Frankie's Steakhouse Temple Bar.

Marco Pierre White and Frankie Dettori’s eponymous restaurant has opened in Dublin’s Temple Bar serving Dublin’s casual dining market with some very good food indeed.

Ireland has seen its share of celebrity chefs come and go over the last few years. Gary Rhodes and Jean Novelli have come and gone, but maybe it’s a case of pioneers get shot while settlers make money, as the second wave such as Gordon Ramsay, Richard Corrigan and Marco Pierre seem to have got their offering right at first time of asking and are going strong. Fitzers in Dawson Street last year became Marco Pierre Whites and now the other Fitzers in Temple Bar has been re-branded as Frankie’s, a casual dining restaurant with an Italian theme, reflecting Mr. Dettori’s heritage.

The menu is a large one page affair listing a selection of salads, followed by six different plates of prosciutto and mozzarello combinations. Then there are pasta dishes, some fish choices, burgers and finally steaks. The prices range from €8.95 for the salads up to €24.00 for the steaks.

We recently paid a visit for lunch and had a really fabulous Chicory, pear, walnut and gorgonzola salad for Deirdre, while I asked for a starter portion of the spaghetti with clams alle vongole , which was well made and nicely flavoured. I am afraid my choice of main course didn’t exactly stretch the kitchen as I ordered the rib-eye steak with rocket, pecorino and balsamic dressing. Deidre decided on the glazed pork belly Marco Polo. Maybe I was just in the mood, but the steak was delicious, while Deirdre’s Pork belly was tender, juicy and had some great crackling on top.

Frankie’s is a very welcome addition to Temple Bar, the food is simple and assured, the prices are reasonable and the service is excellent. There is a cool terrace outside if you can catch a nice day or evening, and overall we think this is somewhere you should enjoy.