Pizza & Cocktails that Wow

Eoin Higgins has the antidote to your ?Where will we go?? Friday night anxiety.

The hottest Friday night meal ticket this week is … *drum roll* … the all new … singing and dancing … casual cocktails and pizza joint … The Yarn … upstairs at The Woollen Mills, beside the iconic Ha?penny Bridge on Dublin’s increasingly edible – and sociable – Northside.

Overseen by Elaine Murphy (The Winding Stair, Woollen Mills) and headed up by Nicky Higgins (Oxmantown, The Washerwoman), the vibe is buzzy and casual with respectable culinary chops.

Seating options are split: half inside and half on a rooftop terrace with Liffey views, so there is ample opportunity for alfresco shenanigans, if the weather’s good. Meanwhile, the bar area is comfy leather banquettes around a modern marble bar (supported by one of the original bars from the now-closed Legal Eagle pub) – they’ve also repurposed the Legal Eagle’s bar stools, creating a nice old Dublin-meets-new vibe.

And while interiors are interestingly creative, the food and drink offering, as much as the price point, is bang on too. I had the decadent and creamy Burata with Truffle Oil and Homemade Bread to start, followed by a nicely zingy Tuna Siciliana pizza (tuna, capers, olives). ?Home-smoked? almonds accompanied an excellent sundowner made from gin, roasted strawberry and tarragon. Cocktails come from the very capable hands of Nickie Connolly (of Connolly’s (The Sheds) Clontarf and Jo?Burger fame) – the list is well thought out with nary a mention of ‘mixology? or ?prohibition style? to be seen … thanks be to Jaysus.

Overall, The Yarn is very good at over-delivering on the foodie come-on of its exterior neon sign: ?Pizza + Booze?. The bill came to a happy €37. I’ll definitely be back.

The Yarn does not take reservations, opening from 5pm, Thursday to Sunday, with a promise of a seven-nights-a-week set-up in September. facebook.com/TheYarnPizzaandBooze