Dinner Tonight! Where to go? - Restaurant & Eating Out Recommendations for NCD

Shred

The wife and I decided to give Hogs and Heifers a quick spin this afternoon and we were impressed. It was before 5 and ticking over nicely but it wasn't overly busy either. We just had a burger (a lovely mincey burger with pepper jack cheese, carmelised onions and red cabbage coleslaw on a flour bap with nicely seasoned fries) and coke each; the service was spot on and the food was gorgeous. We'll defo be going back to give it a proper go one night soon.

Snozzle

Kinara restaurant in Clontarf is excellent.

Dizzyblonde

Snozzle wrote: »

Kinara restaurant in Clontarf is excellent.

I'm afraid Clontarf isn't in the North County so it's covered by the Dublin City forum.

SpatialPlanner

Out for a family day a few weeks before Christmas we dropped into Kealy's of Cloughran and I had a nice bit of food with the wife and kids. I hadn't been there in years and was very impressed with the quality and price of the food.

We were over in Blanchardstown yesterday and stopped by Kealy's again on the way home. I have to say the food was top quality. There was a decent crowd there as well all eating the home-style grub. I used to know it as Kealy's Roadhouse and it must have been about 20 years since I had last been in the place, prior to our visit before Christmas.

On my first visit (2013) I had the scampi and chips and last night I had the Madras Curry. Wife had the Gourmet burger on both occasions and the kids had fish and chips and goujons and chips. They do an awesome Seafood Chowder as well.

Just thought I'd give Kealy's a shout out because it's nice to find a spot that does high quality food for reasonable prices. Credit where it's due...and all that. I guess because of the motorway we were bypassing the old airport road so it was a case of Kealy's being out of site and out of mind. It's well worth a visit.

The Hill Billy

After gorging ourselves on turkey for nearly a week - myself, Mrs Billy & The Kids went out for a family meal to The Windmill Steakhouse in Skerries last week. I had a lovely sirloin - a bit more towards the rare end of medium-rare, but as it was a fine piece of meat it didn't matter. Mrs Billy was equally impressed with the monkfish & The Kids had a couple of quality burgers.

It was quite busy too considering that it was just after New Years Day & the service was a tad slow in parts as a result. But the servers were very helpful & friendly, not to mention very patient while HB Jr II tried to figure out what he wanted from the dessert menu. "Choccy cake or ice cream? Choccy cake or ice cream? Hmmm... I'll have both!!!"

The Nero D'Avolo was a great choice of red & very good value at around €21.

The Rooster

Went to the Windmill recently for the first time (since I was a kid!).

Ribeye steak was very good.
T-bone steak was disappointing (very thin)
Fish was very good.
Wings were lovely.

I liked the ambience of the restaurant.

Overall I thought the bill was slightly more than the food was worth (I've an inkling I may have been overcharged for desserts on the early bird, but that's my own fault I suppose for not checking the bill thoroughly at the time).

While the staff were generally very nice, the service was very slow. But the good points mean I'll give it another chance.

Dont be at yourself

Also went to the Windmill last week on the recommendation of this thread. Had the chicken liver to start, the rib-eye for a main, while the wife had a sirloin. We were both very impressed with all of it. The sides accompanying the steaks were lovely, and generous portions.

Staff were very nice, and the atmosphere was good. There was a bit of a mix-up with the bill (another table's drinks had been added), but it was quickly rectified with no fuss. Would have stayed in the pub for a few drinks afterwards, but I was driving.

Want to go back and try some of the fish dishes next time.

The Rooster

I went to the Brick House, which is down the harbour in Skerries, between Blue and Joe May's.

Setting is quaint/rustic. Lovely views over the harbour from upstairs.

There's an "ordinary" menu with a selection of starters and main courses (steak, chicken, fish, etc) and there's also a selection of 10 or 12 tapas dishes. We mixed and matched from both, and found it very tasty.

Reasonable prices and service was excellent.

Realist.

Can anyone recommend a really nice restaurant in Malahide for a Sunday evening sitting?

Thanks.

MissFlitworth

Better chance of a recommendation here OP, not everyone on the Food & Drink forum will be familiar with Dublin.

I've had a very pleasant meal in the Greedy Goose before

trackguy

Had a lovely meal in Hogs and Heifers on Saturday. The service was a little haphazard but the food was very tasty.

I had the burger, which was impossible big but the meat was well cooked and the slaw and accompanying sauces were delicious.

Others had pulled pork, fish & chips and rotisserie 1/2 chicken - all were happy with their choices.

