Restaurant Recommendations (3 Viewers)

[Umfufu]

Went to Papaya on Friday night.
Wasn't impressed with the food.

The duck was very greasy & the crispy bits were just cremated.
I usually love the fatty bits on duck too so it's not that I'm not used to eating duck.

Didn't like the fact that we were left standing at the counter while our table was being set either.
Especially as the only table in the tiny waiting area was occupied by the owner & his mate.

Staff were friendly but won't be going back.

We stopped off for a snack in the Mint Bar in the Westin hotel.
€25 for the Mint Platter for 2 people (you can also get it for 1 or 4 people).
Much more food than we were expecting & it was gorgeous.
If you're in Temple Bar & fancy a healthy sized nibble, I'd strongly recommend it.
The staff are very attentive but it's still quite relaxed.

Make sure you get the prawn tempura!

 

[Bladez]

I went to Gruel on Friday night. Its taken a bit of a price hike in recent years. Dishes are now up in the 15 euro range and then there's service charge on top of that. It used to be a budget place to get a decent bite to eat but now its too expensive for what it is.

There's a real lack of good, mid-priced, informal-type places to eat in Dublin compared to other cities. Sometimes you don't want to fork out 25 euro for a meal and at the same time you don't want to be having a burger and chips. The only places I've found that fill that criteria are the Chinese or Korean restaurants around Capel Street and Parnell Street.

 

[dAndAn]

I went to Gruel on Friday night. Its taken a bit of a price hike in recent years. Dishes are now up in the 15 euro range and then there's service charge on top of that. It used to be a budget place to get a decent bite to eat but now its too expensive for what it is.

There's a real lack of good, mid-priced, informal-type places to eat in Dublin compared to other cities. Sometimes you don't want to fork out 25 euro for a meal and at the same time you don't want to be having a burger and chips. The only places I've found that fill that criteria are the Chinese or Korean restaurants around Capel Street and Parnell Street.

True that on Gruel. Had a crappy meal there last time. Overpriced, shitty service and sat down in the smelly uncomfy basement. Food was alright.

Medina Desi on Mary St is the bomb for great, cheap, food in informal surroundings. No beer tho.

 

[Bladez]

Medina Desi on Mary St is the bomb for great, cheap, food in informal surroundings. No beer tho.

Always on the lookout for new places. Will give it a try. Thanks.

 

[MDR]

In general, Dublin is good value for lunch, and for an early bird in a nice restaurant, but can be pricey otherwise.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

i was down in dingle for a wedding at the weekend.
we went out to a restaurant called global village which is on the main st.
seafood restaurant. fucking amazing. had the grilled turbot with prawns. we spent more time talking about it than eating it.
unbelievably good.

 

[krystal]

i was down in dingle for a wedding at the weekend.
we went out to a restaurant called global village which is on the main st.
seafood restaurant. fucking amazing. had the grilled turbot with prawns. we spent more time talking about it than eating it.
unbelievably good.

ooh this reminds me. Me and stan were on the isle of wight recently and went to this lobster restaurant in a tiny smugglers-esque cove, accessed only by an incredibly windy, steep path. It was fab - these ginormous platters of seafood appeared, with lobster, shrimp, crab, prawns and sides of new potatoes, coleslaw, garlic butter and piles more. It was gluttony-tastic. I er, can't remember what it's called but it's near Ventnor, on the France side of the island.

 

[Wheels]

anyone been to Siam Thai off Dame St?

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

anyone been to Siam Thai off Dame St?

yeah, its not bad.
i'll take you there sometime when i have money.

 

[Daisy's Dukes]

I've been to Siam Thai in Dundrum. I've heard people raving about it being the best Thai in Ireland. Maybe it is but if thats the case the standard must be pretty bad. Its alright, nothing special and pretty expensive.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

I've been to Siam Thai in Dundrum. I've heard people raving about it being the best Thai in Ireland. Maybe it is but if thats the case the standard must be pretty bad. Its alright, nothing special and pretty expensive.

best thai in ireland goes to the vine in wexford.
its the kind of the food that makes you want to spill your gravy all over tom doorly's yorkshire pudding.

 

[Dixer]

i was down in dingle for a wedding at the weekend.
we went out to a restaurant called global village which is on the main st.
seafood restaurant. fucking amazing. had the grilled turbot with prawns. we spent more time talking about it than eating it.
unbelievably good.

I second the Global Village motion. Had a shark steak in there a few year back that I still reminisce about. Best ever.

 

[muffin]

Went to Roly's on Monday. had the wan-tons to starts and the cornfed chicken for mains.It was great.

Even for a Monday night it was absolutely jammers. We were saying that it's a place you could go to anytime that will always be busy and the food and service will always be wonderful.

 

[jane]

Had a really bad experience in Yamamori last night.

They told us we had the table til 8:30, which was fine (it gave us an hour and 15 minutes). The service was a little slower than usual, and I ended up eating really slowly because I'm still having trouble chewing.

At 8:25, the waitress came over and told us it was time to leave (yes, really). I was still eating. I said, "I'm still eating. I'll be done in a few minutes."

