Drogheda Restaurant Reviews

Anyone else think the standard of Rupee in Bettystown has dropped? In particular the chicken being served in the likes of Jalfrezi or Achari isn't the same quality as I've had there before.:(

Was in Simona Cafe yesterday, really nice place.
Food was delish and not overpriced either for good fresh food made well.
Only downside is menu appears limited, but i would say if you were to order some obscure relatively unknown italian dish they would be happy to put it together for you.

Will definitely be back.

sudzs wrote: »

Do you mean the take away?? I had my first take away from Rupee a few months ago and thought it was pretty good. Then the next time it was good too but the last one I got wasn't a patch on the other two. A pan fried potato and lentil thingy that I'd had before and loved, turned out to now be a horrible dry thing that had been crumbed and deep fried. The rest of the meal wasn't as good as it used to be either. Pity....

Yes the takeaway. I haven't eaten in the restaurant but we've used the takeaway approx once a week for the last 6 months. We've had two in a row now that had poor quality chicken so I'll be going back to Punjabi House if I get a third.

moonshadow wrote: »

Bad news all,la pizzeria is closing at the end of the week,I'd like to wish John Carlos a happy retirement.
But where will we go from now on???

Christ, had some good memories of nights out in that place through the years, sorry to see it go.
Its a Drogheda institution La Pizzeria !:)
(i presume its the one on Peter street )

And sorrento's is still open??? Bleh..

blingrhino wrote: »

I believe the pizzeria will still be open alas not with jean Carlos , heard his partner from previous years is back to run it - pizzas will hardly be as tasty .
On a positive note the rumour is that he ' s not going back to France and he might be back in business before ya know it

Was speaking to him earlier. He is def going but uncertainity over if it will remain open. They are still trying to sort out rent issues. I for one will miss the place. I have practically eaten there nearly every week for the past 14 years! Great times.:o

Rossin wrote: »

where is this?

Beside "The kitchen" Which is beside eddie rockets.. That is beside bia, which is across from scotch hall... beside the river.

Went there on Wed. Night (4th July) as part of a group of 5.
Table booked for 7.30 pm and we were ushered to our table, noted that it was not busy, about 30% full. We were given our menu's in old Comic Annuals (mine was the 2005 Dandy) which was quirky, but quickly noted that the menu is limited. Drinks order taken and arrived as expected, then food orders taken. We had decided (in advance) on Mains/Dessert/Tea, Coffee. Order taken circa 7.40.
We were then given bread, which was home-made, fresh, chunky and crispy. The butter came in a dish, (straight from the fridge) and was rock hard and impossible to spread on the lovely fresh bread. Bread was very nice, then it was 8.00 and nothing, then 8.10, we were about to check when we were given complimentary soup (Carrot and Coconut) in little cups, which was very tasty. The soup came with more bread. Its now 8.20 and other tables are having difficulty as well. We can observe heated discussions with the waiting staff and we decide to ask if all is OK with our order, we are told that our meal will be ready shortly. The first of many apologies is made, at 8.40 our meal starts to arrive, it took 3 visits by a single waiter to deliver 2 Spare Rib and 3 Chicken dishes.
Ribs: Very tasty and fell off the bone, but not as good as the Eastern Seaboard, they came with a potato salad, made from purple potatoes and a mayo dressing, although they tasted OK they looked "funny" and I did not finish them. They came in 2 bowls on a paddle, but we were not offered a plate or a bowl of warm water to clean your fingers etc. The food was tasty with a tight portion.
Chicken: had a lemon flavour and all (3) pronounced it delicious, it came with corn on the cob, which was changed to mixed veg for 1 on request, again all were happy with the quality of the food. I ordered a side of their "famous double cooked chips", which are more wedges in reality, they were nice except a number of them were quite large and somewhat undercooked.
The Manager then came to our table and apologised and informed us that we would be getting a complimentary medley of deserts.
When the waiter was clearing our table, he enthused about the forthcoming medley, which sadly took another 20 mins to arrive. We had to ask for plates to share them and again all were happy with the quality and taste. We were then given complimentary tea/coffee. The tea came in individual tea pots which poured well (not what one normally finds!!) and all professed themselves happy. The coffee was warm at best and disappointed.
Overall view, Food was very good, but the delays were very bad. We were not the only people to have issues. The staff are under pressure, but overall were pleasant. Although only recently opened, they should be getting their act together by now. Will need a vast improvement before I would return. (which I hope happens as this venue is a welcome addition to the town. :(:(

I was in Drogheda for some cake supplies on Saturday and as per usual didn't eat before I left the house so was in some state by the time I got done; tried that new Italian Deli on the quays - well I tried to - despite having a sign outside and the door being open the nice girl behind the counter told us that the previous night had been so busy the owner had decided not to open that afternoon. Great complaint but not one he should try too often I would say.

