Restaurant Guide

Dibs · 10-11-2004 1:07pm

crowbar wrote:

wow, only one mention of a thai restaurant so far in this thread, amazing! thai food has got to be one of my most favourite styles, which you seem to be able to get everywhere in the world. (it is much better in thailand though :-)

in dublin i quite like diep le shaker, behind the pembroke pub off baggot st lower. fairly expensive, but the food was nice and spicy last time i was there. the chilli club on anne's lane is delicious too, possibly the best in dublin. but definitely book ahead as it's tiny. you'll have fewer problems with bookings in the bangkok cafe on parnell st, it's funny having to knock on the door to get in though! some friends who went there recently thought it used to be better though.

people recommend baan thai in ballsbridge, but i've never managed to get a booking.

for a quick indian lunch, you can't beat the lunchtime menu at khan's in donnybrook. €10 for a very decent curry, chickpeas and rice. they recognise us there now, and make our jalfrezis a little bit hotter! for dinner, they let you bring your own wine - a brilliant concept that is sooo foreign here ...

We all went down to Dublin a few months ago for a girly weekend and went to Diep Le Shaker for a meal - absolutely beautiful grub...love the Dim Sum !!!!

Bri · 15-11-2004 9:49pm

fran wrote:

The Montague restaurant is a French Style Brasserie. I have been to it before using the Ezyliving guide. Great value. I saved €20.00 off my bill. I will definitely go back.

PS: anyone who eats out alot should check out www.ezyliving.ie offers great discounts in restaurants and activities in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.
If you want to eat out, save money but don't necessarily want to go early the ezyliving guide is ideal. I got it through my work social club for €25.00

2 questions:

The Montague phone number doesn't work. Hasn't for a week or two now. Is it closed down? I'm not around that area so I can't go by and check. Any help here would be great cos I planned on trying it this friday night for the early bird!

The Eazyliving scheme - what's the deal with it? I see it's good but the website has confused the hell outa me. There's a guide and a card. Do you buy both? Are both limited to 1 visit per restaurant? And why does the card work for 'formal' restaurants only?! Is there some distincion between the geographical location of most restaurants and the small list of those under formal? The more I look the more confused I get.

Thanks in advance.

fran · 18-11-2004 10:41am

Bri

I don't know if Montague has closed down. I was in it a while back, so I have no idea.

As for the ezyliving programe. Basically you get a book (the ezyliving guide) and an ezyliving card (which is like a cr card)

The book is full of vouchers that you can pull out and hand over when availing of the offers. The card goes with the formal section that is in the book. Basically this section is for restaurants who are a bit more pricey than the other ones, or restaurants who have won awards. So instead of handing over a voucher, you hand over the card - the restaurants mark of the relevant number to them. (I suppose it is a status thing - and it works quite nicely really)

Each voucher/card number can only be used once.

However I went back to Prima Donna a second time and just got chatting to the girl serving us. I told her I had seen it first in the ezyliving guide and she gave me a further €20 off my bill the second time around!!!! Not bad

I hope that info helps

sodiumlightbaby · 18-11-2004 2:59pm

Indian Food - Meghna Tandoori, Terenure. - I have eaten in many many Indians both at home and abroad, as its my favorite food and this is the best and most consistent. Not your fancy pants trendy Indian like, Jaipur, vermillion, Shalimar, poppadum etc...this is normal Indian....madras, dopiaza, dansak, bhunas, tikka masala etc

Thai Food - Thai House in Dalkey or Baan Thai in Ballsbridge - Again I'm a big big fan of Thai food and have tried them all in this city and found these two to be the best although its a long long time since i was in Diep le Shaker and would like to revisit. Diep Noodle in ranalagh is another favorite.

Italian Food - Antica Venezia in Ranalagh, Cafe Topolis in Parliamant st or Nico's in dame street. All excellent

Chinese Food - Quality in the Good World in dame street is always good. Kites was also excellent on a recent visit and Furama in Donnybrook is also very good.

Mexican Food - Acapulco, although there's not a lot of competition in Dublin.

Japanese Food - Wagamama, South King Street.

Vietnamese - Ho Sen in temple bar is the only one i know of and it was crap on my recent visit

General - Luigi Malones in temple bar is a good all rounder or FXB's too.

Jesus I eat too much.... :eek:

Bri · 19-11-2004 1:14am

fran wrote:

I don't know if Montague has closed down. I was in it a while back, so I have no idea.

