The Hungry Monk, Greystones

The Hungry Monk
Church Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow
Telephone 01 2875759


Participants: U, F, R

Rating

• Food: 5/6
• Drink: 4.7/6
• Toilet: 4/6
  
• Ambience: 5.3/6

Price: Menu for 30€, including coffee

Food

• Terrine of Chicken
• Black pudding
• Smoke salmon platter
• Leg of Lamb, with mint sauce
• Stuffed chicken breat with mashed potatoes
• Tarte Tatin
• Plum crumble with Greek yoghurt
• Strawberry white cheesecake with amaretto

"Also good selection of bread - the first soda bread I liked in Ireland!"
"Salmon was average good."
"Mash was exceptional, with garlic."
"Lamb: tasy meat, excellent flavour. Very strong mint sauce, but I think that's the way it should be."
"_Lots_ of vegetables, potatoes, mash, ..."
Tarte: "Desert was a bit so-so-ish."

Drink: Faustino 1, Rioja

"Very distinctive bottle"
"Huge, ambitious wine list. Whiskey choice was less exciting. Good prices. Ask waiter to recommend a wine."
"Extensive wine list, but finding a nice one under 30€ can be a challenge. Some wines in the triple digits."

Toilet

"Gregorian Chant excellent fit for the theme."

Ambience

"consequently appled monk theme, cozy place."
"Great, very comfy! Open fire, monk pictures throughout and atmospheric chant on the toilet. Great place for a day out."

The Winding Stair Café

40 Lower Ormond Quay,
Dublin 1,
Ireland
Phone:+353 (0)1 873-3292



Participants: U, D, F, R

Rating

• Food: 5/6
• Drink: 5,3/6
• Ambience: 5/6

Price: Main courses from 17- 25€.

Food: Turnip soup. Charcuterie. Boxty topped with a bed of spinach and mushrooms and blue cheese on top of it. Roast Pork Belly. Fish & chips. White chocolate mousse.

"Simplistic with high quality ingredients. Vegetarians should be cheese lovers, though. Otherwise they might leave hungry..."
"Really good charcuterie plate."
"Ooey-gooey chcolate brownie. Yummy!"
"Very good, very simple, but delicious."
"Roast Pork Belly was nice and juicy, although the cider sauce was maybe a bit far-fetched."

Drink: Montepulciano (22€). Castro Martin, Albarino

"Red wine very pleasant"
"White wine was more on the sweet side, but with interesting flavours."

Ambience

"Too loud, but probably caused by this loud French group singing and chatting." (Remark: on that day, France won against Ireland in 6 Nations Rugby - so these guys had a reason to celebreate...)
"Some more curtain and carpets would help."
"Great selection of antique books, e. g. "The Evolution of Marriage": "(...) Men like to symbolise in the ceremonial the rapes of former days, which they cannot and dare not any longer to commit." NO COMMENT?!?
"Loved the leather hippo on the coffee table!"
"Extra point for the cute mini-hippo."

Afternoon Time at Merrion Hotel

Merrion Hotel
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Telephone 353 1 603 0600

Participants: J, U, F, R


Rating

• Food: 5/6
• Drink: 5/6
• Toilet: 5.5/6
  
• Ambience: 5.5/6

Price: 30€ per person


Food: Sandwiches, scones, cakes, ...

"Wow - what a tower of sweets!"
"Ration savoury/sweet could be more balanced."
"Scones were not warm, which would have been even nicer."

Drink: Tea, Jasmin tea

"Served periodically without request."
"Wonderful flavour."

Toilet

"Good but far away."
"Very clean."
"Perfect! Soap, tissues, hand lotion - even flushing was possible (with hint of irony...)!"

Ambience

"Upper-class interior, exquisite paintings (e.g. Y. B. Yeats), real fireplace."
"Awful knee-torturing tables."
"Quiet, relaxing athmosphere, live harp music. Professional Service."
"There were only 4 tables in a room, where there would be 15 in other Dublin restaurants."

