I have a bit of a love affair with Brother Hubbard. I reviewed the café exactly one month after I started the blog; my
pictures were really bad and didn’t do justice to the food. I still remember
the owners Garrett and James being on their own on a quiet Saturday afternoon
and thinking they were the sweetest people ever.
Over 3 years have passed and it happens
that they now have two cafes and over 40 staff. They recently started opening in the evening
from Wednesday to Saturday to serve diners a Middle Eastern Feast. I suggested to
two friends that we meet there for a catch up and some food, let’s call them
Italian Mamma and Dutch Mammy for the purpose of this review.
The way the Middle East Feasting menu works
is you decide if you want the two courses (€22.95) or three courses (€27.95)
and you can also order wine. If you’re having the three courses including
starter, you begin with a mezze platter to share. For mains you choose from six
dishes on their menu and if having dessert, this is also brought as a platter
to share. It was a bit daunting to decide what to choose, at first we wanted to
order a la carte but because everything sounded good we went for three courses
each for the experience.
The mezze platter came on a beautiful tray
and in pretty bowls. The Moroccan harira soup was a little fiery and the wonderful
beetroot hummus was sprinkled with dukkah and came with a soft fresh flatbread
covered with za’atar.
The sweet potato coriander and chickpea falafel was nice
and crunchy, smeared with a pepper and tahini lemon sauce. The cauliflower florets were nicely spiced and lovely to eat with some
pickles. We happily shared everything while chatting away, it was a promising
start.
My main of lamb cutlets with salsa verde was
deliciously pink, accompanied by a chargrilled red onion with sumac and
sprinkled with pomegranate jewels and rose petals, served with salad leaves.
Dutch Mammy went for the spiced beef kofta with feta, mint and lots of tomato and red pepper
sauce.
Italian Mamma was the happiest vegetarian with her
stuffed aubergine with spiced tomato, spinach, dukkah and caramelized garlic with
chickpeas.
We shared a dish of couscous and crunchy charred stem broccoli and
yellow beans with spiced butter.
We were full but we fancied the look of the
dessert platter at a nearby table, so went for it. The highlight was the
indulgent walnut and orange baklava and the chocolate ice cream with hazelnut, praline and rose was just the
right portion size.
The figs and spiced orange slices with mint and pomegranate syrup refreshed our
palate at the end of this feast. There was also a Turkish lokum which Italian
Mamma wasn’t a big fan of, too sweet for her tastes.
The Middle East Feasting menu was one of my
most satisfying meals out in a long time, probably because I love this kind of
cuisine and flavours but it really exceeded my expectations. Before the meal I
was a bit worried that the setting of the café wouldn’t be comfortable for an
evening meal but it actually works out cosy with the candles and the covered heated
patio at the back. It was a little quiet which we thought it was perfect for a
chat. BH is sometimes insanely busy during the day and it was interesting to
see it under a different light. If this
side of the Liffey doesn’t appeal to you for an evening meal, you’ll be glad to
know that Brother Hubbard’s sibling, Sister Sadie is also open for dinners.
153 Capel Street
Dublin 1
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.