Paddle & Peel is the eighth addition to Galway Bay‘s craft beer pub portfolio in Dublin, and their twelfth in Ireland, having opened in mid 2018 on the site of the former Beerhouse at 199 King Street North.
It’s a stone’s throw from one of their other pubs, The Black Sheep on Capel St, so you might wonder if there’s a requirement for a second Galway Bay pub in the neighbourhood but Paddle & Peel ain’t your standard Galway Bay offering… Paddle & Peel specialise in artisanal pizzas! And as we all know, there’s no better beer pairing.
We visited Paddle & Peel recently to see how their pizza shapes up. We know Galway Bay make great beer, but can they turn their hands to pizza?
First impressions were great, we visited just after 4pm so it was pretty quiet but the staff were extremely welcoming, chatty and more than happy to recommend beers for us – they also allowed us to charge our phones behind the bar; a little thing but a nice touch.
If you’ve been in any of Galway Bay’s pubs, you’ll feel at home right away, the decor is familiar, it’s a cool spot, not too try-hard, not too hipster, just a really welcoming vibe. The location of the bar itself probably doesn’t lend itself to tourist trade, so you sense that the people there have made a point of coming there, rather than stumbling in randomly off the street.
Paddle & Peel’s pizza menu has a number of vegetarian options, a couple of Bianca pizzas and a sweet dessert option, so there’s something for everyone here. We opted for the Pepperoni (with Fior Di Latte and Oregano) and the Inferno (with Garlic-Infused Tomato Sauce, Spicy Nduja, Parmagiano Reggiano, Chilli Oil and Oregano).
The pizzas came quickly – the Pepperoni one wasn’t quite round but that means you know it’s been freshly made by hand, right? So we don’t mind that at all. The Inferno only comes with the Parmagiano cheese on top, so if you’re a cheese-lover, you might want to add Fior Di Latte as an additional topping, but honestly, there’s no need, it works perfectly as listed on the menu.
The crust had a satisfying crunch while still being light and airy, and the tomato sauce was full of flavour, complemented well by the fresh oregano.
The base itself was fairly thin… generally speaking, we love a thin base, but when the pizza is specifically served as an accompaniment to a wide craft beer range, maybe in this case, less isn’t more? A slightly bigger pizza, or a little thicker base, would be perfect for soakage. The pizza itself is great, but we could’ve squeezed in another couple of slices.
We tried several beers while we were there too, including Hopfully Brewing‘s Baniwa Chilli Spring, brewed with vanilla and Baniwa chilies, fermented with Belgian yeast, cacao nibs and coconut. If you like chilli beers, track it down. It buuuuurns… but it goes well with pizza.
Overall, we’re big fans of Paddle & Peel and it’s now officially on our go-to list of craft beer bars (and pizzerias) in Dublin. It’s Galway Bay’s first venture into pizza but fingers crossed, it won’t be their last.
