Restaurant Guide

Mike Litoris

Last place I was in was The Green Hen and it was quite nice. Not too expensive either. The Pork Belly starter is outstanding. Pictures in the mens toilets are epic too.:p

Not a restaurant as such but I'm totally addicted to the Bangers and Mash in the Porterhouse to the point that a trip to the city centre must include having it for my dinner.:D

Dublin21

For anyone who liked/likes Koh (Pan asian) the chef has now moved to Tigers (downstairs at La Stampa/Samsara) on Dawson street.

Seriously hooked on the beef chili - absolutely amazing beef...

Nice cocktails too although the wine list is a bit limited.

youcancallmeal

Anyone been to Locks Brassiere since they got their Michelin Star? Going this weekend and everything on their menu looks good!

reprazant

Locks is probably my favourite restaurant in Dublin. Fantastic food in a fantastic room with a lovely, casual feel about it.

It was the same before the star as well. Great value lunch as well.

artvandelay48

ajmorno wrote: »

Anyone been to the winding stair I've heard good things? The place looks really nice it's in an old book shop or library

The Winding Stair is great. Very good cooking with great irish ingredients. Highly recommended

ajmorno

Locks is apparently very good haven't yet been but have been to the sister restaurant the Pearl Brasserie and it is top drawer

youcancallmeal

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Anyone been to Locks Brassiere since they got their Michelin Star? Going this weekend and everything on their menu looks good!

Well I went and I was very impressed with the flavours and quality of what I was given. The portions are borderline taking the p*ss but the whole meal together did fill me up for about 2 hours before I felt hungry again?

Stringvest

Went to Tante Zoe's last night and had a fantastic time. Had a bit of a problem initially getting a booking, we had a Dealrush voucher, and they were fully booked 3 Saturdays in a row. But our experience more than made up for it. Rachel, the Manageress, and her brother Anthony were wonderful hosts. They both took time to chat to us, checking how we were and being generally accommodating and friendly. Our food was absolutely top class, we had the chilli prawns and fish cakes to begin, then a prawn Caesar salad and blackened catfish. The flavours were delicious, the catfish particularly. And portions were very generous. We got the house wine with the deal, Spanish white which was nice enough. As we couldn't manage dessert, Rachel kindly wrapped and bagged them for us to enjoy later. I couldn't recommend Tante Zoe's more highly, we will definately go back!

aidan24326

Stringvest wrote: »

Went to Tante Zoe's last night and had a fantastic time. Had a bit of a problem initially getting a booking, we had a Dealrush voucher, and they were fully booked 3 Saturdays in a row. But our experience more than made up for it. Rachel, the Manageress, and her brother Anthony were wonderful hosts. They both took time to chat to us, checking how we were and being generally accommodating and friendly. Our food was absolutely top class, we had the chilli prawns and fish cakes to begin, then a prawn Caesar salad and blackened catfish. The flavours were delicious, the catfish particularly. And portions were very generous. We got the house wine with the deal, Spanish white which was nice enough. As we couldn't manage dessert, Rachel kindly wrapped and bagged them for us to enjoy later. I couldn't recommend Tante Zoe's more highly, we will definately go back!

You are joking right?

I went there on a voucher a couple of months ago and it was absolutely awful. Crap food and even worse service.

Now I'm not a nit-picker and wouldn't usually give bad reviews, but Tante Zoe's took bad service to another level. The waitress was rude bordering on hostile. The menu we were given was about as cajun/creole as Supermacs, and it was quite clear that we were being treated as unimportant voucher types unworthy of decent service or even a menu reflective of the cuisine supposedly on offer.

Seriously, it was burgers, fish and chips etc There was a token starter of a gumbo, the only thing vaguely creole on the menu. And as it happens, it was tasteless mush.

I've lived in Dublin for 16 years and have eaten in a good number of restaurants, some very good, some not so much. Tante Zoe's was possibly the worst. Certainly in the bottom 3. It's a shame because people have said to me that it used to be really good. But these days? Sadly my advice is don't waste your time.

aidan24326

In contrast, I recently went to Chameleon (Temple Bar) with a voucher for their rijjst-tafel and it was excellent. Big portions (almost too big!), delicious food, great service, everything cooked and seasoned to perfection.

You basically get a large selection of small (but no that small!) dishes accompanied by rice, noodles, veg, dips etc One thing more delicious than the next. It's styled as an Indonesian restaurant so the food is along the lines of Thai food with some chinese influences also. So if you like Asian food it's a must. Fabulous food at reasonable prices. Would highly recommend.