They've really gone all out on the American Rock/ BBQ-bar concept too. I imagine it would be a cool place for a few drinks at night too.

focus_mad

trackguy wrote: »

Had a lovely meal in Hogs and Heifers on Saturday. The service was a little haphazard but the food was very tasty.

They've really gone all out on the American Rock/ BBQ-bar concept too. I imagine it would be a cool place for a few drinks at night too.

Not enough food for the price of them IMO.

El Sorreso, the Italian in Malahide is top notch!

Jimdagym

I was in hogs and heifers on Sunday afternoon and after 25 minutes of being ignored after asking several waiting staff could we have some service we left. An awful shame as the food did look and smell fantastic.

Stheno

Jimdagym wrote: »

I was in hogs and heifers on Sunday afternoon and after 25 minutes of being ignored after asking several waiting staff could we have some service we left. An awful shame as the food did look and smell fantastic.

That's a shame, they really seem to be having problems getting the balance right on the service, out of three trips there we've had two lovely experiences, the first was horrid though

The Hill Billy

We went back to Bombay House in Skerries at the weekend - HB Jr II fancied a curry for his 7th birthday treat.

I have to say that they've really upped their game since our last visit (which was great too). We were given an amuse-bouche while waiting for our starters. (An amuse-bouche in a local Indian restaurant!) The service was top-notch & the waiter very patient with the two boys while asked about a couple of the dishes that interested them.

We had a selection of starters - the spicy, fruit-stuffed potato cakes were delish, as were the chicken malai & pakora. The boys eventually went with kormas, Mrs Billy with a sour & spicy chicken dish & I can certainly recommend the chilli lamb chops from the tandoor. Quality lamb cooked perfectly & the spices well-balanced.

We asked for a doggy-bag as the lads wanted the remaining korma for Sunday lunch & they threw in a garlic naan on the house. A super evening!

cathy01

Any ideas of kid friendly place to go for dinner valentine evening about 6-6.30 ( I know how sad is that )

Stheno

cathy01 wrote: »

Any ideas of kid friendly place to go for dinner valentine evening about 6-6.30 ( I know how sad is that )

Nandos, Eddie Rockets, TGIs?

Just back from a long trip work wise to Canada, and was starving Saturday having spent 28 hours in transit.

We went to Hogs and Heifers and had the meat plank, boy it was good, ribs, half a chicken, a fairly large steak, and a hunk of pulled pork for €50 along with two sides.

Super food, service was ok, we didn't eat all of the meat, and they "lost" what we hadn't eaten.

They are getting better with every visit, but still not there, have to admire the guts of those who opened it, it was packed when we went there early Saturday evening.

charlietheminxx

I went on Saturday night and was told since we hadn't booked there was no way we'd get a table fo an hour or more, and probably not in time for them to still be serving food. So disappointed, was dying to try the place!

Just as an aside I got a deal rush in yesterday, 35 euro for a 2 course meal for 2 in Bombay Bistro in Rush, I know a lot of peope frequent there so might save you some monies!

Stheno

charlietheminxx wrote: »

I went on Saturday night and was told since we hadn't booked there was no way we'd get a table fo an hour or more, and probably not in time for them to still be serving food. So disappointed, was dying to try the place!

We went down about 5pm as we were told before that you need to book Fri/Sat for food

BalbrigganGirl

Went to Harveys for the 1st time saturday evening ...
AWFUL
They took forever and ever to serve us. I got a veggie burger and can only describe it as out of a frozen box of ready made ones - fried to sogginness !
Not what the menu suggested at all compared to other places who actually make them.

Really took forever for desert to be served ( pre made cake ) by which stage I didn't want it.
There is zero atmosphere there - the waitress was lovely but apart from that not one redemming feature can I recommend.

The Hill Billy

Congrats to The Windmill Steakhouse in Skerries (a favourite of mine) on being included in Georgina Campbell's Good Food Guide.

Shred

I went back to Hogs and Heifers with 4 others on the 15th and we had a geat time. The food was quite nice (although my steak was a little overdone) and it arrived promptly. It's certainly miles ahead of the big ball of bland, a.k.a. TGI's, at the front which looked fairly empty around 10pm. Other than waiting for drinks a couple of times (maybe 10-12 minutes) the service was pretty good. One of the group wanted to go elsewhere after our food othewise we would have stayed for the night, but we all agreed that we'd be going back again.

The Hill Billy

Mrs Billy & I got a rare night out on our own at the weekend & headed to Blue Bar by Skerries Harbour. The place was hopping, but we managed to get a table straight away.

