Daffodil Mulligan

For his first new restaurant in a decade, much-loved chef Richard Corrigan has teamed up with fellow Irishman John Nugent, who founded events company Green and Fortune, and Tony Gibney from famed Irish pub Gibney’s of Malahide. The result of the trio’s work is Daffodil Mulligan, a relaxed restaurant and bar that champions seafood with subtly Irish influences.

The venue formerly housed short-lived Irish restaurant Nuala and Corrigan has kept the same layout with the restaurant upstairs and a bar in the basement. However, Nuala’s curved banquettes have been swapped out for tables for two and four.

Those who are expecting a carbon copy of Corrigan’s eponymous Mayfair restaurant and its nearby sibling Bentley’s will be disappointed, as this is a far more casual operation befitting the area. However, you will find the sort of seafood dishes that helped Corrigan make his name, with the coastal influence obvious from the outset – beef tartare is served in oyster shells and paired with a seriously umami oyster cream, while the pairing of fleshy Scottish langoustines with mayonnaise is beguilingly simple.

Meat dishes put in a strong showing too, whether that be paprika-dusted fried pork rinds that melt on the tongue to reveal blobs of apple sauce or the meltingly tender pork belly that is cured in sugar, boasting a crisp outer edge that strikes the perfect balance between sweet and salty.

Daffodil Mulligan’s pudding menu revels in nostalgia, offering up the kind of sweet treats that your mother made for you as a youngster. Tuck into baked apple bursting with cinnamon and the boozy hit of Armagnac-soaked prunes, or opt for a rich helping of dark chocolate and banana mousse which encourages child-like spoon licking. If you prefer liquid desserts, order from the cracking cocktail menu which features a Blood Orange Jalapeño Margarita or choose wines from an assured list that traverses Europe. 

Here, Irish hospitality comes as standard thanks to a team of chefs and front-of-house staff who seem genuinely happy to be there. After dinner, keep the good vibes going by heading to Daffy’s basement bar Gibney's (a London outpost of legendary Irish pub Gibney’s of Malahide) for properly poured Guinness and a bar snacks menu that includes a black pudding sando and Durrus cheese toasties.

This two-floor bar and restaurant site, a stone’s throw from Old Street roundabout, has been taken over by renowned Irish chef Richard Corrigan, but he’s not the first person from the Emerald Isle to oversee the premises.

The space was formerly home to Nuala, the Irish-inspired restaurant from chef Niall Davidson. Nuala was largely deemed a hit by both critics and the public when it opened in late 2017 – both for its ground-floor dining room and basement whiskey bar – but ended up closing less than a year after its debut following a series of key staff departures, including Davidson, who left after just four months in the job.

Corrigan is hoping that the luck of the Irish will be on his side this time around, and if his resumé is anything to go by, we imagine that he has little to worry about. The acclaimed chef already operates two restaurants in Mayfair, namely the seafood-focused Bentley’s Bar & Grill and the eponymous Corrigan’s.

The chef has assembled an impressive team to make Daffodil Mulligan a success. He has partnered with fellow countryman John Nugent, who helped to open King’s Place in King’s Cross, and has roped in drinks pro Toby Gibney from legendary Irish pub Gibney’s of Malahide (just north of Dublin) to take care of drinks in the bar.

On the food front, the menus at Daffodil Mulligan follow Bentley’s lead with a focus on coastal cuisine, while several of the ingredients used come direct from the chef’s own Irish estate, Virginia Lodge in County Cavan.    

If you’re wondering about the name, it is inspired by Irish music – Daffodil was the daughter of Biddy Mulligan, a legendary Irish street trader who was immortalised by songwriter Seamus Kavanagh in the 1930s, in the song ‘Biddy Mulligan the pride of the Coombe’. We wouldn't be surprised to see Corrigan bursting into song.