In this post last August I wrote about the popularity of a certain type of restaurant, almost exclusively located in the heart of Dublin 2.
The type of restaurant which I was referring to, typically has the following features:
Large number of covers
Specialised drinks/cocktail list
DJ playing cool tunes until the wee hours
Large marketing budget, predominantly aimed at females
A friend of mine coined the term "disco restaurants" to describe them. The core clientele tend to be made up of young professionals, who missed the negative equity kicking, and have plenty of disposable income as a result.
This discerning demographic know exactly what they want, so the food offering, although maybe not at the top of their priority list, has also got be of a good standard. Many base their whole night out around the one venue, so the most important factor is that the overall experience is better than the sum of it's parts.
Established places like Fade St. Social still seem to operating at full tilt, despite the competition. Up to 600 covers on a weekend night is not unusual apparently. Newcomers such as Soder + Ko and Avenue have hit the ground running and both are gaining a strong following already.
Soder + Ko. Source: totallydublin.ie
Reviews for both have been mixed, mainly depending on the age profile of the reviewer. As the old saying goes...if the music is too loud, you're up too late!
Avenue by Nick Munier
Another significant feature of this type of venture is the large scale investment required to develop and operate them. They involve considerable risk on the part of their investors and principals, and usually create plenty of employment. I've seen the weekly wage bill for a similar type operation and it frightened the life out of me!
So is this a trend that is likely to stick around for the long term? Well, as regular readers of the blog will know, I'm a firm believer that Dublin restaurant trends tend to follow London, with a lag of about five years. Young professional Londoners who frequented "disco restaurants" five years have now moved on to good quality, informal dining in hip yet relaxed spots like The Palomar and Kitty Fishers. The next generation of bright young things appear to be embracing "street food", adding longevity to a trend that many had written off as a short term fad.
My personal preferences probably mirror those of the wonderful Grace Dent in her recent review of 300 seater Fu Manchu in London. If I'm going to dinner with friends, I like to be able to have a conversation. That said, I'm not the target audience for these type of restaurants so I'm sure they care not what I think.
Whether or not they are your cup of negroni, there is no denying the vote of confidence in our economic recovery that these large scale operations represent. They create employment and inject a real buzz into the city centre. Long may it continue.