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Review: Don Mimi, Dun Laoghaire

I was never completely mad about pizza. It’s lovely and all, and great every now and again, but something I very rarely went out of my way for.

This summer, my trip to Tuscany changed all that, but it’s a few meals from Don Mimi in Dun Laoghaire that has really sealed the deal. This place has been open for a few years now, serving pizzas all around the €10 mark, as well as a selection of antipasti.

A gang of us headed there a few months ago for my friend Alice’s birthday, and I was surprised to discover that they have a few tables upstairs where you can eat in. We started with a selection of mouth-watering antipasti, which set the tone for the meal to come.

I fought the good fight on behalf of capers, anchovies, and olives, while others went for meaty feasts and vegetarian classics. We were genuinely astonished by the prices; you can get a portion of lasagna for just €6.

If the lasagna is even half as good as the pizzas, it’ll be an unbelievable bargain. These pizzas are perfect. Now, regular readers will know I’m never given to superlatives. No, NEVER. But the pizzas from Don Mimi are easily the best I’ve ever had in Ireland and just as good as the best of the best pizzas in Italy. Thin base with a delicious carbonised edge, toppings of outstanding quality, and generous portions. 

The service is friendly but very, very casual – you may need to pop downstairs if you want another jug of water or wish to add to your order. It doesn’t matter –  the quality is so high  and the prices are so cheap that relaxed service seems reasonable; there were certainly no complaints from our party of about 15 or so.

With a glass of wine, some shared antipasti, and a few split pizzas, nobody paid more than about €12. And we are all stuffed. I’ve ordered take away a few times since and I’m adding this place to my favourite cheap eats in Ireland.

11 Comments

  1. Sorry i have to disagree with you, I live beside it and have had pizza 3 times from there. I haven’t had any other dishes from there so wont comment on those. I agree the price is very attractive, and the staff were friendly. Its pizzas are terrible. ” easily the best i’ve ever had in Ireland, and as good of the best of the best pizza’s in Italy”. I question your tastebuds. Have you ever been to Italy or had pizza before!? I think the integrity of this ‘post’ is in question. I trusted this site, undecided after reading that.

  2. Hi Neil, interested to hear what other readers think of Don Mimi. Spent a few weeks in Italy this summer and definitely thought Don Mimi matched up. It’s pretty popular with everyone I know, but each to his own! ps Pizzas I hate: Domino’s, Goodfellas, 4 star etc.

  3. Have to say I agree with Neil. I live locally and I’ve been in a couple of times and I havent been impressed.

  4. Neil and Gavin, out of curiousity why have you been 2/3 times if the food isnt good?!

  5. Neil, your response reminded me of the opening lines of this article 🙂

    http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/please-calm-down/Content?oid=5785952

    “Xiaolongbao, like pizza, is one of those divisive foods that’s almost too annoying to talk about. Everyone has an OPINION, and everyone is RIGHT, and everyone ELSE is a degenerate hayseed with the palate of a sucking chest wound.”

  6. HI Jean, After my first poor experience, i went again to be fair, i thought it might have been a once off. I have heard since that it had changed management and that was when the pizzas there started to go downhill. Babara i agree it is quite a subjective thing, but to receive praise like Peters, i believe it really has to match up to those standards. And to be honest i wish it did. I didnt mean to be so irate, i like this site and other reviews of places i went had been more less on the money. The overstated compliments just seemed a bit suspicious to me. Anyways it’s tough to beat making your own pizza from scratch 😀

  7. Sorry guy’s … but pizza there was nice wen Paolo the man make that plays famous … After that was not real Italian speciali wen pizza chef was Romanian

  8. It used to be fantastic – it was easily the best pizza I’d ever had in Ireland. Popped in the other day and what we got was almost inedible, plus the ‘deli section’ was miserably depressing. It’s such a shame because it really was something special when it opened first.

  9. Mystery seems solved here – it was some time back when I went so it must have changed hands since. I’m reluctant to try it again but will report back if I do!

  10. Back again last night. Mediocre pizza with so-so toppings. Squandered potential: what a shame.

  11. Don Mimi has been closed for a few weeks – a real shame, however in the last year or so the quality of food had nosedived, so no real surprise.