Mrs B took the cod & chips option & was very pleased. Two large chunks of cod & a crispy beer batter with good home made chips & mushed garden peas.

I went for the Drunken Chicken noodles which I asked for with extra chilli. It was very nice (not as spicy as I had hoped), but lacking a little something - possibly some lime juice for a little citrus kick. (John/Lisa - ask the chef to try that. )

Desserts were just cracking! Mrs B got the Sticky Toffee Pudding *drools*. I generally don't eat dessert, but usually get one which Mrs B also eats, but this time around all she got was a wee nibble of my creamy cheesecake topped with toffee & crushed honeycomb. As soon as I had a taste I implemented a no-food-sharing policy.

A little bit pricier that some of the other spots in Skerries - but great value all the same.

cbreeze

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Mrs Billy & I got a rare night out on our own at the weekend & headed to Blue Bar by Skerries Harbour. The place was hopping, but we managed to get a table straight away.

Mrs B took the cod & chips option & was very pleased. Two large chunks of cod & a crispy beer batter with good home made chips & mushed garden peas.

I went for the Drunken Chicken noodles which I asked for with extra chilli. It was very nice (not as spicy as I had hoped), but lacking a little something - possibly some lime juice for a little citrus kick. (John/Lisa - ask the chef to try that. )

Desserts were just cracking! Mrs B got the Sticky Toffee Pudding *drools*. I generally don't eat dessert, but usually get one which Mrs B also eats, but this time around all she got was a wee nibble of my creamy cheesecake topped with toffee & crushed honeycomb. As soon as I had a taste I implemented a no-food-sharing policy.

A little bit pricier that some of the other spots in Skerries - but great value all the same.

Good that some were happy with their experience! Our family's experience was not this week - orders forgotten about, plates stone cold, fish not fresh, burgers overdone, main courses served at different times. People at nearby tables sounded like they were have the same gastronomic nightmares. I am afraid this overrated establishment relies too much on the sea views and expects the suckers to keep rolling along. Never again!

thesteve

cbreeze wrote: »

Good that some were happy with their experience! Our family's experience was not this week - orders forgotten about, plates stone cold, fish not fresh, burgers overdone, main courses served at different times. People at nearby tables sounded like they were have the same gastronomic nightmares. I am afraid this overrated establishment relies too much on the sea views and expects the suckers to keep rolling along. Never again!

I'm a regular there and never had an experience like this. Even after the wife and I had a kid and we added the complication of needing a baby chair (and hence can't use the booths) and requirements for his food to come out asap or heating stuff we brought, etc. we've never been disappointed. It's probably my favorite restaurant and never disappoints.

Stheno

Blues doghouse in Howth, right beside the Dart station, I've mentioned it before, but we went there today, they were busy so we just had coffees to start, then quesadillas and a pizza followed by a few soft drinks and a coffees, I brought a bottle of wine (they charge €5 corkage)

Service was good, we never felt they were rushed off their feet, food was lovely, we were left alone as we have been in the past even though they were busy to enjoy our food and the atmosphere.

I've been going to this place since it opened a couple of years ago, and it's fun. They've a bed and a sofa set up as a table, and the latest edition is a stray cat who due to being fed by guests, now takes up residence on the bed and sleeps after sneakily going around begging from tables.

Gourmet food it is not, but for the grand sum of about 45 euro, we ate freshly prepared food, had a bottle of wine, lots of coffees and drinks, and enjoyed the goings on around us.

Next week is the OHs birthday, and we are having a casual dinner there, but going to Ollies the next day with his kids as that's our "proper occasion restaurant" but Blues suits us both for a calm and pleasant time.

shooter69

Defo agree re Blue. Have had a few bad experiences there, cold food, over the top pricing and generally a pretentious attitude from some staff. I dont think its made its mind up whether its a pub or restaurant. Much prefer the windmill or harbour bar in rush. Much better food, friendlier staff and better atmosphere.

The Hill Billy

shooter69 wrote: »

...a pretentious attitude from some staff...

Sad to say, but I also noticed this, as did Mrs Billy, the last time we were there.

Paybel

Went to the Mint Leaf Restaurant in Swords two weeks ago and found GLASS in my mouth! half way through the meal - all I got was €5 off the mealn:eek:


GREAT :mad:

Wouldn't recommend it at all!

Paybel

shooter69 wrote: »

Defo agree re Blue. Have had a few bad experiences there, cold food, over the top pricing and generally a pretentious attitude from some staff.

I agree - I've had some good experiences there and some quite bad! I don't go there for food anymore. Total waste of time!