Nuala

Seven Xenophobic Lines from Julie Burchill’s Nuala Restaurant Review | Eater London

"A temporary Evening Standard restaurant reviewer, Julie Burchill, filed a largely positive review of a new, modern Irish restaurant that is notable less for its food than for its casual use of anti‑Irish stereotypes. Dining with a companion she calls “The Flâneur” (described as “three‑quarters Irish”), she peppered the piece with jibes portraying the Irish as habitual drinkers — noting “jolly green bottles” on tables and quipping about livers — and praising the return of lunchtime drinking among younger diners. She reduced Irish cuisine to soda bread and colcannon, fretted about fiddle music as a potential soundtrack, yet also admitted surprise at a “confident, modern room,” and conceded that, while she hates people who talk about “having the craic,” the restaurant is a good place to find it. The column revived earlier examples of her anti‑Irish commentary from the 1980s and 2000s, prompting readers to question the paper’s editorial choices; rumour suggests this may be her second and final ES Magazine turn, and many hope for a different tone from the next permanent reviewer." - Adam Coghlan