Champagne corks were popped last month in Temple Bar as Gallagher’s Boxty House celebrated thirty-five years of “making the humble spud beautiful.”

A plectrum’s throw from both the 3Olympia and Button Factory - artists playing there often drop in for a pre-gig bite – the restaurant was opened in 1989 by chef Pádraig Óg Gallagher who wanted to champion traditional Irish ingredients and cooking, albeit with some unique modern flourishes.

Hailing from the border counties of Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh, boxty pancakes are made with grated raw potato and a little gluten-free flour and pan-fried until golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.

The recipe and cooking method can be tweaked to produce boxty dumplings and bread, all of which are treated with the same reverence by Pádraig and his team.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Boxty House (@boxtyhouse)

Served in a series of rooms that recreate the ambience and aromas of an old Irish kitchen, the Dinner Menu includes such tempting starters as Calamari Salad, an Irish Meat Board and their classic Seafood Chowder with Treacle Bread. a popular fixture on the menu for twenty years.

Before you ask, yes, they’re every bit as delicious as they sound!

We love the made-for-sharing Gallagher’s Boxty Platter, which comprises of Crispy Boxty Fries with Rocket and Garlic Aioli, Toasted Boxty Loaf with Tomato & Coriander Salsa, Boxty Pancake with Cashel Blue Cheese and Boxty Dumplings in a Honey & Sweet Chilli Sauce.

They’re not only all nibblesome-ly good, but also demonstrate how versatile boxties are.

For mains, we always go for what Pádraig describes as ‘The Holy Trinity’ – a platter combining generous servings of their Beef & Stout Stew, Gallagher’s Lamb Stew and that most famous of Dublin dishes, Coddle, which is made using black pudding sausages and ham hock and accompanied by a selection of their homemade breads.

Beloved of both James Joyce and Sean O’Casey, it’s the ultimate in comfort food.

Also on the ‘must-try’ list are the slow-cooked Lamb Boxty with Carrots, Leeks and Cumin, wrapped in a Boxty Pancake and served with a Mint & Cucumber Yoghurt and the succulent Pork Belly with Red Cabbage Boxty, Apple and Pear Purée and a Light Dijon Mustard Cream Sauce.

The modern flourishes we mentioned earlier are evident in the Spice Boxty, a riff on the now famous Irish Spice Bag made with Crisp Buttermilk Chicken that’s served on a bed of Peppers, Onions and Boxty Pancake with Curry Sauce and Tobacco Onions.

As part of their ongoing 35th birthday celebrations, Gallagher’s are offering a special Storytelling Experience in their atmospheric downstairs room where diners get to hear the fascinating origin stories of the dishes they’re tucking into from Boxty House mainstays David Lynam and Mike Looney, two much-loved and experienced waiters.

Make sure to check out the Póitin Sorbet, which adds considerably to the conviviality of the night!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Boxty House (@boxtyhouse)

A beer aficionado as well, Pádraig in 2014 set up his own Jack Smyth brewery, which produces the excellent Classic Stout, Irish Red Ale, Indian Pale Ale and Clean Crisp Lager that can only be sampled in the Boxty House.

The brewery was named in honour of his then teenage son Jack Smyth Gallagher who’s since developed his own grá for beer and great food and is as genial a host as his dad is.

Meanwhile, the pick of a very fine Signature Cocktails menu is the Granny Smyth, which blends Teeling Spirit of Dublin Poitín with fresh apple juice, honey syrup, lemon and cinnamon. Yum!

Pádraig has been one of the driving forces behind boxty obtaining DOP status, which means that it will soon enjoy the same legal recognition and protections as such other fine European foods as Camembert de Normandie, Beurre d’Ardenne, Prosciutto di Parma and Cornish Clotted Cream.

To facilitate this, Gallagher’s will be switching their boxty production to Leitrim which will likely throw its own party when that Denominazione di Origine Protetta is confirmed.

In the meantime, the Boxty House continues to serve food that the whole of Ireland can be proud of!

Gallagher’s Boxty House,
20-21 Temple Bar, Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 677 2762
boxtyhouse.ie / [email protected]