She went and got the manager, who came back with the bill and again told us we had to leave. I again said, "We're nearly done, and then we'll go. I don't appreciate being harrassed so that I'll leave before I'm done eating the meal I paid for."

It was really fucking embarrassing. But I wanted to finish my food, and usually, they're okay if you go over by a few minutes, since you know, you're paying for the food. And I don't think anyone appreciates being made to feel like you're only borrowing the table from the people coming in after you.

So he said, "HOW MANY MORE MINUTES ARE YOU GOING TO BE?"

I said, "I don't know! I'm eating! But I could finish if you'd stop hovering over me asking if I'm done. If you want to take the meal off the bill, then fine, I'll go. But if I pay for it, I have to be allowed to finish it."

"But we have a party of 12 arriving at 8:30 and I can't tell them you aren't finished eating!"

Cue me asking whether parties of 12 always turn up on time and ready to sit. Cue me asking if it was really wise to book so tightly, rather than leave a few minutes' leeway, and that it isn't my fault that they are so keen to bleed so much value out of their tables that they don't leave any room for human behaviour. Cue me asking if it's really wise to prioritise scheduling over customers. I asked if they were going to lose their booking some of their people were a few minutes late. He said they wouldn't. I asked if, then, it was a good policy for me to lose my meal if I take a few extra minutes eating? He said he didn't like to keep people waiting. I'm like, would you be happy if you found out that the reason a restaurant had your table ready is that they kicked out the previous one before they were finished?

"BUT I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY MORE MINUTES YOU NEED!"

Now I'm nearly in tears, and I'm going, "You know, I don't really want to be here anymore." I was so embarrassed, I was shaking.

I did get up the guts to ask if there was a general manager I could ring because this was just not on. So they gave me a card and a name, and then one of them was like, "That's just our policy." But I've never been actually kicked out for eating too slowly. Or treated with suspicion, like they had to use some muscle to make sure I adhered to our original 'agreement'.

How hard is it to give people a couple of minutes? I was like, "Why didn't you tell us we had an hour? Then we'd have some time to run over, and you'd get your table back in time? And then no one feels rushed?"

"Because we have to schedule very tightly."

"Why didn't you just tell us you didn't have a table available!?"

Ugh. I told them I was never coming back after being treated like that, that cramming your customers in so tightly that you can't even guarantee they'll all be able to finish the meals they pay for was just totally wrong, bad management, and the worst policy ever. I said that in most cases where you have to vacate the table by a certain time, there are a few minutes leeway because everyone knows it's kind of a crappy policy that speaks more of greed than convenience. I also said that it was a pretty bad move kicking out a regular customer for eating too slowly.

Eventually, he refunded some of my money (nearly half, in fact, of the bill for dinner for three) and was like, "I hope you will come back."

But I'm not sure I will. It was really fucking embarrassing. And I'm still really mad that I was thrown out for not finishing my food fast enough. Especially when the meal took a good while to arrive anyway. I'm just not sure I trust that it won't happen again, and I really didn't appreciate the way the waitress not only went straight over to get the manager to tell us to leave, but it wasn't even 8:30 yet. Maybe the best way for them to not have to schedule so tightly is to....lose a few customers.

Anyone else ever been chucked out of a place for not eating fast enough?

 

[jane]

Oh yeah, and by the time I was done listening to the manager change his story about a thousand times, and had my money refunded, it was a few minutes after 8:30 and his 'party of 12' hadn't turned up.

Fucking hell. I'm sad, though. I really like the food there. Too bad I wasn't able to finish it.

It's one thing for that crappy 'you have the table for an hour' policy to continue to exist, but are any other places actually going around and throwing people out if they suspect they might be overstaying their already-tenuous welcome?

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

Oh yeah, and by the time I was done listening to the manager change his story about a thousand times, and had my money refunded, it was a few minutes after 8:30 and his 'party of 12' hadn't turned up.

Fucking hell. I'm sad, though. I really like the food there. Too bad I wasn't able to finish it.

It's one thing for that crappy 'you have the table for an hour' policy to continue to exist, but are any other places actually going around and throwing people out if they suspect they might be overstaying their already-tenuous welcome?

jaysus, bad buzz...

that pulled that shit on me and my mates in saba one night.

 

[CitySickness]

Fucking nitwits. I think their food is pretty average anyway, but by the sounds of it they've got also their priorities all screwy and don't really know how to do their job properly.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Knobs. A couple of times in the last few years when the service is that catastrophic i've made a point of telling managers that i won't be back and i'm warning others about it. That'll always get through to them more than a refund(which you were of course entitled to.)

I finally got to try the ribeye in l'gueuleton last night. Very, very, very good.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

I finally got to try the ribeye in l'gueuleton last night. Very, very, very good.

whats that place like in general? did you have to wait long to be seated?
really wanna go there soon.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

whats that place like in general? did you have to wait long to be seated?
really wanna go there soon.

We got there at around 6 or 6.30 and there was a good few seats. By the time we left an hour or so later they were turning people away. Had a white chocolate cheesecake and rose champagne for dessert which was fantastic. Service couldnt have been better.