Set Lunches/Dinners [Ireland]

[Pilori]

I just moved to Dublin for school and have been noticing here, and out in the country, that many places only offer a two or three course set meal with no ala carte menu. Is this normal here? Coming from the US this seems like a very foreign concept!

[Simon_S]

Depends on the restaurant of course, but it's certainly more prevalent at lunch since the recession took hold. My understanding is that margins are very tight at lunchtime so it's all about keeping costs down. I'm not in the business, so maybe others can chime in.

As for dinners, I haven't really experienced the set menu on such a widespread scale, or at least not without an a la carte option too. I certainly wouldn't consider it "normal" at dinner (outside of early-bird deals), so I wonder if you've just been unlucky? It's a while since I've been a student in Dublin, so I don't know where people eat these days! Have you noticed this in cheaper restaurants, more expensive restaurants, or across the board?

[Pilori]

Hm, it seems as though it's been across the board. I've only been here for a week so I could have just been unlucky.

[Simon_S]

It might take a while to separate the wheat from the chaff in Dublin restaurants. Welcome to our fair city!