THE restaurateurs behind the award-winning Mourne seafood Bar have cast their net in Dublin for the first time. The restaurateurs behind Mourne seafood Bar have opened their first southern venture in the heart of the capital's business and entertainment district at Millennium tower on Charlotte Quay. Andy Rea, pictured, and husband and wife team Joanne and Bob McCoubrey, who partnered to open Mourne seafood Bar in Belfast in 2007, say their £200,000 investment will create 40 jobs. The licensed premises will operate seven days a week and comprises an 80-seater restaurant and additional seating areas, a bar serving craft beers and platters and a raw bar area.
"Ireland is known for its world class seafood, shellfish and large fishing community, so it was a natural step for us to bring Mourne seafood to Dublin," Mr McCoubrey, who is also part of the group behind Mourne sea-food Bar in Dundrum, Belfast Cookery school, the eagle at Galgorm Castle and home, said.
"We've found a perfect location overlooking the water, which will only add to the ambiance and we hope the restaurant will become embedded in the neighbourhood for local residents and businesses and a destination for tourists."
Chef patron Andy Rea said: "the ethos at Mourne seafood is to offer the freshest of sustainable Irish seafood, preferring the simplicity of cooking rather than complexity, allowing the ingredients to say it all.
"I love the idea that the fishermen who supply me will phone me when they get back to shore to inform me what they've caught and we can get their catch straight away."