Spice Bag Newsletter | May 2025
Our spicy lil' monthly mailer full of delicious little chunks, from recommendations, suggestions and updates to exclusives and insider tidbits –– free for all our readership!
Mayday, Mayday! Welcome to May’s edition of Spice Bag, our email highlights reel, a delicious hash thrown together of where we have been eating/what we’ve been cooking, where we have been travelling, the things we’ve streamed or tuned into and other updates, insight, tidbits and industry news.
What & Where We’ve Been Eating…
We took Hammy the Frenchie on a staycation in the middle of April to simultaneously celebrate his 4th and Russell’s 34th birthdays. We went from Glenlo Abbey (#invite) through Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim and Cavan to Fermanagh, Tyrone and eventually Armagh for a stay at The Rabbit, part of the Galgorm Collection, (#invite) before making our way back down the M1. Think we covered 13 counties across the week! In the middle we stayed in a pair of beautiful Airbnbs for a few nights each which we’re happy to share: this one in Foxford, Co. Mayo and this place in Clonelly, Co. Fermanagh. If you book tell ‘em we sent you!
When in Enniskillen we couldn’t resist Folk again, probably the finest bakery on the entire island, and they had a LASAGNE DANISH. It was sen-SATIONAL. We reviewed FOLK for the Sunday Times Ireland last November.
In Ballina we HAD to try the iconic Chinese takeaway staple from The Lantern, the Chicken (Dry, Hot & Spicy). Watch our reaction on TikTok.
For Dublin Delish on 98FM, Russell road tested the new, very lim edish Dash Burger ‘Irish Coffee Smash’, (watch here!) which has Clonakilty Black Pudding crumb, Cashel Blue whip and a whisky and coffee-infused BBQ sauce. It is available for just 10c at select times ordered via Deliveroo daily this week from midday ‘til 6pm. Be quick, the offer ends Friday 2nd May.
In other casual Dublin dining, earlier in April we tried the Hawksmoor Big Matt, their take on the iconic order from the Golden Arches. Paired with a Boatyard Gin martini, naturally…
To Dungarvan last weekend for the Waterford Festival of Food, which we seem to pop up at every other year, and wrote about in a recent feature here. Always adore the excuse to get to a county we adore so much. We ate at The Tannery for the Patrick Powell dinner and still dream of the bbq monkfish & lobster fregola dish… Next time in London we’re putting Patrick’s new opening One Club Row top of the hit list. We also grabbed bakes ‘n’ bread at Dún and had pints aplenty at Merrys.
We met up with fellow food writer Katia Valadeau (
) to try out the stunning value, set ‘Neighbourhood’ menu at Volpe Nera in Blackrock last week. An incredible array of big, beautiful flavours for €38pp, pretty unbeatable, available for early evening tables on Weds/Thurs weekly. We reviewed the restaurant for the Sunday Times Ireland 18 months ago.In our own kitchen… we’ve been playing around with an Irish take on vitello tonnato, made an XXL jambon beurre (part of our recipe series Sandwish) and have discovered a new love: Lidl now do turkey thigh mince (buckets more flavour than dry 'ol breast) for €3. We love it, and so does Hammy.
RECAP: Sunday Times Ireland Reviews
The April restaurant reviews from us in the Sunday Times Ireland, in case you missed them in print/online:
Rei Momo, Dublin 2
Blackthorn, Barna, Co. Galway [not currently online unfortunately]
Rua, Castlebar, Co. Mayo (in the month they celebrate 30 years in-situ!)
mae, Dublin 4
[EXCLUSIVE] Coming in this Sunday’s edition will be Cush, formerly of Ballycotton and recently relocated to the much bigger Midleton…
Spice Blend: A Mix of Industry Updates
We seem to talk about Orwell Road a lot in these recent mailers (it’s just SO good) but we were delighted to hear Brazilian-born chef Leticia Miranda announced as its new head chef and looking forward to what she - alongside exec chef Dan Hannigan - brings to the kitchen!
One of our fave restaurants ever, Square in Dundalk, has knocked into next door and doubled its space! If you have never tried this neighbourhood bistro in Louth, please make a beeline (we’re planning a date ourselves). It was one of our first reviews back in late 2022 for the Sunday Times Ireland.
What on Earth is Galway City Council at? Misunderstood Heron is being forced out of their picturesque location in Connemara overlooking Killary Fjord becausing of planning red tape. Eight seasons in-situ and now 8 jobs lost. Horrendous, the whole industry is wishing for an immediate U-turn.
Isadora Petinari of Dublin’s 9 Below was crowned the winner of 2025 World Class Ireland, held at Cork’s Spike Island. She will go on to represent at the global finals in Toronto, Canada in September.
Another of the best places in Dublin for a drink, The Terrace at the Shelbourne re-opens Today, 1st May, running through to September and has a focus on sustainability this summer, collaborating with Wine Lab to offer a line-up of wines on tap.
Can Dublin handle any more pizza spots? Apparently so, Square Dish is opening any second now on Stephen’s Green specialising in deep dish.
Reading: Five Things That Caught Our Attention
Reading THIS Instagram carousel - “When you see your recipes in a $4 million book” [RecipeTinEats] - with GREAT interest because the same thing is happening us right now, and we have half a mind to call it out publicly in a similar way. While copyright may not cover recipes, plagiary is unethical.
London and UK-based pals, the British Library’s Food Season 2025 has a frankly unbeatable line-up, with so much brilliance to choose between. Though the schedule began in April it continues throughout May and June.
“Meet Amber Francis, the Great British Menu Champion who works in a school kitchen” [The Times]
Loving reading ourselves, humble brag, in Olive Magazine’s latest issue, where we’re zoning in on Dublin’s Smithfield neighbourhood while our guide of where to eat *across* Dublin in 2025 is also live on their website
“How Irish-made ginger beer has become a booming trend” [us on RTÉ Lifestyle ft. Zingibeer, Kinnegar, Hopfully & more]
Listening: Podcasts
HOW DID WE NOT KNOW KITTY FLANAGAN (of incredible Aussie comedy show FISK) HAS A PODCAST ABOUT JUNK FOOD!? The Junkees is co-presented with comedian Dave O’Neill - both v. strong Irish surnames - and has an archive of 150+ eps to enjoy, here is one recent one on Cadbury bars!
Why Didn’t Irish People Eat Fish During The Great Hunger? [Irish History Podcast]
Will SNL Thrive in the UK? [The Rest Is Entertainment; Richard Osman & Marina Hyde]
Russell is part of the Pod Squad regularly appearing on Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk every couple of weeks. Earlier this week he and Shelly Gray from TodayFM reviewed Good Hang by Amy Poehler, listen back here
Food Writers Talking About Food: Eric Kim & Matt Rodbard [This is TASTE]
Watching: MasterChef Australia is Back… to Win!
It has begun! The first episodes of the 17th season of MasterChef Australia (which is an all-star cast) have begun transmitting Down Under and we can’t wait to dive in and follow along. Are you game? Are you giddy? Are you stoked? Are you gonna back yourself? Please vote below…
That’s it for this month — thanks for reading! Chip Paper is brought to you by Patrick Hanlon and Russell Alford, AKA ‘GastroGays’. Irish food and travel writers, Sunday Times Ireland restaurant critics, broadcasters and content creators, this is our home of food long-reads, deep-dives and guides. You can find us elsewhere on Instagram, TikTok and our website GastroGays.com
