Marie contacted us on Twitter to ask for tips for a good restaurant to get a late midweek dinner (after 9pm). Her criteria are: €20 budget per head for food (not including wine), south city centre location and preferably Italian, French or Traditional.
It’s actually trickier than it sounds; once you rule out early bird deals, a lot of the good south city restaurants are surprisingly far beyond €20. I immediately thought of Chez Max, The Green Hen or L’Gueuleton for French, but €20 would barely get you a main course in any of those places. Italian is a little more reasonable: you could eat well in Dunne & Crescenzi for €20, and they have good value on wine too. Pizza Stop on Chatham Lane is another cheap and cheerful option.
All the main courses in Green 19 on Camden St are €10, leaving you plenty for starters or desserts and coffee, and finally, The Elephant & Castle in Temple Bar is an old reliable which doesn’t really tick the cuisine requirement box, but gets everything else right. Personally, I would make the trip over to the north side of the city, where you could go to Le Bon Crubeen on Talbot St or Taste of Emilia on Liffey St.
What do you think? Do you have any tips for Marie?
Tuesday 22 January, 2013 at 7:07 pm
I would second the fantastic Taste of Emilia (pitchers of spritz ahoy!) but if the North Side is being avoided, La Dolce Vita in Temple Bar does very similar fare and is reasonably priced with decent grub. The service is……gruff but I guess that makes it authentically Italian.
Also, Le Bon Crubbeen hiked their prices last year so €20 won’t get you two courses anymore unfortunately.
http://www.leboncrubeen.ie/menus_detail.php?type=1
Tuesday 22 January, 2013 at 10:24 pm
Make it €25 and have two courses at Michelin starred Locks in Portobello, Sun to Weds all night.
If you have to stick to €20 and the very centre, then probably Taste of Emilia is your best option. Or M&L on Cathedral St if you like Chinese – the quality is good, and it is cheap.
Dublin is still not at all good for cheap eats, five years into a recession. You should be able to eat well for €10, and except for a real handful of places, you can’t.
Tuesday 22 January, 2013 at 10:29 pm
I forgot: Black Sheep pub near Cineworld on Capel St. About 10€ for e.g. very good pork chop plate, leaving budget for dessert and beer.
A bit more expensive but Exchequer pub would also work.
Wednesday 23 January, 2013 at 12:28 pm
I have to mention Steps of Rome on Chatham street – it’s a great value Italian, and open pretty late
Wednesday 23 January, 2013 at 1:17 pm
If you’re willing to travel a little, then the express menu at Rock Lobster in Donnybrook will get you two courses for €16.90 between 6-7pm and 9.30-10.30pm
Thursday 24 January, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Incredible deal Joanne, I have got to get myself into that place, been hearing excellent reports!