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Sarah
Member since: 30 March 2009
Location: North Dublin
No. of Reviews: 23
Status: Guru
Last Visit: 20 May 2011
Member since: 30 March 2009
Location: North Dublin
No. of Reviews: 23
Status: Guru
Last Visit: 20 May 2011
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River Bank Restaurant @ The Court Yard HotelPosted on 21 May 2011
We ate in the Riverbank last night as part of a deal and I was expecting a more limited menu but was pleasantly surprised at the variety however there was no real fish main course just seafood (scallops) or a fish pie which I would order if I was only to have one course but would be way too much with two other courses. Service was great at the start but then they took ages to give us our bill and again our change although it was a busy night so that can be excused. Food was fine, nothing amazing but not to be faulted apart from my scallops were slightly boring. Side veg was lovely which was a surprise as most places it's not great! I had chicken caesar salad to start which was lovely, chicken slightly dry but tasty none the less, he has haddock to start which was tiny considering there was a supplement on the menu, he had steak as a main which he said was lovely and we both had rhubarb and apple crumble for dessert which was my favourite part, lovely topping and really tasty. Overall good just items on the menu were not to my taste I suppose. Would recommend to a friend although I wish they would have turned the lights down, it was very bright all over in the restaurant. Candles or low lighting would have made an already lovely dining room much more intimate for an evening meal.
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The Living Room at The Residents HotelPosted on 21 May 2011
We used to come here a lot when it first re-opened as the food was great, really inventive, fresh and tasty with the reliables staying on the menu but always specials on too. The last time I had been here it wasn't great and we were told that the chef had changed but alas we decided we would try again on Thursday. Service as always is excellent, friendly, fast and professional. Tables are quite low so not that comfortable to eat at which is unfortunate as the seating is very comfortable apart from that. Good atmosphere, not too full which was good as I know it can get very loud in here. Now for the food, there is not really much choice if you don't want deep fried to be honest and very little fish or vegetarian which is disappointing really. Menu seems to be very 80's orientated and not in a good way. I had a stir fry with prawns which I can't fault and my friend has chicken maryland which she said was grand but nothing to write home about. To be honest most of the items on the menu you could make at home yourself with not much effort, so why pay for someone else to do it out. Menu needs to be improved before I will be returning. Prices are ok but as I said, you could make it yourself easily enough so why would you pay for it??
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RelishPosted on 20 April 2011
Having eaten here on a number of occasions we decided to return last Saturday for a Girls in the Family lunch, there was myself, my mother, my sister and her two small kids (4 & 1). We had booked a table for 2pm which was not ready when we arrived and then when it was finally ready they had no highchair even though that was specified at the time of booking so my sister had to deal with a wriggling 1 year old on her knee till one was found. We were given menus and then left for over 20 mins until we ordered, our drinks had to asked for twice before arriving, our food took a further 45 mins to arrive (2 selection of breads with "dips" which was just one dip of some olive tapenade with too much oil, not great at all. The two kids were at this stage crying because of the hunger. Our mains arrived 1.5hrs after we ordered, they were nice, tasty and good sized portions, though my crab cake was a little "wet" inside the crumb coating. We decided against getting desserts or coffees as we would have been there even longer and to be honest it was an experience I wanted to be over with as soon as possible. We were not the only complainers as I heard a man who was sitting at another table giving out about the wait to one of the waitresses. Relish does lovely food with a fabulous view but I nor anyone in my family will be returning. They need to get more staff in the kitchen or something because waiting that long for something so quick to whip up is just ridiculous, oh and we had to get up from the table to ask a waitress for cutlery AFTER our starters had been served. Needless to say, we didn't leave a tip. Such a shame as it has such good potential.
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Glenside HotelPosted on 18 March 2011
Four of us ate in the Glenside yesterday evening for dinner which was lovely overall. Soup was said to be lovely by the other three while my Caesar salad was lovely too though I was disappointed at the lack of the correct lettuce (cos, baby gem, romaine etc) but otherwise lovely, dressing was really good too. 2 lamb shanks and 2 salmons were cleared from the plate really tasty as were the side accompaniments, nice chips and vegetables too. Desserts were lovely, all apple pies (!!) and a nice cup of tea to wash it all down. We all ordered from the early bird which I thought was really good value for money, staff were very attentive and friendly too. Would recommend to a friend!