Luckily it hasn't - just all the online numbers are the same and they're different to the working one. Looking forward to trying it out!

fran wrote:

As for the ezyliving programe. Basically you get a book (the ezyliving guide) and an ezyliving card (which is like a cr card)...Each voucher/card number can only be used once. I hope that info helps

Yes cheers. Makes a lot more sense now. Pity it's not annual from date of purchase but I'll still think of getting it cos of the value.

Thanks again.

Tiriel · 19-11-2004 1:15am

Bri have you decided on somewhere to go?

Bri · 20-11-2004 9:27pm

Went to Alamo in Temple Bar. Great Mexican, really enjoyed the Qusedillas (sp?) for starters and took the surf and turf as recommended. Staff were friendly enough. Unfortunately my chair was broken but I swapped it myself. No big deal as Mexican food is generally alot more relaxed.

Only complaint would be the proximity to everyone else!

Still very much recommended.

Mr.Been · 25-11-2004 1:22pm

Bri wrote:

Went to Alamo in Temple Bar. Great Mexican, really enjoyed the Qusedillas (sp?) for starters and took the surf and turf as recommended. Staff were friendly enough. Unfortunately my chair was broken but I swapped it myself. No big deal as Mexican food is generally alot more relaxed.

Only complaint would be the proximity to everyone else!

Still very much recommended.

I am going for a meal this Saturday in Buclody Co. Wexford a restaurand called Cafe' Mediterrano.
Has anyone else been there

Saruman · 27-11-2004 8:38pm

Mongolian BBQ in temple bar.. its a good concept.. was there for lunch today and it was €10.99 or so for all you can eat buffet..
You go up.. pick what you like (veg/meat) and pick spices/herbs and also sauce... bring to to BBQ where its done for you in a few mins... its nice and there should be rice waiting for you when you get back. So sounds cool

Problem though is it was not great today!! Dont eat meat except fish and no fish or Tofu

Service was slow for rice and stuff

Still the food is nice as long as you know enough about food to put the right sauce and seasoning on it. otherwise it might be tasteless.

Wife from the states and there is one there that has a huge beffet.. will go when i go for Christmas

macG · 01-12-2004 2:00pm

Hey Fran / Bri, The Montague is alive and kickin was there again on thursday evenin and was quite busy! They have changed the menu's as well with a new early bird, but I was too late so had a John Dory special, I was Billy no mates but enjoyed it none the less!!! Got a business card from 'Tony' (should I put the number up here or is there rules against that?)

macG · 01-12-2004 2:02pm

Forgot to ask ye, has anyone eaten in Dunne and Crescenzis on Frederick street? I'm going there tomorrow and wouldn't mind some selection tips!!!!!

Bri · 02-12-2004 10:37am

Mongolian BBQ: Agreed - great concept, good fun and reasonable. But limited service, etc. They only had 1 starter available - which really wasn't worth it considering there was a buffet waiting! The deserts were poor. My 'sorbet' was basically badly defrosted bland ice-cream and I couldn't even start eating it. Had to return it I'm afraid. But I did enjoy the main course idea alot. One for yourself and a gang of mates not a special night!

macG: Great to hear it's still open. I might try go this weekend. Would you mind putting up the number - I don't think it's against rules - because it would be handy to have. Sorry never eaten in Fredrick St.

Thanks!

Megatron · 06-12-2004 9:47pm

Well i am suprise that no one has mentioned

Pizza Stop.

It's Near brussels off of grafton st.
My fav italian in dublin. Nice pizzas, great pasta , full licence, and i do like my italian plonk too

Staff are excelent, and the price is very hard to beat

macG · 07-12-2004 2:39pm

Montague restaurants number for Bri, Fran and all else is 01-4781600...
Its a Bistro, lovely food relaxed atmosphere, and the best early bird I've ever seen...

had Lunch in Dunne and Crescenzis, was nice but they make you feel that you have to be in and out in seconds, taking peoples plates away the second they are done, even if noone else was finished etc. I know its business but I thought they were a bit overboard.
Food was lovely though, real Italian stuff, nice house wine and reasonabley priced.
A friend told me it isn't as hectic during dinner and that I may have been unlucky. But definitely worth the visit if you can avoid the rush hour...

Bri · 09-12-2004 8:41pm

New restaurant on Kildare St. (in Bruno's old building opp. the Shelbourne)

Called Town (townbarandgrill.com) - top notch food and not for a bad price at all. Really really tasty, fairly small but nice staff and just had an extended lunch from 2:30 to 5:30 without being pushed out of the restaurant at all. Fairly busy considering it's about 2 weeks old. Only downer was no Swordfish despite being on the menu; maybe we ate a bit late for that!

Big thumbs up.

errigal · 12-12-2004 12:00pm

A new restaurant has opened on Aungier St in Dublin...would highly
recommend it.

