Dada

Price for two: €€
Portion: Large
Overall experience: 4/5
Website: https://www.dadarestaurant.ie/dadarestaurant/index.html

Here is yet another unique cuisine for you to give a try this weekend. If you are looking for an authentic Moroccan restaurant in Dublin, visit ‘Dada’. To start, this restaurant is beautiful in terms of interiors, as it reflects a divine décor of Moroccan culture and heritage. I highly recommend you make a reservation for this restaurant, especially if you plan to visit during the weekend. Located on South William Street Corner, Dada is easily accessible as it rests in the heart of Dublin City Centre.

As one of the richest cuisines in the world, Moroccan cuisine is a blend of many cultures that span across Africa with a slight influence of European, Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan savours. This incredibly flavoursome cuisine extensively comprises the many spices they use, especially a spice mixture called Ras-El-Hanout, a combination of twenty-seven Moroccan spices.

As soon as you enter this buzzing restaurant, you will be guided to your table by their welcoming staff. Sipping refreshing mint and lemon water, you may browse the menu and notice the variety of meals served at this restaurant, including ‘Group Feast Menu, Dinner Menu, Lunch Menu, Early Bird Menu, Dessert, and Drink Menu’.

In addition, you have the option of bringing your Wine, Beer, or Champagne. They have some terms and conditions to get these drinks, including a corkage fee, which is correctly mentioned on their website. Besides this option, they provide many alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for you to try.

The restaurant has ample vegetarian options spanning from Starters to Main Courses. Their meat is halal, and the lamb is 100% prime-certified Irish. Since my husband and I are fond of non-vegetarian dishes, we focus mainly on them.

For Starters, we tried the Grilled Mince Kofta Kebab. The meat was incredibly soft and almost melted in our mouths. The dish included coriander, chilli, and sumac served with yoghurt dip. Freshly served, this dish has three pieces of kebabs, which can be shared among two people. They also had a shared platter, a mix of different mezze-style appetizers, but the party needed a minimum of four people to order this dish.

I tried Chicken Breast Couscous (sweet flavour) for the main course. This was the first time I tried Couscous, and I instantly loved it. It’s a perfect ingredient to replace rice and has all the fibre one needs in their diet. The dish had a slightly sweet flavour, which I thoroughly enjoyed. With a gravy of chickpeas and caramelized onion, the chicken breast blended well and left me satisfied. This dish is sufficient for one person.

We also tried another main course which was the Lamb Tagine. Served in a terracotta pot, this dish consisted of marinated roasted carrots, peas, the famous Ras – el-Hanout and, of course, the lamb tagine. This dish is served with some homemade bread. To enjoy this dish fully, it is best to dip some bread in this lovely gravy and savour it. The dish was mild and slightly sweet as well. You do have the option to mention the level of spiciness you want in your food by conveying it to the server. You may also report any allergies that you may have to any of the food ingredients in general to the server.

Known for their highly flavoursome desserts, I tried their selection of homemade Moroccan Pastries. Consisting of four pieces of sweets, baklawa was among my favourite ones. However, these sweets are pretty heavy and filling, so sharing this dish with two or more people is best.

The cost of dining at this restaurant for two people based on the dishes mentioned in the images above is €€. This restaurant is a perfect date night restaurant or a lovely place to catch up with friends while eating some delicious Moroccan food.