Review: Achara
There’s something in the air down on Aston Quay, and I like it.
It’s not the diesel fumes of buses. It’s not the smell of the hot city pavements. It’s the smell of a charcoal grill.
To be frankly honest, if any evil villain ever wanted to lure me to their lair, they’d simply have to light a wood or charcoal burning grill and start cooking some pork. That’s all it would take to bring me running to my doom. Some women wear perfumes with wood notes, I simply would be happy with wood smoke.
Achara is the new Thai restaurant which has replaced the recently closed Happy Endings, and it’s finally bringing the Thai/grill cooking style to Dublin. Fans of Kiln and Smoking Goat in London might say that it’s only taken a decade for this fantastic style of cooking to hit Dublin, but hey, better late than never.
It’s early days when I visit, so I’m hopeful that the somewhat sparse decor will fill out more in due course, but in terms of cocktails, they’ve absolutely hit the ground running. A margarita infused with kaffir lime flavours is sensationally good, while the classic gimlet gets a twist with burnt rhubarb and Thai basil oil (both €13).
If there is one dish which will tell you all about Achara, it’s the little skewer of Killary Fjord mussels (€4). Plucked from the shell and smothered in an intensely flavoured satay-style sauce, this one bite tells you that this place ain’t messing. It’s here to play, and it’s got hobnail boots on.
When ordering the Goatsbridge trout ceviche, I had worried that the delicate flavours of freshwater trout would be overpowered by the promised mint, dill and chilli (€12). And even though the dish was packed with whole herbs, red onion and tomatoes, the combination worked wonderfully, balancing sharp, sour and sweet.
Chargrilled prawns came with head and tail intact, but thankfully with the middle carapace removed for easy picking, and even though an effort had been made at de-veining, I did have to resort to some grit removal. In fact, there seems to be a regretful trend lately to not cleaning prawns at all which disturbs me greatly as I intensely dislike gritty sensations. That aside, the prawns were perfectly cooked on the custom made Smokin’ Soul grill, and dressed in a tasty peanut and lemongrass satay sauce (€14)
Large chunks of crispy aubergine with a basil chilli glaze (€14) disappeared quickly, partnered with rich, darkly glazed and perfectly rendered pork belly moo hong (€20). This utterly luscious piece of Salters free range pork was served simply sliced on a platter, and paired with a Granny Smith and anchovy salad. If you look closely, you’ll see tiny shiny dried anchovy heads in the salad, which cuts perfectly through the decadent fattiness of the pork.
By now, we were starting to feel full, but our eternal optimism regarding available stomach capacity meant we still had two more dishes to come.
A Thai staple of spicy stir-fried minced beef is elevated by the use of McLoughlin’s Irish wagyu beef, dotted with bright red chilli and green beans, topped with a fried egg (€16). I don’t know the background to this pairing, but it is a self-evident truth that fried eggs are a good addition. We’re warned that this will be spicy, but I don’t find it to be overly so.
A whole seabass (supplied by Glenmar) is flatten and chargrilled until the skin is just crispy, scatted with nam jim (€25). It’s light and fragrant, and we both dive simultaneously to dig out the little parcels of cheek flesh.
Every dish at Achara is full on, but yet it’s not exhausting or tiring. It’s exhilarating and each combination brings something new to the table. I applaud them for their extensive use of Irish produce (in addition to the suppliers already listed above, I also see Feighcullen free range chicken and Velvet Cloud on the menu).
It’s a very welcome addition to the mid-priced Dublin dining scene, sitting nicely alongside Nightmarket for high quality Thai food. I’m already looking forward to a return visit and watching this menu evolve.