Fours days in Dublin

[Mar Calpena]

Hi, everyone. I'm travelling to Dublin on April, 26th until the 29th. As this was a bit of an impromptu decision (a tempting aerlingus offer), I can't really afford going to very good places (read expensive), but I'd love to eat decently and, most definitely, not go the fast food route. If at all possible, I'd love to try traditional Irish food without going for broke.

Also, I'd appreciate any advice on what foodstuffs I could take home with me from my visit.

Thanks everyone in advance!

[nikkib]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=99674

This restaurant had some good reviews from egulleters

[Mar Calpena]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=99674

This restaurant had some good reviews from egulleters

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Yes, I had seen this thread. It looks really good and I'd probably try it back home, but as I hail from Barcelona I don't really want to eat tapas when I'm in Ireland... However, thanks

[Simon_S]

Yes indeed, as much as I enjoyed the Port House, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to a visitor from Barcelona!

Dublin, as you probably know, is an expensive city, and price isn't always correlated to quality here. Still, off the top of my head, I'd recommend L'Gueuleton for good food that won't break the bank (although you can't book) and The Winding Stair for some Irish-style food at medium prices. I haven't been to the latter myself, but I've heard good reports from people I trust. Incidentally, if you find yourself in Dun Laoghaire for any reason (it's about 10k south of Dublin along the coast) I would heartily recommend the newly opened Alexis, which I intend to review on eG any day now.

More ideas will come to me, and I'm sure Corinna will be along shortly with a few recommendations. Ireland has experienced a wave of immigration in recent times which also means there are some excellent ethnic eats at very low prices if you know where to look. At the moment, I don't, but Corinna might...

Meanwhile, you can check out menus and prices for a lot of restaurants here, although many of the reviews need to be taken with a healthy fistful of salt.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

Si

[nikkib]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=99674

This restaurant had some good reviews from egulleters

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Yes, I had seen this thread. It looks really good and I'd probably try it back home, but as I hail from Barcelona I don't really want to eat tapas when I'm in Ireland... However, thanks

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Ah! Didn't spot that one

[HannaBanana]

I would also heartily second Simons suggestion of L'Gueleton. While it's French, and they don't take bookings, it's one of the best lower/reasonably priced options in the City.

As best you can, stay away from the area known as Temple Bar - it's tourist centre - over priced, faux Oirish, and serves mediocre (at best) food. If you fancy a little bit of the Too-ra-loo-ra, then I would suggest Gallaghers Boxty House - link: http://www.boxtyhouse.ie/ (sorry I don't know how to do the fancy link thing yet)

As a lunch example, the set lunches in Mint and Thorntons on the Saturday (or Friday?) would be a low cost way to sample some top Irish cooking. Simon or Corinna might be kind enough to spare my blushes and do the link thing?

A day/evening trip to Dun Laoghaire topped off with a visit to Alexis would be very pleasant at the end of April - it's on the coast and there are one or two nice walks.

Foodsuffs to take home would include oak smoked salmon, cheese (make it to Sheridan cheesemongers), black pudding (Great with pancetta in salads)...

Edited March 9, 2007 by HannaBanana (log)

[Simon_S]

As a lunch example, the set lunches in Mint and Thorntons on the Saturday (or Friday?) would be a low cost way to sample some top Irish cooking. Simon or Corinna might be kind enough to spare my blushes and do the link thing?

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Mint

Thornton's

Another option in Thornton's would be to go for canapes.

Si

[minichef]

the best places to eat if you are on a budget (i am a student, i should know), include

for dinner

gruel, little sister of the mermaid cafe on dame st -good for a roast in a roll or a stew; as mentioned before l'gueuleton & the winding stair; town bar and grill is relatively expensive as is the mermaid, but you won't starve in either, and both are excellent value.

for lunch

cafe irie for a sandwich if in temple bar; the temple bar market which is on saturdays; cornucopia on wicklow st which is vegetarian; soup dragon on the north quays or capel st... the one on the quays has sambos and smoothies and salads; panem on the north quays beside the milennium bridge does nice savoury filled croissants and cookies and things; the italian places in the 'new italian quarter' across the milenium bridge. cafe bar deli is good too, for simple pizza and pasta and salad, go to the one on grafton st where Bewleys used to be ,the room is gorgeous with stunning stained glass windows.