It's called Darwins - ate their during the week (early bird Mon-Fri until 7
20euro for 2 courses, 25euro for 3)
Menu is fab, food was fab, Decor fab... they also have a fine lunch menu
and pretty reasonable too.

The Bread and Butter pudding with Baileys sauce is mmm mmm....

TCP/IP · 03-02-2005 1:13pm

The best place to eat

WNG · 07-02-2005 2:32pm

Myself and seven other middle age golfers are staying in Tullamore in the second week of May 2005. We would appreciate any advice on good quality restaurants and bars, websites if possible. We'll probably eat in a different place every night within Tullamore so any help would be appreciated.

wrafter · 08-02-2005 8:25pm

In Dublin my favourite was always this .

Barkeeper · 14-02-2005 4:19pm

Check out http://www.barkeeper.ie there are some great recipes from restaurants in Dublin, and things about cocktails as well. You might find it interesting...

DeirdreB · 09-03-2005 8:17pm

I used to enjoy going here fairly often, but lately the food has just gone downhill. It is expensive (for what it is), poorly presented and tasteless.

What is it about restaurants that they can't seem to maintain any consistency with their food and service? Is it because of high staff turnover? :mad:

jetsetter · 09-03-2005 9:33pm

I read a review about O'Connells in one of the weekend paper. The reviewer was saying the same thing i.e the food is badly presented there, i,e sauce all over everything. He seemed to think it was ok for families but not for much else.

I find it really good to find a good restaurant now, went to l'gueuleton 2 weeks ago, I enjoyed that cos the food is well priced but to get a seat there you have to queue - they do not take bookings

01-04-2005 8:20pm

wrafter wrote:

In Dublin my favourite was always this .

Odessa is a decent spot. Keep your corks on the table though - a gang of us went and they tried to spank us on bill by loading it with wine we didn't drink. :mad:

miss serena · 14-04-2005 2:29pm

Anyone know some city centre restaurants with good pre-theatre/early-bird menus, but just not chinese, indian, italian, etc. You know not specialised food. Any help??

GuanYin · 14-04-2005 2:33pm

miss serena wrote:

Anyone know some city centre restaurants with good pre-theatre/early-bird menus, but just not chinese, indian, italian, etc. You know not specialised food. Any help??

Trocadero (upmarket) Boulavard Cafe (midrange),

wrafter · 14-04-2005 5:04pm

miss serena wrote:

Anyone know some city centre restaurants with good pre-theatre/early-bird menus, but just not chinese, indian, italian, etc. You know not specialised food. Any help??

Eden www.edenrestaurant.ie - they've got a note about their Pre-Theatre menu on right of homepage.

LFCFan · 14-04-2005 6:31pm

wrafter wrote:

Eden www.edenrestaurant.ie - they've got a note about their Pre-Theatre menu on right of homepage.

don't go near this place. The most pretencious(sp?), atmosphere lacking place I have ever had the misfortune of visiting. Myself and Fiancè went there for a friends b'day and ended up paying €100 for Starter/Main Course (which in my case was tough as leather steak I wouldn't feed the dog) and 1 glass of wine each. Staff were unfriendly and all I could think about when I was in there was how much I wanted to be out of there. Horrible place!

wrafter · 14-04-2005 6:49pm

Oh dear. Sorry you experienced that. I went there with a group out of work at Christmas and we all loved it.

miss serena · 20-04-2005 3:13pm

Cheers, for your help guys. Actually heard that Eden was really good and the pre-theatre is very reasonable so might try that. I'll take my chances LFCfan!

LFCFan · 20-04-2005 3:20pm

you have been warned

wrafter · 20-04-2005 8:04pm

Come back and tell us how you get on...

jetsetter · 21-04-2005 11:29am

I was in Eden for a birthday and had a great night, it was really expensive though. The only reason I would go again would be for their early bird , it looks good. I like the Montague and they do a really really good early bird for 22 euro odd. Papaya do an early bird 5 courses for 20 euro so cant wait to try that out.

tSubh Dearg · 21-04-2005 11:49pm

I have 2 that haven't been mentioned yet.

The Bombay Pantry in Rathmines does excellent Indian take away! Had it just the other night and it was delicious. It can be a bit pricey but well worth it. I had the chicken korma, which was very nice, maybe not quite coconuty enough for my liking but still good.
My mum have the tandoori prawns which came with such a nice sauce we kept it and ate it with pitta bread the next day.
They also have frozen stuff (either the whole dish or just the sauce) you can buy to cook yourself, chutneys, basmati rice and all the spices.

