Key Post: Recommend a Dublin Restaurant/Breakfast?

Hiya folks,

Can anyone recommend a nice restaurant in Dublin? I'm using my 'old favourites' to death at this stage and would like to try a few new places but am fed up at paying good money to restaurants that turn out to be a pile of cruddy arsebiscuits. All suggestions welcome!

BTW, (to start the ball rolling and all), my 'old favorites' include:

Talbot 101, Talbot St. D. 1:
Cool because: Menu varies weekly (as does art displays on walls), good food, nice atmosphere (buzzy bistro), decent service, good value, decent house wine, good veggie selection (not a veggie myself but not a hard-core carnivore either - like a choice)
Sucks because: Need to book well ahead (always a good sign I suppose). Non-smoking area surrounded by smoking area (what's that about??? Thankfully doesn't usually cause a problem) And their Thai veggie curry sucks!

Cafe Bar Deli, Sth. Great Georges St., D.2:
Cool because: Lovely food (of the pasta/pizza variety), good value, decent wines (again good value), nice atmosphere (v. like the old Bewley's whose premises it inhabits), no need to book ahead (they don't take bookings).
Sucks because: Service sometimes spectacularly bad, seats near stained glass window at back infested with flies (ugh! Thankfully rest of place ok), non-smoking area far, far too small (but lovely if you can get a seat there), menu quite limited (but they do have daily specials), pasta not fresh (i.e. dried pasta ... cheaper but tastes it)

Poco Loco, Parliament St., D. 2:
Cool because: Cheap and cheerful mexican(-ish) food, full licence, great for a big, happy, noisy gang of people.
Sucks because: Well, food isn't exactly gourmet but its grand and theres plenty of it so who cares, pass the beer!

Roly's, Ballsbridge, D. 4
Cool because: Yummy, yummy food.
Sucks because: V., V. expensive! And the last time we went their (wedding anniversary - strictly a special occasion place due to price), despite requesting a non-smoking table in the booking, we were seated smack, bang in the middle of the smoking section with little by way of an explanation or apology when we complained. As you might have guessed by now I'm really big on the non-smoking thing, nothing pisses me off quite as quickly as someone lighting up within a stone's throw of me (and thanks to being the proud owner of a mad dog who's addicted to playing 'catch', I can throw a stone pretty far). A single whiff of cigarette smoke will have me in a fouler humour that a cat in a bucket of water ... grrrr! But that's a whole other topic ... Suffice to say that any restaurant that doesn't adequately respect and cater for its non-smoking clientle gets a big thumbs down. (Now, why is Roly's still on this list again???)

Eden, Meeting House Sq., Temple Bar, D. 2
Cool because: Well, only been here once but what yummy food! (How unusual for a Temple Bar eaterie!) Nice, airy atmosphere.
Sucks because: Again, another place to break the bank if you're not careful. Full of 'beautiful people' - alas I'm not one of them ... enough to make one feel pretty unpretty! But great for eye-candy I suppose.

Odessa, off Wicklow St. (opp. Stag's Head), D. 2
Cool because: Eggs benedict and Kir Royale!
Sucks because: Just about everything else but the eggs benedict and kir royale just about make up for it. If you haven't a booking (and I'm still unclear as to whether they take bookings or not - I've tried to book and been told they don't and then turned up and been refused a table because its been booked!) don't bother trying to get in on a Sunday morning as its packed to the rafters - try Saturday instead.

Avoca Cafe, Sulfolk St. D. 2 (above Avoca shop):
Cool because: Lovely food in stonking great portions, lovely bright, airy premises.
Sucks because: Only open during the day (no evening opening), Brunch menu v. limited (go for lunch instead), can be a bit crowed and a wee bit expensive for lunch food.

I've a list of no-gos that's at least as long again but as some bear once said, lets accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don't mess with mr. in-between...

Gimme your suggestions!

coolaboola.

restaraounts

my favs in no particular order except for number 1 where I find that you get what you pay for.

number 1: Ta Se an Mahogany Gaspipes on Manor street. (think theyre renovating at the mo, numbers in the book, you will need to book ahead)

Tante Zoes. on Crowe Street behind the foggy dew.

Kelly & Pings in smithfield. Thai restaraunt. well worth a try.