Tar.Aldarion

Yeah chameleon is a great place, lovely food. We can even split the rijst-tafel between two!

Alun

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Yeah chameleon is a great place, lovely food. We can even split the rijst-tafel between two!

I've never been there, but I lived in the Netherlands for 13 years so know quite a bit about 'rijsttafelen' and there generally you just go in and ask for a rijsttafel for X people. Usually the more people, the bigger the variety of dishes, so you get a better one if you go in with a bigger group, plus it's a social thing that doesn't really work well with just two people, a bit like fondue and raclette. However, often the amount of food also rises non linearly with the number of people it's for, so a group of, say, 8, will usually have more than enough if they order for 6 only.

I'm very tempted to try it, but I have a horrible suspicion it won't quite live up to my memories from the Netherlands.

Tar.Aldarion

We eat the vegetarian one so it doesn't increase the variety unfortunately. Others share when we are there with them. We tried having more than one and it was too much food, but I'd say the veggie one is more substantial. I've never heard of anybody not loving it, give it a try. Their walls are bedecked with awards.

themandan6611

Stringvest wrote: »

Went to Tante Zoe's last night and had a fantastic time. Had a bit of a problem initially getting a booking, we had a Dealrush voucher, and they were fully booked 3 Saturdays in a row. But our experience more than made up for it. Rachel, the Manageress, and her brother Anthony were wonderful hosts. They both took time to chat to us, checking how we were and being generally accommodating and friendly. Our food was absolutely top class, we had the chilli prawns and fish cakes to begin, then a prawn Caesar salad and blackened catfish. The flavours were delicious, the catfish particularly. And portions were very generous. We got the house wine with the deal, Spanish white which was nice enough. As we couldn't manage dessert, Rachel kindly wrapped and bagged them for us to enjoy later. I couldn't recommend Tante Zoe's more highly, we will definately go back!

You see, its self serving "reviews" like this that make me sick, it makes me never want to go to the place

BaZmO*

themandan6611 wrote: »

You see, its self serving "reviews" like this that make me sick, it makes me never want to go to the place

Huh? Good reviews make you never want to go to a place?

themandan6611

BaZmO* wrote: »

Huh? Good reviews make you never want to go to a place?

good reviews that are impartial, yes, but not when they are clearly written by someone connected with the restaurant in a big old ass kissing post.

youcancallmeal

Went to the new Persian place Anar in Terenure. I really wanted to like this place as it's just on my doorstep but it was a disaster food wise. The staff and decor are very welcoming. There wasn't a whole lot of variety on the menu, pretty much everything we had was bland and not seasoned and a lot of the items are hugely overpriced. Oh well.

BaZmO*

themandan6611 wrote: »

good reviews that are impartial, yes, but not when they are clearly written by someone connected with the restaurant in a big old ass kissing post.

Fair enough, but it would seem at odds with the view that they offer bad service. I doubt that a company would go to the bother of this type of spam yet fail to make sure they deliver good service when the customers actually come in.

The Hill Billy

@themandan6611 - If you feel that someone is shilling, please use the Report Post function & do not speculate on-thread as it takes it off-topic.

Thanks,

tHB

marley123

Thumbs up for Harvy Nics in Dundrum, ate there for the first time couple of weeks ago.
Service spot on without being intrusive.
Food was superb, pricy but worth it for special occasion.

aidan24326

Alun wrote: »

I'm very tempted to try it, but I have a horrible suspicion it won't quite live up to my memories from the Netherlands.

I can't comment on the quality of that kind of food in Holland as I haven't been, but Chameleon really is good and I doubt you'd be disappointed. If you are, and you come back here and tell us that it's way better in Holland then my ticket will be booked! Seriously though it's very good and well worth a visit. I will be going back sooner rather than later.

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Yeah chameleon is a great place, lovely food. We can even split the rijst-tafel between two!

I know what you mean. We (two of us) had one each to share and it was a lot of food. We made a good stab at it :-D but the amount of food could easily have fed 3 hungry people.

BaZmO* wrote: »

Huh? Good reviews make you never want to go to a place?

BaZmO* wrote: »

Fair enough, but it would seem at odds with the view that they offer bad service. I doubt that a company would go to the bother of this type of spam yet fail to make sure they deliver good service when the customers actually come in.

I think what he meant is that it was a suspiciously great review from someone with very little post history. For a restaurant that has been garnering negative reviews in general over the last while (consensus is that it's gone way downhill). My review of the place is 100% genuine, it really was very poor. Everyone has different experiences so I'm not saying that the poster 'stringvest' couldn't possibly have had a good time. Maybe they did. But based on my experience, and that of a couple of other people I know who've been there recently, I would be surprised to say the least.

