New Tapas Bar (ALL POSTS HERE)

Dr.Silly

anyone been ?

dr ro

no. It's not open yet.

Blandpebbles

Opened last night, by the looks of it.

ciaran67

Blandpebbles wrote: »

Opened last night, by the looks of it.

Yes it opened last night. Quick scan of the menu and its seemed reasonable, price wise.

Annasopra

where?

ciaran67

Johnnymcg wrote: »

where?

Corner of Hillside and Church Rd

Rasmus

I looked at their menu in the door today - does not appear to be a 'tapas' place at all, more like mainstream Italian. Beef, chicken dishes, salads and bruschetta...

Blandpebbles

Isn't Tapas made up of all these dishes?

Rasmus

Not really. Tapas are small portions of food, in variety, that you would order together - in Spanish cuisine.

ciaran67

Rasmus wrote: »

Not really. Tapas are small portions of food, in variety, that you would order together - in Spanish cuisine.

I actually looked at the prices... lol

dr ro

it seems to be a small selection of the future menu. Looks a bit like an international menu. But tapas size. Half chicken breast and 4oz beef medallions etc. No chorizo. Boo. Looks ok though. They're Looking for suggestions. How about bring your own wine or beer? And e2 corkage!

Blandpebbles

What is it with places looking for suggestions on what to serve?

Set a menu or rotate a menu, don't people know what they will serve before they open a place?

Rasmus

Blandpebbles wrote: »

What is it with places looking for suggestions on what to serve?

Set a menu or rotate a menu, don't people know what they will serve before they open a place?

Totally agree. How about some market research first? And does the chef know that they need suggestions? Hmmm. This is not the first new business in Greystones lately that seems to open, fish for ideas and hope for the best.... maybe it's a new trend.

Merrilady

Does not open Sunday either, seems a bit odd , maybe not

Seem like the same folks from Woodlands, does that mean the pub at Charlesland is not going ahead - Ooooops have I opened a can of worms

Annasopra

Blandpebbles wrote: »

What is it with places looking for suggestions on what to serve?

Set a menu or rotate a menu, don't people know what they will serve before they open a place?

Apparently the owners had come up with a menu before hiring chefs - the owners seem to be clueless but I know one of the chefs and he's a hard worker - I'd say the menu will change

littlefriend

Merrilady wrote: »

Does not open Sunday either, seems a bit odd

Seriously? That is just nuts.

Dr.Silly

littlefriend wrote: »

Seriously? That is just nuts.

Why is it nuts ?
There are loads of places that are closed one night of the week

heavyballs

Dr.Silly wrote: »

Why is it nuts ?
There are loads of places that are closed one night of the week

Why is it nuts?hhmmm let me think,there are 2 days of the week that the majority of couples are off work,Sunday happens to be one of those days,need i say more
i think you'll find most places that do choose to close tend to pick Monday or maybe Tuesday at a push.

dr ro

actually lots of restaurants are closed sunday and monday nights. Typically quiet nights. You would however think sunday afternoon/evening tapas would be popular.

Rasmus

Merrilady wrote: »

Does not open Sunday either, seems a bit odd , maybe not

Seem like the same folks from Woodlands, does that mean the pub at Charlesland is not going ahead - Ooooops have I opened a can of worms

Why do you say that? Do the Woodlands folks have a fingerprint?

Blandpebbles

Should have called it the Twitter Bar, because next thing they will be asking you to Twitter what you want on the menu.

Don't know many places that open on a Sunday either.

lazuli

Ate in the new tapas restaurant on Church Road this week - it's on a soft opening before they officially open the doors. I am an industry professional so here are my thoughts.

Food was excellent: fresh, beautifully cooked, nutritious.

Price was incredible: 5 tapas and a bottle of wine for €40. My only complaint is that they don't offer large bottles of water, so it's kind of pricey to be ordering lots of small bottles.

Surroundings: the place isn't yet finished and ther are some wires hanging out of the walls; the place was very chilly and I saw a cheap electric heater under a table; lighting was far too strong and spotlight was down facing on the table so if you leaned it to talk to your dinner guest, you were blinded. Layout is ok; most of the tables are in a long line (I suspect they brought all the furniture from their previous establishment) so there's not too much privacy between tables.

Hygiene: overall it seemed good until I went to the toilet. Unisex toilet and noone had checked them all night. Pee all over the seats, tissues all over the floor and the only bin in the cubicle was the ladies sanitary bin.

Service: ok. Took a long time to be given a menu (like 15 minutes too long) and ordering wasn't too easy either.

Ideal spot for something cheep, cheerful and fun. Great spot for big parties. If they can iron out some issues, I think they have the potential to do great business and I wish them all the luck of the Irish.

