This Week's New Openings

December is not just bringing tidings of joy, it's bringing even more new food to look forward to, including crab croissants, crispy pizzas and upscale Italian...

Little Forest

We've been talking about it since pre-Covid times (remember those?), but Little Forest in Blackrock, the new Italian from the guys behind Forest Avenue and Forest & Marcy is finally open. What has everyone is a spin is that the man making the pizzas is Reggie White, one of the original founders of PI (which we called the best pizza in Dublin), so it's unsurprising that their click and collect slots have been going fast. Pizzas include the 'Salsiccia Picante' with scamorza and pickled jalapeno, and the 'Roast Cauliflower' with grana padano, basil, taleggio, grapes and brown butter, and Reggie says this is a crisper pizza than the ones he's made before. They're using a wood-fired oven and mixing most of the dough by hand, and toppings will change regularly. An antipasti and pasta menu will be added in the new year, when they hope to open for indoor dining, and the wine list will be fully Italian. It's takeaway only for now and you an book a collection slot here.

Brother Hubbard @ Arnotts

Brother Hubbard opened their third location yesterday, in Arnotts (where Joe's used to be, at the Liffey Street entrance). Expect the food to be along the same lines as their other two sites, with a Middle-Eastern feel, lots for vegetarians and vegans, and plenty of the baked goods they're known for. Coffee is from Farmhand, which is roasted at their HQ on Capel Street, and they'll have inside and outside seating, available once restrictions ease on Friday. Until then it's takeaway only. Opening hours are the same as Arnotts.

Nanetti's

Cirillo's are going all fancy with their long-awaited second opening, Nanetti's on Dawson Street, in the space where fine dining restaurant Amuse used to be. Like its sibling, it's Italian, but slightly more upscale, and there's no pizza. We like the sound of the smoked buffalo mozzarella with winter truffle, the linguini nero with poached lobster, and the pistachio semifreddo with cardamom caramel, and we're expecting a good wine list. Nanetti's opens this Friday at 22 Dawson Street, and enquiries can be made by emailing info@nannettis.ie.

Little Lockdown Northside

Northsiders have been begging Gaz Smith to open a Michael's across the river for years, and while that wish hasn't quite come through, they now have access to some of the restaurant's best produce, with the opening of 'Little Lockdown North', at the front of Higgins' Butchers in Sutton. Little Lockdown, their grocery and deli, is where second restaurant Little Mike's was pre-Covid (and will hopefully return to once normality resumes). They're promising excellent coffee from Upside, crab croissants, grade A cheeses and meats, and some very special wines. Little Lockdown North is having a soft opening today from 13:00. and opens fully tomorrow.