The Grand Social, one of the best pubs in Dublin, serves delicious big soup cups of Irish stew, packed with meat and veg and full of flavour and heartiness, with two slices of buttered McCambridge’s bread, for just €5. For €8, you can have stew and a pint of your choice. It’s served all day [...]

I’m done with not complaining in restaurants. When the cream in a friend’s recent Irish coffee was horribly sour, she was reluctant to send it back – it was just so embarrassing. So I did it for her. I thought I’d figured out the trick: don’t take the problem personally. They didn’t pour in rancid [...]

Sometimes disappointment is inevitable. Flying out from Gatwick airport a few weeks ago, I was sure I’d find plenty of tempting things for lunch in its very large food court. How deluded was I? After a browse around, I narrowed it down to two options: McDonald’s or Wetherspoons. Time after time, I think McDonald’s will [...]

As part of a whirlwind tour of Hook peninsula I popped into Roches in Duncannon for lunch. This is a charming family-run bar and restaurant: one brother is serving, one is behind the bar and the others (along with talented head chef Denise Bradley) are in the kitchen. The bar area is very quaint with restaurant [...]

The Exchequer pub opened last year to great fanfare, promising high-quality “Gastropub” food. There’s few enough places in Dublin city where you can get a pint and a bite to eat, so they’re always a welcome addition. Snackbox and I went to the Exchequer beside the Central Hotel a few weeks ago for a drink [...]

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 [...]

A few weeks ago, I was irrationally sad about missing a family dinner with my parents and sisters due to the icy roads. As they all sat down to a delicious roast, I decided to get even by going for the first carvery I’ve eaten in many, many years. Once upon a time, carvery, where [...]

For some cheap comfort, you can’t beat a pint of Guinness with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich in Grogan’s pub, South William Street. A gang of us rang in the New Year here, and I noticed that the sandwiches seemed almost as popular as the plain. Grogan’s are unlikely to start serving soup, let [...]

Ballina/Killaloe suffers from an identity crisis. It’s two towns but really its one. It’s in two counties (Tipperary and Clare respectively) but they’re very, very close. What brings them together is a narrow bridge across Lough Derg. More importantly, a tradition of fine dining also brings these two picturesque towns together. Goosers Bar and Restaurant [...]

When I lived in Dublin I daydreamed of being able to head to the country, go for a walk in a cinematic back-drop and then nip to a cosy pub for a well deserved homemade feast in the perfect country setting. I now live in Wicklow near such a haven where you can nestle a [...]