Bar Italia in the IFSc is situated in the heart of things in Customs House Square. Bright and airy, with bold pictures on the walls, this is another great spot for some authentic Italian fare from the peolple behind the uber successful Dunne and Crescenzi restaurants.Bar Italia opens daily for breakfast and serves food all through the day, finishing with dinner in the evening. The formula has been working well and now doesn't seem to be a good time to change. Expect the same great service from the young, mostly Italian team, and catch a glimse of the chef kneading dough and tossing pizzas. Paolo is a longtime fan, and here is what he had to say about Bar Italia.
The Bar Italia doesn't just look Italian, it is Italian. The young waiting staff are all Italian and that's the language you'll hear them use to one another. Italian music plays on the stereo, the coffee machine hisses steam and makes that inimitable noise when steaming the milk for cappuccinos. A counter display has a huge mortadella and a variety of cheese, all of which you can have in sandwiches.. Antipasto include really good prosciutto, mortadella, salami, mild provolone, artichoke hearts, cubes of mozzarella and olives. If the selection doesn’t satisfy you, eat on, and try a pasta of the day, which might be tagliatelle with a salmon sauce or gnocchi alla Sorrentina, they really do change daily. These are all dishes that reek of the Italic shores and the tastes are genuinely authentic. I've been unhappy more than once with the quality of ingredients in Ireland that pass themselves off here as Italian, but in the Bar Italia the ingredients must have been right because the tastes were right.
The wine list here is short, but it's all Italian and it's fairly priced. Bar Italia does get very busy at lunch time, so you might find yourself more cramped than you'd like inside, or more cold than you'd like outside, but either way it's the sort of place that worth making a detour for. Good food and a real Italian atmosphere coupled with value for money prices means this is a place that will bring you back again and again. .
