The Legal Eagle pub has been part of the life of the legal community around the Four Courts for many years, with barristers, solicitors and appellants all to be found within. It was shuttered for many years, but now Dublin restaurateur Elaine Murphy and business partner Brian Montague have cast off the grime of yesteryear and given the The Legal Eagle a grand new look.
The team behind Northside Dublin favourites such as The Winding Stair, The Washerwoman and The Woollen Mills, Elaine and Brian have a proven track record in providing a warm welcome in comfortable surroundings - and it shows in the care and attention that has been lavished on the once worn and dark interior.
Exposed red brick walls and glistening brass antiques lighten the interior, softened by light filtering through original stained glass features. The marble topped counter is lined with fine leather high seats, vases of fresh flowers and cake stands piled high with a tempting array of cakes and pastries. Comfortable leather banquette seats and blonde wooden chairs complete the smart modern feeling.
To the side of the bar sits a wood-fired oven, which is used for cooking Legal Eagle’s signature dishes, a range of flatbreads made with Irish potatoes and topped with ingredients such as pumpkin, fig and goats cheese curd, or perhaps the classic combination of cabbage and bacon with a parsley sauce.
But, tasy as they are, there’s so much more to the food here than the flatbreads. A selection of bar snacks such as pork scratchings or house pickled beetroot eggs can fill the gap while choosing from the delightful menu. Rich grilled bone marrow comes topped with braised oxtail and garlicky Gaelic escargot, or perhaps a classic slip sole, cooked whole on the bone with almonds, grapes and brown butter.
For the bigger appetite, a range of tempting pies come steaming under a lid of golden, crisp pastry. Desserts are modern interpretations on retro classics including a creamy treacle tart or a Baked Alaska enlivened with peanut butter and jam.
As you’d hope to find in a gastropub, the drinks selection is extensive. Over 200 wines from diverse regions are listed, helpfully grouped to aid selection, and there is also plenty of choice for the beer drinker, with many local and craft beers available by the glass, bottle or even the can. A range of classic, well-crafted cocktails rounds out the drinks offering.
Open from mid-morning to late at night, the Legal Eagle offers a perfect spot in the city centre for coffee and cake, a lunchtime roast in a roll, or dinner and drinks.
