Allta

Niall Davidson's move to Dublin in 2019 was London's loss. The Derry chef, who began his career as a butcher, burst onto the Irish scene with Allta, a bold, innovative restaurant in Dublin’s Setanta Place (now home to Allta alumni, Kevin Burke’s Library St) with exciting and original cooking.

Since then Allta has had several iterations – the sell-out pop-ups of Summer House in Slane Castle and Allta Winter House on the roof of Trinity Car Park in Dublin. Each version of Allta has been exceptional, Niall ensuring its evolution foodwise and stylewise, while keeping its core appeal.

So it’s a relief to see Nialll find Allta’s forever home in Dublin’s Docklands, with the incarnation as strikingly cool, original and exciting as we’d hoped. The fit-out, largely overseen by Niall and his dad, is a spacious home worthy of his beautiful food. The bright new-build industrial interior has been softened with warm seductive tones of the 60s and 70s. Marrying retro shades with exquisite architectural furniture, soft drapes and moody lighting, including his signature Hatchett sound system, it’s a temple of cool comforts designed to shine.

Niall isn't just a chef. He's a restaurateur who takes a holistic approach to Allta. The food, the tableware (bespoke Fermoyle pottery), the music and decor all synergise to bring an infectious energy that’s enhanced by the brilliant, happy staff.

A master of flavours, Niall’s dishes are beautifully balanced, original, comforting, wholesome and delicious. A pile of Union Hall shrimps cooked in their shells with yuzu and dulse mayonnaise; layered potato rosti topped with blackcurrant leaf vinegar; barbecued monkfish with zippy orange and fennel, six-year-old Jersey rump with horseradish and beetroot.

Niall knows his producers, getting out in the fields, fishing with them, cooking with them to understand the essence of their produce. Nothing is on this menu by chance. Portions are generous and the menu is broken up to allow you to graze, rather than follow the traditional 3-course format. Sharing is positively encouraged.

The staff carries the same holistic ethos through the service from arrival to departure. Whether serving excellent cocktails, beers and wine in the chilled-out Glovebox lounge, with its changing art collection and chic central bar, or explaining the menu tableside, there’s a welcoming warmth and rapport.

It will be love at first sight when you walk in. And by the time you leave you'll be booking your next return. That's the triumph of Allta.