Pub Grub

if you fancy a pint and some food, two places i highly reccommend are

Grogans, for a guinness and a cheese and ham toasty.

The South William for a glass of whatever and a-to-die for pie.

I suppose it depends how tight your budget is, what i would do if visiting a new city would be to walk around all day, sniffing out restaurants for the evening, and have something simple for lunch like in the places i have mentioned, and save my appetite and money for dinner. This is my favourite way to explore a city.

Good luck and happy hunting.

[Corinna Dunne]

Mar, here are a few more recommendations:

Cheap and casual:

- The Farmers’ Market, Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, open on Saturdays. Here you can eat your way around the stands. Be sure to try the native oysters which you can have with a glass of wine. Good falafel and organic burgers, there’s some great cheese and there are plenty of cakes and pastries. Open from about 10am-4pm. There also seems to be one in the Powerscourt Townhouse on Fridays, click here, but I’ve never been to it. Click here for a thread on Farmers’ Markets in Ireland.

- Gruel on Dame St, as suggested by minichef above. Really good no nonsense food at no-nonsense prices: soups, casseroles, roast-in-a-roll. Lunch and dinner.

- Silk Road Café, Chester Beatty Library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle (which isn’t really a castle), off Dame St, a hidden little gem, you’ll forget you’re in a city. Mediterranean and North African food. There are some pictures of the grounds on the Taste of Dublin thread, click here. Closed after 4.30pm.

- Chez Max, Palace Street (at the entrance to Dublin Castle), reasonably priced French food which is OK. Nice atmosphere. A good place to have a coffee if you want to sit outside with a Ducados! Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

- Dunne & Crescenzi, South Frederick St, also good for a coffee with some outside tables and for simple reasonably priced Italian food… although you will probably flinch when you compare the price of Parma/brasaola with what you pay for jamon in Barcelona! Lunch and dinner.

- Queen of Tarts, Dame St, a really cosy café and a nice spot for breakfast. Also does lunchtime savoury options, but is best for tea and cakes (the lemon meringue pie is great). Breakfast and lunch.

- Toffoli, Castle St, a small side street running up from Dublin Castle, an Italian-style sandwich bar with freshly-baked piadina, filled prosciutto, cheese, roasted peppers etc. Mostly a takeaway but a few tables, closes at 6pm

- Nude, Suffolk St, no fuss spot with great tasting healthy food, plenty of smoothies and juices. Lunch and dinner.

- La Maison des Gourmets Castle Market (at the back of the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, a lovely little streeet) an authentic French boulangerie with a small restaurant upstairs and limited menu: confit, savoury tarts etc. There are a few tables outside too which are great for people watching. Lunch only.

- Amnesty Café on Fleet St, tables in at the back. Good for stuffed sandwiches, salads, juice etc washed down with a dose of self-righteousness

- Panem, Ha’penny Bridge House, Lr Ormond Quay, a tiny spot, mostly for takeaway but there are some tables. Good for filled foccacia, hand-made pasta, soups and great croissants. Lunch only.

- Wagamama, Sth King St (downstairs at the side of the Stephen’s Green Centre, it’s part of a chain, but the noodles are very good and you can fill up efficiently and cheaply. Lunch and dinner.

- Fayruz, Middle Abbey St, a simple little Lebanese restaurant that does great lamb shawarma (I think the chicken one has too much white pepper). You can get a simple kebab or a shawarma plate which will really fill you up. Nice hummus too. Lunch and dinner, also open Sunday.

- Jack’s Chinese Restaurant, Parnell St, turn right at the end of O’Connell St and you’re into our tiny stretch of Chinatown. Northern Chinese food, so hotpots, and a Korean influence, as well as kebabs etc. Lunch and dinner, open Sunday too. Be careful up around this area, it’s much safer than it was a few years back, but don’t mark yourself out as a tourist by flashing a street map. Some of the best cheap eats in town.

Mid-price:

- L’Gueuleton, Fade St (off Georges St, by Hogan’s pub) as Simon and Hannabanana mentioned above, good rustic French food, great atmosphere and good prices. If you want to go for dinner, get there at 6pm, put your name down and wait in Hogan’s until your table is ready.

