Restaurant review: Press Up's latest Dublin eatery tries to tangle its thinking — but falls short

Given that these three countries account for almost 3bn people and over 13bn sq km, that’s a lot of regional variations — not to mention a lot of recipes passed down from grandmas to fit on one menu.

The menu consultants are two chefs from the UK, Daren Liew (Cantonese), Alfred Prasad (Indian), and our own Richie Castillo from the Philippines.

Richie has had several pop-up restaurants under the name Bahay here and I have loved his food so it was his presence alone that made me want to visit.

Kaldero is in the old Wagamama space opposite The Gaiety and has kept a similar layout, although new furniture has made the room more comfortable. 

An open kitchen runs along one wall and the booth benches in the middle are the best seats. Chinese lanterns floated above our heads and the walls have vaguely Asian abstract art, but overall the room is both welcoming and atmospheric.

We began with cocktails, an area that Press Up does have expertise in, and these were some of the better flavours of the evening. 

Pandan Gin Fizz (€14) did indeed taste of pandan leaf and gin and Chrysanthemum Spritz (€14) had floral notes from the infused tequila, a light honey sweetness and some citrus grapefruit freshness.

Dynamite Lumpia (€11) from the Philippines was our first dish — long green chilli peppers stuffed with pork mince and smoked scamorza and crisp fried in batter. 

I loved the texture on this and the touch of heat from the chilli but the minced pork filling was under seasoned and a little bland. A sour honey dip on the side helped but not enough.

Burrata Chat (€13) chickpea salad with tamarind chutney, sev (crispy noodles), and sweet yoghurt had good textures and decent flavours and was probably the best of our small plates. The burrata made a nice contrast to the crunchy elements.

Amritsari Fish (€11) promised a chat masala spiced batter but this was unfathomably bland and unexciting. A mint chutney dip did little to help. 

Tofu Kare Kare (€13) was meant to be crispy tofu in a roasted peanut sauce but it was rather soggy and completely underseasoned, so remained unfinished.

Sticky Pork “Gula Melaka” (€13) with crispy leek and goji berries was far too sweet for my guest so she left it to me. 

I have a sweet tooth so ate the pork but it badly needed balancing. Sizzling Seafood Clay Pot (€34) was disappointingly short on fish with just two scallops, one prawn and a sliver of seabass. It bored us, simply lacking flavour, complexity and seasoning.

Kaldero’s drinks list is better on cocktails than on wine with little to excite a wine nerd, although I doubt they are seeking custom from the likes of me. 

Albariño, pinot grigio, malbec, and grüner veltliner make an appearance and prices by the glass are fair. 

I opted for a Singha beer (€6.40 — no craft beer is offered), and my guest chose Carl Koch Riesling which she pronounced ‘pleasant enough’ (€10.10).

For dessert, we opted for ‘Chocolate’ (€9) which was a sort of piped ganache. 

The chocolate dominated the plate obliterating the kiwi slice and roasted coconut and we struggled to find the lime chilli flavours mentioned; I eventually discovered a tiny drizzle around the edge. We left it mostly uneaten, it was just too out of balance.

Our waiter had been attentive and did her best to please us, making a final valiant attempt by bringing us a pannacotta dessert on the house. 

This was probably the best dish of the evening, a properly jiggly vanilla pannacotta, crunchy caramelised cornflakes, chocolate shards, and pickled kumquat — all the flavours working together well. It was the only dish we finished.

So yet another ho-hum opening by Press-Up, which is owned these days by London based Cheyne Capital. 

A fresh injection of capital is promised but what it truly needs is someone to ruthlessly taste and critique the actual food they are serving.

• Kaldero
• South King Street, Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Dublin 2, D02 HD30
• Phone: 01-478 2152
• Instagram: @kalderodublin
• How-to: Wed - Sunday - 12pm - 10pm; Mon - Tuesday: 5pm - 10pm
• The bill: Dinner for for two including five small plates, a shared main and dessert, two cocktails, a bottle of beer and a glass of wine cost €148.60