Pop-ups are so much more than those annoying advertisements that appear when you open a new tab on your laptop. As a type of restaurant they encourage ingenuity, creativity and spontaneity and, because they are often created in a short space of time, they tend to have a back-to-basics style that emphasises a small, clean menu with a primary focus on taste.

It is difficult to forget the hype around Tayto’s pop-up shop on Wicklow Street in March of this year, which donated half of its proceeds to the Dublin Simon Community.They provided €2 crisp sandwiches in their four classic flavours, a product so effective in its simplicity that they even opted to extend their running time.

Slightly further afield is another pop-up that has begun to establish a name for itself, the summertime seaside project that is Dillisk. On the machair of Aughrusbeg, Connemara, Galway sits a converted boat shed where parties are treated to meals concocted from ingredients that are naturally available on both land and shore. If you can’t wait until August or are in search of similar gastronomic adventures closer to home, then one of the creators, Katie Sanderson, is the person to watch out for. Vegetable lovers will be interested in her “Living Dinners” that have been known to crop up in everything from art galleries to derelict houses or what her website describes as “unconventional spaces that are twisted and turned to offer a backdrop for a once off experience”. She is also the one behind the wholefood workshops and monthly yoga brunches in the Fumbally Stables, Dublin 8.

Although not necessarily a new sensation, the popularity of pop-ups has been on the increase, as it’s an effective way for young chefs and entrepreneurs to crack the market in spite of a difficult economic climate. For them, it provides an opportunity to showcase their talents with minimum financial risk while for us, the consumer, it means high quality and unique dining experiences. Two former DIT culinary students, Cúán Greene and Harry Colley, formed Dublin Pop Up in their final year with a philosophy of “creativity, technique and food provenance, merged to deliver a complete dining experience” in mind. Since then, not only have they collaborated with such household names as Guinness, Heineken and Lidl, but they also flew the flag for Ireland in Toronto’s “Beerlicious” festival this summer, where they gave cooking demos and designed quirky pop-ups.

Joe Macken’s now well-known Crackbird, a sister restaurant to Jo’burger, is another example of a restaurant that tentatively stepped onto the scene as a “Tweet-to-eat” pop-up. Interestingly, these places have mostly overlooked traditional methods of advertising, preferring to instead maintain a close relationship with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and occasionally, but not always, with the use of a website. Even the coffee scene is getting involved with Vice Coffee Inc. currently running a pop-up espresso bar in 54 Middle Abbey Street, above what was previously the Twisted Pepper (just don’t forget to ring the bell to gain entry).

I spoke with Michael Martin who told me a little bit about the founding of The Blind Pig on Repeal Day, the 4th of December, 2011. Founded by Paul Lambert, who was possibly the first recognised Irish mixologist, it is an example of how pop-ups can become a success story. The idea initially developed from his interest in 1920s cocktails; from there a prohibition-style speakeasy was brought to life that was among the first of its kind in Dublin. Having first opened its doors (albeit shrouded in secrecy) in 2010, its name stems from the police who would have turned a blind-eye to this sort of venue during prohibition. Beginning by running events every month, the huge demand for such a place became quickly apparent, as Michael explained: “We then started opening Thursday to Sunday and now we’re open seven days a week”. Aware of the limitations that a hushed-up, speakeasy inspired campaign can impose on a business, Michael claimed that “I think the path we’d chosen was probably the best path to develop a business”, attributing this slow but steady advancement to their pop-up beginnings. “To be honest you could lose a lot of money at the start because you don’t do much advertising, it’s all word of mouth and kind of a slow burner”.

Their strong theme and exciting atmosphere transforms the Blind Pig dining experience into an occasion that their customers can both participate in and enjoy. Although they have adapted to the market somewhat by providing food and wines (which wouldn’t have traditionally been available), their enduring appeal is still firmly grounded in their pop-up roots. He states that intrigue is “kind of the most powerful weapon we have … to not know where they’re going when they’re coming in, it puts people in an excited humour and you’ve almost won over the customer before they’ve even sat down and had a cocktail.” Ultimately, he agreed that the pop-up beginning was something of a learning curve for them: “Pop-ups are great to gain experience and also to understand your market…you don’t have the same initial pressure and costs. It helps you realise whether you have the market and assess whether your product is good enough”.

The beauty of pop-up restaurants is that they make the Irish eating and drinking scene more eclectic while not requiring full-commitment from either the producer or the consumer. Unusual locations and interesting ingredients aside, what makes the pop-up a novel experience for the customer is the seat of heightened power it affords them. It is often the case that the consumer beats the critic to the dining table, meaning that the first response is generally one of word of mouth. The only issue is not getting too attached as they aren’t always guaranteed to stick around.