Gary Rhodes D7 Restaurant

Tazzer

Hi,

Just wondering if anybody has been to Gary Rhodes new restaurant D7 in Capel Street yet? I was looking at their website and the prices seem quite reasonable. I was thinking of going soon and it would be great to get some feedback.

for those of you who havent seen or heard about it - this is the website www.rhodesd7.com


Thanks

Sizzler

My mate went last night and he said the starters were tiny but the mains were OK portion sizes. The overall verdict was its OK, but because it was Rhodes place he expected a lot more so was ultimately disappointed.

Just a word of warning, I rang on Tuesday just gone to book a table, some D4 head, Tarquin, or some shoite answered and told me that they literally had NO bookings till August 22nd (I was only looking for a table for 2!) and said that was it, like it or lump it. So I said no worries, I'll call back.

I then rang again on Thursday afternoon and a lovely girl answered and told me they were booked out till next wkend but after that any day or time I wanted Anyway, I got my booking for a nice slot on the sat night, but still cant get my head around why the 1st dude told me they were booked out for a month when they obviously werent. Prick.

So the message is, if in doubt try again!

Wishbone Ash

Sizzler wrote:

Just a word of warning, I rang on Tuesday just gone to book a table, some D4 head, Tarquin, or some shoite answered and told me that they literally had NO bookings till August 22nd .

Makes me wonder why they are advertising so much!

Tazzer

Thanks Sizzler for that - could you let me know how you got on.

so i emailed them - as i was in work - and asked if i could book a table for 8 on the 19th of August at 8.30pm.

i got a reply back saying that there would be no problem but if i could ring them to organise a time?????

now did i or did i not specify a time in the email????? obviously there was no name but the email address is reservations@rhodesd7.com, so i presumed you could email them the details.........

Bluetonic

Boards, and the search facility is your friend.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054965499

Rhodes D4 is going ahead too in the Bolands Mills building, same owners as the Capel Building.

sadieirl

Called resturant about 2 weeks ago looking for table for 4 - Was told they were booked out for 2 weeks so I booked it

When I arrived last night - there was loads of free tables and they said I could have the choice of which ever table I like - Hostess wasnt very friendly

Resturant is ok - food is excellent, portions are quite small so you could easily eat 4 courses. Service is general was ok - Staff didnt seem very confident with the menu.

All side orders are extra so we ordered a few of each for the table. When they arrived they were very small and when we ordered a few more, we were told that they were made from fresh and we would be waiting another 15 minutes for them so we decided against that!

Overall - 7/10

darragh.delany

What's their policy on sittings? is there a vacate the table by x time thing or do they actually let you enjoy your meal at whatever pace you choose (on principle I won't pay my money to eat in the former, seems contrary to any notion of relaxed enjoyment)

jdivision

darragh.delany wrote:

What's their policy on sittings? is there a vacate the table by x time thing or do they actually let you enjoy your meal at whatever pace you choose (on principle I won't pay my money to eat in the former, seems contrary to any notion of relaxed enjoyment)

In fairness the only time restaurants usually do that is if you turn up without a booking and they are busy and have to squeeze you in as it were. some do it at Christmas obviously and you can understand to an extent but otherwise there's no way they should be doing that. OP I heard from several people who've eaten there that the food was excellent but service was poor

Sundy

sadieirl wrote:

Called resturant about 2 weeks ago looking for table for 4 - Was told they were booked out for 2 weeks so I booked it

When I arrived last night - there was loads of free tables and they said I could have the choice of which ever table I like - Hostess wasnt very friendly

Resturant is ok - food is excellent, portions are quite small so you could easily eat 4 courses. Service is general was ok - Staff didnt seem very confident with the menu.

All side orders are extra so we ordered a few of each for the table. When they arrived they were very small and when we ordered a few more, we were told that they were made from fresh and we would be waiting another 15 minutes for them so we decided against that!

Overall - 7/10

if ya dont mind me askin what was it like price wise? did the quality match the price?

Tazzer

Sundy wrote:

if ya dont mind me askin what was it like price wise? did the quality match the price?

hi Sundy,

their website has all their prices on it - www.rhodesd7.com

Sizzler

Tazzer wrote:

Thanks Sizzler for that - could you let me know how you got on.

so i emailed them - as i was in work - and asked if i could book a table for 8 on the 19th of August at 8.30pm.

i got a reply back saying that there would be no problem but if i could ring them to organise a time?????

now did i or did i not specify a time in the email????? obviously there was no name but the email address is reservations@rhodesd7.com, so i presumed you could email them the details.........

I went over the wkend. Place looks stunning from the outside but is TOTALLY out of place with its location, I mean who the heck told them that was a good place to put the restaurant?? IDIOTS! They would clean up if it was in Grafton st area.

Anyway, as other posters have said there was more than a few tables free on sat night which I was surprised at as it took me 2 wks to get a reservation!

I thought the food was pretty good and wasnt too bad on the phoca considering the quality, the desserts were amazing
I had the pasta for starters which was about as plain a dish as Ive ever tasted, I would do better at home with some Dolmio So my tip would be avoid that dish at all costs!

pajos55

Sizzler wrote:

Place looks stunning from the outside but is TOTALLY out of place with its location, I mean who the heck told them that was a good place to put the restaurant?? IDIOTS! They would clean up if it was in Grafton st area.
QUOTE]

As far as i am concerned there are already plenty of restaurant options around the Grafton St area and it's nice to see a bit of development and input into other areas of Dublin.

Was here at the weekend, quite impressed, lovely food, great service, not too pricey. The place was pretty quiet although we were told that they are only booking in a percentage of their 250-person capacity for the opening weeks until they get themselves up and running. Whether this is true or not, I have no problem if it means they can offer a very good service to a smaller number instead of trying to cater for full houses and leaving people disappointed.

thumbs up from me!

