L'Officina Dundrum by Dunne and Crescenzi

Marco leads a team of enthusiasts, a team who run from table to table, efficient, knowledgeable and warm in equal measures

Despite its recently earned reputation as a primary shopping destination, Dundrum, a small suburb/town in Dublin’s south environs, has another, well-earned reputation for decent eateries. Not least among those is L'Officina, another wonderful concept from the fantastic husband and wife team, Eileen Dunne and Stefano Crescenzi who brought us the eponymous Dunne and Crescenzi in Dublin's city centre.

L'Officina occupies an excellent spot on the edge of the Dundrum Town Centre shopping centre, just along the water and with plenty of awning protected outside space. The room is bright and contemporary with pale wood floors and beachy wicker Italian chairs. The walls are rich purple (L'Officina's brand colours) and the lampshades oversized and decadent. There are metal and perspex cork-filled boxes, an open kitchen and cool burnished metal wine racks on the walls. The overall effect is definitely one of a more contemporary than rustic Italian eatery.

Happy Dundrum shoppers/diners buzz around and when they arrive here are able to settle in with a glass of Bellini, Prosecco, Gavi di Gavi or Pinot Grigio from the excellent list of pouring wines. We join them, choosing a delicious, flinty Vernaccia di San Gimignano to go alongside our homemade ravioli with truffled butter, porcini and Grano Padano petals, possibly one of the best pasta dishes we have ever eaten! With a perfectly judged burro tartufato and fresh porcini, this dish sang of an Italian September when porcini season means a scattering of the wonderful funghi on almost every dish!  We also tried the rolled sea bass, stuffed with buttery savoy cabbage and served on a mound of delicate creamed cauliflower alongside a bowl of classic rosemary potatoes.  This was a triumph! The fish, gleaming and fresh, every mouthful filled with cabbage, butter and a little black pepper...perfect.

For dessert, the panna cotta was of the classic variety. Simple, unadorned and with just the right amount of vanilla and gelatine, it was creamy and wonderful, a shining example of the skill at work in the kitchen

Out front, Marco leads a team of enthusiasts, a team who run from table to table, efficient, knowledgeable and warm in equal measures. L'Officina is a contemporary take on a classic Italian formula. Excellent produce, sourced with care and seasonality in mind, good solid cooking, a great wine list and a front of house team full of personality.  Oh, and a room full of Irish-Italian fun...miss it at your peril!

Contact Details

To Contact a Member Directly, please click on the email or website below

Unit SCF 2
Level 1& 2
Dundrum Shopping Centre
Dundrum
Dublin 16
+3536 (0) 1 2166764
Email: info@nonnavalentina.ie
Web: www.officina.ie

 

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