Small, stylish and light-flooded, Margadh RHA is a café by day and wine bar by night. No ordinary wine bar, it punches well above its weight with the kind of menu that wouldn’t be out of place at a top restaurant. Tapping into the zeitgeist for pared-back seasonally-led plates, the team here is part of the Mamo stable, where classically-trained chef Killian Durkin and partner Jess D’Arcy (ex-Etto) have created one of the city’s most inspired collections of food businesses.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offer up bright, traffic-free views of Ely Place, a terrace of handsome Georgian townhouses in a quiet cul-de-sac mere footsteps from St Stephen’s Green. A few small outdoor tables make it a perfect summer spot to soak up the city peacefully while indoors there’s comfy seats and slimline wooden tables, mostly two-tops with one large table seating 6-8. (The wine bar can be hired out in its entirety, though the small tables are fixed in place so can’t be put together.)
The tiny kitchen is overseen by Glen Sutton, Killian’s sous chef at Mamo, who turns out flavour-packed dishes that zing with vibrancy. Kate Ruddy is the quintessential host, a welcoming industry veteran whose easy charm makes dining here so much fun. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and proud, she works the small room with a lightness of touch that belies her talents.
An 8-course tasting menu may be the best value in town, at €38. Snacks might be a joyous collection of olives or smoked almonds and organic sourdough with sensational amontillado olive oil from Lustau, aged in sherry casks, followed by two perfect fingers of Pujado Solano Cantabrian anchovy toast with preserved lemon aioli.
Baby gem leaves make ideal receptacles for servings of pink Skeaghanore duck breast and succulent confit leg, with a spicy peanut Thai slaw and curls of crispy ginger. Crisp cheese and onion croquettes with molten cheese fillings might precede a bright and delicious sharing cloud of fresh burrata, with yielding asparagus spears, freshly shelled garden peas, toasted hazelnuts and slivers of summer truffle are bright and delicious. Taglioni, hand made in Mamo’s centralised prep kitchen, is served with a fennel sausage ragu cleverly spiked with n’duja, salami and pickled peppers, offset with pecorino and a slick of basil oil.
Dessert might be an irreverent sounding chocolate crème brûlée; using dark and white chocolate to deliver a perfect blend of creamy and chocolaty custard with a glassy top and warm fluffy madeleines on the side, it’s a delicious dessert to close a pitch-perfect menu.
Dishes can be ordered à la carte but the tasting menu, shared by the whole table, is the way to go. Market cheese, with a €4 supplement per cheese might include a selection of Ballylisk Triple Rose,Templegall and Bleu d’Auvergne, with plum chutney and grilled sourdough.
The walls are lined with shelves of wine and the thoughtfully curated list is exciting and well priced. An imaginative list of specials by the glass might include affordable Clair Obscur Grower Champagne and Kabir Moscato.
Contemporary and informal, Margadh RHA is ideal for a relaxed and fun evening of delicious food and wine away from the masses. Pop in for a glass of rosé and cheese plate or enjoy the whole tasting menu with exciting wines. And don’t worry if it’s sommelier James Brooke’s night off: Kate’s exceptional wine knowledge will ensure you drink just as well as you eat in this really special Dublin spot.