Anyway was heading back up Stockwell St and decided on Aileen's Art of Coffee.
A real little gem there - Soup & any Toastie for 7.50 - Tomato & Basil soup w/ Ham & Cheese toastie for me;gorgeous soup, piping hot and the sandwich was perfectly crisp with a generous amount of filling. O/H went for the fry-up and asked for no beans and juice instead of a hot drink. Nothing was any trouble and the cook even gave him an extra rasher in place of the beans. There was a lovely little area out back with a table and it seemed to be a real suntrap. The loo was spotless too. The outstanding feature however was the two ladies running the place - cheery, chatty and attentive without being intrusive and just seemed like really nice people - I hope the owner realises how lucky they are to have such good staff. Will deffo go back.

Kaylee wrote: »

So many cafes and restaurants, so little choice and quality!

fyp. :pac:

Very disappointing that Rupee Bettystown refused our order tonight based on the fact we live too far away. Apparently they have stopped delivering to our area (Stamullen). Our last delivery was on 1st July so obviously things have changed in the meantime. Given that we have ordered 2 to 3 takeaways a month averaging €25 to €30 since around April 2011 they could have at least honoured tonight's order.:( They hadn't the decency to even call us themselves. Justeat.ie called us to say they tried to convince them to honour the order based on our order history with them but they refused. Thumbs down here.

Edited to add I checked Justeat.ie Rupee order history and we ordered 32 times in 2011 and 18 times in 2012. Clearly we order far too much takeaway food...LOL!

To start off, Ive always been a fan of Noodle Box, food portions and quality has always been great in my opinion. But the last couple of times, the standard has dropped to terrible levels.

We ordered a big order the other night: 6 adults, 2 kids got half portions.
some got chicken, others got beef. My chicken was like rubber, like it was microwaved, it was horrible and didn't finish it, the flavour was not what I was used to getting with the salt and chilli chicken, tasted like it was just chilli and batter, everyone else tried it and said it rotten, undercooked and stale.

The beef was OK according to everyone else, some said the use of spices was very overused and again, most did not finish, the kids liked theirs, they had chicken curry, but didn't finish.

The next day I felt terrible, couldn't eat a thing, a few others also complained of feeling ill.

I really hope they get back to the standard they used to be, but as it stands, I wont be ordering from them again. Horrible, half assed cooking with no fresh meat used. Clearly an overuse of spice to cover up the crappy food.

KaiserLu wrote: »

Have been a long time customer of Bia, but will never be going there again. Arrived in a 3 o clock yesterday. Place wasn't even half full. Myself and OH sat down at a table and watched the 3 waitresses chat to each other for ten minutes (including the older one who appears to be a real favourite on this forum). Never given a menu, or even acknowledged. Tried three or four times to get their attention but was ignored. Another couple came in and were more or less served straight away. Got up and left.

Am I the only one who thinks that standards have slipped majorly in Bia? Food is fine there, but the staff just ain't what they used to be.

I'm new to the Drogheda area and live quite close to Bia. I was hoping to find somewhere nice to go for a leisurely breakfast on Sundays (read the paper, dawdle over coffee etc.). I've tried Bia twice now and both times have been really disappointing - I won't be returning.

The first time, I had my order taken quickly enough and food the food came and was fine - but then I waited over 15 minutes trying to get someone's attention to order more coffee (much waving of menu etc.). I was by myself and would have to gather up my bags to go to and order at the counter so I just gave up. It wasn't busy and there were several waiting staff wandering around, including a women I presume was the supervisor who spent her time chatting with people I think were her friends. I brought it up when I was paying, but she wasn't even that apologetic.

The second time I went with someone, and I ordered the vegetarian breakfast. The order was taken quickly enough, and the food arrived in a decent enough time. But - the 'vegetarian' breakfast has bits of black pudding on the plate (I presume they started to plate up a regular breakfast, then changed to what was actually ordered). I didn't want to ruin the meal of the person I was with, so I just moved it to a side plate and let it go. I didn't even bother complaining, as I knew from my previous visit that it wouldn't get me very far, and I have no intention of ever going in there again.

And! The second time, I ordered orange juice. The waitress came back and said they only had enough for a half glass, and would she bring that over anyway. I said it was fine, but thought they would charge half the price... Alas, no, full price juice on our bill.

So... looking for nice places for Sunday breakfast / brunch. Any suggestions?