Dr.Silly

lazuli wrote: »

Hygiene: overall it seemed good until I went to the toilet. Unisex toilet and noone had checked them all night. Pee all over the seats, tissues all over the floor and the only bin in the cubicle was the ladies sanitary bin.

Wow, if they can't be bothered to clean up the toilets which is visible to the public, imagine what the kitchen could be like ! thanks but no thanks !

greystonesrc

Hi all,

I was there last night, food was excellent, we had 6 tapas dishes and a dessert between 2 of us, 2 small bottles of sparkling water, a glass of beer, 4 glasses of wine, cost €55 which was great value.

The place was very full, they were sending people away and asking them to come back in 30 mins, there was only one waitress and a maitre d on the floor, assume they will put more staff on when they are fully up and running.

The menu isn't full yet, he said they are putting on another 22 dishes at the weekend. Niggly bits were the tables are too close together, service was a bit slow due to manpower on, the spotlights over the table were up a bit too high, the toilets are unisex and they weren't as clean as they should have been, probably not checked as they didn't have the time, the heat could have been slightly higher too, these were I hope little niggles that will be sorted.

Overall, we were very happy with our evening and it was great value, will be back soon !

Pigwidgeon

Unisex toilet seems a bit odd to me.

lazuli

I also ate there this week. We had a wide array of dishes and a bottle of wine for €40. Thrilling!! and the food was delicious and fresh. So very pleased to have somewhere cheap and cheerful on our doorstep. It's also a great place for a big party and somewhere cheap and cheerful for the younger population.

That said, I also would say the following:

• We waited ages for a menu and another long while to have an order taken
• I wasn't too impressed by the table layout. No privacy at all.
• The restaurant was cold and there appears to be no heating installed anywhere. Not a good idea in this country.
• I too found the toilets a bit unsavoury. They're unisex and the only bin is the ladies sanitary towel bin. As a result there were tissues strewn across the floor and it would be great if men would aim for the bowl and clean up their overspill when out and about.:eek:

If they can manage to iron out their issues, especially those of hygiene, then I think these guys can make it work and I will happily support them in their efforts to make this town more reasonable to eat out in.

dr ro

sounds great. Can't wait to try it. A bit harsh writing it off in the first week because of the toilet. And comparing the toilet to kitchen for standards of hygiene is silly, dr. Nobody gets it all right straight away, sounds like they've made a good start. The wine list looks small though. Hope they consider a b.y.o.bottle policy.

lazuli

the current menu is a "sample" menu so for the week of the soft opening, they had a selection of dishes and wines. these and many more will be included on the full menu when the doors officially open tomorrow (friday) as will a full cocktail list. it's a clever idea actually and the wines we had were smashing...nothing wrong with them.

as i said, if they can get a handle of the finer details, they'll do great and have proven that you can eat well and reasonably so, which is more than can be said for a number of establishments along the main street.

mmcm888

Ate there this evening

Tables too close together
Menu - very basic, no indication of the portion sizes. I'll allow them for just being open and having only a sample of the menu but it's not exactly rocket science to make tapas so I don't see what the delay/experimentation/research is about.

Quality - We had the lamb - only ate about two mouthfuls. It was terrible with no flavour and had obviously had reduced too much and had water added.

Service - Waitress was ok but inexperienced. Should take the drinks order and go get the drinks rather than standing around while we were still discussing what to order. nobody asked for feedback when we paid - not quite in keeping with the sample menu.

Price - On first view the menu seems reasonable but for what we got it was not worth it.

Suggestions - Put together a sampler platter. Give bread/olives/chorizo 'starter' to get people in mood (only needs to be small).

Would I go back - Unlikely.

M.

ciaran67

dr ro wrote: »

And comparing the toilet to kitchen for standards of hygiene is silly, dr.

Having worked in a kitchen, you're very trusting mate

Dr.Silly

dr ro wrote: »

And comparing the toilet to kitchen for standards of hygiene is silly, dr. Nobody gets it all right straight away

I don't think it's silly at all!
I was actually there last night myself, and the toilets were MANKY!
Piss everywhere all over the floor.

It was embarassing, when I left the toilet there was a woman that was going in after me!, Hope she didn't think I missed the bowl by three feet each side !!

pixbyjohn

On reading these posts how are the management going to keep the toilets clean with the type of untidy customer that uses them. Maybe they need an attendant full time:rolleyes:

GingerDave

Lots of positive feedback and some negative.
What i want to know is it prober tapas or a localised version!