The spur in liffey valley outside the cinemas. Try their half ribs and steak. mmmmmmmmm. you will have to q as they dont take bookings. I wouldnt bother on a fri or sat. but its no more then 10-15 mins week nites.

alternatively try my namesakes guide in the business post
www.sbpost.ie the link seems to be down at the mo, try later.

Re: restaurants

My favourites are :

One Pico: not cheap but I've been there loads of times and
I've never had a bad meal , in fact its always been excellent.

Bleu: One Picos little brother , food is also excellent and reasonably priced, wine list is weak though...

Bond: good food and very good selection of wine for which they only charge corkage.

Tea Rooms: Only been there twice and it was great (bit pricey though) although I've heard mixed reports from friends.


M3

Mmm!

One Pico - yum! I forgot that one!

And Tante Zoe's (esp. Dooky Gumbo and bread and butter pudding with whisky sauce - not together though!) ... another yum!

Ta Se, etc. (what's that name a skit on?) - haven't heard of that one before... gets good review on www.adlib.ie though ...

yum yum yum yum yum!

Re: Mmm!

Hi,

If you would like Indian food in jovial relaxed, laid-back surroundings, I strongly suggest The Green Chile in Stoneybatter.

Staffed by Indian and Pakistani, they are good fun, wine is not a rip-off price, they are excellent at recommending a dish......even able to argue you out of one!

Reservation is not necessary. If there's no seating available when you arrive, there's a pub next door that you can sup in, until they call you.

Been there 10+ times and couldn't complain.

Re: Mmm!

Il Baccaro in Meeting House Square (sort of under/beside the IFC).

Friendly and good value. Short Italian menu - can eat there as sort of Italian Tapas (!) if you stick to starters. Draught Wine also.

Try it, but it's often full.

Re: Restaurants

I found La Caverna in Temple Bar (beside Eamon Dorans) excellent value and the food was delicious. Others worth a mention are Kelly and Ping in Smithfield (Thai food), Wongs in Castleknock (excellent Chinese although a wee bit pricy) and as mentioned already Tante Zoes for the gumbo!

Re: Restaurants

We had a great reasonably-priced Italian meal in Trentuno's in Castleknock last week. The service was a little slow as the place was pretty full, but I'd certainly be happy to pay a return visit.

Re: Restaurants

My favourites would be:

Mermaid Cafe, Dame St. Pricey but definitely worth it.
Baan Thai, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge
Bang Cafe, Merrion Row
Jaipur, South Great Georges St and Khans in Donnybrook, both recommended by an Indian friend of mine.

mahogany gaspipes

coola,
A friend of mine from the area told me that the term 'Ta se an mahogany gaspipes' came from the stoneybatter locals who when asked what their name was would give the above term in return. dunno how true it is, sounds good enuff tho.
Been 4-5 times and IMHO its tops in dublin. Slightly on the pricey side but on a fri and sat night they have a jazz duet playing in the corner (normally either 2 guitarist or a female vocalist with a guitarist) for a couple of hours. Very classy indeed.
ludraman made an excellent choice, check out the green chile for a tasty injun which is within a stoneybatters throw of the gaspipes if you were still hungry.
And yes, you havent been out in dublin without having had cajun popcorn and a surf & turf from tantes mmmmmmmm.
All this and me just after finishing me cocopops.....

Re: mahogany gaspipes

Soooo huuuunnnggrrrrryyyyy!! *drool!*

Yum yum yum yum yum!

Though I'd have to disagree with you euroDilbert on the Il Baccarro (sp!) on Meeting House Square. Went there for the first time recently and while the atmosphere and staff are lovely, the big jugs of house wine nice and great (relative!) value, the bread delicious and the starter good, their pasta sucks donkeyballs!!!!! Firstly its dried pasta (I repeat, cheap but not that cheerful and at €13 a plate I want fresh!) ... Secondly, you cannot cook dried pasta 'al dente' (with a 'bite' - in other words not soggy and squishy - yuk!) At least you can't cook it al dente the way they tried to cook the pasta I was served which was tough and chewy (fresh pasta is never that hard and chewy even raw!) I gave up halfway thru and am only sorry I didn't send it back... Maybe you're right: it would be great if I had just stuck to starters and jugs of wine for Italian-style 'tapas'.

