Restaurant Recommendation

howman

hello...goina be in Dublin city centre this weekend, have not been out in Dublin for some time and would love a restaurant recommendation, just the two of us - food type be it French, Italian, Irish, Indian, Asian but no Chinese please....

thanking you
howman

The Hill Billy

Split from Restaurant Review thread in Food & Drink.

tHB

Boulevardier

Have you thought of Middle Eastern? There are loads of good ones nowadays. Cedar Tree in Andrew Street and Beirut Express on Dame Street are both worth a try.

howman

Boulevardier wrote: »

Have you thought of Middle Eastern? There are loads of good ones nowadays. Cedar Tree in Andrew Street and Beirut Express on Dame Street are both worth a try.

middle eastern had not crossed my mind....interesting....what flavours, typical dishes could I expect?

Boulevardier

I would recommend any of the mezze deals. They include a mixed platter of starters including hummus, baba ganoush and other very tasty appetisers, followed by a main course of chicken or lamb with rice or roast potatoes.

Lebanese wine is also lovely but a bit pricy.

ibarelycare

+ 1 for Cedar Tree.


The Chameleon in Temple Bar is also fantastic, and something a little different. It's an Indonesian restaurant, and they do great sharing menus called "Rijst tafel". You get 5-7 dishes to share, and a portion of rice each. Really delicious and a lovely experience.

chopper6

Had the Mezzes in Cedar Tree last year...everything was bland and swimming in oil.

diddlybit

Yamamori is always a safe bet for a good meal, but if you're looking for a romantic meal for two, it's not the place.

The Green Hen on Exchequer Street has a nice French bistro feel to it.

http://www.greenhen.ie/site/index.php

howman

diddlybit wrote: »

Yamamori is always a safe bet for a good meal, but if you're looking for a romantic meal for two, it's not the place.

The Green Hen on Exchequer Street has a nice French bistro feel to it.

http://www.greenhen.ie/site/index.php

romance is required...and definitely like the look of this place...

Il vicoletto and blackboard bistro have been mentioned on review sites...know nothing about them...any feedback?

Boulevardier

Blackboard is intimate and very French. A bit like La Cave but quieter.

listermint

Port House, if you are into Tapas.

Really enjoyed it.

diddlybit

listermint wrote: »

Port House, if you are into Tapas.

Really enjoyed it.

Really dark and cosy (and noisy), but last two times I've been in I've was really disappointed. have to find a new favourite place for tapas.

Maybe the Pig's Ear? http://www.thepigsear.com/?page_id=13

kinsy

diddlybit wrote: »

have to find a new favourite place for tapas.

Try Las Tapas de Lola on Wexford St. Honestly the best tapas I've tasted in Dublin. A great range of really authentic Spanish tapas and really reasonably priced.

howman

kinsy wrote: »

Try Las Tapas de Lola on Wexford St. Honestly the best tapas I've tasted in Dublin. A great range of really authentic Spanish tapas and really reasonably priced.

it looking like the green hen...menu looks very tasty & nice venue....tend to frequent tapas when the sun is shining really...tapas in cold dark months leaves me unfulfilled......but thank you for the suggestion

Penny Dreadful

Pichet is also very nice. Food is great and it hits the romance mark too.
Bang has recently reopened and I was there a little while ago. It was delicious.

Bandara

Cleaver East in the Clarence, stunning

Carolyn Gallop

Stunning is one way of putting it.

It's so dark in there you have to use the light on your phone to read the menu. The Early Bird menu is any three dishes for €21, but they fail to mention that a lot of the dishes have unadvertised supplements (which in my opinion, is illegal). Tables are far too small for the plates, and the dishes are served in a random fashion, so the first plates out have to be shared amongst everyone (in near-darkness). It's chaos. You learn that if dishes are offered to your table, you grab them even if if you didn't order them, else you do without.

PS a quick look on Google revels that Cleaver East are currently advertising on jobs.ie for an Assistant Manager, Chef de Partie, Sous Chef, Breakfast Chef and Hostesses......goes a long way towards explaining our awful experience there.

</snip>

Penny Dreadful

Carolyn Gallop wrote: »

Stunning is one way of putting it.

It's so dark in there you have to use the light on your phone to read the menu. The Early Bird menu is any three dishes for €21, but they fail to mention that a lot of the dishes have unadvertised supplements (which in my opinion, is illegal). Tables are far too small for the plates, and the dishes are served in a random fashion, so the first plates out have to be shared amongst everyone (in near-darkness). It's chaos. You learn that if dishes are offered to your table, you grab them even if if you didn't order them, else you do without.

PS a quick look on Google revels that Cleaver East are currently advertising on jobs.ie for an Assistant Manager, Chef de Partie, Sous Chef, Breakfast Chef and Hostesses......goes a long way towards explaining our awful experience there.

Why on earth would you even dream of opening up a restaurant without a fully compliment of staff? Especially at this time of year when you're going to be busier anyway. :rolleyes:

Bandara

Carolyn Gallop wrote: »

Stunning is one way of putting it.

It's so dark in there you have to use the light on your phone to read the menu. The Early Bird menu is any three dishes for €21, but they fail to mention that a lot of the dishes have unadvertised supplements (which in my opinion, is illegal). Tables are far too small for the plates, and the dishes are served in a random fashion, so the first plates out have to be shared amongst everyone (in near-darkness). It's chaos. You learn that if dishes are offered to your table, you grab them even if if you didn't order them, else you do without.

PS a quick look on Google revels that Cleaver East are currently advertising on jobs.ie for an Assistant Manager, Chef de Partie, Sous Chef, Breakfast Chef and Hostesses......goes a long way towards explaining our awful experience there.

</snip>

Each to their own, interesting how strong you felt to register to boards just to post that

I've been there a good few times myself and everytime it's been clearly explained to me that it's a tasting plate restaurant where the dishes are specifically designed to be shared and that they come out as they are cooked and not in a standard starter main dessert format.

It's something different to the bog standard and I personally really love the idea.

As for staff advertising, id imagine hotels take on staff constantly!

Mr Simpson

Ok folks, enough about restaurants HR policies please

howman

Thanks for the suggestions again


Without a booking, we dropped into the green hen and met the hesitantly helpful manager, who at first turned us away due to a full book for th night, after a quick re-think, we gave chase and advised of a table available for 1.75 hrs, perfect.

We were looked after by a funny Italian waiter, seared scallops n feta salad to begin, fantabulous, pink duck breast with orange jus savoy cabbage etc n asssiete of pork for mains, both thoroughly enjoyed...!

After enquiring on the availability of some grappa to finish the evening, the waiter produced a shot of his Venetian grandpas grappa, on the house! Liquid gold!

During the meal, we had witnessed a set of elderly ladies come down the stairs and launch a verbal attack on the manager, complaining about service and the restaurant as a whole, they were met with a passionate response and shown the door, which was very entertaining !
Every other table congratulated the manager on leaving, it seemed the set of ladies were the only ones not to leave smiling, you can't win them all!