{"id":191832,"date":"2025-11-21T02:39:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/191832\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T02:39:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:39:20","slug":"this-brazilian-restaurant-was-made-for-boisterous-festive-get-togethers-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/191832\/","title":{"rendered":"This Brazilian restaurant was made for boisterous festive get-togethers \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rei Momo<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Address:<\/strong> 56 Drury St, Dublin, D02 HT29<\/p>\n

Telephone:<\/strong> N\/A<\/p>\n

Cuisine:<\/strong> Brazilian<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.reimomodublin.com\/Opens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Cost:<\/strong> \u20ac\u20ac<\/p>\n

A few months ago a plant pot fell from a high shelf on to my daughter Katherine in a restaurant<\/a>. She escaped unscathed, though it did briefly recall that scene in Slow Horses<\/a> (on Apple TV+), where a tin of pink paint plummets on to a bald head with terminal efficiency. Katherine\u2019s only surprise was that the \u201csoil\u201d in her meal turned out to be actual soil. The pot landed squarely on a framed print of the Michelin man declaring: \u201cYou\u2019ll eat where I f**king tell you to eat.\u201d I\u2019m pot-adjacent on the curved end of a mustard banquette in Rei Momo as she recounts the story, but it seems secure and in no danger of a comparable performance. <\/p>\n

Rei Momo began as a pop-up after Bootleg<\/a> closed and has settled into its skin. It\u2019s a Brazilian wood-fire grill and caipirinha bar, run by Rob Hayes (Big Fan), Geoff Nordell (Egan\u2019s) and Thom Lawson (Sprezzatura). The room has the warm, offbeat energy of a S\u00e3o Paulo bar crossed with a retro European cafe \u2013 burnt orange, ochre and olive walls, glossy green floor catching the street light through the capacious front window. Small square tables hold little more than glasses, cutlery and red menus.<\/p>\n

A long bar runs along the back wall, glowing under amber pendants, stacked with cacha\u00e7a bottles and beer crates, a chalkboard listing weekly specials above. The ceiling is a collision of steel beams and glass chandeliers \u2013 some green and scalloped and one vintage crystal \u2013 a mix of industrial structure and carnival flourish. It\u2019s a room made for noise, music and caipirinhas. There are six different types on the menu, and yes, that is exactly where we start with a classic (\u20ac13) and a spicy caipirinha (\u20ac13). <\/p>\n

The habanero in the spicy creation is a genius stroke, and the p\u00e3o de queijo (\u20ac7) \u2013 three warm, golf-ball-sized domes of Brazilian cheese bread, still steaming, with crusts dusted with chives and Parmesan \u2013 the perfect accompaniments. These are must-order items. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Ireland\u2019s new fast casual food: 10 top dishes to grab and goOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The pastel (\u20ac11) lands on the table looking like a deep-fried envelope stuffed with secrets. Inside, the leek and Mount Leinster cheddar filling is creamy and savoury, lifted by the leek. The salsa on the side is bright and sharp \u2013 lime, onion, pepper and coriander. Another essential. <\/p>\n

The repolho verde (\u20ac12) \u2013 grilled hispi cabbage with red chimichurri \u2013 has crisp, smoky outer leaves, just enough char without bitterness, while the inner layers collapse softly, almost buttery. The chimichurri is sweeter than expected, more red pepper than vinegar.<\/p>\n

The menu centres on the churrasco \u2013 peri-peri chicken, garlic-butter chicken hearts, prawns, ribs with guava barbecue, picanha, lamb chop and pork chop with pineapple \u2013 but it\u2019s Wednesday, one of two days when they serve feijoada tradicional (\u20ac15pp), Brazil\u2019s national dish, also offered on Sundays. It arrives as a full spread \u2013 a rich stew with slow-cooked black beans, smoked sausage, beef and pork ribs. It is flanked by all its sidekicks: coconut milk rice topped with crispy onions and chives, fried kale, pork crackling, orange slices, cassava crumbs and the same sharp salsa served with the pastel. It\u2019s earthy and layered, more smoky than spicy, with the beans binding everything in a glossy black sauce. <\/p>\n

The vegetarian feijoada (\u20ac15pp) delivers the same slow-cooked depth and smoke \u2013 all the flavour, none of the meat. The fun is in the assembling: spooning on rice, sprinkling farofa, adding a flash of orange or salsa. It\u2019s comfort food in full carnival mode \u2013 hearty, generous and cooked with patience.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorInterior of Rei Momo
\n \"InteriorInterior detail
\n \"ReiRei Momo
\n \"FrangoFrango peri peri (peri peri chicken) \"PorkPork chop with pineapple<\/p>\n

We finish with pastel de doce de leite (\u20ac7) \u2013 long, twisted strips of fried pastry standing upright in a pewter pot, glistening with dulce de leche. They\u2019re dusted with cinnamon sugar, a touch of salt, and a scatter of crushed peanuts for crunch served with a warm Nutella-dulce de leche sauce for dipping. It\u2019s playful and over the top, the kind of thing that, once spotted crossing the room, you immediately decide you\u2019re ordering next.<\/p>\n

Head chef Bruno Della Piazza, a native of Mato Grosso in central Brazil, runs the kitchen with the calm of a man who knows fire solves most problems. Rei Momo feels made for Christmas get-togethers \u2013 bright, boisterous, full of life \u2013 powered by a VOID Air Vantage Soundsystem that turns dinner into celebration. It\u2019s the rare restaurant that doesn\u2019t just serve food, but mood. Rei Momo is the place to go when you\u2019ve had enough of tasting menus and long explanations. You simply order, eat, drink and laugh.<\/p>\n

\"SaladaSalada de palmito (heart of palm salad) \" \"<\/p>\n

Dinner for two with two cocktails was \u20ac93.<\/p>\n

The verdict<\/b> A celebration of grill smoke, cheese bread and caipirinhas.<\/p>\n

Food provenance<\/b> Wrights fish and crab, Rings Farm free-range chicken and McLoughlin\u2019s pork (not free-range) and beef.<\/p>\n

Vegetarian options<\/b> Grilled cabbage, p\u00e3o de queijo, pastels and vegetarian feijoada.<\/p>\n

Wheelchair access<\/b> Fully accessible with an accessible toilet. <\/p>\n

Music<\/b> Loud but brilliant \u2013 modern Brazilian, with Tayc and others setting the pace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rei Momo \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 Address: 56 Drury St, Dublin, D02 HT29 Telephone: N\/A Cuisine: Brazilian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,16838,67859,18,64254,19,17,361,5281],"class_list":{"0":"post-191832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-christmas","10":"tag-dublin-2","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-food-month","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-magazine","16":"tag-restaurant"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115585375696142661","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}