What should we know about Little Geno's?
Fans of Los Chicanos – read: anyone with good taste – will be licking their lips at the new sandwich shop from chef Scott Holder. Where that food truck’s inventions took inspiration from Mexican cooks he worked with in the US, Little Geno's takes its cue from New York’s bodegas, with a host of house-prepped meats and sauces bringing a local flavour to corner deli classics.
What should we have?
There are four signature sandwiches (plus a vegan riff on one) with a boldface “we don’t mess with our sandwiches” warning to anyone tempted to ask about swapping out ingredients - Subway this ain’t. Holder and co have put plenty of work into building their ideal combinations, and we respect the confidence and commitment of sticking to their guns.
The Reuben comes on traditional rye - a malty, nutty bread unfamiliar enough to Irish palates to be regularly replaced by plenty of cafés in the same sandwich. More’s the pity - paired with Little Geno’s delicately flavoured pastrami, piquant sauerkraut and punchy Russian dressing, it’s a well-balanced wonder topped off by a whopper pickle on the side. The sliced Swiss cheese can feel a bit lost in the midst, that’s more our own outlook on the classic combo, than any misjudgement on Little Geno's.
We had the same quibble with the Cubano - up against hard-hitting roast mojo pork shoulder, pickles and mustard aioli, few cheeses would stand a chance. The crisp grilled bread hides a soft crumb, while the mustard’s subtle heat plays well off the citrus and spice-infused flavour of the marinade – a little more meat would have been welcome, with notably more shoulder slopping out on Instagram than in the flesh.
The Italian is the one we’d be least likely to revisit - for all the standout spice of its Calabrian chilli and tomato sauce (sell it by the jar plz) and the perfect ciabatta, the combo of pepperoni, fennel salami and smoked ham mostly just melded together in a meaty, oily mess that ran down our fingers. The more-is-more meat crowd might find this one more to their liking.
We couldn’t imagine anyone not loving the bánh mì though, vegans included - there's a mushroom-laden meat-free version – with its spillover shredded veg and perfectly crusty French baguette. The proportions of this one in the basket had our expectations lowered, but the burst of flavour from lemongrass-scented pork belly and spicy Vietnamese sausage quickly showed us size isn’t everything. Don’t pass on it.
Cloud Picker are on board for coffee, with iced iterations flying out the door on the intermittently sunny morning we popped our heads in. Both chai and latté went down a treat – bank on seeing a lot of these around Stephen’s Green.
Why should I go?
If the salubrious surrounds of this building – it’s a members-only coworking space upstairs – don’t exactly scream small neighbourhood deli, the healthy balance of quality and convenience hit the mark head-on. There’s a simplicity and charm to Little Geno’s riffs on classics that will play well with the passing office trade out for a weekday lunch, or the weekend crowd looking to pimp up a park picnic.
Little Geno’s
Grafter House, Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
