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3 Leaves started life in 2016 as a simple street food stall in Blackrock Market, yet chef Santosh Thomas’s cooking was too good to stay a casual secret. The 12 seats were constantly full, with lunchtime queues snaking through the market daily. Word spread far beyond the locality, prompting Santosh and his charming wife, Milie Mathew, to take on the space next door when it became available.
There are 22 seats indoors now(COVID allowing) and 10 covered outdoors seats - and while no bookings are taken for lunch, reservations are essential for dinner, which is served on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights only. 3 Leaves are now serving wine (3 reds, 3 whites and 2 rosés) and Kingfisher beer as well as minerals. Although small, the wine list was put together with Santosh’s spicy dishes in mind and the wines are a good match for the food.
If there isn’t a queue, then the jaunty aqua exterior and potted banana tree will let you know you’ve found the spot. The no-frills dining room is perfectly comfortable and draws most of its atmosphere from the closely packed tables and Milie’s warm and maternal presence. Charismatic and fun, she is delighted to share stories of 3 Leaves food with her customers, from cooking techniques to regional variations.
Santosh is a man who loves and understands spices profoundly, layering heat and fragrance to craft authentic dishes that sing with zesty flavours. Working from a tiny kitchen he whips up moreish delights like earthy dahl, palak pakora chaat (spinach fritters), pav bhaji (bread rolls with a spicy paste) and flaky paratha (flaky flatbreads). A signature dish, the riotous chole samosa chaat, is worth the trip alone.
Menus change weekly and can throw a few surprises for returning customers.
While Milie and Santosh hail from southern India, 3 Leaves’ food draws from the sub-continent’s many cooking styles, to keep menus fresh and exciting. Curries of the day might include murg mumtaz (creamy chicken curry) or spicy gosht falaknuma (slow-cooked lamb curry), beef masala, Malabar fish curry, biryani and always a vegetarian option.
The highly recommended taster menu or thali is the best way to sample the range of flavours, with a selection of the day’s curries served with rice, bread and imaginative vegetable side dishes, including superb dahl. At €17.95 this kaleidoscopic platter is filling and delicious, a colourful explosion of spices, herbs and textures.
Changing the perception of Indian food in Ireland, dish by dish, 3 Leaves is a joy. The cooking is joyful too, which, in our books, makes for the very best kind of food.
