We've talked to producers, tour guides, distillers and brewers so far in the first few episodes of Chew The Fat, now we're talking to our first restaurateur. Actually, a pair of restaurateurs. Las Tapas De Lola burst onto Dublin's dining scene in 2013 and five years later it's stronger than ever. Positioned on arguably the casual restaurant highway of Dublin running from Dame Street straight to Rathmines, Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy are right in the middle of it all with their traditional Spanish neighbourhood restaurant and bar.
We've already written about how special and important this place is personally to us - it was where we shared our last supper of sorts with some of our closest friends before moving to London - and we've long been fans of this little slice of Spain in the centre of Dublin, a stone's throw from Stephen's Green.
But we wanted to delve a little deeper into the story of how Lola's became what it is. We wanted to get to know Anna and Vanessa, the couple behind - and co-owners of - the business, a little bit better. We ask them all about how they got their inspiration to open the best Spanish restaurant in Dublin; what some of their most iconic dishes are; what the challenges over the past five years have been; and whether Lola will get a little sister of one these days...
For a change and a bit of a curveball, we've decided to move away from food for this particular episode of Chew The Fat...
In this week's episode of Chew The Fat - our podcast sponsored by Marks & Spencer, celebrating 40 years in Ireland! - we're back...
We're on little Donegall Street in Belfast's city centre, standing outside a unit that's all stripped back, industrial yet craft-y and is an emporium...