- The Winding Stair Lr Ormond Quay, as Simon recommended, great for Irish cooking, great quality Irish produce, charcuterie, cheese etc. Prioritise this one if you want the Irish experience (which is not as easy to find as you might think). As HannaBanana mentioned, thread carefully in Temple Bar and avoid anything that professes to be Irish there.

- Mint, Ranelagh Village. It's been suggested above too. It’s a little bit out of town, but the LUAS (a light rail system will take you there). As you’re from Barcelona, you will probably find the avant garde slant to the food here interesting (still quite conventional though). It’s not a mid-price restaurant, but the lunch is great value at €37, dinner is a lot more and the tasting menu will only bring on an attack of painful comparisons with Hissop, Cinc Sentits etc in Barcelona (we had the tasting menus with wine there for about €60, unbelievable!). Quite a few posts on the Mint thread, click here.

- Thornton’s, Merrion Hotel, Stephen’s Green. I haven’t tried the canape bar yet, but based on Simon and Hazel’s experience recently (linked in post above), this would be well worth checking out in the evening.

There is a good list on the Eating in Ireland thread, click here.

What to bring home:

Visit Fallon & Byrne on Exchequer Street to get Sally Barnes wild Irish smoked salmon. It’s outstanding and definitely worth bringing back. Wild salmon is becoming a bit of a luxury item in Ireland now that there has been a ban on drift net fishing.

If you’re looking for cheese, as Hannabanana suggested, visit Sheridan’s Cheesemongers on Sth Anne St.

There’s a thread on edible and portable souvenirs from Ireland, click here for loads of suggestions.

Other suggestions:

Don’t miss the pub experience, because it is very much part of Dublin. You can follow in the footsteps of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses (by James Joyce) and visit Davy Byrne’s for a bite to eat. I’m not sure if the Gorgonzola sandwich is available outside of Bloom’s Day (16th June), but it’s a good place to have native oysters on the half shell with a pint of Guinness (in season when there’s an ‘r’ in the month). Click here for a thread on Dublin pubs.

Have a great time and let us know how you get on.

[Mar Calpena]

I really, really want to thank everyone who's contributed... I asked you for a few restaurants and you have given me an entire Dublin guide! I'll sure be trying some of those, and once again thanks, thanks, thanks! I had heard about Irish hospitality, but this a lot more

I'll let you know how it goes. I'll probably be trying the Winding Stair one of the nights, as I want to eat in a mid-prize place at least once (that's what happens when one starts booking holidays as if there was no tomorrow...)

Mar

[minichef]

I really, really want to thank everyone who's contributed... I asked you for a few restaurants and you have given me an entire Dublin guide! I'll sure be trying some of those, and once again thanks, thanks, thanks! I had heard about Irish hospitality, but this a lot more 

I'll let you know how it goes. I'll probably be trying the Winding Stair one of the nights, as I want to eat in a mid-prize place at least once (that's what happens when one starts booking holidays as if there was no tomorrow...)

Mar

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bona sort! bon profit!

[tomweir]

Yes enjoy. I was all set to jump in and all I would be doing is echoing minichef and of course Corinna's recommendations. Not a bad recommendation in either.

You mentioned budget as a concern... so...

Buried a little in minichefs recommendations is Bewley's on Grafton street. This used to be a classic European tea house, alas no more... but the room and the Harry Clarke stained glass windows still make for a nice place for a coffee mid-day, also one of the few places to get an early breakfast in the city. The restaurant Mackerel upstairs ain't bad either.

I would definitely do Gruel on Dame Street for lunch. Small but full of people watching opportunities and the food is good. Made in front of you if you're early for lunch 12 o'clock on or so.

You'll spot a good Spanish coffee stall at the end of the Georges Street Market, good con leche if you're disappointed by the local efforts at espresso. There's a nice very healthy alternative style deli just down the road from it called Blazing Salads too, if you needed a healthy take out lunch to have with your coffee.

Edited March 10, 2007 by tomweir (log)

[Corinna Dunne]

I really, really want to thank everyone who's contributed... I asked you for a few restaurants and you have given me an entire Dublin guide! I'll sure be trying some of those, and once again thanks, thanks, thanks! I had heard about Irish hospitality, but this a lot more 

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It's a karmic thing :biggrin: . You're very welcome. We have all benefited from the great advice elsewhere on eG, not least the Spain and Portugal forum.