Dec 3, 20202 min read

Sprezzatura Is Coming To Rathmines

Sprezzatura was easily one of the most successful openings of 2019, when talk of a handmade pasta bar had critics and consumers running to Grantham Street to check it out. Its combination of great pasta, worthy ingredient sourcing and no plate costing more than €10 has had people lining up all week every week, so it will be very welcome news that Sprezzatura number two opens in Rathmines next week.

The new Sprezzatura will have the same menu as the Grantham Street site for December, and its own menu with new items from January. Until then you'll find Toons Bridge stracciatella, Ard Mhacha shiitake arancini, bucatini all'amatriciana, mafaldine with Cashel Blue, gnocchi with sage and Toons Bridge butter, and all of the other small plates and pastas gracing your Instagram feed for the past year.

The new site is in an old bank building on Lower Rathmines Road, a listed, red-brick that's largely been unused since AIB's departure in the 1990's. It was first built to house the Belfast Banking Company in 1901, became the Royal Bank of Ireland in 1922, then AIB in the 1960's. It's been renovated to house the new Sprezzatura, but loads of the original features are intact, like sash windows, tall French doors, high ceilings, columns and cornices. The entrance is cut in sandstone, with carved friezes of griffins and stained glass windows underneath a terracotta turret and flagpole. You'll also find the Belfast city coat of arms and the Belfast Bank (BB) logos carved into the stone and brick on either side of the entrance, so have a peek when you're going in.

Wine and cocktails are on tap, and as with site number one their partnerships with Mossy Earth on off-setting your meal by planting trees, and glint glass studio to reuse glass bottles as glassware, will operate in number two. They're also announcing a partnership with the Dublin Simon Community later this month.

And now what you really want to know - how to book. The new Sprezzatura opens on Thursday 10th December, and bookings will be released on Sprezzatura's website on Tuesday the 8th at midday. Set your alarm now.