This Is Hands Down The Best Brunch On The Northside

I'm pretty lucky that part of my job is to review brunches around the city, but I was starting to get a little fatigued by it all recently.

As big a First World problem as you're ever going to hear, but my issue was that the menus were all starting to look the same. Eggs benedict, huevos rancheros, steak & eggs, burgers etc. You could nearly write the menu for most places before you even walked in the door.

Sure enough all those dishes are lovely, but variety is the spice of life and there are plenty of more imaginative ways to get our pork, eggs and fat into our hungover bodies at the weekend.

As I sat down in the stunningly picturesque Howth and read the menu in The House, it was a breath of fresh air. Both literally and figuratively. Alongside a couple of classics there were wonderful dishes like mussels, a veggie fry up and a smoked salmon frittata.

It was one of those wonderful occasions where I wanted everything on the menu and was craning my head to see what was being carried to the other tables.

I went with the smoked haddock with chorizo, poached eggs and a couple of sauces. This was brunch cooking at its very best, without heaping on tonnes of additional fat and grease to make you feel guilty walking out the door.

Other 'must have' brunch touches were there, including perfectly fresh orange juice, superb coffee and, crucially, a buzzing room.

In fact the only tiny draw back to the place was the host's face when we walked in at 12 on a Sunday asking for a table for two. He didn't say anything, but it screamed of "Are you actually for real?". Luckily, he found us a spot and all was right with the world.

You don't need me to tell you that Howth is a seriously epic spot to visit at the weekend. There is no doubt that it's a serious trek from the southside or even central Dublin (especially if the night before was a big one), but brunch in House, followed by a long cliff walk and even a sneaky pint in one of the local pubs is a fantastic way of spending your Sunday.

Big statement, but I'll stand over this being the best brunch in Dublin.