{"id":532565,"date":"2026-06-13T01:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T01:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/532565\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T01:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T01:33:18","slug":"taste-of-dublin-2026-kicks-off-we-come-every-single-year-we-absolutely-love-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/532565\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste of Dublin 2026 kicks off: \u2018We come every single year, we absolutely love it\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking through the gates of Merrion Square<\/a> this weekend, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking you have left Dublin far behind. <\/p>\n

Aromas alone take you on a cuisine journey around the world. Lamb mansaf from Shaku Maku brings a taste of Palestine to the heart of the city; samosas are expertly filled and folded at Pakistani restaurant Daata; and try the renowned Tai Fai dumplings at Bigfan\u2019s stall. <\/p>\n

In addition to the international plate, Taste of Dublin features some of Ireland\u2019s finest artisan produce. Among the bustling food talks, lively sample bars and the sounds of the swinging jazz band, there are chillies from Co Cork, vermouth from Valentia Island, craft beers from a distillery in Co Down and countless other local Irish food and drink offerings. <\/p>\n

Helma Larkin has just enjoyed the dumplings from Bigfan, and says it is her fourth time at the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love seeing what restaurants in Dublin<\/a> come each year so I can try their food. I took a half day off work because I think it\u2019s a really cool event,\u201d Larkin says. \u201cI like to come in the afternoon so I can really see the food, and before the crowds. I love it, I\u2019m a bit of a foodie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind Larkin is Anna and Orla Snook O\u2019Carroll\u2019s Valentia Island Vermouth stand \u2013 the country\u2019s only authentic Irish vermouth. <\/p>\n

\"ValentinaValentina Island Vermouth owner Anna Snook O\u2019Carroll at the Taste of Dublin 2026 in Merrion Square. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Anna says that after meeting her wife Orla at art school in Bristol they decided to start the company, which was \u201cborn from our kitchen table on Valentia Island\u201d. <\/p>\n

Anna and Orla embarked on a \u201cjourney of flavours\u201d for 18 months until they got the recipe just right. Anna says the secret is their handmade caramel which gives their vermouth its \u201cbittersweet and magic flavour\u201d. <\/p>\n

The vermouth is filled with 20 botanicals and goes for \u20ac35 a bottle. <\/p>\n

In front of The Salty Buoy, serving \u201cfresh and fuss-free\u201d seafood, Zoe Murphy is trying \u201cduck and lobster for the very first time\u201d. Murphy says she is at the event while \u201clooking for inspiration\u201d for her own work and will \u201ctry anything new\u201d to inspire her. <\/p>\n

The Salty Buoy\u2019s classic lobster roll is \u20ac12. Its ceviche loco and Dublin Bay scallop are \u20ac7 each. <\/p>\n

Another seafood stall nearby is Dec MacManus\u2019s King Sitric, a Howth dining mainstay. It has teamed up with Kelly\u2019s Oysters in Co Galway, one of Ireland\u2019s oldest oyster-farming families. <\/p>\n

\"FreshFresh oysters at the King Sitric truck at the Taste of Dublin 2026 in Merrion Square. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

While dicing cucumbers and drizzling red wine vinegar into the oysters at the stall, Ryan O\u2019Leary says \u201ceverything is sustainable. Everything we don\u2019t sell gets sent back to the farm, into the sea to grow for another year.\u201d<\/p>\n

King Sitric\u2019s oysters are \u20ac3 each. <\/p>\n

Siobhan Quane says that she comes here \u201cevery single year. We absolutely love it. It\u2019s a family occasion. We love just going around and having a bit of fun together.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"SiobhanSiobhan Quane at the Taste of Dublin 2026 in Merrion Square. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Quane booked a few of the experiences on offer in advance, such as the Supervalu and Taste of Spain experiences. She is most looking forward to the St Germain class. \u201cI have two daughters who are in their 20s. They like their Hugo spritzes,\u201d she says, laughing. <\/p>\n

There are two types of tickets available for the festival this weekend: the afternoon ticket, 12pm-4.30pm, and the evening ticket, 6pm-10.30pm. <\/p>\n

The cost of an afternoon adult ticket is \u20ac28 and for children under the age of 16 it is \u20ac14.<\/p>\n

The cost of an evening adult ticket is \u20ac35 and for children under the age of 16 it is \u20ac17.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be bought on Equinox Events Ticketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walking through the gates of Merrion Square this weekend, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking you have left Dublin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[1877,52,18,117,19,17,72,19266],"class_list":["post-532565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cork","tag-dublin","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-palestine","tag-supervalu"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116740227552424501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532565","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=532565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}