manifesto

came here as a group of four and overall had a nice meal. we shared the char-grilled scallops and the parmigiana di melanzane aubergine dishes to start. the scallops were only ok, but the aubergine was delicious, served with fresh basil.

i had the mamy (voted best pizza in the world) and my friend had the don coreone (voted best pizza in ireland). mine came with spinach, ricotta and salami which was tasty but could have had more flavour. i actually preferred the don coreone, it has really unusual spices and wasn’t as heavy. the dough in both was really good though. my other friends had the veal and the monkfish, which they both really enjoyed but i thought the veal had a very strong taste.

i had the panna cotta to finish which is beautifully presented and light, a nice was to finish a meal. it was three different flavoured jigsaw pieces, blackberry orange and vanilla i think, it came with all these tiny dots of strongly flavoured fruit sauces. the table beside me got the soufflé and it looked divine- depends what you’re in the mood for!

overall we were happy but i would warn the service is very slow, and overall i don't think it lives up to the hype. we were waiting an hour and a half for the pizzas and so were all the other tables. it took a longtimefor orders to be taken, glasses to be filled, the bill to be dropped over. ....must improve!

being gluten free, pizza is something that i crave and miss the most. when i heard about this place and the fact that a lot of their menu, including the pizza can be made gluten free, i had to try it out. had the most amazing pizza topped with brocollini and sausage and mozzarella - no tomato sauce. divine! base was perfect and although it's never going to rival a real wood fired gluten filled crust, it certainly tastes like the next best thing. followed it with gluten free tiramisu which was also heavenly! coffee also very good. returned a secondtimeand had the exact same thing! tried my sisters pizza also with roasted veg and n'duja sausage, very tasty. this is my go to place when i'm craving pizza. can't wait to go back.

having read a really great review on manifesto during the week i decided to quench my pizza craving and popped in here on wednesday evening. it was just as well we arrived as early as we did as it was completely packed by 7.30.. also meant we were intimefor the amazing offer comprising of a 3 course meal and glass of beer or wine for only €25.

the bruschetta for starter was very tasty, with really fresh ingredients and a perfect size allowing for breathing space before the pizza & dessert! the pizza i order was called mamy, topped with aubergine, prosciutto, parmigiano, and buffalo mozzarella. it was also full of flavours and in my opinion tasted like a real authentic italian pizza straight from the wood fired oven. finally a panna cotta dessert finished off a delicious meal and we left very happy campers. this is a great pizza place in the heart of rathmines.. there are also some really great options for coeliac's as they can modify most of their dishes to omit gluten!

i went here after work as i had heard the pizza here was among the best in dublin. we were intimefor the early bird menu which included 3 courses and a drink for €25 which is very reasonable.

i got the bruschetta for a starter which was not overly complicated but the balsamic vinegar used gave it an added flavour kick! for my main i ordered the don corleone pizza. it was noted on the menu that this particular pizza won pizza of the year award in 2011, something that i was unaware when deciding to go here! it was an authentic italian pizza from the base to the topping to been cooked in wood fired oven. as a result it did not feel as greasy or unhealthy as other pizza places. it definitely lived up to its billing and was good size a pizza for a standard portion.

overall i really enjoyed my meal at manifesto. it has the feeling of a place that would be commonly overlooked on the main street in rathmines, however i would definitely recommend trying it if you fancy a guilt free italian pizza!!

i've had a few bad experiences in manifesto and lucio, the owner, invited us to try again in manifestino.

the food was completely different. i can know see why people were so shocked that i didn't like the restaurant. before, the food was inedible, to put it mildly, but on this occasion it was absolutely delicious.

lucio explained to us that he sources his flour, made from hazelnuts, from italy and he often runs out as it's so popular. the company he sources it from do not export to ireland and the laws regarding gluten content and contamination are different. it's such a pity because i would definitely buy this flour.

i had bruschetta previously and decided to go for this again. i had to get my other half to check it tasted gluten free to him because i was amazed, and honestly, at this point, i don't really remember what real bread tastes like! not only did the bread knock me out, but the mozzarella was amazing: it was light, fluffy, and just melted dreamily away in the mouth. my other half had an avocado, orange, and prawn dish. i'm not the hugest fan of prawn, but the dish worked really well together.

for mains, we obviously ordered pizza! the base was light and fluffy, with a contrasting crispness underneath. my favourite part of a pizza is the crust. i judge all pizza's this way, so i began by tearing the crust and it came away so easy revealing a gorgeous doughy texture in the middle. besides the base, the toppings were drool-worthy. this was a totally different dining experience than we'd had before. we ate half a pizza each. i'm pretty sure it was because we just stuffed ourselves to filling point. 

we had asked the waitress how big they were and decided to order two. we had ordered two previously and were capable of eating them at that time, but we totally wrong on this occasion: we couldn't finish either, but for completely different reasons. they were so deliciously filling.

however, manifestino does take away, so we got the rest to-go!

so, there we were: two stuffed people at the table not even contemplating dessert when the image of gooey centred chocolate soufflé thing was tempted our way. we caved. i don't regret it!

over all the atmosphere is intimate in manifestino. it's a smaller venue than manifesto, tastefully decorated, and the staff were really helpful with the menu. their tables in the front were pushed together for a group booking, so you don't have to be in a couple to dine here. but, there are lots of couple tables along the side for a nice date evening.

located in rathgar, manifestino will definitely be a restaurant i'll be using. they offer take-away pizza, so i'll be popping up in the car fromtimetotimeto indulge! i will definitely be back to taste their pasta, which they also make on the premises!