Curry Addict

Alun wrote: »

I've never been there, but I lived in the Netherlands for 13 years so know quite a bit about 'rijsttafelen' and there generally you just go in and ask for a rijsttafel for X people. Usually the more people, the bigger the variety of dishes, so you get a better one if you go in with a bigger group, plus it's a social thing that doesn't really work well with just two people, a bit like fondue and raclette. However, often the amount of food also rises non linearly with the number of people it's for, so a group of, say, 8, will usually have more than enough if they order for 6 only.

I'm very tempted to try it, but I have a horrible suspicion it won't quite live up to my memories from the Netherlands.

having enjoyed many rijsttafelen in the Netherlands I did try the Chameleon and I had my worst restaurant experience ever. The only time ive ever left a restaurant mid meal. i guess this place may be a bit hit and miss. My experience was shocking...

Alun

Curry Addict wrote: »

having enjoyed many rijsttafelen in the Netherlands I did try the Chameleon and I had my worst restaurant experience ever. The only time ive ever left a restaurant mid meal. i guess this place may be a bit hit and miss. My experience was shocking...

Interesting. Care to elaborate?

Curry Addict

we ordered a rijsttafel for 2. after a long wait we got a very small amount of food between two of us, 4 small little pots. it was not enough to feed even one of us. i asked( in a pleasant manner) was there maybe a mistake and maybe more food was coming. the waitress was extremely ignorant. we asked to see the manager and were told hes downstairs. I went down to talk to him, he was very disinterested and assured me that was what they served and they never get complaints(without looking at what we were given). I couldnt conceive of paying the price listed on the menu, for the food served to us, it would be rediculous so i told the manager this he just shrugged his shoulders. I went back upstairs got our stuff and we left.
It was shocking to be put in the situation that we had to up and leave.

I do think they made a mistake with our order and the food didnt make it to our table etc. but how bad they dealt with it!

Slattsy

@ A Mod

Im wondering, is it possible to set up a sub-forum for each county in this restuarant guide?

I know the thread is over 10 years old, but for anyone that wanted to browse restaurants for idea's and or reviews for Galway, they could have to read 20 pages of posts from Dublin or Cork before they stumble across a restaurant in Galway.

Just an idea. I feel its a good idea, but everyone with an idea feels they have a good one eh


Feel free to delete the post if need be.

Faith

Slattsy wrote: »

@ A Mod

Im wondering, is it possible to set up a sub-forum for each county in this restuarant guide?

I know the thread is over 10 years old, but for anyone that wanted to browse restaurants for idea's and or reviews for Galway, they could have to read 20 pages of posts from Dublin or Cork etc etc.

Just an idea. I feel its a good idea, but everyone with an idea feels they have a good one eh


Feel free to delete the post if need be.

Sorry, no. In 11 years, this thread has had less than 600 replies. That's an average of 54 per year, assuming every reply is an actual review, and would be 2 per county per year.

However, some regional forums already have their own restaurant recommendations threads, such as this one in the Cork City forum.

biko

Just to chip in, Galway has them too here and here.

The Hill Billy

DCN has one here.

Check out the Regional forums directly.

Mr.David

Ate here recently, it was good. The place is a bit small and cramped but good atmosphere. The service is very good. Had scallops with black pudding to start, and spicy prawns both of which were very good.

Had a rack of lamb for main, lovely meat but a touch overdone (asked for medium rare) and a touch under seasoned but very tasty. The accompanying roasted potatoes were very average though. Wife had a sausage pasta main, which was excellent. The pasta is homemade, the sauce was very tasty and not too salty as can often be the case with a sausage pasta.

The wine is excellent, a few degrees too warm (red) but great selection and nice glasses.

All in all I was impressed!

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Mr.David wrote: »

Ate here recently, it was good. The place is a bit small and cramped but good atmosphere. The service is very good. Had scallops with black pudding to start, and spicy prawns both of which were very good.

Had a rack of lamb for main, lovely meat but a touch overdone (asked for medium rare) and a touch under seasoned but very tasty. The accompanying roasted potatoes were very average though. Wife had a sausage pasta main, which was excellent. The pasta is homemade, the sauce was very tasty and not too salty as can often be the case with a sausage pasta.

The wine is excellent, a few degrees too warm (red) but great selection and nice glasses.

All in all I was impressed!

Where?