Square review: This restaurant is full on a Monday night, which is all you need to know

Square

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Address: Unit 2, 6 Magnet Road, Townparks, Dundalk, Co Louth, A91 X9WY

Telephone: 042 9337669

Cuisine: Modern Irish

Cost: €€€

I’ve been writing about Dublin restaurants for more than a decade so I was naturally curious to see where my first out-of-county deployment might find me. The answer, as you can see, is Dundalk, Co Louth, a garrison town that has become something of a “dormitory town”. It might not have the epicurean bona fides of your Ballydehobs and Baltimores but I’ll go where I’m sent and eat what I’m told. Besides, I’ve heard good things about this particular place. On a dismal, mizzling evening, a few skater-kids are doing desultory ollies and kick-flips on the town’s Market Square. More oddly, down the street a lone piper is squeezing a doleful tune from his instrument. It turns out to have nothing to do with my arrival. Walking into Square restaurant, however, the welcome is real and it’s heartening to see the diningroom three-quarters full on a Monday night. The good burghers of the town have descended upon the place, drawn perhaps by the feted (Korean) fried chicken, or indeed, the promise of a good burger.

Chef Conor Halpenny, a former Euro-toques young chef of the year, opened the place in 2019 following stints at Tankardstown House in Co Meath, Chapter One in Dublin and Square’s sister restaurant Courthouse in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. An ursine presence with an earnest bearing, Halpenny makes regular forays from behind the pass to chat with regulars, all of whom appear to be having a swell time. The fact that the place expanded into next door some time ago would suggest a lot of repeat custom. There’s a pleasing feel of Grano in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, to it, with well-worn floorboards and deep green wainscoting. Tables are bathed in pools of amber light and I note that many of them have made space for bowls of house-made crisps. Iberian shop-bought brands such as Torres are the gateway drugs but the class-A ones now come cooked to order. Square’s ethereally light, insanely moreish versions are tossed with burnt onion powder and microplaned Coolea cheese. They are also seasoned with abandon – my wife fears she might suffer the fate of Lot’s salty spouse.

I hydrate with a well-made negroni (€13) before moving on to some salt-cod croquettes. These are paragons of the form – perfectly crisp without and tender within. The fruity, vivacious tomato sauce is pure, concentrated sunshine

I like to see both a parfait (duck-liver) and a terrine (ham-hock) on a menu such as this but my eye (and heart) is drawn elsewhere. Pasta, garlic, chilli, parsley is of course a riff on aglio olio, the sauce-less dish that is inevitable after a youthful night on the sauce with Italians. The superb grown-up version made here with taut twists of trofie speaks loudly of each component.

The cosseting continues with a nicely composed dish of monkfish and cauliflower, the latter roasted, pickled and whipped into a deeply savoury crema punched up with nutritional yeast. A bowl of rich, silky pommes pureé is proffered and accepted. It could almost pass for dairy.

St Bourdain looks down benevolently from the wall, absolving me of my Monday fish decision.

A plump duck breast is rolled in a kind of dukkah and sits in a glossy demi-glace. Served with a blob of tart plum sauce and turnip (mashed and confit-ed) it’s an autumn-hued, earthy plate to usher in the season. That the bird is overcooked to the point of liverishness is a needle-scratch in an otherwise flawless set. A Breton sablé with blackberry and lime curd banishes the blip.

The concise, interesting wine list is modestly marked-up. House wines begin at €33, with carafes also offered, and the selection tops out at €70. If you are celebrating something, such as tomorrow being Tuesday, you could have a glass of Tuffeau Blanc de Blanc (€11). The “vinerable” John Wilson of this same title describes it as “grown-up fizz with a touch of class, and great value for money”. Heed him.

Food prices here are in the Dublin range and properly reflect the level of cooking. Service is young and attentive with some local flavour. The cooking at Square is defined by the kind of confident restraint that diners are increasingly drawn to – an ingredient-driven insistence upon a fidelity of flavour. You are not coming here for the tickle of trends but for food that feels like an arm around your shoulder. The restaurant sits on Magnet Street and it’s easy to feel the pull. Dinner for two with drinks was €149.50.

The verdict A confident, skilled kitchen sending out assured, unaffected plates that you will want to taste again.

Provenance La Rousse Foods, Nick’s Fish, SeanNua Farm, Riverside Farm, Dempsey Honey.

Vegetarian options Those crisps, that pasta, fried corn ribs, ricotta dumplings with confit tomato, and more.

Music Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, indie greatest hits.

Wheelchair access The restaurant is fully wheelchair accessible, including bathroom.