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The Bracken Grill Steak & Seafood Restaurant @ The Bracken Court HotelPosted on 07 March 2011
We ate in Laveer on Friday night as part of a board deals voucher (amazingly good value by the way!!) and really enjoyed it. There was a large part seated behind us which I thought was going to get a big loud but once they had there food I hardly noticed them there at all as there were on a different level to us. Good atmosphere as restaurant was quite busy, food was great - soup and Moroccan chicken to start and Rib Eye Steak and Hake for our mains, Hake could have done with some kind of sauce with it but other than that it was faultless, steak was nicely cooked and came with delicious chips and pepper sauce2 Tiramisu for our dessert were nice, a little fluffy for my liking but grand really, I am just too fussy :) We also enjoyed a really nice and good value bottle of Malbec with our meal. Service was a little slow which I didn't really mind as we were in no rush and I like a bit of a break between courses, we were served by two different servers who were both really friendly and helpful. We will return to Laveer after our first experience was so good! Thank you to all.
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SalamancaPosted on 21 January 2011
I visited Salamanca for the first time last weekend with a big gang of girls. Menu is extensive with something for everyone but I did find that the portion sizes were a bit out of control, some items were tiny in comparison to others in the same price category which was a bit disappointing for me who had ordered the tuna steak which left me fairly hungry compared to other items the girls had gotten which I knew would have filled me up. Service was great and attentive but not overbearing. Food was very tasty but was slightly disappointed that the profiteroles which I ordered for my dessert were obviously bought in and not home made :( Good selection of wine. Atmosphere was good, it got very loud at some points and I was disappointed that our booking for 18 people was seated at two separate tables, unlike the other large parties nearby so our gathering to say goodbye to a good friend was very disjointed to say the least. Overall good, I will return, just maybe with a smaller party.
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Blue Cafe BarPosted on 01 January 2011
We went for dinner and drinks in Blue Bar on New Years Eve and had an overall enjoyable experience. We had to wait quite a while for a table as they don't take bookings which is a bit annoying but once we got our food we got over that! I had salt and pepper prawns to start and my boyfriend had baked mushrooms. Both were lovely though the prawns could have done with a bit more of the sauce that was on the plate. For mains my boyfriend had a steak which was lovely and I had the chicken wings which was rather a large portion, I should have gone for the junior size as I couldn't finish them, I will know better next time. We didn't opt for desserts as we were both too full after a delicious dinner. Lovely atmosphere and an attentive waitress, we will be returning soon I hope!
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La Bucca AshbournePosted on 20 November 2010
I went here with my boyfriend last Saturday for a meal and it was fantastic. Lots of choice for all tastes and good sized portions. We had chicken wings and mushroom bruchetta for starters both of which were lovely though the portion of chicken wings is rather large so would do to share if you weren't very hungry. We both had steak for mains, his was a little underdone but lovely all the same. For dessert we had a cheesecake and a banana split, cheesecake could have done with a bit more vanilla as was quite plain but was lovely apart from that and came with lovely berry compote. Service was good, atmosphere was better than the times I had been there before as there were no large parties in which can make it a bit noisy. Overall a great evening though was a little bit pricey I thought.
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Kavanaghs (Gravediggers)Posted on 20 November 2010
Went here for dinner with the girls last night and it was fab. Really amazingly good value for what you get. We got pitta and Moroccan dips to start, all of which were gobbled up between us, then we got stuffed peppers, crostini and potato wedges with two different dips between us, all gorgeous, service was great, really friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. Food was fab, a lot of choice for all tastes and good sized portions. We had a chocolate orange mousse and a mint chocolate mousse as dessert. I think all of that was about €15 each so superb value. Will be returning again without a doubt!
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Bru Bar and BistroPosted on 01 November 2010
We went to Bru again (we would go a lot when in Drogheda) for dinner on Saturday night, I had booked a week and a half in advance and had asked for a specific table as it was our anniversary and wanted to have a nice quiet table, when we arrived we were shown to a different table and the table I requested had others seated at it which I was slightly disappointed with even though the table we got wasn't a bad one. My partner had soup and fillet steak and said both were lovely although soup was spicy and hadn't been advertised as such, I had crab and salmon cakes and rib eye steak, I was disappointed with both, I had had the fish cakes before and they were lovely but this time they lacked flavour and had very little crab in them, my steak was ordered medium and while it came out as ordered it was VERY charred on the outside which ruined the normal succulent flavour, desserts (2 banoffi's) were gorgeous, right amount of all components. Great Panul Valley wine good value @ €22 a bottle and our server was great, very friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.
