The best restaurants

30/06/2024: There are two restaurants in Dublin City with 2 Michelin Stars; three if you include the suburbs. We dined at Chapter One on the north side across from the Garden of the Remembrance at Parnell Square earlier this month and enjoyed a very lovely dinner. We had many lunches and dinners at Chapter One when we lived in Dublin years ago. It was our favorite restaurant and we dined there often. Martin Corbett, now deceased, was a wonderful host. The food was great, service impeccable, and the atmosphere created by Martin and his staff made you feel very comfortable and most welcome. We continued to dine at Chapter One after Martin retired every time we found ourselves in Dublin. Time goes on; the restaurant closed during COVID and this was our first time at Chapter One since before the pandemic. It has a new team. I am delighted to say that it is still a fantastic restaurant. The venue, great food, very fine staff and the atmosphere created by Martin years ago is still there. That is not to say that the restaurant is unchanged. Martin held One Star; Michael Viljanen has earned two. There are now two prix fixe menus—one with four courses, another with six. We chose four; the diner picks the first and last of the four-course option. We loved each, and frankly, I don’t think we could have eaten six courses. I confess that we did have the optional cheese plate at the end of our dinner. The wine list was very nice and presented a good many options at different price points. The difference between Chapter One then and now is that the dishes require more work to create a very fine medley of tastes. I don’t want to say “more sophisticated,” but I guess that would be correct. Dining there now is not just having a lovely dinner at a fine restaurant but enjoying a culinary “event.” We will return. I thought the price/value ratio was fair--given that we had cocktails to start, the dinner, a fine but not expensive bottle of wine, and later cheese accompanied by port. The tab was about € 750.00 (or about US$ 800.00) for my spouse and me. I think for many people this will not be their most frequented restaurant (as was the case in the old days for us), but a place to celebrate an event. For us it was a wonderful anniversary. We had the good fortune to dine at the kitchen table—and that made it even more special.

25/06/2024: We had the tasting menu. There were many very intriguing and complex flavors but I really like the simplicity of the presentation. Pigeon leg was a highlight. The service was attentive, maybe too much so. There were lots of people involved and the service lacked some finesse at this level. I had two glasses of wine, one was great the other was way overpriced. The negatives took my down to 4 star but I expect to be back at some point.

09/07/2024: Lovely experience, service, food, atmosphere. I’ll be back for sure 😋

07/07/2024: Great sushi. One of the better sushi dishes I have had in Dublin.

12/07/2024: Really really enjoyed my meal with family, I got the fish and was fresh! Something I always hold as a basic goid standard. My brother got the spicy wings as a starter and he would recommend them A+ The service was prompt and very friendly, we didn’t have any problems, will definitely go again, thank you Bodega.

05/07/2024: We had a lovely meal and enjoyed the atmosphere. We had no complaints at all. However I went to use the loo. All I can say is the smell of foul drains in the toilets is reall bad. If I had a choice I wouldn't have used them! It definitely coloured my visit which is such a pity!

29/06/2024: Delicious food, exceptional staff and service, and a relaxed and friendly vibe. Perfect for special occasions, we celebrated a birthday and could not have been treated better.

28/06/2024: I wasn't here I was in a business across the road

26/06/2024: Food is delicious. Service is great and staff is very friendly. Also had a great talking with the owner. I recommend it to everyone.

16/06/2024: Great food and friendly staff. Would recommend as one of the few restaurants in Waterford that is consistently excellent.

21/07/2024: Lovely pleasant staff and great coffee

19/06/2024: Really delicious coffee !! And the food was really good too :) Will be back.

06/07/2024: Sweet cozy shop with staggering service and staff. Had my breakfast and coffee and it was amazing 👌🏻👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thank you so much for the brilliant experience

30/06/2024: Best coffee in town and staff are amazing and he also sells beans to take home for the best blends at home, too can't be beat for coffee highly recommended

22/06/2024: Shoutout to Ellen for making my birthday extra special! Made the 15 minute wait worth every minute. The ice cream is delicious but the customer service is outstanding.

20/06/2024: This was a place we were seeking to find bc of the delicious and unique flavors of icecream and sorbet. It did not disappoint. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Samples were given out before trying any flavors just in case you didn’t like a particular flavor after trying it. The shop has some inside tables to sit at or lounge outside on the cute street with high end stores. Absolutely would recommend!!

08/07/2024: Irish plus a few more food options for breakfast and lunch. The service was fast and the staff very friendly.

01/07/2024: Arrived about 10.15 on a Sunday morning. The place was already almost full with a great bustling atmosphere. However, the friendly staff member soon found us a table and in no time, we were seated and perusing the extensive breakfast menu. I thought that as the place was so busy, we might have a long wait for our food. However this was not the case - our huge breakfasts arrived quickly and looked and tasted amazing. I opted for the Sonny Corleone and my daughter went for the Tommy DeVito. The bill came to less than 30 euros, which is not back for 2 large breakfasts with toast, soda bread, jam/marmalade plus tea/coffee. It certainly set us up for the rest of the day! TIP - if you don't want to wait for a table, go early. When we left at around 11.15, the queue stretched about 20 yards down the street. A testament to how popular this place is.

