy from The Winding Stair has
just opened the Woollen Mills, at the corner of Liffey Street Lower and Lower Ormond Quay.
The place is cool looking, more casual than
its sister restaurant but as stylish with a great industrial vibe to the décor.
There is a take-away counter selling tea
and coffee, soups, salads, sausage rolls, sandwiches as well as baked goods,
pastries and breads made in their bakery upstairs.
In the restaurant the room is bright thanks to
the huge windows, there is a long bar and an open kitchen. They even have part
of their pantry at the very back of the room on the shelves.
The menu is a sectioned in four different
categories: fish, meat, vegetables and Gruel (homage to Gruel which used to be
on Dame Street a few years ago). There are many items to choose from, it took
me while to decide: coddle, ox tongue fritters, curried crab claws on toast, beef cheek burger… This menu is full of heart-warming, belly-warming food, nothing else.
We started off with the pork
scratchings and their homemade apple ketchup (€5). The portion was perfect to
share between the two of us, the scratchings were crisp, sprinkled with bacon
and the apple ketchup was delightfully sweet and smooth.
We also shared some
Jerusalem artichoke hummus (€7) that was served with crispy sage and lemon
roasted potato wedges.
It was a rainy day so I went for the
ultimate comfort food: pork belly Mac and Cheese (€15). It came in a large
enamel bowl, I dug into the cheesy golden crust straight away to find big
chunks of pork belly in my macaroni. It was simply a hug in a bowl, the kind of
thing you’d crave for on a dark winter evening.
Mr. FFID’s pork roll (12€) looked majestic, stacked high in the middle of the plate. I was a little jealous but at least I got to taste it: the
bun was soft, the pulled pork was tender and everything was so messy with the
slaw and dressings dripping onto the plate. Not sure if it was supposed to be a bun or a
roll but that’s OK as it was delicious.
Finally we ordered the ‘plate of nice treats’
(€6). There were strawberry and passion fruit marshmallows which we
liked. The slice of their peanut butter, oreo and chocolate (tart?) was heaven
and the cinnamon bun was also lovely (I’d have that for breakfast any day). I
wasn’t a huge fan of the pistachio and almond brittle as it was too sweet for me and
stuck to my teeth.
The food in the Woollen Mills is simple but
generous and comforting. I can see it
becoming popular with tourists due to its proximity to Ha’Penny Bridge but also
with locals looking for some good casual grub on this side of the city centre.
The Woollen Mills
41-42 Lower Ormond Quay
Dublin 1