Sizzler

Yeah all for rejuvination but lets face it, its not the sort of place you would like to fall out of after a few bottles of vino on a cold dark winters night, nor is it very accessible...unless you are on the Lennox red line.

jdivision

Sizzler wrote:

Yeah all for rejuvination but lets face it, its not the sort of place you would like to fall out of after a few bottles of vino on a cold dark winters night, nor is it very accessible...unless you are on the Lennox red line.

They get tax incentives to open there and double rent allowance too so it's a good place for them to open. It mightn't suit some of the posters but you've got to remember that the Four Courts is down the road so there's a big demand from barristers and solicitors for somewhere like that.

havana

How is it any less accessible than any other areas of the city centre? And I have fallen out of many an establishment in that area without any problems.

I can only hope that its the first of many new places for the area.

pajos55

The only reason "run down" areas stay like that is because nobody is prepared to invest or take a chance - i agree with the last poster, the area could do with a couple of places moving in and people not just writing it off. i live on the southside but am more than happy to stroll across the bridge, which is all it is - right beside the quays - hardly inaccessible...

Sizzler

Its a skip of an area IMHO. Anyway the post is about the restaurant not the section 23 etc;)

Tazzer

Hi Sizzler,

Thanks for the review - i'll definately stay away from the pasta then.......


Im going to give it a try on Saturday as the reviews have not been too bad at all.

Looking forward to it now!:)

Smoggy

Tazzer - what did you think ? im looking to book in the next day or so.

Tazzer

Smoggy wrote:

Tazzer - what did you think ? im looking to book in the next day or so.

Hi Smoggy

didn't end up going due to personal reasons, b ut hope to reb ook in the next couple of weeks.

let me know how you get on

bright

Bluetonic wrote:

Rhodes D4 is going ahead too in the Bolands Mills building, same owners as the Capel Building.

good call that should cover up the origional blunder-whoever informed Mr.rhodes that D7 was a trendy postcode shot be shot

Bluetonic

bright wrote:

good call that should cover up the origional blunder-whoever informed Mr.rhodes that D7 was a trendy postcode shot be shot

The main reasons are section 23 and The Capel building owner being the same owener as Bolands. D4 and D7 resturants were part of the same package.

fly_agaric

bright wrote:

good call that should cover up the origional blunder-whoever informed Mr.rhodes that D7 was a trendy postcode shot be shot

I think you massively underestimate other people's intelligence and overestimate their naivety.

Must make you feel very smart though...;)

fletch

I went to RhodesD7 and could not have been more disappointed. To start with the whole atmosphere was that of a busy canteen. We were seated at the back of the restaurant which has a high wooden ceiling and wooden floor making the acoustics very bad. Every clink of a knife and fork can be heard and I found it quite difficult to have a conversation.
I didn't bother with a starter and had the Seabream for main course. It was swimming in sauce and on a bed of mashed potato. The sauce was very salty and completely drowned out the flavour of the fish and caused the potato to become a sloppy mess. The portion was also tiny. I also ordered market vegetables. A plate of green beans arrived out. The plural use of the word vegetable kind of implied a selection of vegetables so that was also disappointing(not being a huge fan of green beans either). I finished my meal in about 3 minutes flat and then had to start robbing my friends chips to fill me up. The only saving grace were the desserts which were decent enough (although my Creme Brulee was a bit overpowering)
Overall I would not recommend this restaurant if you are hungry. I don't have a huge appetite but I did not leave feeling even satisfied and had to go home and make myself a toasted sandwich.

ateam

I would agree with Fletch, the restaurant was very noicey and initially makes you feel uncomfortable. I got the fish and chips and to be honest I could not distinguish between their fish and Donegal Catch. The chips(7 in total) were nothing special. However the desert was lovely...I got a chocolate cake thingy with icecream. But overall, bad location and over priced.

Bluetonic

ateam wrote:

bad location

Whats wrong with the location?

fletch

Bluetonic wrote:

Whats wrong with the location?

Well for starters, it's only a few doors up from Utopia (a sex/adult shop for those that don't know), not a great start. I also noticed a multitude of sleazy other lingerie stores seem to have opened close by. And Capel Street would hardly be classified as one of the more upmarket streets in Dublin and in that respect it does seem out of place.

ateam

fletch wrote:

Well for starters, it's only a few doors up from Utopia (it's a sex shop for those that don't know), not a great start. I also noticed a multitude of sleazy other lingerie stores seem to have opened close by. And Capel Street would hardly be classified as one of the more upmarket streets in Dublin and in that respect it does seem out of place.

Yes and you don't feel comfortable parking your car on that street either!

fletch

ateam wrote:

Yes and you don't feel comfortable parking your car on that street either!

Although I do think it's situation on the Luas track is a definite advantage.

Bluetonic

ateam wrote:

Yes and you don't feel comfortable parking your car on that street either!

Oh FFS why ever not? There is nothing remotely risky about parking your car on Capel Street, than there would be on any of the other cities thoroughfare's.

I've a feeling D7 wouldn't get half the criticism it's food does if perhaps it's location was changed. It's clear to see with some of the reviews that food quality and restaurant location are related in some people eyes.

ateam

Bluetonic wrote:

Oh FFS why ever not? There is nothing remotely risky about parking your car on Capel Street, than there would be on any of the other cities thoroughfare's.

I've a feeling D7 wouldn't get half the criticism it's food does if perhaps it's location was changed. It's clear to see with some of the reviews that food quality and restaurant location are related in some people eyes.

If the food was nicer and came in bigger portions, then the location wouldn't really matter. The poor location just adds to the overall impression of the restaurant.