Epicurean food Hall closed

strandroad

dpe wrote: »

Southside. Typical. Something like the English Market is exactly what Henry Street/O'Connell St. needs to get people over the river. Its what Moore Street should be turned into instead of its current s*ithole/shrine status.

Northside fruit market is being redeveloped too, if I remember well? It's just a short walk away from the Epicurean...
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/plans-for-historic-dublin-market-approved-by-city-councillors-1.2123649

The state of Moore St is depressing, I agree.

suicide_circus

mhge wrote: »

Northside fruit market is being redeveloped too, if I remember well? It's just a short walk away from the Epicurean...
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/plans-for-historic-dublin-market-approved-by-city-councillors-1.2123649

The state of Moore St is depressing, I agree.

Moore St has been a shambles for 25 years plus

Riverireland

Sundew wrote: »

Haven't been in town for ages but am also very to hear that.
My O.H has fond memories of buying Tapes of " The Smiths" in there many moons ago.
That means we will have three Dealz all within a stones throw of each other as well as that Euroshop place! Does D.C.C not have rules about how close certain branches of the same store can be from each other?

They must be expecting the recession to go on for another few years so.

Wanderer78

Sad to see this go. Some great food in there

Strumms

I used to eat regularly there in a couple of the places but seemed to have lost its appeal over the years. The general area was in bad need of being done up so its a bit cheeky if the landlords were putting up the rent but not investing in it themselves. Dealz ehh yes just what we need, another deals....

Don't know what the Iveagh Market will be like but I'd hope for something along an Irish take on the San Miguel Market in Madrid which I could happily spend an hour or two in wandering about eating Tapas and having a beer or two.

Wanderer78

Strumms wrote: »

I used to eat regularly there in a couple of the places but seemed to have lost its appeal over the years. The general area was in bad need of being done up so its a bit cheeky if the landlords were putting up the rent but not investing in it themselves. Dealz ehh yes just what we need, another deals....

Don't know what the Iveagh Market will be like but I'd hope for something along an Irish take on the San Miguel Market in Madrid which I could happily spend an hour or two in wandering about eating Tapas and having a beer or two.

the increased rental rates may have been deliberate, to get them out. place was slowly being run down alright. wasnt great the last couple of times i went it there. use to be some fantastic smells from all the different types of foods.

LollipopJimmy

Hugo_Whoriskey wrote: »

Think you're a bit off the mark there, ugly duckling, the burrito place (which I prefered when it was in its older incarnation) and the Spanish place were still very good.

While they may have been good the food hall itself was filthy an in desperate need of refurbishment. Many many years ago I worked on tgat street and ate in there a lot and got my coffee from Cafe Mocha which used to join the food hall to Lotts Lane, it was a clean place then.
Had you used the toilets there recently? The owners really let the place go to bits

Chinasea

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

While they may have been good the food hall itself was filthy an in desperate need of refurbishment. Many many years ago I worked on tgat street and ate in there a lot and got my coffee from Cafe Mocha which used to join the food hall to Lotts Lane, it was a clean place then.
Had you used the toilets there recently? The owners really let the place go to bits

No, it was not filthy. It was a bit scruffy, a bit worn, but it was not dirty. There was a woman who worked there for years who scrubbed the place night and day doing the best she could with worn out goods.

Terrible shame it is closed down. Dublin is crying out for a bit of diversity.

Hanley

I stopped going there when Taco Taco and their amazing quesadillas left years ago.

It's been going downhill for a while imo.

Still, shame to see it gone.

LollipopJimmy

Chinasea wrote: »

No, it was not filthy. It was a bit scruffy, a bit worn, but it was not dirty. There was a woman who worked there for years who scrubbed the place night and day doing the best she could with worn out goods.

Terrible shame it is closed down. Dublin is crying out for a bit of diversity.

You contradict yourself there. A woman doing her best with worn out goods isn't good enough for an establishment that sells food. The place was filthy from a food safety perspective.

Chinasea

No it was not filthy. That is a cheap shot. We do have health inspectors. It was a bit worn but not dirty.

LollipopJimmy

Chinasea wrote: »

No it was not filthy. That is a cheap shot. We do have health inspectors. It was a bit worn but not dirty.

I'm not taking a cheap shot at anybody. I trained as a HACCP trainer. The place was filthy. The toilets were so bad they were unusable, plates were still used even though they had chips on them. Don't get me wrong, I loved the place once upon a time but it's standards had slipped entirely.

ixoy

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I'm not taking a cheap shot at anybody. I trained as a HACCP trainer. The place was filthy. The toilets were so bad they were unusable, plates were still used even though they had chips on them

I haven't gone there much in the last year but my plates always got cleared very quickly. Are you saying they didn't clean them properly after that?

Would never have used the toilets mind you, didn't get a good impression for whatever reason.

Do think they could have spruced the place up a bit but it looks the owners were determined to drive the place into the ground. I really hope that it doesn't turn into a bloody Dealz as mentioned.

Northern Monkey

It's been gone a while, but I used to love the baked potatoes from the epi.

Arthur Daley

All told, the epicurean got a bit of a make over in the last few years, new chairs and lamp shades etc.the toilets I only used once they were passable. But considering this is a city centre foodhall and some of the clientele who pound the streets outside, I'd say it was difficult to keep the place clean and secure at times.

