Camden Street restaurants

Pickle is renowned chef, Sunil Ghai’s first standalone restaurant. Ghai came to Ireland 15 years ago to work for the Jaipur group of restaurants that includes Jaipur in Dalkey and Chakra in Greystones, as well as Ananda. Over time his food has become increasingly sophisticated, a world away from the standard curry-house fare that most of us associate with Indian restaurants. Expect classic Indian fayre from Pickle, but also dishes like mixed vegetable dumplings with mango, ginger, cashew-nuts, and cheese.

A truly authentic Asian food restaurant and contemporary Chinese food place right in the heart of Camden Street. Hang Dai is all about deadly Chinese food, slick tunes, and proper foodie magic from some of Ireland’s top chefs and party makers. This spot is a welcome change from the bog-standard Chinese restaurant with plenty of food, trendy decor, and a great atmosphere. If you’re looking for the best Camden Street restaurants, you can’t go wrong here.

This new restaurant comes from the team behind China Sichan in Sandyford, with cooking led by Dublin chef, Alan O’Reilly. Situated right next to Hang Dai, the food is billed as “eclectic”, featuring many of  the dishes that O’Reilly loves to cook. However, there’s a definite emphasis on Italian cooking, with pasta, risotti, and gnocchi all featuring on the menu. And, of course, the current darling of the Dublin dining scene; côte de boeuf.

Which brings me to Sova Vegan Butcher, credit for which goes to Barto Sova who moved to Ireland from his native Poland about 16 years ago and spent years working in a sandwich bar franchise. In 2013 he became a vegan and upon discovering there were few venues where he could have a proper dining experience, began doing popups in various places. They eventually found a premises on Camden Street and have been hugely popular with vegans since.

If SVB was a dud it would have confirmed my prejudices that veggie/vegan food could never be truly tasty or delivered in a setting to match a conventional restaurant. I was proved utterly wrong. My vegan guest, Jenny, declared it the best vegan food she had eaten in Ireland and it’s now one of our favourite Camden Street restaurants. Value for money is superb, and it’s BYOB with no corkage when you order three courses. They sell a fine range in vegan wine, and plans for a vegan deli are also afoot.