Foodspotting

Kai, winner of Best Restaurant in Connacht, is renowned for its beautifully colourful and amazing food, as well as head chef Jess’s attention to detail and creativity. Fragile flowers scattered over robust salads and West Coast crab with trout caviar are typical Kai fare. This popular Galway restaurant has a cookbook club where Jess chooses a favourite tome to explore and cook from. The club is all about like-minded people getting together to share their love of cooking and cookbooks. Seating is communal with family-style platters of food passed around as diners chat, ask questions and learn about how to become a better home chef. There’s a set menu featuring dishes from the chosen book and a special guest talk on the night. January’s lucky guests were treated to parsley cake and tripe with hot peppers, cider vinegar and lovage from Roberta?s Cookbook (published by Clarkson Potter, around €15). Keep a close eye on Kai’s Facebook page for future dates, as cookbook club nights, which cost €35, sell out very quickly. LH

Tucked away in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre on South William Street is The Pepper Pot, which serves huge wedges of cinnamon-scented carrot cake and steaming pots of tea by day. But on Thursday and Friday evenings, it magically transforms into The Supper Pot. Each event features a different menu, including specials like vegan barley and cavolo nero stew, ceviche and spiced sausage, fennel and chickpea stew. Its fresh and ever-changing menu is amazingly good value and supports an array of Irish artisan producers. LH

The Beggars Bush gastro-effect in Dublin 4 is spreading. Ringsend is next up for a foodie facelift with the arrival of the Artisan Parlour, featuring an interior of reclaimed wood. Their cheese and ham toastie is already a bit of a local legend – made with Firehouse Bakery rye bread, Crowe’s Farm smoked ham hock, Hegarty’s Cheddar and lashings of mustardy b?chamel. Nom nom. LGG

Enjoy the Fallon & Byrne vibe in the leafy surrounds of the People’s Park in Dun Laoghaire, where they’ve taken over the newly renovated Victorian pavilion. The new restaurant will feature a sunny dining room, takeaway caf? bar and modern cocktail bar inside, plus an outdoor dining area, which will include an Argentinian-style, wood-fired outdoor grill. Expect perfect sandwiches, superfood salads, aromatic hot dishes, and creamy hot chocolates – your walk in the park will never be the same again. Fallon & Byrne will open every day from breakfast through to dinner. LGG

Have you got a favourite foodie spot? Tell us on?Facebook and?Twitter. And don’t forget to send us your foodie adventures #instabites.

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