Lawrence Barrow X Duchas

Enjoy modern Irish hospitality at it's finest with Homeboy's star-studded Irish chef pop-up series, DÚCHAS.

The relaxed speakeasy hip-hop vibe at Homeboy Bar in Islington is the perfect setting to experience inspired and comforting Irish dishes. This July they're hosting Dúchas with four weeks of highly-acclaimed guest chef pop-ups and cocktail pairings. We were lucky enough to catch Chef Lawrence Barrow in the kitchen who pares hand foraged ingredients with an open flame, smoke and char for his signature “Hearth and Tine” concept.

Each chef will bring a new weekly menu of small plates which can be enjoyed a la carte menu or as a set menu. Each dish is served with an explanation of the ingredients and inspiration stories, making for a more intimate, charming and informative experience. We tried the Carlinglord Oysters first - topped with an elderflower granita, they were so refreshing and filled with flavours of the summer.

Another incredible burst of flavour for such a small bite came from the Stout Croustade with aged beef, fermented wild garlic and caviar on top. Trust us, you'll want to order another.

The series runs alongside Homeboy's latest cocktail menu, "Honest Cocktails", focusing on simplicity and Irish storytelling developed by founder and Aaron Wall. We started with two incredible martinis that really put a twist on the classic with the Irish Sea Martini with kombu and the Cashel Blue Martini with blue cheese mineral modifier.

We had always thought that seabream had to be cooked to be enjoyed until we tried Lawrence's Raw Seabream with rhubarb aguechile, apple, fig leafade. It was just as incredible as any other type of sashimi and so delicate, served in a sauce which was too good not to unashamedly sip up.

A stunning dish that vegetarians can enjoy is the BBQ Courgette, it's pan seared to perfection and served with gooseberry tomatoes, kohlrabi, salsa verde and hazelnuts.

And for meat-lovers come an incredible treat with the Sugar Pit Pork Chop with smoked dulse & green peppercorn sauce and burnt apple. It was so tender and the burnt apple sauce was so delicious.

Our favourite dish was the Hand Dived Scallop. They were served with seaweed butter which gave the sweetness of the scallop an umami edge that was reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding (though maybe that was just me) making it the perfect combination of nostalgic and comforting.

Experience Dúchas for yourself and discover the cocktail menu at the Homeboy Bar website.