Eggcellent Easter

We'd booked brunch at Beef and Lobster but got into town early so we started off at Piglet Wine Bar on Cows Lane in Temple Bar.

We grabbed a table outside and ordered wine.

I chose Sangiovese rose which was really nice.

Want to return for food for sure!! 

Then we made our way in the sunshine to Beef & Lobster for food. 


The Beef & Lobster brunch menu:

I ordered the beef burger and lobster roll mash up with sweet potato fries. Absolutely huge but I scoffed it all!!!

Sean had the black pudding benedict.

For dessert I chose the profiteroles.

Sean had the apple tarte tatin.

We both had bottomless mimosas.

The food at brunch was excellent BUT I have to be honest.
The first time I ate here I left underwhelmed and didn't bother blogging about it cos while I enjoyed the Beef Wellington and the slaw the service let it down. Its professional but lacks warmth. In comparison I adore Cleaver East, the staff there are so much warmer and more attentive.. My bottomless mimosa seemed less bottomless at Beef & Lobster than at Cleaver East. I noticed that they do a deal for bottomless cocktails and two courses from the light and big brunch options for €35. That doesn't extend to dessert. Maybe it should? Last time i was at Cleaver East they applied the offer. Maybe they weren't supposed to? One more thing... Sweet potato fries are €1 more as a side but €2 when you substitute them?!

I've been twice now. I don't think I'll be back :(

After here we went to Against the Grain as it was a while since we'd been here. I chose to try their 
Prosecco on tap. It was v nice. 

Last stop of the day was Alfie Byrnes. I chose to have a white wine (New Zealand Sauvignon) rather than mix grain and grape. Really decent size glass! 

All told it really was an eggcellent Easter :) 

Great Granthams

A few visits later and finally writing a blog post about Granthams on Aungier Street. First walked by it around the beginning of February and the window full of sweet treats was so inviting we had to stop. Didn't go in because had already eaten.

Visited a week or two later. Had an Americano and a delicious apple twist.



Sean tried the lemon and pistachio cake.



Bought some Dark Arts Coffee for the machine at home. They always check if we need the beans ground.

Second visit (a week later!) I tried the tuna melt. Toasted sourdough goodness :)









Third visit I had an apple twist and an Americano. BTW how huge are they?





We got the window seat on that visit. A lovely spot to sit and people watch if you can get it.


Was back there this morning (April) with Sean and his parents. They had tea and the grilled cheese. They seemed to greatly enjoy it. Sean had the lemon and pistachio cake again.

I had an americano and a black pudding toastie. Black pudding, cheese and apple chutney on toasted sourdough. Damn good sammich!






The guys are always v nice and there's a lovely chilled atmosphere.

I do quite like the nod to Downton Abbey with the wifi password.



Dublin's "Lord Granthams" of coffee? Perhaps. Its bloody good anyhow.

One last thing... It's dog friendly!!!

Ladies wot brunch

A couple of weekends ago I went with two of the girls for brunch at Cleaver East. I'd been there before but it was their first visit.

We enjoyed bottomless mimosas. They mean bottomless too!!! You get mimosas for two hours for €16. The staff are super attentive and they make sure your glass gets nowhere near empty!

The three of us ordered the same main course. We had the new pornburger which was chicken and waffles with bacon, pomegranate, onion, sriracha and a chilli slaw! I got a side of sweet potato fries with mine. It was lush

For dessert I ordered the Nutella cheesecake cornetto. It was really nice and even had the little bit of chocolate in the end of the cone. Like a cornetto should :)

Had coffee then finished off brunch with a round of cocktails. I had the Flirtini.

Another place that did not let me down when I returned. Banging tunes with great staff and DELICIOUS food. It is an awesome spot and cannot wait for my next visit!

Afternoon Tea on a Vintage Bus

You can now do a tour of Dublin city centre on a super pretty vintage Routemaster bus whilst enjoying afternoon tea!! Been wanting to experience this ever since I heard about it and eventually booked it for the Sunday of St Patrick's weekend. 

The bus, named Pauline, is a 1961 bus that used to be a London bus and then an artist's studio. 

The bus picked us up from the CHQ Building. We took in Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square, Stephen's Green, St Patricks Cathedral, Christchurch, Guinness Brewery, Phoenix Park and O'Connell Street. 

