{"id":576422,"date":"2026-07-09T06:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576422\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:43:19","slug":"mr-fox-review-will-a-new-chef-deliver-on-michelin-ambitions-at-this-beloved-dublin-1-spot-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576422\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr Fox review: Will a new chef deliver on Michelin ambitions at this beloved Dublin 1 spot? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr Fox<\/strong> <\/p>\n

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

Address:<\/strong> 38 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1<\/p>\n

Telephone:<\/strong> 01 874 7778<\/p>\n

Cuisine:<\/strong> Modern International<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cA new chapter begins at Mr Fox.\u201d That was the heading on the email that landed in my inbox, and it was enough to pique my interest. It had been a long time since my last visit \u2013 years, in fact \u2013 and the chef taking over as chef patron alongside founder Anthony Smith \u2013 who opened the restaurant almost a decade ago, and more recently D\u2019Olier Street in Dublin 2 \u2013 has an impressive CV for somebody many of us might not have heard of. <\/p>\n

Backstories generally lead with the highlights rather than following a strict chronology, but for Jordan, it\u2019s a fine-dining trajectory from the get go, starting with three years at the K Club<\/a> in Co Kildare before moving to The Greenhouse in Dublin 2 under Mickael Viljanen<\/a>, a period he describes as the most influential of his career. From there he joined Ross Lewis<\/a> at Chapter One in Dublin 1 for three years before heading to Vancouver to work at AnnaLena, where the restaurant earned a Michelin<\/a> star. <\/p>\n

Back in Ireland, he worked in D\u2019Olier Street under James Moore, again when the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, before moving to Terre in Castlemartyr<\/a> in Co Cork. A return to Dublin saw him join Library Street in Dublin 2 while he waited for the right head chef opportunity. Then Anthony Smith came knocking.<\/p>\n

The diningroom is in the Georgian basement of this Parnell Square, Dublin 1 restaurant, divided into two connected spaces with a convivial bar to the left of the entrance. It has changed little over the years: sage-green walls, charcoal timber panelling, navy velvet curtains and a patterned tiled floor that gives way to timber floorboards in the second room, where we\u2019re seated at a square oak table. There are no tablecloths, just white linen napkins.<\/p>\n

Mr Fox has offered a tasting menu for some time \u2013 \u20ac73 for five courses \u2013 but an a la carte option returned last summer, offering a broader choice. Despite that, most of the people in the room appear to be on the tasting menu, tourists and locals enjoying a pre-theatre dinner before Oscar Wilde\u2019s An Ideal Husband at the nearby Gate Theatre.<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Fox is located in a Georgian basement. Photograph: Alan Betson \"TheThe bar at Mr Fox. Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

Opting for the a la carte, we start with three very good slices of 48-hour sourdough (\u20ac7) accompanied by a generous mound of cep butter and a piped ribbon of Parmesan custard, scattered with crispy pieces of onion and pickled onion.<\/p>\n

A langoustine tail wrapped in golden toast (\u20ac4) is fresh and sweet, with dots of yuzu kosh\u014d adding a whisper of citrus heat. The toast, however, is softer than I would have liked. An open-faced snack would allow the crustacean to shine. A bottle of trebbiano from the Falerio region of Italy (\u20ac48), from a wine list that in effect starts at \u20ac50, works well with our meal.<\/p>\n

Moving on to the starters, I\u2019m expecting the macerated tomatoes (\u20ac17) to bring a fresh burst of summer, but the inclusion of semi-dried tomatoes takes the dish in a sweeter and slightly dated direction. Crispy croutons add texture and smoked Gubbeen brings contrast in flavour, but the slivers of Iberico ham are too fine to register. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Chef Mark Moriarty\u2019s new restaurant: \u2018It is something pretty new for Ireland\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Kicking up the fun quotient is the buttermilk fried chicken (\u20ac16), a juicy piece of chicken inside a craggy, crispy coating. Togarashi mayonnaise adds a gentle warmth, while large curls of pickled carrot bring acidity.<\/p>\n

Rabbit (\u20ac32) is not a dish you see too often on menus, and here it arrives rich and deeply savoury, tossed with girolles, house-made trecce pasta and grapes in a buttery, tarragon sauce. The grapes are a clever addition, bringing bite and a burst of sweetness. <\/p>\n

The seared halibut (\u20ac35) is cooked beautifully, golden on top, giving way to pearly flakes of flesh, sitting in a buttery lemon sauce flecked with herbs and finely chopped braised kombu. Peas, romanesco and summer greens bring freshness, with a few mussels adding a briny note.<\/p>\n

\"SearedSeared halibut at Mr Fox. Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

Of the three desserts, the citrus posset with matcha namelaka and strawberries (\u20ac11) sounds the most adventurous. It certainly is the most striking, topped with a honeycomb-shaped tuile, but somehow the posset doesn\u2019t quite chime with the matcha-flavoured white chocolate ganache and diced strawberries in syrup. <\/p>\n

Mr Fox feels like a work in progress, with Jordan adding dishes that reflect the techniques and flavours he encountered during his time in Vancouver \u2013 ingredients such as kombu, bonito and togarashi. At the same time, the pre-theatre tasting menu remains hugely popular, so there\u2019s a delicate balance at play. It will be interesting to see where he takes it next.<\/p>\n

Dinner for two with a bottle of wine and filtered water was \u20ac172.50.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe diningroom in Mr Fox’s Georgian basement. Photograph: Alan Betson
\n \"MrMr Fox, 38 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1. Photograph: Alan Betson<\/p>\n

The verdict:<\/b> There\u2019s talk of Michelin ambition at this much-loved restaurant<\/p>\n

Food provenance:<\/b> Glenmar, Artisan Foods, McLoughlin\u2019s Butchers, Keelings, Caterway<\/p>\n

Vegetarian options:<\/b> Separate vegetarian menu<\/p>\n

Wheelchair access:<\/b> No accessible room or toilet<\/p>\n

Music:<\/b> Jazz and background music<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mr Fox \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 Address: 38 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1 Telephone: 01 874 7778…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[18572,18,117,2215,19,17,33074,361,22906,5281,33646],"class_list":["post-576422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-dublin-1","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-for-you","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-k-club","tag-magazine","tag-michelin","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-reviews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116888667505060198","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576422","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=576422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}