Restaurant Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[MDR]

I'ecrivain was fantastic. Had pheasant for my starter - in any nice restaurant my advice is 'go game'. Had venison for the main course. The whole meal was flawless. I would give a more detailed review, but it would just make me hungry.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with sprouts being 1 and raw meat being 10, I'd give it a 10.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

what way did they do the pheasant, Ronan?

gorgeous bird.

 

[MDR]

It was two small sauge shaped pieces of pheasant with diced parsnips (tasted very sweet actually), avacado jus, caramelised pecan nut, thin black pudding cigars in a sort of filo pastry. I love the slighty smoky flavour of game. Guinea Fowl is gorgeous too. mmmmmm

 

[nlgbbbblth]

It was two small sauge shaped pieces of pheasant with diced parsnips (tasted very sweet actually), avacado jus, caramelised pecan nut, thin black pudding cigars in a sort of filo pastry. I love the slighty smoky flavour of game. Guinea Fowl is gorgeous too. mmmmmm

sounds amazing. I want to go there now.
They're probably closed though.

 

[MDR]

They have a set menu for €75 by the way. Details on their website.

 

[theoootini]

hmm. dont a regular frequenter of restauraunts. me and the missus got a tip for bijou in rathgar villlage. cant sing the places praises highly enough. extremely bright and friendly staff who were very accomodating- lovery menu with a nice choice of varied dishes with an emphasis on seafood. i had the duck- pink and melt in the mouth tender. yumyum. nice decor, extremley competitive prices and a cool covered over smoking area/tables out the back to retire for a fag after the meal.

 

[KokaneeCowgirl]

Glad you enjoyed L'Ecrivain, Mumblin!!!

I was in Unicorn on Friday afternoon for lunch on another work do. I've never been there before so it was quite an experience. Chaotic is not the word - overwhelming is. They pack everyone in very tightly and it's really quite loud as well. We had booked the table for 14.30 and everyone was saying not to bother showing up until 15.00 because your table is never ready for when you've booked it. I didn't believe them so a few of us went in at 14.45 and they told us to come back at 15.15!!!

The food was okay. I started with baby spinach and pumpkin salad (with pine nuts) which was lovely and had the Dublin bay prawns for my main. While there were lots of prawns on the plate (good to see given the main cost €35.00), they hadn't been deveined and so tasted quite mealey and not so nice. Nothing makes me wretch faster than gritty prawns. The side veg were not bad - chips, new potatoes, parsnips...though the parsnips were slightly undercooked.

Dessert was brilliant. Apple tarte tatin with homemade vanilla ice cream totally to die for and I greedily ate up every crumb.

I wouldn't recommend Unicorn for a quiet, romantic meal a deux but certainly if there's a group going the ambiance is good however I think you could easily find food just as good, if not better, for better value elsewhere.

 

[minka]

Glad you enjoyed L'Ecrivain, Mumblin!!!

I was in Unicorn on Friday afternoon for lunch on another work do. I've never been there before so it was quite an experience. Chaotic is not the word - overwhelming is. They pack everyone in very tightly and it's really quite loud as well. We had booked the table for 14.30 and everyone was saying not to bother showing up until 15.00 because your table is never ready for when you've booked it. I didn't believe them so a few of us went in at 14.45 and they told us to come back at 15.15!!!

The food was okay. I started with baby spinach and pumpkin salad (with pine nuts) which was lovely and had the Dublin bay prawns for my main. While there were lots of prawns on the plate (good to see given the main cost €35.00), they hadn't been deveined and so tasted quite mealey and not so nice. Nothing makes me wretch faster than gritty prawns. The side veg were not bad - chips, new potatoes, parsnips...though the parsnips were slightly undercooked.

Dessert was brilliant. Apple tarte tatin with homemade vanilla ice cream totally to die for and I greedily ate up every crumb.

I wouldn't recommend Unicorn for a quiet, romantic meal a deux but certainly if there's a group going the ambiance is good however I think you could easily find food just as good, if not better, for better value elsewhere.

i think the best-value/nicest thing in the unicorn at lunchtime is the antipasto buffet thing - you get a plate to fill from lots of nice marinated veg, cheeses, olives, cold meats, etc., and you can go back up and refill it (i asked). mmmm.

 

[coraline]

just back from really really good meal in the sechuan chinese restaurant in stillorgan, the one beside the mill house. fantastic food, we got 4 main courses between 6 of us and shared them round, all delicious. lovely staff too.
and the roundy table with swivelly centre bit = hours of fun

they have a review posted in the lobby saying it was established by the chinese govt about 20 years ago as a way to showcase proper chinese food as opposed to nasty greasy places. interesting...

 

[Squiggle]

i think the best-value/nicest thing in the unicorn at lunchtime is the antipasto buffet thing - you get a plate to fill from lots of nice marinated veg, cheeses, olives, cold meats, etc., and you can go back up and refill it (i asked). mmmm.

Agreed. That is amazing! Yum.

L'ecrivain is still on my list of places to go - my ex boss used to speak very highly of it and I booked him many's a table there... still, he did take me to the Unicorn for lunch so I can't complain too loudly

 

[minka]

just back from really really good meal in the sechuan chinese restaurant in stillorgan, the one beside the mill house. fantastic food, we got 4 main courses between 6 of us and shared them round, all delicious. lovely staff too.
and the roundy table with swivelly centre bit = hours of fun

they have a review posted in the lobby saying it was established by the chinese govt about 20 years ago as a way to showcase proper chinese food as opposed to nasty greasy places. interesting...

yeah, mr. minka's chinese teacher says it's really good and authentic, and she a) is chinese and b) loves her grub. i must actually go there sometime.

you can also get v. nice (possibly not quite as good, but very cheap) sichuan food in the jade restaurant on little mary street. their yu xiang aubergine is a thing of garlicky spicy wonderfulness.