I had rosé wine tea and we made our way through sandwiches, scones and sweet treats. The sandwiches were egg, cucumber with cream cheese and chive, roast beef with horseradish and tomato paste and a wrap with smoked salmon and lettuce. The scones were super fresh. The little muffin was sour apple. The chocolate cup was totally edible and was filled with a lovely mousse. The madeleine cake was so moist. 

Cucumber sandwich 

Chocolate cup 

Rosé wine inside this cup. 

The crockery was super pretty. 

The roads in Dublin are not in great shape so the ride was a little bumpy. The muffins took a dive on more than one occasion. 

This is run by Vintage Tea Tours. The afternoon tea was delicious. What a brilliant and unique touristy experience!! 

Super Dolce Sicily

Have visited Dolce Sicily on Dawson Street a number of times.

The first time I went the place was full inside but there were two tables still free outside in their teeny courtyard.

I opted to try for a table inside as I thought it looked like rain. In Ireland? Impossible!!!

Anyhow I queued and managed to get a table within 10 minutes in the room that looks like you're in someone's sitting room not a restaurant. Super cute in the basement on Dawson Street.

Took a look at the menu and it took me quite a bit of time to choose my sweet treat. Everything sounded so good - and looked it too. You can drool over the cakes on display while you queue.










I ordered a chocolate cannolo (not cannoli as this is the singular!), an Americano and a San Pellegrino limonata. The three items came to €8.20.




The cannolo was delicious!!!

It's got to be a good sign when you can hear a lot of Italian being spoken around you, right?

The staff are pleasant and efficient.

I really wanted to get a tiramisu to take away but decided I probably shouldn't be so greedy. So I have an excuse to go back and that's definitely for next time.

Second visit was just for take away. I picked up an apple cake and a cannolo.







Third visit was for breakfast. I had the toast with butter and jam and a large americano. I also got a couple of treats to take away. I got a Torta Della Nonna and a nutella and coconut cake.











Everything I've had so far has been DELICIOUS but actually still haven't had the tiramisu :)

Tornare a Cirillos

Recently revisited Cirillos.

We booked a table for earlyish on a Friday evening.

Sometimes I am always a little worried when I love somewhere on the first visit and it lets me down on the repeat visit. I am really happy to be able to say that was not the case with Cirillos. The food is amazing. The staff are great and full of bants.

We had a lovely table in the corner. We had some prosecco with our starters.

For starters I had the arancini. Delicious balls of rice, mozzarella and tomato with a dipping sauce.

I chose a Nealo pizza for my main. A white pizza (pizza bianche) with ricotta, red onion, nduja and mozzarella. The nduja was deliciously spicy.

For dessert I chose the Tiramisu. I didn't want to share so Sean had to order his own!! Big slice but super light.

You can order pizza for collection. The food was so good I returned a couple of weeks later to collect some pizzas to have at home. And yeah I chose the Nealo again :)

100th blog post

Haven't blogged in a while... It was a lot easier when I could post from my phone but the app doesn't work anymore.

So this is a short blog post just to say thanks for sticking with me so far!!!

Normal service will now resume :) x

Love Luna

Still dislike going out for dinner on Valentine's and this year Sean was going to be away so we booked an early Valentine's dinner at Luna.



Luna is located in a basement beside a car park on Drury Street. You walk down the steps and you are literally transported to Mid-20th century NYC.





Had booked to try the pre-theatre menu (€30 per person for three courses and tea / coffee) but ended up changing to the a la carte menu.

Service was superb! The servers are all suited up by Louis Copeland and in old fashioned velvet jackets.

They do offer to translate the menu but we basically winged it.

Had a glass of cremant bubbly with our starters. We shared a bottle of Nero d'Avola red wine.

I had the tuna carpaccio to start. Was warned it could be spicy but it wasn't overly so. It just melted apart.






For my main I had the fusilli. They grated an ideal amount (lots!) of parmesan over it.





I wasn't sure of everything I was eating (that's what I get for not letting them tell us!) but when our plates were cleared I asked what it was. Turned out it was kale, pork, mozzarella and caper sprouts. Fantastic!

There isn't a dessert menu on the a la carte menu. They bring out an old fashioned dessert trolley and they go through the desserts of the day.







I chose the Luna Rocher which is a giant dark chocolate Ferraro Rocher. Loved the top tip of making sure I held onto it when I sliced into it cos it could've flown off the plate.





Finished with coffee. The biscuit that came with it was so yum!!




As you can see from the photos everything was served on really pretty crockery. On their website it says they were inspired by 1950s Italian restaurants in America and they have it spot on.


I really cannot wait to return.