Feast, the former Dun Laoghaire bistro which moved to Golden Lane in the city centre last year, has closed its doors, and is offering either the business or its lease for sale. An ad on Google states that it's being offered fully equipped and that the initial investment was €230,000. A listing on Daft is offering the lease alone for €89,000.
Feast opened in Dun Laoghaire in 2017 and got off to a good start, with Catherine Cleary in the Irish Times calling it "a find in a food dessert", urging people to visit and "keep the light burning in this lovely little place". In 2018 they moved to Golden Lane off Aungier Street, and Cleary was back again, saying that despite some quips she had a hopeful feeling about it. Ernie Whalley also gave them a positive review in the Sunday Times, but did add that he felt "a touch uneasy. This venue has hosted a number of incumbents over the years, yet none seems to have made the place “a destination"."
Despite being awarded a Michelin plate for good cooking, the tone from Feast seemed to be increasingly desperate over the past year, with a new brunch menu featuring unlimited cocktails for €14.90, and the same deal being offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. A post on the restaurant's Facebook page in March stated that it was under new management, but just over two months later the doors have been shut for good.
Warnings were widespread earlier this year that the VAT increase was going to be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of already struggling restaurants in Ireland, particularly in the capital where openings are back to boom time numbers. Award-winning Luna's closure last week has been the shock of 2019 so far, but we imagine there are more to come.