Overall

"Good idea to make a reservation, if you want a sofa on a Sunday afternoon."
"Plenty of food - price not too bad at all for Dublin..."
"Ideal place for a cold afternoon."

Chez Max

Chez Max
1 Palace Street, next to Dublin Castle





Participants: J, U, F, R


Rating

• Food: 4.9/6
• Drink: 4.5/6
• Toilet: 4/6
  
• Ambience: 5/6

Food

Tartar of salmon: "Gorgeous!" "OK, but would have expected taw salmon, and to be served with toast. Nice dressing on salad."
Quiche with leek and salad: "Good, but nothing absolutely special."
Crème brûlée: "Really good, but I had better ones, because I'm hopelessly spoiled."
French onion soup: "Broth came separately, making sure the croutons were crisp."
Porc Agilet, with garlic mashed potatoes: "For my taste - the porc was too fatty."
Ray with tomato and capers: "Fish tasty and interesting, but not enough vegetables. Very much butter on the fish -> very rich."

"Excellent value for the money." (19€ for 2 courses)
"Nice company as well!" ;-)

Drink

"Red wine - blabla St Eulalie, sounds funny, but tasted good."

Ambience

"Cozy, small restaurant with old European feel and Spanish music."

Toilet

"Yes, flushing is possible. All necessary equipment available."
"Downstairs, if you go straight, you enter the kitchen..."

Dunne and Crescenzi

Dunne and Crescenzi
Sandymount
Also another one: close to Grafton Street, parallel to Dawson Street





Participants: U, R, F, L

Rating

• Food: 4.9/6
• Drink: 5.3/6
• Ambience: 5/6

Food

Bresaola with parmesan, rocket, olive oil and lemon: "perfect dish."
Wild boar with tomato sauce and polenta: "The boar was spicy and full of flavor, the meat soft."
Salmon: "very juicy, just done"
Ravioli "Good food based on excellent ingredients."
Panna cotta: "maybe a little bit artificial?"
Mozzarella with vegetables: "Great moz., not like the rubber m. at some places."
Chicken, mortadella, cheese: "very fine meat, but the flavor of the M. and cheese 'overshadowed' everything."
Tart, pear & almonds: "very tasty, perfect!"

Drink

Ripasso: "yummy"

Toilet

"nothing special, but flushing worked just fine (what a surprise... !)"

Ambience

"No Eros Ramazotti! Good."
"I like the place a lot - wine bottles all over the wall, crowded but not busy - professional team."

Dowlings Wine Bar

11 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 2

Participants: U, R, K


Rating

• Food: 3.5/6
• Drink: 4.7/6
• Toilet: 5/6
• Ambience: 3.3/6

Food

"Mixed platter with prosciutto, cheese, salad, crackers, bread. Quite nice, but you don't go to a wine bar for its food, anyway."

Drink

"We had a bottle of Chinon Charles Joguet. It tasted a bit unusual at the beginning, but got better with every sip. Not the usual stuff."
"Wine tasted of red grapes - I'm pretty sure that's what is was. Maybe a hint of apple. Definitely oak casks. Smokey?!"
"I would like to have better bread, not the ordinary sode one from the supermarket."

Ambience

"Great music, at appropriate volume. Changing temperate with door opened and closed, fireplace up and down. Woman with loud and frequent laugh really spoiled the whole experience."
"But a bit stinky, the fireplace doesn't work properly, but hey! A fireplace!"
"Another guy got himself drunk with Orange lemonade..."

Toilet

"Soap, dryer, paper - all there, even lotion. Fresh flowers."

Burger King

Many locations in Dublin - the one tested: Baggot Street

Participants: Keith, João


Food

"Food was served in a timely manner with a satisfactory service"
"Burger and fries were hot, but did not look like thos shown on the 'menu' - disappointment!"

Drink

"Delightful orange sparkling sensation. I'm positive that only the finest organic oranges were used."

Ambience

"Contemporary, minimalistic design. Grateful and eclectic group of cliental from all creeds of life. Rushed affair."