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Oliveto RestaurantPosted on 21 August 2010
This is my second time eating in Oliveto and it was as superb the second time around. Food was delicious, I had selection of breads with olives and pesto to start and a caprese salad for main as wasn't overly hungry, both presented beautifully and really tasty, my boyfriend had the rabbit starter, which I tasted and it was just fabulous, really tasty! He had the sirloin of beef for mains which was gorgeous as well. I had gelato for dessert and he had tirimisu, both of which were lovely and well presented. I love the wooden boards that the starters and pizzas come on, very homely! Service was good but we were nearly given other peoples food a few times, though it was very busy so errors do occur, our main waiter was great and very friendly. Even though it was very busy it was a nice atmosphere, the stone pizza oven is a great centrepiece in the room. Bill came to €74 (with 4 beers on top of food) not cheap but well worth the money. Overall absolutely lovely and we will definitely be returning, really good value for money, great atmosphere, nice solid furniture, the only thing bad I can say is that all the signage is in Italian which was a bit confusing, especially in the toilets (?), other than that everything was great!
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Seapoint in MonkstownPosted on 21 August 2010
I ate here yesterday as part of a large party for lunch, table was great but hard to get out if you were along the wall, and with kids there that was inevitable. Food was gorgeous, really tasty and a nice size portion for lunch (ie: not too much, not too little, just right!). Service was good apart from being asked to order desert at the beginning "to make it easier for the kitchen" which I found a bit annoying really. One major fault I had was when I brought my 8 month old niece to the changing area to change her the dual wheelchair bathroom and baby change room was packed with chairs, I couldn't get the changing bed down from the wall as there were chairs up against it so I had to hold her (she's quite a bonny baby!) the change bag and move heavy chairs out of the way before I could change her, and then put the chairs back because I wouldn't want to block the toilet for a wheelchair user if they were to come in.I found this a major fault as the party I was part of was for a christening so there were obviously going to be babies there! Also the a/c was not working down our end of the restaurant and it was WAY too hot, wine fab, food fab, helpful and friendly service would defo return.
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Metro CafePosted on 14 August 2010
I love Metro, it's a place I've gone for years but today was the first time in ages I had been in. We sat outside in the sun (because that's where you get to people watch and take in the nice atmosphere of the streets of Dublin). Our waitress was slightly abrupt and threw her eyes up at me on two occasions when I couldn't decide what I wanted but I shook it off as her on a bad day. Food was lovely, coffee was fab, and service fast and efficient. Great value for money, 4 coffees, a ciabatta, a bagel, juices and a croissant came to about €30, not cheap then we chose expensive items from the menu. I hope this place is here forever because it's my favourite cafe in Dublin, great location!
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Uisce RestaurantPosted on 12 July 2010
Visited here last Saturday as we were staying in the Hotel and had gotten a menupages voucher entitling us to a lovely free bottle of wine, great idea and much appreciated. We chose from the a la carte menu, smoked salmon for my boyfriend, lovely, chilli and salt squid for me, nice but hardly any squid in the portion, and for the price I think I should have gotten more, very small portion, disappointing, tasted lovely though. We both ordered rib eye steaks for mains, his well done, mine medium, with sides of onion rings and vegetables. Steaks were lovely though mine was over done it was still lovely and tender, they come with baked potato and char grilled veg which were nice but a little unnecessary. Pepper sauce was poor, a bit greasy and tasted sort of "packety", onion rings delicious, veg nice but carrots were totally raw and not "al dente". Desserts were creme brulee and chocolate fondant, brulee was overly sweet I thought and fondant was underdone too much so much I could taste the flour, nice though all the same. Service was fantastic, two lovely waitresses who I couldn't fault, lovely atmosphere and brilliant background music!! Overall a good experience which could have been great!
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Milano (Temple Bar)Posted on 01 July 2010
We ate here tonight for our girls night catch up dinner and I have to say it was great, we all had the leggera pizza which I thought wouldn't be enough to fill me but it did me just fine, the salad in the centre was really nice and well dressed but could do with a little something other than leaves and tomatoes. Before our pizza we got some lovely nibbley bits - olives, sun dried tomatoes and nuts, all lovely though. The nuts were especially nice. We didn't have dessert though we were tempted especially by the mini dessert and coffee option, we all had lovely coffees which finished off the evening really well as did the bill, we had a voucher for two for one on pizzas, great stuff, will be back again soon!
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.jpg "Bochellis (Greystones)")
Bochellis (Greystones)Posted on 29 June 2010
We walked into Bochellis with no booking on a Saturday night and the waiter found us a table, instant thumbs up especially as the place was heaving. We chose from the early bird, great value with steaks included. Starters were grand, mine was a bit bland but otherwise good. Steaks for each of us for mains, cooked to perfection and presented really nicely. Delicious. Desserts were a little boring but were nice all the same. Service was great, really nice waiting staff who checked on us a few times. I really liked this place I have to say as did my boyfriend. We will return again if in the area.
