Comfort food at its best, a big bowl of pasta is the go-to quick, midweek home-cooked meal for many. But done with the finest ingredients it works well too as a restaurant dish so we have trawled The Irish Times food archive, and sought the opinions of critics and food writers, to locate the best pasta dishes in Ireland.
Variety Jones, Thomas Street, Dublin 1
One of the signature dishes on the chef’s choice tasting menu at Michelin-starred Variety Jones, in Dublin 8, is spaghetti Alfredo. “It’s a come-to-Mamma rendition of cacio e pepe, one of the best you’ll eat anywhere,” wrote Catherine Cleary, reviewing the restaurant when it opened. Chef and owner Keelan Higgs learned how to make it from his dad, and kindly shared the recipe with us, if you want to have a go at making it at home. It’ll be on the table in 10 minutes or less, Higgs says. Following a fire at its new premises in the Liberties last week, this Michelin-starred restaurant has been forced to take an early summer break, but its website says it will reopen on July 25th. Its website says its September and October bookings will open online on August 15th.
Amuri, 4 Chatham Street, Dublin 2
Sicilian restaurant Amuri, run by brothers Andrea and Luca Licciardello, offers no less than five fresh pasta dishes on its a la carte menu. Corinna Hardgrave, reviewing the restaurant in the company of Manuella Spinelli, a Dublin-based Italian with excellent food credentials, said “sticking with the pasta makes for a very nice dinner indeed”. They ate “garganelli alla norma (€17), a Sicilian classic, with large quills of fresh pasta doused in a rich tomato and aubergine sauce, dotted with ricotta” and “tagliolini mantecati al burro di bottarga (€23)” featuring the cured and dried roe of bluefin tuna.
Osteria Lucio, Clanwilliam Terrace, Dublin 2
This is where you’ll find Ross Lewis, of Chapter One fame, manning the stoves these days. The modern Italian menu features five pasta dishes, one more delicious sounding than the next. Our critic went with an adventurous choice. “We have been pre-warned that our pasta dish, the nero di sepia (€25), is made with squid ink, (perhaps a plate of jet black sauce has perturbed some diners), and find that it is considerably lighter than you might expect. Squid ink can be quite intense in a dish, here it has been lifted with the inclusion of tomato which brings a fresh touch of acidity; and the ebony coated gnocchetti sardi are topped with a few rings of squid and cockles.” For less adventurous palates there is also a lasagne on offer (though chips and coleslaw are. definitely not an option).
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Grano, Dublin 7
“The pasta at Grano is all made in house using Cappelli flour, an ancient grain flour from the south of Italy that is said to be perfect for pasta – and the pasta at Grano is pretty perfect,” says food writer Ali Dunworth. “I adore the simplicity of their cacio e pepe. Slick strands of springy home-made spaghettoni, coated in just enough pecorino and pepper, are a joy to twist around your fork and devour.” This is the real deal, run by Italian Roberto Mungo.
Sonflour, Cork city
Choose home from home made linguine or ravioli, and then select a sauce to accompany it from a list of five, for a plate of perfect pasta. Owners Eugenio Nobile and Lorenzo Barba have earned a stellar reputation in Cork for their pasta, flatbreads and pizzas. They’re all vegetarian, and made with Irish ingredients where possible. “With dish names such as ‘I lost my mind by the Shakey Bridge’, live music gigs, sustainable wines and a pet-friendly policy, it’s easy to see why Cork has fallen for Sonflour,” says food writer Joanne Cronin.