The other place is Ouzo's in Ranelagh (above McSorley's pub) which specialises in Seafood. It owns it's own fishing boat so all the fish on the menu is freshly caught that day. It's also very reasonably priced because the fish is coming directly from the supplier not through a market.

I've been there a couple of times, I had the Surf and Turf with a lovely piece of sirloin steak, perfectly cooked and lobster claws. It was very very good and not too expensive considering the ingrediants.

I've also had the crab and lobster claw salad. That was very good, the crab claws are nicely garlicy, there are a good mixture of leaves and other salad paraphanalia.

The atmosphere in there is great as well, very relaxed with friendly staff. Well worth a visit especially if you live near the area.

kstanl · 02-05-2005 9:06pm

Places I like:

Silks in Malahide - Nice atmosphere, if a little dark. One of the more expensive Chinese restaurants in Dublin but the food is superb. The service is quite good and non-intrusive. It's recommended that you go on a Friday or Saturday night to ensure Derek, the head chef, is actually on! Salt and pepper chicken wings to start are excellent as is the Peiking duck. Monkfish with chilli and black bean sauce, squid with chilli and salt, kung-po chicken in a birds nest and beef with chilli and green peppers are all excellent main dishes. Highly recommended and, apart from Memories of China in London, this is possibly the best Chinese in the British Isles!

Kinara in Clontarf - I'm into Indian food in a big way but haven't really tried many Indians in Dublin for some reason! Mostly in the UK. Kinara do the best I've had in Ireland so far though. It's actually a Indian/Pakistani restaurant to be more particular. I wouldn't recommend anything specific on the menu. I've been there several times and have tried nearly everything and all the food is exceptional so just show up and order whatever takes your fancy. If you're booking in advance, you might be lucky enough to reserve a seat by the window overlooking Dublin bay. The prices are pretty average as Dublin restaurants go and well worth it for the grub!

Places I didn't like:

Tiger Becs on Dawson Street - This was, without a doubt, the most appalling dining experience I have ever had. I booked a table for two over a week in advance. When I arrived, the place was very busy. We were seated at a table which was on the hardfloor beside their bar/drinking area. People were drinking right on top of us and we went there for a romantic meal! I asked the waiter/manager could we be reseated and he refused, saying that they were too busy. There were tables free however. I saw them being made up and there shouldn't have been a problem reseating us so it was negligence on the part of the snooty manager. Bland fish cakes, an average curry and a bottle of red wine later and we were left with some extremely drunk patrons practically sitting at our table and being very loud and obnoxious as well as a bill for €110. The manager appologised to me on the way out for the issue with the table. Not good enough considering the horrific experience I had. My advice - avoid this place like the plague. If you're lucky enough to get a decent seat, you'll still be paying way over the odds for average food and appalling service.

Siam Thai in Malahide - Wasn't impressed with this place at all. Expensive and the dishes were loaded with veg (and those horrible little mini corns) and not much meat. Quite flavourless food. The atmosphere was overbearing also with loud music and it was very dark. I'm not sure about the other Siam Thai's in Dublin but this one wasn't good when I went. Which was several years ago no I must admit. Ironically I've been hearing nothing but good things about it since but I can't quite bring myself to go back.

miss serena · 06-05-2005 5:05pm

Just to let ye know how I got on in Eden... I must say it very good. The food was very tasty, and not your usual pasta dish for a vegetarian, big thumbs up! I would only go there for the pre-theatre menu though, unless someone else was paying! The staff were fine, so maybe LFCfan caught them on a bad day! Its has a very open and airy feeling which was nice too.

Overall defo recommend it!

wrafter · 07-05-2005 1:32pm

You and me both then Miss Serena - horses for courses, I guess.

Franky Boy · 11-06-2005 5:02pm

I went to a small italian reataurant a couple of days ago;located on Montague Street just off Harcourt Street.
Great vegitarian dishes and an excellent Wine selection.

12-06-2005 12:54pm

Franky Boy wrote:

I went to a small italian reataurant a couple of days ago;located on Montague Street just off Harcourt Street.
Great vegitarian dishes and an excellent Wine selection.

That's Il Primo, great spot. The crab meat lasagne is amazing.

county · 12-06-2005 1:01pm

patrick guilbauds in merrion st,its a bit pricey but a total dining experience

Sarky · 18-06-2005 4:16pm

Haven't seen Thai Garden in Galway mentioned yet. Went there for the first time yesterday, and was very impressed. There was a mix-up with dessert orders and the sample-of-everything starters are very expensive for what you get, but apart from that, the food itself was absolutely gobsmacking. The prices are decent enough, the staff are pretty good, there was nobody trying to hurry us out the door to make way for new customers, and the food was so tasty I'm mentioning it again.

axtradub12 · 25-06-2005 9:57pm

My usual hangout. A Dublin owned Cafe/Restaurant C2K in Jervis Street Dublin, Capel Street end. Its a good meeting place. But don't take my word for it. Pop in yourself.