30/03/2024: Lovely little cafe with yummy food 😍😍 I come back here every time I’m up in cork 💕 it’s got such a chill vibe here and the lady workin here is always lovely ☺️ I love it xxx

19/03/2024: Cute little spot with delicious food! I had an omelette and my husband had the Janes Brekkie and they were fantastic! Friendly, fast service too and a good value for your money. We will eat here every day if we can during our stay! 🤩

21/07/2024: Really nice pub and atmosphere. It is supposed to be the place where Joyce met his wife. The ambience is comfy, the food is ok and the location, just in front of the National Gallery and closed to Trinity is perfect for a quite evening.

20/07/2024: I cannot say enough good things about our experience having dinner at Lincoln's Inn. My company was having our annual meeting in Dublin, staying at a hotel nearby. I reached out to Lincoln's Inn ahead of the trip to see if we could bring a group of 15-20 for dinner one evening so that our team could get together before our event. They were super responsive, and when we arrived they had reserved a section of tables for us. We ended up with about 16 of us there! Our server, Jess, was absolutely fantastic! She explained how she needed to put in our orders and how to expect them to come out (i.e. not everyone's meal would come out at the same time due to our large group - we totally understood!). She was attentive and made sure we had everything we needed, and she was also just a delight to interact with! When we asked her to take a group photo of us, so was happy to assist and even directed some of us to go behind the bar. We had such a great time spending several hours with her! Finally, the food was terrific! Everyone raved that they enjoyed their meal (we ordered a variety of dishes throughout the group). My husband enjoyed it so much that he returned again later in the week while I was working and had lunch, again served by Jess and enjoying his meal and experience. I wish I had time to eat there again before we left Dublin! This was one of our favorite meals of our 2 weeks in Ireland - highly recommend!

27/06/2024: This the best Gastropub in County Leitrim. Great food.Top class. Resident musician John Crowe adds greatly to the athmosphere of an evening. Staff are very friendly and obliging. I return again and again and never tire of the place.

21/06/2024: Food was proper quality especially the burger,wings and muscles.Some of the tastiest chips I have ever had.Service was excellent whenever your drink was empty a waiter/waitress was there in an instant with a jug.Only thing for improvement was burger bun wasn’t toasted which left it a bit chewy.Overall this place is A1

17/07/2024: Some excellent vegetarian options. Would highly recommend. Pulled jackfruit sliders were 👌

07/07/2024: I won’t lie, I heard through the grapevine vine that a trip to Tabu would be worth considering. We were at a loose end on a reasonably miserable Saturday afternoon and decided to pay a visit. Booked a table for two, 60 somethings grandparents, and an infant (that’s another story) for 5.30. Perfect! We started with Potato skins and Calamari which we shared. The skins were crispy with just enough potato flesh and smothered with a good covering of parmigiana and chives and truffle oil. Lovely. The calamari was probably the best I’ve ever had in Ireland. It was cooked to perfection. Soft and beautifully tender. Impressive! We both have a good appetite and the portions were generous and more than enough. We contemplated sharing our main courses but when my Beef short rib arrived, on a bed of unctuous buttery mash and the nicest leek I’ve ever had, (I’ve been eating it wrong, all along), all bets were off. Fall off the bone, tender, you could almost taste the length of time it took to cook this. It was gorgeous, and I don’t say that lightly. And then!!! The gravy/jus/sauce or whatever else you want to call it, was utterly incredible. Mini mushrooms and onions in a rich velvety liquid that was the nectar of the gods. I could have drank a pint of it! My better half opted for the Monk fish tail, on the bone… Beautiful! Beautifully presented, beautifully cooked and beautifully tasting. There were no complaints emanating from across the table, just a constant smirk of contentment. Although full, we decided to get a dessert given the quality of the experience thus far. I couldn’t resist the baked cheesecake. I won’t lie, my experience of baked cheesecake is limited to a half dozen times. Well, this experience has set the bar. Luscious and creamy with a wonderful texture and dripping with dark amaretto cherries in a slightly tart sauce. Absolute bliss! My oppo had the white chocolate panacotta and given her continuous, now chronic, smirking. I assumed she was happy! On top of this, the service was attentive and considerate. Our little companion got lots of attention and was a very happy little man throughout. Can’t wait to get back.

23/07/2024: I have been coming here for lunch occasionally over the years, and they just keep getting better. The food is surprising and new, but also satisfying and incredibly tasty. This is how I think innovative cooking should be done: not pretentious and gimmicky, but new, interesting, and unique!

20/07/2024: My family and I were sightseeing in Galway for a day and wanted to find a good place for brunch on a Sunday. Through TripAdvisor, we found Ard Bia at Nimmo’s,which is very close to the Spanish Arch. We had delicious brunch entrees and the service was excellent. I had the buttermilk and orange pancakes and my wife had the poached eggs with toasted sourdough bread—both were excellent. Once seated, the service was excellent and did not rush us, but, at the same time, served us in a timely way. The building is very old and truly historic.

19/07/2024: Absolutely amazing food, also super attentive to my partner’s nut allergy. I appreciate how attentive and knowledgeable the staff was about to be ingredients in their amazing food.

19/07/2024: Wonderful staff, very accommodating