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Review: Camden Rotisserie, Dublin

camden rotisserieThe former gastronomic black hole that was Camden Street has developed a nice little cheap eats scene. Green19, where all mains cost €10, is well established. Neon‘s take on Asian street food has proven popular. Cafe Sofia deserves more praise, more often. Camden Rotisserie, which serves rotisserie chicken, also struck me as reasonably priced when I passed by recently. My friend Colin and I decided to go in for dinner.

Colin was instantly convinced that Joe Macken – the Dublin restaurateur behind Crackbird, Jo’Burger, and Bear – must be involved in Camden Rotiserrie. He is not, but the owners do seem to have taken a leaf out of Macken’s rather successful book, with cheap and accessible menus and long benches in place in tables.

All the chicken is roasted, not fried. They serve burgers, wraps, and salads alongside the main attraction: quarter, half, or whole rotisserie chickens. A quarter chicken costs just €4.50, while a half is €8. The chicken is served with a salad garnish, but sides (€3 each) are necessary. Three sides between us was more than enough; for a lighter meal, one each would have done the trick.

Rotisserie chicken is never particularly presentable, so what can you do? Shove it in your mouth, that’s what. And this was really, really superb. The meat was deliciously tender, juicy, succulent, mouth-watering, and tasty. It had been seasoned perfectly, with crisp, partially blackened skin. We also ordered the piri-piri sauce (€2) but it was utterly superfluous: the chicken is good enough to stand alone and proud, while the piri-piri couldn’t match up.

Our bill for two half-chickens, three sides, and four beers was a very reasonable €43. although I later noticed that, for some reason, the piri-piri sauce was left off the bill.

Camden Rotisserie is an excellent spot for a dinner under €10 (or go for the quarter chicken with two sides for €10.25). I reckon that Camden Street and the nearby South Richmond Street which is home to Rotana Cafe, offers a viable south city  alternative to the stretch of cheap eats around Capel, Moore, and Parnell Streets in Dublin’s northside.

Have you tried Camden Rotisserie? And what do you make of the other cheap eats in the area?

9 Comments

  1. Sounds like a good cheapeat! I live nearby so will check it out. Can you get a whole chicken for take out?

    The other place I like is Sr Frango, portuguese, on the other side of the street from the Rotisserie.

    And that tapas place just opened up near the bike shop – pricier but still good value.

  2. Brilliant grub at a very reasonable price. I wish there was more places like this in Dublin. The staff are very welcoming too which is always a plus!

  3. I hate to see bargain chicken restaurants like this. You are almost guaranteed that the chicken is battery and not Irish.

  4. “not Irish” ! Heaven forbid.

    Myself I go a step further: restaurants in Dublin 8 should only serve chicken reared in D8 itself.

  5. Yes, heaven forbid Otto. I don’t want to eat chicken that has been reared in a shoe box in Thailand before being shipped here. If you do then you are a braver soul than I.

  6. Unfortunately, even posh restaurants seldom use free-range Irish chicken. It’s a valid point, I find it quite annoying that you can’t find proper Irish meats in restaurant, but then the same goes for beef, pork, fish, etc. At that rate, it will be easier to eat vegetarian food (and even then, there won’t be any guarantee that the garlic doesn’t come from Mexico or the beans from Egypt. In fact, it’s very likely they are)

  7. I don’t order meat in a restaurant unless I know where it is from. For some reason I don’t mind about vegetables. I take my meat very seriously, quiet at the back. 😀

  8. Well, I ate there within the last week, and while it was adequate, the chicken was not fabulous. This is the sort of place that lives or dies by the quality of the chicken itself, and, well, it was so-so.

  9. So if any of you checked their website you would see it states traceable Irish chicken. But hey, jumping to conclusions is easier.