Do The Rahat Thing

Waseem & Rahat SUN14JAN24

hether it’s a carpenter making the perfect chair, a cellist mastering Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante or a driver navigating the SuperValu Greystones car park without a scratch or a screech, there’s something wonderful about seeing a job done well.

Which may explain why Daata keep on opening new branches every year.

Having extended their original Bray HQ to include a rooftop restaurant and opened a shiny new premises in Glasthule, happy, loving couple Waseem and Rahat have done it again with a Blackrock restaurant that might just be – whisper it – the best of the bunch.

It’s certainly the best of the brunch, something GG and the missus discovered when we swung by this afternoon just before the doors opened at 1pm.

“We’re very particular about every little detail when it comes to a premises,” says Waseem. “It meant being here before any of the workers arrived and being here long after they left, so we could clear everything up for the following day’s work…”

“Just as people will fret over their brand new home, we want everything to be perfect,” adds Rahat. “And knowing that it will be makes those long, long days that little bit easier.”

It’s an approach that has seen Daata expand steadily from their humble beginnings back in 2000, their small Bray HQ proving enough of a hit with lovers of Pakistani and Indian food that they opened up their second restaurant in Greystones back in 2017. Glasthule followed in June 2021, then Bray got sweetly supersized in December 2022 before Blackrock opened its doors in December 2023.

In a time of uncertainty for the hospitality trade, it’s encouraging to see a foodie fave spreading its chicken wings.

“We take nothing for granted,” nods Waseem. “We’ve been blessed with a very loyal customer base over the years, especially through the lockdowns, and it has just encouraged us to keep on doing what we’re doing. And part of that is constantly looking for ways to be better…”

With the brunch bell ringing and the doors opening, we ordered the Burrata Chicken (rich curry cooked with tomatoes, yoghurt, black pepper and something called deggi mirch) and a Rahats Romali Roll (grilled chicken wrapped in a Romali roti with crisp iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, onions, chipotle sauce and melted mozzarella), and both were, it has to be said, stupidly delicious.

“These are new dishes,” explains Rahat. “We’ll be bringing them out to Greystones too. It’s important to keep the menu fresh, with new dishes alongside the old favourites…”

Adds Waseem, “And having been inspired by all the space we have here – we have seating for 160 people in total through all the various rooms – we’re planning on giving Greystones a makeover too…

“It’s fun to keep mixing it up, but we know that, ultimately, all that really matters is that the food is good…”

Open from 4pm-10pm Monday to Thursday, from 4pm-10.30pm on Friday, 1pm-10.30pm on Saturday and 1pm to 10pm on Sunday, you can find out more about Daata Blackrock here, and get in touch by email here or by phone here.