What should we know about Yumgrub?
Previously located in Ballybrack’s Village Yard before its sudden closure scuppered things, plant-based fast food “filth” purveyors Yumgrub have now set up shop in Grand Canal Dock’s The Place, alongside fellow food trucks Pastiamo, Tacoman, Dosa Dosa and The Drunken Cookie.
The all-vegan menu is packed with Beyond Meat burgers, chick*n rolls, tofu bacon and loaded fries, and we’d heard just enough positive word to want to get down to check it out for ourselves.
What should we have?
We might have expected to walk away from Yumgrub raving about one burger or another, but actually it’s the nachos we can’t shut up about: slathered in a rich and creamy vegan queso, these well-loaded tortilla chips happily hold their own with the standard competition.
Where meat alternatives have come along in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, plant-based cheeses are often lagging far behind. Yumgrub’s concoction gets it spot-on with a sharp, tangy tastiness that’s nigh-on impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Well-seasoned guac and a piquant pico de gallo have just the right acidic kick to balance out the gooey, cheesy goodness.
Had we known in advance just how moreish that queso was going to be we’d have gone for a helping of cheeze-loaded fries too – we make these mistakes so you don’t have to. Instead we went for the little-bit-of-everything Grub Box to give us a few little tasters.
It’s a substantial serving of food anchored in the perfectly crispy skin-on fries, but we found the overly thin chick*n strips a little disappointingly bland in isolation – it’s easy to imagine one of the sauce-laden chick*n burgers being a more well-rounded vehicle for the breaded Seitan, with other ingredients giving it a chance to work in concert.
We’d been really curious to try the “Mac ‘n’ Cheeni”, suspect though the pun may be, and while the textural contrast of crispy breadcrumbs, oozing cheeze and al dente pasta makes for a mighty mouthful, the filling was just a touch too under-seasoned to really resonate beyond that initial bite.
We rounded things out with a Cowboi burger, and there’s no doubting the Beyond Meat patty looks the part, slathered with melted cheeze and topped with a messy mound of caramelised onion and BBQ sauce – that’s no complaint.
Texture and flavour is on-point too, with crisped edges and a juicy interior making this a spot-on replica: vegan converts craving the nostalgia value of a dirty burger will be well-served here. The only slight drawback is the tofu “bacon”, too subtly flavoured and softly textured to stand out from the crowd in this busy stack.
Why should I go?
Dublin’s still a bit short-changed when it comes to decent vegan fast food – especially since the late lamented Vegan Sandwich Co. shut up shop – so those craving just that will be happy to discover Yumgrub. The slot at The Place also makes it a perfect compromise pick for mixed groups of vegans and carnivores unwilling to go without, though they might well be tempted to try it once they see how good it all looks.
Yumgrub
The Place, Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2
