Certain things are to be expected from Juha Salo (who came to Juno’s via stints at The Mermaid Café and 101 Talbot).
The Finnish chef is a fan of home smoking, so the likes of a warm salad of hot-smoked salmon might well be on the menu. You could expect the salmon to be organic and to be Irish, as is as much of the produce as possible (including some star-quality artisan produce such as James McGeough’s air-dried meats).
There’s a lot more home-produced goodies too, from the aioli with the juicy burger to the cookies with the text-book crème brulée.
And vegetarians can expect to be well-served as this Dublin restaurants got imaginative options inspired by the best of local seasonal ingredients rather than ubiquitous Mediterranean rehashings.
The menu here in this old-school caff cum new-school bistro is pitched at a locality that includes barristers from the adjacent Criminal Courts (hence some interesting wine options) and locals looking for a feed at the start or the end of the day (from a full Irish to a chip buttie on the way home).
The décor is diner-esque, the staff cheerfully competent, and the mood casually upbeat.
And with several amenities on its doorstep, including the Phoenix Park, Smithfield’s cinema and live music pubs, and IMMA across the river, you can expect to be finding excuses to come back.
Seats 35. B & L Mon-Fri 8am-12pm & 12-3pm, D Tue-Sat 5-9.30pm (to 10pm Fri & Sat), Brunch Sat & Sun 10am-4pm. Value D €18.50 5-6.30pm. House wine €19. SC 12.5% for groups 5+. Closed Sun & Mon nights, Bank Hols. MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
.jpg "Locks Brasserie - Dublin 8 Ireland")
