Here’s one.  The gourmet burger chain Jo’Burger has had to stop offering rare and medium-rare burgers to its customers after the HSE warned them off.   Gourmet Burger Company in Ranelagh received a similar warning, and their letter to the Irish Times about it appeared in the paper today. The HSE’s position is that consumers could [...]

I’ve always been a big fan of ethnic food shops, and we’ve reviewed many of them here. The Asia Market on Drury Street is perhaps the best known, and there’s many more dotted around Dublin and in some of Ireland’s towns and cities. But outside the capital city, pickings are slim. If you’re planning an [...]

Two of Dublin’s most well-established restaurants closed over the Christmas period.  The Mermaid Cafe and Gruel are sister restaurants on Dame St, and according to the Irish Times, staff are still waiting to hear if they will reopen.  Gruel will be particularly missed for its excellent lunchtime ‘roast in a roll’ , cosy surroundings and [...]

A new scientific study has found that organic food is no better for your health than vegetables grown with chemicals, reports today’s Irish Times. The study suggests that traditionally grown vegetables, which are significantly cheaper, have virtually identical health properties. As a general rule, it’s best to go with the science; I’ve yet to see [...]

M&S is to start selling branded products* in its Irish stores. Up to 450 brands, including Coca Cola, Kellogg’s, Barry’s, and Tayto will be phased into all 20 M&S stores by the middle of September. It’s a big leap for the retailer, which has always prided itself on selling only its own produce, but it’s [...]

More new specials in my new, officially favourite regular* supermarket. The current set includes: Irish spring leg of lamb – half price – now €6.99 per kg Selection of half price Superquinn cakes Superquinn chilled juice range – any 2 for €3 The offers are valid until Tuesday August 24. Click here for details. (*Regular: [...]

Very little surprises in the latest National Consumer Agency price survey. Unsurprisingly and most significantly, there’s a negligible price difference between the big four supermarkets. The cost of groceries has fallen by 14 per cent since January 2009 and the number of special offers has risen. The survey found almost no price difference on a [...]

For the past few years, the Republic’s retailers have watched in despair as their fickle customers fled across the border in search of cheaper prices and better deals. But according to Conor Pope in today’s Pricewatch, the days of cross-border shopping are numbered. A less favourable exchange rate, a planned VAT hike in the UK, [...]

Some of you may have noticed a post in the Irish Times’ Pricewatch blog a few weeks back where Conor Pope asked if readers’ favourite brands had started disappearing from their local Tesco; some of you may even have left your feedback.  There was a follow-up piece on it in yesterday’s Pricewatch column, and it [...]

It was this time last year that Cheapeats covered a price comparison survey by The National Consumer Agency of Ireland that showed a drop in food prices in Ireland in the first half of 2009. Well, it would seem that dream is over and prices are creeping back up across the board. All was revealed [...]