Bri · 27-06-2005 1:07am

Like to quickly recommend the Purple Ocean restaurant on the Dun Laoighre Pier (above the Ferry landing office). Excellent location, outdoor and indoor seating, great decor and atmosphere. Food (seafood for me but great range) was top class and friendly staff. Price was reasonable enough.

purpleocean.ie I think.

missfoodie · 05-07-2005 5:17pm

good eve, Limerick on the up...that is the was it is going. The food circle has really improved. Any one wanting to try Limerick cuisine in the future head to the Market Sqaure.Damn tasty, not cheap but really good eclectic dishes. I tried the Mixed seafood maincourse. Came with a mild cream sauce, tarragon i think..A bottle of chateau neuf de pape to wash it down with. Fish and red wine do go well together. Oh yes, the Green onion is wicked too. Alot more relaxed art deco kinda place but excellent tucker. Luigi Malones.mmmmmm... give this one a miss. Supermacs with wine glass and linen...

kobrien · 18-07-2005 5:08pm

Cambo in Waterford - exellent oriental food (mostly thai, some chinese) and quite reasonable

Coast in Tramore, Co. Waterford - had one not so good experience about 2 years ago but recently went back and it was fab. A little pricey but worth it!

The Vic Deli in Tramore - v good early bird.

goin to Monty's of Kathmandu (Dublin) this week, anyone eaten here?

Check out this site - for early bird listings in dublin:
http://www.grabit.ie/

Mysteryfish · 21-07-2005 8:11pm

ok, so I was wondering, it's my friends birthday in a couple of weeks and I was wondering, where is a good restraunt in Dublin with a wide selection of pasta, chicken and meat dishes, that's not too pricey and is preferably on the south side for transport reasons. Any suggestions? Please help. Oh and how oppossed do you reckon the restraunt is to bringing out a cake and singing happy birthday?

errigal · 21-07-2005 8:53pm

cafe bar deli ranelagh ?

Bob Bogart · 22-07-2005 12:33pm

There is a wonderful restaurant at the end of mary's st, its called, oh what was it again, something with an M, oh yes McDonalds, the nicest Burgers ever, u got t try it.

macm · 10-08-2005 10:35am

rite so here my penny's worth, literally that is, here's one for the student budget

Dublin: da pino's , corner of parliament and dame street, 12" pizza 6 euro at lunch . fantastic thin base real italian pizza, my fav: capriccioso with black lives & gorgonzola cheese, grt staff,

o neills, Suffolk street, hangover Sunday carvery, not mind blowing, just your average pub grub, but grt portions , solid base for Sunday session and the convenience of having Guinness on tap

place alongside lemom & butlers chocs up on suffolk st, grt little menu, eat at five o clock and your meal is 5 euro, eat at seven and your meal is seven. nice and cosy. Anyone know the name of it?

taco taco , epicuran food hall, grt buriitos, nachos etc,

just a little word on burdocks, there is absolutely nothing special about this chipper, majority of people I know who eat out of it complain bout feeling rough after their chips, very soggy, much better option is Guilios on top of Capel street. Nice chips. Always said that if somebody opend up a decent chip shop in Dublin they would make a packet!!

cork: more expensive as I m working for the summer

KC'c douglas , grt little chipper,

citrus douglas , pretentious food and atmosphere, the d4' ladies of cork like to dine here, food ok but expensive, can t help myself tho cos i'm in love wit one of the waitresses!!!

Eco’s , Douglas : lovely little restaurant, grt lunches but hard to get a table, love the penne chicken bake!

Curran’s (in town): there lst Sunday morning for a cure and got one , up on the roof garden, lovely atmosphere, grt food & reasonably priced.

Lennox’s bandon road, no need to say anything!

davejacko · 13-09-2005 9:15am

http://www.goeat.ie

This is new but looks great, if you become a member (which is free) you can enter competitions, download cupons and review restaurants. Its about time someone did a good online restaurant search engine for Ireland, adlib is crap.

Dave

copacetic · 18-09-2005 7:31pm

davejacko wrote:

http://www.goeat.ie

This is new but looks great, if you become a member (which is free) you can enter competitions, download cupons and review restaurants. Its about time someone did a good online restaurant search engine for Ireland, adlib is crap.

Dave

at least adlib has reviews, the one above has no info and and as far as I can tell places pay to be featured. not much chance of any independent information...

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