Cookes, the new 125-seater restaurant in Dundrum town centre from Chef Johnnie Cooke, opens to the public today, along with a 60-seat cocktail bar. The food is Mediterranean influenced, with dishes like Crispy Octopus a la Plancha, Lobster Pizza and Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib, as well as signature cocktails including a Dillisk-infused Bloody Mary.
The kitchen will be led by Johnnie, alongside a team of chefs including Lee Doyle (formerly The Exchequer) and Ros Morgan (formerly The Legal Eagle). Cooke's will open 7 days a week and will serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, as well as brunch at the weekends.
Johnnie Cooke is best known for owning and running Cooke’s Cafe in Castle Market for 17 years, famous for bringing Californian influenced Mediterranean food to Dublin and feeding celebrities like Bob Dylan and Naomi Campbell, before it closed in 2009. He now operates "The Restaurant by Johnnie Cooke" and the "Green & Bean Café and Bar", both in Brown Thomas.
Cooke's is in the first floor space above Harvey Nichols, which was formerly occupied by the Harvey Nichols restaurant, and before that by Niall Sabongi's Rock Lobster. The Harvey Nichols restaurant closed in August 2016 after making reported losses of around €15,000 a month. The space has been vacant since.
Cooke hopes that his ethos of believing in "the best ingredients (locally-sourced & organic wherever possible), clean presentation, a love of good food and a kinship attitude to feasting" will make Cooke's the one that sticks. Also look out for details soon to be announced of a summer series afternoon tea with Veuve Cliquot Rosé.
Cooke's
1st Floor, Pembroke District, Dundrum Town Centre
Mon - Fri 10am - 10pm. Sat - Sun 9am - 10pm.
Bookings - cookesrestaurant@johnniecooke.ie
Ph: (01) 2962441
