Family businesses are at the very heart of Irish hospitality - and there is nothing to beat a chef-patron for hands-on care and consistency in the kitchen - so it's no wonder that Richard McCracken's delightful casual dining destination, Cyprus Avenue (named for the street in the Van Morrison song, nearby), has been a hit ever since it opened in 2017.
So much so, in fact, that it doubled in size within a year when they extended into the building next door - and what a lovely job they've made of it, creating a spacious yet intimate interior with a cosmopolitan vibe.
And Richard is no ordinary chef. Classically trained, like so many of the very best casual dining chefs, he worked under Tom Kitchin, Andrew Fairlie @Gleneagles and Helen Darroze in Paris. And more recently he was sous chef to Danny Millar of Balloo Inns before opening Cyprus Avenue, so he couldn't have been better grounded in the local market. All of which has added up to create a place that owes its popularity to the warm and welcoming atmosphere and engaged staff as much as the carefully crafted menus (including separate vegetarian and vegan menus and a terrific little real food menu for kids) and skilful cooking.
Beginning with breakfast - which includes the 'usual suspects' (their words) and choices like maple glazed pork belly, hot sauce hollandaise with furikake waffles, or salt aged sirloin, hash browns, siracha and fried eggs.
Many of the eye-catching options on the lunch and dinner menus are offered in two sizes (a very welcome, customer-friendly practice) and you'd need to come here often to get a true sense of the range. Tomahawk sharing steak for two includes braised rib, pickled onion rings, mushrooms, tomato, Rosemary fries, peppered sauce at £65 per couple. Or perhaps Strangford mussels, McCrackens Ale cream, cabbage and barley, an interesting combination of ingredients.
A range of desserts includes sticky toffee madeleines, butterscotch and salt caramel ice cream, passion fruit chocolate delice and a delightful old-fashioned baked Alaska.
All round, Cyprus Avenue is a very special place - a great neighbourhood restaurant for the lucky locals, it's also a destination for those in the know from beyond the city which is quite a tricky balance to achieve.
