I went home to visit my family in Athlone this weekend, so we decided to go out for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate my parent’s wedding anniversary.
I grew up in Athlone and my family still live there; without being accused of bias I think I can honestly say that Athlone is generously supplied with [...]

“Made with generosity, love and Mediterranean passion for life and good food”; “incomprehensibly delicious”; “enormous portions”: that’s how my friend Roisin described Cafe Formenti in a previous review.
I went down to Carlow last week for work, and finally had a chance to check out the place that has become Roisin’s second home. And I feel [...]

Milano, the Irish arm of the UK chain Pizza Express, has recently launched a new menu which was created by celebrity chef Francesco Mazzei.  Mazzei runs the Italian restaurant L’Anima in London, and has created 11 dishes for Milano.  Milano very kindly invited us along to try them out, and treated us to a very [...]

Sometimes, a deal is so good that the only response is for everybody to sit back and nod your head. See, you’re such a genius for finding it, that you don’t even need to speak.
That’s how I felt last weekend in Cork, when I visited my friends Cat and Jimmy (pictured) and spent a lovely, [...]

If I can get a fat burger for a fiver, then I’m not going to spend any more than €5 for my lunch in future. This is until I stop being lazy and make my own packed lunch. It’s the only way forward, but something I continually fail to do.
The Runner Bean on Nassau St [...]

I hardly ever go out for lunch these days because I just can’t afford it. We may all be sick of hearing about all things recessionary, but the reality of many is that the financial situation isn’t getting better. But wait! You cam still go out and have a yummy, filling lunch that [...]

I’m wondering if other people sometimes find themselves being hindered by extremely specific (and possibly, slightly mad) criteria when looking for a restaurant?  Recently I was in town on a Friday evening, and had about an hour to kill before meeting some friends in a pub.  I didn’t have enough time to go home and [...]

A friend of mine took me and my hangover out to IKEA on a Saturday afternoon in December to buy some stuff for Christmas presents. We were worried it might be a foolhardy expedition, but it was surprisingly un-hectic, and something about the clean lines and colourful patterns of IKEA’s products soothed my poor addled [...]

One of my all time favourite things to do is wile away a Saturday afternoon nibbling food, drinking wine and people watching.
Located on one of the Dublin’s busiest corners, The Port House on South William Street is the perfect place for such a whimsical lunch. I love this Spanish tapas bar and regularly feast on [...]

Lunch is often eaten on the go. A quick plastic sandwich in plastic packaging, a bowl of soup, or a salad on the run. Occasionally, with friends and workmates in the pub or cafe.
But anybody who’s ever taken the afternoon off knows that a good long lunch, properly enjoyed, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. [...]