It’s hard to get tired of Dublin, a city soaked in culture, history and booze. (Ideally experienced in that order.) However there’s no question that the centre of town can be a lot; there are only so many men in fancy dress you can watch stumbling out of Temple Bar before spiritual ennui sets in. The smart traveller books a hotel close to the action but out of the direct firing line so you can retreat to a quieter spot when the mood takes. May we direct you up the Liffey to Anantara The Marker?
The Marker is quite an extraordinary building, a gigantic white lego brick deposited on the Grand Canal Dock. The hotel played a central role in the area’s remarkable 21st century renovation, a hub of bars, restaurants and even a theatre as tech companies flocked to the city. There’s a reason it’s nicknamed Silicon Docks. The Marker opened more than a decade ago and was subsequently acquired by Thai hospitality group Anantara, becoming one of their few European properties. (We’re big fans of the New York Palace in Budapest.)
Inside proves just as spectacular as out. The ground floor is entirely open-plan, meaning you can walk directly from the bar at one end to Forbes Street restaurant at the other. The corridors are dark and stylish, ditto the bedrooms – with the latter boasting all the expected mod-cons. Hospitality at any five-star hotel should be exceptional but Irish hotels go above and beyond. Gifts would manifest on the desk: a tasting set of whisky, a beautiful grey scarf.
Let’s talk dining – and here the hotel boasts two absolute winners on the ground and in the sky. We’ll start at the bottom, in spatial terms only: Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins. It's a beautifully composed space, one of those restaurants that could easily pass for an art gallery if you stuck some sculptures on the tables. The ceiling is all jutting shapes – it’s like sitting inside a Tetris piece – the sky fills the window, and there are plants everywhere. It's a lovely spot to exist, let alone eat.
Forbes Street
But eat you must. The hardship! Firstly, the bread; Irish bread is the best in the world and Forbes Street not only bake the soda bread on site but also do homemade butter. The restaurant uses seasonal, locally sourced produce and it felt only right to stay as close to Dublin as possible when ordering.
For the starters, I opted for king scallops in a sweetcorn puree, a gorgeous crimson on the outside, the most delicate pink within. They generously give you six. A dreamy dish is made even better if paired with the orange wine. Meat is basically a must. The beef comes from John Stone Beef in County Longford and is dry-aged on site. My fillet was one of those cuts of meat that would destroy Peta were it universally available, with marbling fine enough to make a Roman architect proud.
Return to Forbes Street in the morning for an absolutely stonking breakfast, including a buffet station that includes everything from cured meats and fish, fresh fruit, yogurts, compotes, pastries, multiple bread options – and that’s just the cold stuff. Bacon, eggs, potatoes, puddings black and white are also available, plus a la carte options too.
A hearty breakfast
Shall we head up to the rooftop bar? The views are spectacular: like Paris, Dublin buildings have a height limit so as not to mar the skyline. Sea, mountains, various landmarks are all visible from Anatara’s rooftop – whereas a bar of comparable height in, say, Shoreditch would likely allow you to gaze upon precisely three taller buildings around it, and no sunlight. (You may lack for sunlight on the Anantara rooftop but only because Ireland, not the skyscraper next door. On our visit, it was shining like the Med.)
With such a panorama, food and drink could easily be afterthoughts – but both are very good indeed. The latter is a mixture of Asian small plates such as sesame prawn toast, crispy chicken and spicy potatoes. There are also some seriously interesting signature cocktails; take Umami Kintsugi (Bacardi Reserva 8 Y.O, miso, honey, oolong tea leaves), a lovely refreshing pick-me-up, or Love and Bananas (Bulleit bourbon, cocoa liqueur, mango, banana oleo, saccharum, tamarind), inspired by the elephant conversations of Thailand.
Rooms are sleek, shiny and very comfortable, and there's also an indoor swimming pool and award-winning spa. It may be a struggle to leave the Anatara but the joys of Dublin extend far beyond the admittedly excellent Guinness. In a single weekend, we watched friend of Square Mile Fra Fee dazzle in the brilliant play The Pillowman; experienced a hurling match at the iconic Croke Park (go Tip!); and enjoyed a walking tour with local guide Gerry Kelly.
A real stylish room
A word on Gerry, a thoroughly lovely man who I met watching cricket in the only pub in Dublin that shows such a thing. We got talking and he offered to give us a brief tour of the city the following day. It proved a delightful way to pass a couple of hours, wandering down the Liffey while Gerry cheerfully told the story of the city that he loves.
I messaged Gerry to ask if he had a social media page to include here. He replied: "I don't do social media at all as I largely blame for the collapse of western civilization!" So here's a Trip Advisor review and you can email him on gerry.honsec@gmail.com
So yes, book yourself a flight to Dublin, a stay at the Marker, dinner at Forbes Street and experience a city of boundless delights. Just leave the fancy dress costume at home.
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Grand Canal Quay, Docklands, Dublin, D02 CK38; Anantara The Marker