 

[muffin]

l'ecrivan also do a cool little cook book..havent got the nerve to try anything out it but its pretty to look at...

we're having our christmas party in brasserie 66..going on how bad the service is normally i doubt we will even get our main courses..so ill be devouring everything in the bread basket

 

[KokaneeCowgirl]

Re: Unicorn antipasti, I wanted to try it but given the fact that it's all soaked in scrummy olive oil and the meat is pretty much all cured, etc. I decided to give it a miss. I'm watching what I eat (ish)!

Went to One Pico on another work 'do on Friday afternoon for lunch. I have to say it was absolutely fantastic. The service was faultless. I started with the langoustine risotto which was superb and then had the wood pigeon for my main, which I've never had before. The pigeon tasted really gamey, and was served with beetroot and beetroot sauce as well as figs and I would definitely have it again. It was so tasty.
For dessert I had the rice pudding which was served with blueberry sorbet and when I mixed the two together it was tangy and creamy and just brilliant.

The set menu was very reasonable at 28.50 per person, but that didn't include dessert.

Definitely worth a try!!!

 

[hugh]

Went to the Winding Stair for lunch recently. Fantastic. Very fish-oriented. Really really excellent mussels. Nice room. All good. I wanna go there for lunch every day.

 

[MDR]

Went to that new tapas place the Porto House (maybe Port House not sure). It's near that pancake place on Sth William Street. Given the name of the place and the fact that it had a large port list I was wondering whether it was a Portugese rather than a Spanish tapas restaurant. But i didn't spend too long thinking about it.

We had to wait ages for a table so we sat and drank wine in the draughty bar. My advice is to pop your head in and if you can't get a table come back another night. Probably easiest to get a table right after work or at about 8pm - we arrived at about 7pm and were caught in between.

Food was gorgeous. I have been disappointed by tapas before as it can be stodgy and possibly microwaved in other places (market bar and salamanca).

Between myself and missus ro we have about 8 portions: paella, lamb stew, some vegtable thing, quails' eggs (Hi Cormac!). That's all i can remember. The food came lightning quick so you can order a few things and then order some extra once you figure out what you like and how hungrey you are.

Don't bother getting a bottle of wine as the large glasses of house wine were very generous and affordable (€5.50 I think and about a double sized glass).

€78 before tip for 8 portions of food, a bottle of wine and two large glasses of wine + four nibbles while we waited at the bar, which i thought was good value.

 

[minka]

Went to that new tapas place the Porto House (maybe Port House not sure). It's near that pancake place on Sth William Street. Given the name of the place and the fact that it had a large port list I was wondering whether it was a Portugese rather than a Spanish tapas restaurant. But i didn't spend too long thinking about it.

We had to wait ages for a table so we sat and drank wine in the draughty bar. My advice is to pop your head in and if you can't get a table come back another night. Probably easiest to get a table right after work or at about 8pm - we arrived at about 7pm and were caught in between.

Food was gorgeous. I have been disappointed by tapas before as it can be stodgy and possibly microwaved in other places (market bar and salamanca).

Between myself and missus ro we have about 8 portions: paella, lamb stew, some vegtable thing, quails' eggs (Hi Cormac!). That's all i can remember. The food came lightning quick so you can order a few things and then order some extra once you figure out what you like and how hungrey you are.

Don't bother getting a bottle of wine as the large glasses of house wine were very generous and affordable (€5.50 I think and about a double sized glass).

€78 before tip for 8 portions of food, a bottle of wine and two large glasses of wine + four nibbles while we waited at the bar, which i thought was good value.

they have obviously improved their service if your food came "lightning quick", as they were unbelievably slow when i went there last month. food and wine were totally delicious, mind, and if you like your vino there's a really good wine list including lots of stuff by the glass.

 

[Bladez]

I was in Ukiyo on Wicklow Street last night - http://www.ukiyobar.com.

The special from 5 to 7 in the evening is great. 3 dishes from a menu of about 20 and a beer/margharita for 15 euro. If you have a group of people you can just order a large selection to share. The food's really good. Just simple, well-prepared Japanese/Korean dishes.

 

[deedee]

I was in Ukiyo on Wicklow Street last night - http://www.ukiyobar.com.

The special from 5 to 7 in the evening is great. 3 dishes from a menu of about 20 and a beer/margharita for 15 euro. If you have a group of people you can just order a large selection to share. The food's really good. Just simple, well-prepared Japanese/Korean dishes.

Yeah I liked this place too. My friend who is Korean rated it so that's always a good sign. The singing rooms are so much fun too!

 

[KokaneeCowgirl]

Had another work 'do last week this time in Dobbins on Stephen's Lane.

The atmosphere was buzzing but as we were a large group (15) they had to put us in one long table between all the booths. This was uncomfortable and cramped and meant I had table legs between my legs!

The food was lovely - I started with a crab and avocado cake which was creamy and tasty and the crab was really fresh. Then I had the venison which was nice but not spectactular. For dessert I had a sticky toffee pudding which was the best part of the meal. Fabulous.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

went to Munchies, South William St for breakfast yesterday morning. Was feeling in the end of sustenance after the previous night's Rock Jihad so the full Irish was requested and arrived within five minutes. Didn't look that appetising but overall was quite good. Tasty rashers, not bad sausages and two good eggs. Toast was thick and hot but things went off the rails somewhat with the inclusion of three fried potato type thingys. Very stodgy. No black or white pudding was a disappointment too. Overall 6/10.

My usual fry-up haunt, Honest To Goodness (in the George's St Arcade) is closed due to a fire in the immediately adjacent premises so hopefully it will re-open soon.