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Stone Haven RestaurantPosted on 29 June 2010
We got a table in here on a busy Saturday night without a booking which was pretty good going. We were served by three different waitresses which was a bit strange but wasn't a major issue. I had prawn torpedoes, these were frozen and bought in for definite but were cooked nicely, salad could have been more adventurous, my boyfriend had the soup which was nice but came with what was definitely brown bread you can buy in the local shop (not to be naming names). We both had steak for mains, both cooked well but the steaks themselves were a bit sinewy and fatty, I had to leave about a third of mine behind, pepper sauce was good as was garlic butter, sides of veg, chips and salad all nice. Service was a mixed bag, one waitress quite abrupt and rude the other two were fine. Dessert menu was so boring we didn't even order and we ALWAYS order dessert. Overall a pleasant meal that could be easily righted. Would return again if dessert menu was a bit more exciting, Jelly and Icecream for €7.50 isn't exactly good value in the current climate.
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The Snail BoxPosted on 05 October 2009
I went here last week for a quick dinner with a friend and was impressed, I had heard plenty of good reviews about the place so wanted to give it a try. Our waitress was great, the food took a while to come out I thought seeing as there was hardly anyone in the place at the time we were there but was nice enough, my friend got a stir fry which they milled into, I got Tiger Prawns with Pasta, the only thing I could say bad is that the pasta was a little bit chewy & stuck together, the sauce was lovely and with a generous amount of prawns unlike some places who give you three or four with a main course (!!!), We got coffees to finish and ended up having more coffee after a while as it was such a relaxing place to be, Will be back for sure.
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daGiulio Ristorante & PizzeriaPosted on 05 May 2009
Myself and all of my family eat here on a regular basis and are never disappointed. 5 of our bunch went here for dinner today and it was delicious. I don't understand how this place is not packed to the rafters with punters, the only reason I can think of is it's location, behind a petrol station.
We all had starters, mains and wine with our meal and it was only €110 for 5 of us which I thought was great value. My brother and I had smoked salmon for starters which was lovely, perfect portion sizes, the others had bruchetta which they said was lovely too. I had a pizza as did my brother which was perfect, base was lovely, toppings really nice and fresh, the rest had different pastas which were all nice too. Portions here are just the right size. The two wait staff were lovely, very helpful and friendly. They bring out olives and bread when you are choosing what to have from the menu which I thought was nice and also bread with the starters. My only complaint was that the toilets were freeeeeeezing cold which is not a major issue. Overall a lovely experience as always!!
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Farm Restaurant (Dawson Street)Posted on 05 May 2009
I ate here last week with a few friends and we found the service TERRIBLE, it was busyish but there was no need for the long delays between courses and trying to get the servers attention for any reason was near impossible. On two occasions we asked for something (drinks & extra sauces) only for them to never appear, Thankfully they didn't appear on the bill! :)
The food was nothing to write home about and we will not be returning. It took them almost four hours to serve us all in all, way too long in our opinion and way longer than we had anticipated. It would be better if the wait staff pulled the finger out and SERVED the customers instead of leaving them there hanging for hours.
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Harveys Bar and GrillPosted on 03 May 2009
I ate here on Friday night with a few friends as I had heard it was good and we were in the area so thought that we would give it a try, the food was lovely, big portions, I just got a starter of loaded potato skins as I wasn't too hungry which were gorgeous, really tasty and cooked to perfection, the others got fajitas which were HUGE and delicious (I had a few bites!!), we all got dessert :) I got the banofee pie which was nice and not too sweet though there was a lot of base and a lot of cream but not too much banana which I thought there should have been more of, the girls got a knickerbocker glory and a meringue sundae, both of which were said to be lovely though there was a lot of cream on them. All round Harveys was a good experience though it was fairly quiet when we were in so atmosphere was not great, service was a little slow for me but very friendly and helpful, they need to use better quality ice cream for the desserts too, I thought it tasted a little cheap but lovely evening and will go again if in the area!!
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The Porterhouse (North )Posted on 22 April 2009
I ate here last Thursday with a friend of mine we both really enjoyed ourselves. We had initially gone in to sample the beers but then decided to have some food to go with them. We both had salads, I had Goats Cheese which was fab and totally HUGE in size I was stuffed and there's not many times I would say that about a salad!! My friend had the house salad and a pizza bread which I helped her with. Everything was lovely, tasty and I don't think overpriced as some of the other reviewers have said. Barman was really nice and friendly. Comfortable seating and just an all round good experience. We will definitely be back!!
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