Fire and Spice on Dawson

In a 300 year old building attached to The Mansion House, and located on Dawson Street in the centre of Dublin city, Fire certainly warms the cockles. The Mansion House is still the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, but Fire is also from a different era. The high-ceilinged room in which the restaurant is situated is furnished with wooden walls and floors resembling an old-style ballroom. In the past it was used for Irish dancing, banquets and as a gallery. Now it is painted white, with unusual architectural features such as stained glass circular windows, vaguely maritime-looking pieces of copper stretched between pillars and large spiky metal sculptures, making the restaurant appealing to look at, if not slightly confusing.

A healthy crowd on the Monday night Village visited would indicate that Fire is doing something right. Tasty bread and olive appetisers were quickly brought to our table, where the friendly and efficient staff served delicious Moroccan Spiced Lamb Skewers and woodfried Flatbread. The waitress informed us that a flatbread is a pizza, confirming our suspicions. While much crispier and airy than a normal pizza, the flatbread satisfied a mortal addiction to caramelised balsamic onions that shows no signs of abating. The lamb was tender and flavoursome, accompanied by a bowl of spiced cous-cous and yogurt.

The dessert menu proved to be a difficult choice, but in the end we plumed for slightly similar choices, tasting the Apple Crumble and a Rhubarb and Berry patisse. Rhubarb gets a bad press, but if everyone tried the dessert in Fire this would not be the case.  

Starters come at around €10, mains range from €14 for a flatbread or pasta to the mid- €20's for pork, chicken.
Fire, Dawson St, Dublin 2

www.mansionhouse.ie / Ph: 01 6767200