Sampled Tapas in Barcelona and Madrid many a time and would like to think you could get something simular in a restaurant selling its self as such. Is it run by Spainish people who know the cuisine? Or is it a localised version that taste nothing like it?

ciaran67

Dr.Silly wrote: »

I don't think it's silly at all!
I was actually there last night myself, and the toilets were MANKY!
Piss everywhere all over the floor.

It was embarassing, when I left the toilet there was a woman that was going in after me!, Hope she didn't think I missed the bowl by three feet each side !!

I hate sharing bogs with men, god knows what women think!

dr ro

actually having worked in a few toilets, you generally find the ladies toilets are worse than the gents by closing time. Can't blame them for the pissy seat and floor though!

Blandpebbles

The fact that the toilets are unclean causes enough worries about general cleaniness to be a concern.

ciaran67

dr ro wrote: »

actually having worked in a few toilets, you generally find the ladies toilets are worse than the gents by closing time. Can't blame them for the pissy seat and floor though!

Hanging around mens toilets doesnt constitute working.

Blandpebbles

Not liking sharing toilets with men must mean you hold a lot of pee in or do you go for the executive option (otherwise known as the Disabled Toilets)

Lil' Smiler

What's the name of the place? Wouldn't mind trying it out

dr ro

ciaran67 wrote: »

Hanging around mens toilets doesnt constitute working.

If you enjoy what you do you'll never work a day in your life!

Rasmus

The fact that the toilets are unisex is not the issue. Three Qs only has one toilet and it's always kept perfectly clean. You can of course judge the level of cleanliness (or priority of it) of a restaurant by the bathroom. Maybe in this case, however, they were too frazzled on opening night or the first couple of days to maintain the toilet. It's enough info for me though to make me not want to go eat there. (Maybe for a drink, then I'd check the loos!)

Box09

I went there the other night - it was very cold and the toilets were manky. I won't be going back unless it gets better reviews. The tables are too close. Its a shame but i think they opened it before they were ready. Not very impressed.

ciaran67

Box09 wrote: »

I went there the other night - it was very cold and the toilets were manky. I won't be going back unless it gets better reviews. The tables are too close. Its a shame but i think they opened it before they were ready. Not very impressed.

It was rammed last night apparently. I took a few home and all seemed to enjoy it.

amy1plus2

I ate there too. Again, I have the same complaints - tables far too close to each other. Place very cold. Food was only warm when we got it, not hot at all. Also the "spicy lamb stew" was COMPLETELY bland, seriously no taste, not even salty. Was not impressed at all and so wanted to be

markymark21

Merrilady wrote: »

Does not open Sunday either, seems a bit odd , maybe not

Seem like the same folks from Woodlands, does that mean the pub at Charlesland is not going ahead - Ooooops have I opened a can of worms

If a restaurant opens on a Sunday they usually have to pay time and a half to all the staff so alot of places close on a Sunday for financial reasons!

d31b0y

Anyone got the number for the Tapas place? I believe it's called Mauzac but I can't find a number listed.

coolhandd

Classic, 3 pages saying how bad the place is and then someone wants to go. That is funny. Sorry it just was too funny not to say. On another note a friend went there and said the food was not great flavour wise but he is dam fussy so you should give it a go it being a new business and all.

ciaran67

d31b0y wrote: »

Anyone got the number for the Tapas place? I believe it's called Mauzac but I can't find a number listed.

Yea its Mauzac. Couldnt find number either.

d31b0y

coolhandd wrote: »

Classic, 3 pages saying how bad the place is and then someone wants to go. That is funny. Sorry it just was too funny not to say. On another note a friend went there and said the food was not great flavour wise but he is dam fussy so you should give it a go it being a new business and all.

Actually, anybody that I personally know that went thinks the food was decent (not amazing or anything but decent), the toilets were spotless and the atmosphere was great. It would seem that those people don't frequent these boards though!

Just goes to show, the internet is somewhere to go if no one else will listen to your oppinion!!

(I'm kidding of course, don't lynch me )

ciaran67

d31b0y wrote: »

Actually, anybody that I personally know that went thinks the food was decent (not amazing or anything but decent), the toilets were spotless and the atmosphere was great. It would seem that those people don't frequent these boards though!

Just goes to show, the internet is somewhere to go if no one else will listen to your oppinion!!

(I'm kidding of course, don't lynch me )

I took 6 ladies home from there the other night and they said it came to about 40 a head. I think a lot of that was on wine judging by one of the casualties.

Box09

ciaran67 wrote: »

I took 6 ladies home from there the other night and they said it came to about 40 a head. I think a lot of that was on wine judging by one of the casualties.

Six ladies - You lucky man. I know where i'm going on Saturday night:p