L Mulligan Grocer

JD and I ended our long weekend of gluttony with a lazy lunch at L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter :)

Mulligans is a pub with an extended dining room and beer garden at the back specialising in beers, whiskeys and Irish seasonal cuisine. The dining room is lovely and airy; decor is rustic with some charming details such as vintage cutlery, old cereal boxes, old Scrabble letters used as reservation signs and bright flowers in mason jars on every table :)

The food did not disappoint and service was of a high standard too, many thanks to the waitress who suggested my beer!! :)

A great way to end the long weekend and definitely somewhere that we will heading back to for another visit!!

Porketarian Starter Board of black pudding croquette, slow cooked pork belly and caper rillettes, batter sausage and warm sourdough toast - tasty start to our meal :)

My main of hazelnut crumbed Chicken Kiev with chips, beetroot coleslaw and creamed corn 

Reeling back the years - bill arrived in an old geometry set and with a brown bag of jellies :) 

The Butcher Grill re-visited

JD and I first visited The Butcher Grill shortly after we moved back to the Emerald Isle last summer. Since then, we've been meaning to go back for another meal but every time we think of going, there are never any tables available. So you can imagine my surprise when we managed to bag a last minute table on the Saturday of a bank holiday at a "normal" time (only requirement was that we needed to sit by the bar)

I wasn't bowled over by the main course the last time we ate here (see previous blog entry here); however, I could no find no fault this time in what was a delicious and enjoyable meal. I have my eye on the gargatuan T-Bone to share for our next visit!! :)

 

View from the bar - brownie points for having hooks on the side to hand ladies handbags :)

  Starter of Sligo crab, apple, dill and fennel - generous, tasty and nice combination of flavours :)

  Main of hanger steak with baked bone marrow and roasted onion with sides of cauliflower cheese and fries - sublime meat and wonderfully seasoned!!

  Pudding of banana fritter and salt caramel ice cream - tasty but not a fan of soggy fritters, prefer mine nice and crunchy instead!!

  Major compliments to the chefs - everything in the kitchen was calm and running like clockwork just like it should. A real pleasure to see when service is run this well :)

Yummy sambos at Juniors :)

FINALLY!!! We managed to beat the lunchtime rush :)

Las Tapas de Lola

 

I had driven past Las Tapas de Lola a few weeks ago whilst in town and made a mental note to try and visit it in the near future. Our first attempt to eat there was on a Friday night but unfortunately, they were fully booked. This time, I remembered to ring ahead and bagged a table for a Saturday night :)

The resto, whilst not in the nicest part of town, is nicely decorated inside. The menu is extensive with some interesting dishes that you might not necessarily find in other tapas restos and staff are very helpful and friendly :)

The dishes we ordered were a bit hit and miss but with such a large menu, I am tempted to come back and have another go!!

 

Bomba de la Barceloneta - large meatball with spicy sauce. Not what we were expecting, tasted OK but the inside was still cold :(

 

Mixed fried fish Malaga style - generous portion but the chunks of hake had a lot of bones 

 

Mussels - tasty but a little on the small side (we were also given a smaller dish as a complimentary nibble together with a punchy glass of sangria too!)

 

Empanadas de carne - memories of Argentina!! I liked them but JD not a fan as the filling had olives in them!

 

Chorizo y morcilla - both a little too chewy for me :(

 

My favourite dish of the night - Cazuelita de fideuá - a Catalan dish similar to paella which uses noodles instead of rice. Could easily have eaten another plate of this :)

  

Churros and tea for dessert :)

(yummy langues de chat too!)

We probably ordered quite a lot for 2 people (7 dishes, 2 desserts, 2 tea/coffee and one glass of sherry) but final bill was quite reasonable :)

Green Bench Cafe

 

  

Green Bench Cafe is a great little spot just off Harcourt Street to pick up some goodies for lunch (on the recommendation of my yoga teacher, thanks A!!) Unfortunately, there is no seating in the cafe (only the bench outside) but its within walking distance from St Stephens Green where there are plenty of spots to enjoy your grub! :)

Pulled pork sandwich on toasted sourdough, yum :)

Mixed fruit brioche bun - look nice but not sweet enough and not enough cream inside

Damson Diner

JD and I found ourselves in town on a Sunday afternoon of a bank holiday so decided to pop into Damson Diner (had heard good things through a blog I check into from time to time!) for a spot of lunch :)

Despite the resto being around 30% full, the kitchen looked like they were already in the weeds which didn't bode well as they were expecting more customers after us!! The menu available was brunch offerings - surprised to see and hear that they did not offer juices or smoothies (was offered milkshakes instead??!!). I'm imagining its a bit of missed opportunity as I always thought the markups on juices and smoothies were pretty high and easy money to pocket?!

Portions were generous, food and service acceptable - lunch was pleasant enough but I don't think I will be in a rush to return.

JD's eggs Benedict with on a bed of hash. Looks nice but did not deliver on flavour :(

My full breakfast - lots to eat and get through but nothing much to savour.....

Bison BBQ

JD and I have always had a soft spot for American BBQ, so much so that we once drove all the way down to Brighton from London just to try out BBQ Shack - one of Jay Rayner's all time best restos in the UK! To be honest, I have no idea why he rates it so highly because its not a patch on our new discovery in town, Bison BBQ!!

Bison BBQ is located in Bison Bar on Wellington Quay, just on the edge of Temple Bar - not exactly the most attractive section of the quays but on the bright side, close to town :)

Orders for food and drinks are placed at the bar, then find a free space and wait for everything to arrive at your table (by the way, reservations are taken as well).

Our food arrived pretty quickly, everything was very tasty (meat and sides) and I was also amazed by the quality and taste of the meat used (not exactly very scientific here but meat tasting meaty rather than of nothing). Bison BBQ is far, far superior to BBQ Shack - would recommend any other BBQ aficionados to check it out :)

 

JD's order of pulled pork and pork ribs with burnt end beans and coleslaw

 

My "fatty" order of pork ribs and brisket with onion rings and potato salad :)

(Homemade BBQ and Mustard BBQ sauces available for free on the tables!) 

La mère Zou

     

Its been more than a decade since the last time JD and I ate at La mère Zou - all the times we had eaten there previously had been positive so I was very much looking forward to dinner after we managed to secure a last minute reservation for dinner on Saturday night :)

The dining room has changed since our last visit and has a more informal bistro feel to it - very cosy and welcoming in contrast to the chilly weather outside! Apart from the menu, there was a blackboard groaning with daily specials, all of which sounded so tempting :)

Food was delicious and service was friendly and attentive - as I keep saying before, the secret to a good resto is nothing complicated! Yet, only a select few ever get this perfect.....am happy to report that La mère Zou is one of these "gems", bravo! :)

Starter of mussels - super fresh, plump and tasty :)

Main of turbot, white asparagus, crispy ox cheek and chicken jus

   

Selection of French cheese to finish