In the latest issue of Noble Rot (a cult wine magazine), Brian McGinn writes that directing Netflix’s Chef’s Table has left him on the receiving end of spin-off pitches on just about every subject under the already well-mined sun. But one comes up more than most, a Chef’s Table for wine.
But it’s not that simple. Television, he explains, is a visual medium, and there is only so much you can do with a glass of red wine, which looks pretty much like every other glass of red wine. White and orange do little to make up the creative ground. Not to mention that wine talk can be “torturous”.
He makes an exception for the Somm documentary series, focusing on the punishing amount of tasting and study it takes to become a master sommelier, the top level of the business. Rajat Parr, master sommelier turned Santa Barbara winemaker, was the breakout star.
When Parr came to Ireland to hold a tasting of his low-intervention Sandhi wines, one of the places he visited was Green Man Wines in Terenure, Dublin, an unlikely trip to the suburbs you may think, until you realise that the shelves are packed with organic, biodynamic and small allocation wines, enough to make a sommelier’s eyes pop. It’s the dream project of David Gallagher, and his late wife Claire O’Boyle Gallagher, who set out to create somewhere warm and unpretentious, serving interesting wines with good things to eat.
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The shop is at the front, with bottles lining the walls and a large communal table made from repurposed wine boxes, surrounded by 12 high stools. At the back, the main dining room seats 30 in a cosy space, where the close-set tables add to the convivial mood. A large map of the Côte de Beaune region of France hangs on one wall, with wine posters and prints on the others.
Green Man Wines opens for dinner three nights a week – Thursday to Saturday. The kitchen is headed by Dan Smith, who worked at Overends Kitchen on the Airfield Estate, in Dublin 14 before joining the team in 2023. The menu is broadly Mediterranean, with snacks, charcuterie, cheese and a short list of cold and hot sharing plates, followed by dessert.
The wine list is spectacular. It’s a short list – 22 bottles, most available by the glass – but once you realise that any of the 900-plus bottles in the shop can be quaffed on-site for a €15 corkage, it becomes a different proposition entirely.
If you have the budget, head straight to the fine wine cabinet, otherwise browse the shelves until something catches your eye. For us, it’s a Heinrich Blaufränkisch 2019 (€27 plus €15) which goes well with a generous portion of well-charred padrón peppers (€5). The free-range chicken liver mousse (€14.50) is light and airy with just the right amount of intensity, topped with caramelised shallots and toasted hazelnuts. It comes with cheese crackers, but as we’ve ordered Bread 41 sourdough (€4), it’s better scooped up with that.
The grilled hake (€16) is not only one of the least expensive fish dishes I have had in some time, it is also skilfully cooked. The fish flakes beautifully into a beurre blanc made with precision, dotted with a few delicately cooked mussels.
Pork is something I order cautiously, but here it is free-range and comes from The Brown Pig, a local butcher. The breaded pork chop (€18) arrives sliced with a lively agrodolce. The sauce works well, but the dish could do with something else, and I immediately regret not ordering the hispi cabbage or purple sprouting broccoli to go with it. By then, though, it feels too late to add to the order, and I’m already filling up. The pork is, of course, delicious – nicely juicy inside, as you would expect from produce of this quality.
We finish with a well-judged Basque cheesecake (€6), with a deeply charred top and a centre that has a little give in it, served with blackberries.
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Green Man Wines has that rare combination of good food and serious wine at genuinely accessible prices. There is always someone on the floor who is knowledgeable about wine, often Gallagher himself, chatting to customers, gauging what they like and offering suggestions.
You can drop in with a pal for a few glasses and a plate of charcuterie, or come with a group to work through some of the more interesting bottles on the shelves and the sharing plates. Either way, it works. It’s a convivial room, relaxed and busy, and definitely worth a visit.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €105.50.
The verdict: Remarkable value for great food and wine
Food provenance: Glenmar Seafood, The Brown Pig butcher and vegetables from Abercorn Farm
Vegetarian options: Purple sprouting broccoli with gremolata, hispi cabbage with cashew cream, aubergine caponata with Guindilla peppers, and smoked Gubbeen croquettes
Wheelchair access: Fully accessible with an accessible toilet
Music: Background, from mellow to upbeat