I looked at it as a city centre food hall where you could get a good mix of foods and try something different, there was a decent buzz about the place and I shall miss it. For what I was paying I wasn't expecting the savoy grill or something. I'm sure all the outlets were subject to the same checks as every other establishment so I was happy enough to eat there and give something a go once anyway.

John_Rambo

Arthur Daley wrote: »

All told, the epicurean got a bit of a make over in the last few years, new chairs and lamp shades etc.the toilets I only used once they were passable. But considering this is a city centre foodhall and some of the clientele who pound the streets outside, I'd say it was difficult to keep the place clean and secure at times.

I looked at it as a city centre food hall where you could get a good mix of foods and try something different, there was a decent buzz about the place and I shall miss it. For what I was paying I wasn't expecting the savoy grill or something. I'm sure all the outlets were subject to the same checks as every other establishment so I was happy enough to eat there and give something a go once anyway.

Yeah. Great place for cheap, decent food and in fairness, the prices reflected the food and there wasn't a pretense about it. Pitty about the job and business losses. The Italian coffee guy was great and the Asian buffet (ran by Romanians!!) were a lovely gang. It was great for families, students, people on low budgets. It had the maddest mix of people eating there from Roma Gypsies to Ross O'Carroll Kelly's.

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

While they may have been good the food hall itself was filthy an in desperate need of refurbishment.

They did a refurb. It wasn't filthy, you're exaggerating.

Confucius say

I dunno, overall the place was a bit sh*t. It was kind of cool years ago when the food scene wasn't as good as it is now in Dublin but it became dated and a bit tatty.
I was visiting London a couple of weeks ago and had forgotten how amazing the street food scene is there now. In some areas you come across stall after stall every few streets selling amazing cheap hot food. I wish we had more of this in Dublin, like a mini Borough Market. The Temple Bar one isn't great and the prices are ridic.

SarahMollie

I think there are some archaic laws preventing the wide use of food trucks in Dublin - something that I think most people would be in favour of having as they're typically a tasty alternative and you can get something different if the trucks move around a bit.

I agree that while there were a number of stand outs in the EFH, the place overall was low rent (despite actually charging high rents) and tatty. The refurb that many have spoken of was minimal and done on the cheap. They got the chairs and tables from some hotel that had closed down, and despite being sturdy enough, they didnt exactly give the place a lift.

I think the management of the place was finding it hard to fill units and therefore anyone who agreed to pay the rent was allowed to move in. There was no vision/focus on creating a really quality food experience.

BeerNut

Confucius say wrote: »

the prices are ridic.

Compared to Borough?

Confucius say

BeerNut wrote: »

Compared to Borough?

Yeah. 4 or 5 quid you get most of the things available from the stalls there for much better products in my opinion.

Actually it's probably not cheaper but I was happy to pay for the stuff in Borough given some of the amazing food available.

the groutch

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

You contradict yourself there. A woman doing her best with worn out goods isn't good enough for an establishment that sells food. The place was filthy from a food safety perspective.

then why is there only even been one FSAI closure order there, way back in 2003?

L1011

ixoy wrote: »

I haven't gone there much in the last year but my plates always got cleared very quickly. Are you saying they didn't clean them properly after that?

Chips as in damage, not fried food

Annasopra

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

It's been a long time since any quality food was served in there. In recent years it turned into a filthy horrible place full of food of questionable quality

I agree with this. It was really good 10/15 years ago. Went there a month ago and it was directly. Dingy dreary decor, dire choice of food.

LollipopJimmy

the groutch wrote: »

then why is there only even been one FSAI closure order there, way back in 2003?

Just because it had only one closure order doesn't make it clean. Walk into any of the all you can eat buffets that have cropped up over the last few years around town and tell me they are clean. Look the place was quite dirty with tatty furniture. I know this from experience, while many years ago it was pretty slick it went mega downhill in the last 10 years. Anybody that says otherwise has to have an ulterior motive or be blind

LollipopJimmy

ixoy wrote: »

I haven't gone there much in the last year but my plates always got cleared very quickly. Are you saying they didn't clean them properly after that?

Would never have used the toilets mind you, didn't get a good impression for whatever reason.

Do think they could have spruced the place up a bit but it looks the owners were determined to drive the place into the ground. I really hope that it doesn't turn into a bloody Dealz as mentioned.

I meant they had chips out of the edge of them not the deep fried variety

keano_afc

If I was ever in town I'd always pop over for something. The tacos from the Mexican place were amazing. It used to be a hive of activity. Pity the way it ended up.

strandroad

I just realised that I used to have a few places on the north side where I'd go for a cheap and cheerful plate and they are all closed or gone to the dogs now. Delhi O'Deli, Taste of Emilia and now Epicurean closed, Madina is still there but looks really.... tired to put it mildly, Govindas was entirely flavourless last time I visited, for burritos there is plenty of choice elsewhere now. Dealz and phone shops seem to thrive though.

Hanley

Can we talk about the old Taco Taco for a while please? I feel like I'm the only one that remembers it. Musta been 7/8 years ago at this stage now, maybe longer, but hot jesus it was amazing.

And around before pretty much anywhere else in Dublin was doing cheap Mexican too.

Confucius say

I loved it too. Their soft tacos. And the first place in Dublin to do a good burrito. Actually they were different to the mainstream ones now, in a good way. It was always the busiest place. Clearly not covering overheads though. I doubt they set up anywhere else, but did they?

Hrududu

That's a shame. It was so handy for something cheap and cheerful if you were on the go.