The marketing for Hush has been anything but. After eating there, I’m unsure if it’s worth the hype.
The Batman trailer starring Robert Pattinson was released approximately one month ago. In it we see the primary antagonist, The Riddler portrayed as Batman’s lesser known nemesis, Hush. Hush is known for his clinical and precise criminal activity, employed in order to evade capture. Unfortunately, clinical and precise are not words I would use to describe Hush, Jules Mak’s newest project. Trade here consists of sandwiches during the afternoon and burgers during the evening, with plans to add a wine bar in the future. To be frank, it was hard to miss this new project. Aside from the copious amount of coverage from Lovin’ Dublin, they received a PR boost when Leo Varadkar popped by to offer his support. Plenty of Instagram food blogs have been quick to praise the new opening, and the hype was immense. I thought it best to leave my first visit a little longer, hoping the buzz would die down and that they would find their feet after two months of socially distanced business.
Hush is situated up the road from the Swan Centre in Rathmines, a mainstay for any students staying in Dartry Hall. The semi-seductive neon sign of Hush hangs above the site, formerly the home of Joe Macken’s Hey Donna. As myself and my friend approach, we are greeted with the welcome sight of a queue, two in fact! We soon learn that one is for pick ups and the other is for ordering and we take our appropriate places in line. Sandwiches and burgers are not the only things that are sold here; they have their own “cookie emporium” known as Hot Chip, bravely boasting “the best cookies in Ireland.”
We finally reach the hatch to place our order and my friend enquires about the white chocolate chip cookies, his favourite. We are met with a slightly irritated shake of the head as the attendant never looks up. We settle for the walnut and chocolate chip cookies, the only ones left. The menu itself is sparse, with a few sandwiches and side salads listed. I choose The Chosen One, which consists of porchetta, baby kale, red cabbage with apple compote and jus. It sounds like a winning combination of classic flavour pairings (€8). My friend opts for the Wannabe Vegan made with grilled halloumi, pico de gallo, guacamole, iceberg lettuce and chipotle crema (€8). We receive our cookies and take the remaining table of two outside while we wait.
I am a firm believer in keeping an eye on what’s going on around me when I’m at a restaurant. Unfortunately for Hush, I didn’t see a lot that impressed me. The first thing that caught my attention was the order in which the food came out. Two people ordered before us and yet they had to see my friend and I and three other customers receive their food before their sandwiches eventually came out. Even then, only my sandwich arrived despite the fact that I ordered our food together. We were asked five minutes later if we were still waiting for food. Not a good look, it has to be said.
When our second sandwich was finally dropped down, I unwrapped the packaging and had to double check that I had the right thing. I had a very different image of what porchetta looked like in my head. I expected to see a few slices of moist white pork, but it looked more like bacon, and was a little bit drier than anticipated. The braised red cabbage added a pleasant acidity and brightness, but that’s where the positives seem to end. I felt suitably aggrieved to only receive three small leaves of kale that had wilted and lost their bite due to the heat. The biggest disappointment for me was the complete lack, even omission, of the apple compote. I couldn’t taste it, I couldn’t smell it and I couldn’t even see it. Apple and pork is a match made in heaven so you’d know if it was there, and it simply wasn’t. My friend assures me that the halloumi is “very good” as is the salsa, but he says the bun is “poor.”
Finally, we move on to the cookies (€3.30 each).To their credit, they don’t skimp on size. They are almost too big. On the positive side, the perimeter is well baked; the lovely caramelized edge is a real joy to eat, as is the pleasant chewy texture. It may sound bizarre, but you can really taste the butter and sugar in this cookie. In fact, it’s the dominant flavour. I might differ from many in this respect, but it tastes like almost raw cookie dough- not what I look for in a baked cookie. This might have been slightly mitigated by the inclusion of more chocolate chips and walnuts, but they were unceremoniously tossed on top before baking. After a couple bites, I am ready to tap out. The fact that M&S do five far superior cookies for thirty cents less is the primary takeaway here.
Perhaps I caught them on a bad day. Or perhaps they fell victim to the hype. Irrespective of what happened, my first visit didn’t inspire me to return. Despite this, I can still see it being a success. Although it is situated in a foodie little suburb, they only really compete with a couple of other businesses. The food is average given the price and the saving grace is the trendy, minimalist aesthetic. What stands out the most for me is that Hush proclaims to have “the best cookies in Ireland,” but I don’t think they even have the best cookies on the street.