For some lovely pasta try (a) Donatello's, Lower Rathmines Road (if you can bear the decor!) - especially try their yummy garlic mushrooms followed by their pasta in vodka sauce (b) Aroma in the Epicurean Food Hall (ask for the fresh tagliatelli (sp?))

Now there's another place I forgot to add to my list: the Epicurean Food Hall, perfect stop after some leisurely book shopping in Chapters across the road. A veggie mollette and veggie nachos from Taco Taco's and a nice glass of wine from Layden's while chatting with friends or diving into your new book purchases ... shur where would you be ...?

Anyone tried Mash on Castlewood Ave., Rathmines?

Out of business?

I heard that Ta Se Mahogany Gaspipes had closed down; I think I read it in the Tribune.

Other nice places to eat:

The Chili Club, off South Anne St: Good Thai food.

FXBs on Pembroke Row: Excellent Steaks

China Sichuan in Stillorgan: Best Chinese Food in Dublin (In my opinion)

Salamanca, beside the Tourist Office on Suffolk Street: Nice Tapas; reasonable prices.

Pacific, beside the Olympia: Same people as One Pico, and Bleu; quite pricey, ok very pricey, but nice food.

Shanahans on the Green: Ruinously expensive, but delicious steaks, and superb service.


And I can second the recommendations for Bond, The Mermaid Cafe, & Trentuno

PhillySteak

.

[broken link removed] in the Schoolhouse Hotel.

Romano's in Capel Street for cheap, cheerful and excellent organic home made pastas & pizzas. Decor is naff but excellent & affordable food. Also €9.95 for a three course lunch plus tea/coffee even if the lunch menu is a bit short. Alsolutely no smoking so smokers be warned!

Il Primo in Montague Street (off Harcourt Street I think) seem to do some nice pasta dishes and have lunch specials but I haven't tried it out yet.

Agree with Ludraman although it's The Green Chili not The Green Chile! And if you're lucky you might even spot me drinking pints in Kavanagh's! :lol

Re: .

Wongs = excellent ribs and Yuk Sung

Romanos = excellent pasta and pizza, really cheesy decor

suggestions

Empress in Monkstown,lovely Chinese/Thai restaurant.Plenty of room between tables so you're not listening to your neighbours conversations!.
La Finezza restaurant in Donnybrook has a similarly roomy feel and delicious food also.Across the road Furama is always good.
Good indian is the Eastern Tandoori in Sth. William street.
Il Primo is lovely but pricey.

Re: suggestions

Il Primo is lovely but pricey.

Is it? The ad in the Irish Times lists lunch only mains/starters for €10/€5 which doesn't seem outrageous. Maybe their main dinner menu is a lot more expensive? Must drop by and check some day...

IL Primo

Yes the lunch menu is quite good value but its a bit dearer at night.Still worth a visit though, especially if you use one of the Tesco receipts that offer 2 for the price of one, Monday to Thursday I think.

PS Clubman are you planning to go to Belarus? :shamrock

Re: IL Baccaro

coolabula,

don't normally eat pasta, so can't comment - I normally go for the other stuff. However, I believed that as long as the quality was good, there was not much difference between dried and fresh.

Also forgot to mention Wagamama as another recommended place (plus agree with Roly's and Mermaid and lots of the others). Would also highly recommend l'Ecrivain (but only if you want to spend a bit !).

Finally, interesting to see so many of the places mentioned have closed (Pacific being another one).

Tesco vouchers???

what's that? are they still doing them? My nearest Tesco is a bit out of the way but would be worth the trip if good offer for Il Primo.

Last time I was there, I had salmon lasagne: it was superb.

As a side issue to restaurants, does anybody know where in Dublin you can buy what I term "proper" fromage blanc, not that awful 0% or 1% fat free you find in supermarkets (Jockey), something more like the "fromage blanc en faisselle" you find in French supermarkets, or even, heathen on earth, coming from a small French producer?

Bubbles

Re: The cellar bar

Hmmm...

Nobody mentioned the Cellar bar in the Merrion. I had lunch there recently and it was very good.

The Mermaid has a fantastic brunch menu - pure comfort food.

Marion :hat