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**iSnow** · 23-11-13, 00:12

Originally posted by Iago View Post

So, what's the plan for the 30th? Think Olly said it needs at between 14-18 for dinner

V4V +1?
Iago +1
RDIII + 1?
IonaPaul + 1

anyone else?

iSnow +1 are 70% ATM

**Guest** · 27-11-13, 08:29

Originally posted by Gimmeabreak

Ross Lewis would be justified in suing anybody that compares The Greenhouse to Chapter One. It would be akin to comparing me to George Clooney.

Hey, handsome!

**HiCloy** · 28-11-13, 20:03

Originally posted by Gimmeabreak

Ross Lewis would be justified in suing anybody that compares The Greenhouse to Chapter One. It would be akin to comparing me to George Clooney.

Go on....

**Guest** · 29-11-13, 20:40

Really weird. Been there twice and the service was such that they never missed a beat. From all of the reviews I've read / people I've spoken to who've eaten there, you're out on your own with that opinion!

**careca** · 29-11-13, 20:50

Originally posted by zuutroy View Post

Really weird. Been there twice and the service was such that they never missed a beat. From all of the reviews I've read / people I've spoken to who've eaten there, you're out on your own with that opinion!

Was there last May and would agree with you. My only surprise was that it didn't get a Michelin star this year. Was top notch.

**Tar.Aldarion** · 29-11-13, 21:35

I hear terrible and great reviews from both C1 and greenhouse, be raging if I spent 260e and didnt like it.

**V for Vendetta** · 30-11-13, 07:00

Originally posted by zuutroy View Post

Really weird. Been there twice and the service was such that they never missed a beat. From all of the reviews I've read / people I've spoken to who've eaten there, you're out on your own with that opinion!

Originally posted by careca View Post

Was there last May and would agree with you. My only surprise was that it didn't get a Michelin star this year. Was top notch.

I'd be closer to the GAB camp myself. Our service was decent but a little patchy. We had the 5 course surprise menu and only two were worthy of note. The rest were bland and forgettable imo.

It certainly isn't value either.

Interesting to get a range of opinions on a place.

**Guest** · 30-11-13, 09:13

Originally posted by V for Vendetta View Post

I'd be closer to the GAB camp myself. Our service was decent but a little patchy. We had the 5 course surprise menu and only two were worthy of note. The rest were bland and forgettable imo.

It certainly isn't value either.

Interesting to get a range of opinions on a place.

Yeah I suppose it comes down to individual experiences. The only time I really enjoyed Ch1 was the chef's table and on each occasion the sommelier was a complete dick. Not sure how he still has a job as everyone seems to agree on that!

**Raoul Duke III** · 30-11-13, 09:50

That actually reads like a nice menu. There's defintely a bit of a 2005 vibe in the dining scene atm though, lots of overpriced, pretentious shite. Confined to Dublin too.

**careca** · 30-11-13, 11:38

Originally posted by Raoul Duke III View Post

That actually reads like a nice menu. There's defintely a bit of a 2005 vibe in the dining scene atm though, lots of overpriced, pretentious shite. Confined to Dublin too.

The new MPW one takes the biscuit imo (only going on reviews). Prices are ridiculous just because you can look at a picture of him on the wall. only one reviewer (Times) called him on it too, others drooled over him. €14.50 for prawn cocktail and €28 for a sirloin, extra for sauce

**Raoul Duke III** · 30-11-13, 20:27

Originally posted by careca View Post

The new MPW one takes the biscuit imo (only going on reviews). Prices are ridiculous just because you can look at a picture of him on the wall. only one reviewer (Times) called him on it too, others drooled over him. €14.50 for prawn cocktail and €28 for a sirloin, extra for sauce

Shanahans - 20 and 50 quid respectively.

**SatNav** · 01-12-13, 18:31

Restaurant Name: Lawlors Hotel

Location: Poplar Square, Naas, Co. Kildare

Website: http://www.lawlors.ie/

Price Range: €/€€

Review:

One of my friends picked a package deal for 6 of us last night. 75 quid for B&B and a four course dinner.

I thought it was going to be a specific shitty menu for that money, well it wasnt!
Absolutely fab from start to finish. Only thing was it was absolutley jammers in there and the waiting time in between course was very long but we were having the crack and knocking back the vino so it didnt bother us as a group.

The staff there are very very good at their jobs. Really looked after us well. Anyway we discussed the menu with the waiter and asked what we could have. Waiter replied with " anything at all , on either menu" I asked was the steak on a stone available ( €24.99) yes it was, happy days!!!

For starter I had Deep Fried Tiger Prawns in Beer Batter Served with Chilli Garlic Mayo , they were lovely and fresh I would say. Far too many of them though.

For the main I obv had the Steak on a stone served with mushrooms, onions and chips. I was trying to figure out would I have the Garlic butter or pepper sauce but was told it came with three sauces. Garlic butter, pepper sauce and a tomato type sauce. It was absolutely beautiful and a fairly big piece of fillet steak. I love the way you cook it yourself on the stone.

Onto dessert which nobody wanted as everyone was stuffed lol I ordered Baileys cheese cake because I am a greedy fucker! It was grand , typical Baileys cheesecake maybe a bit too much baileys but still nice.

Some of the girls asked could they have a cocktail instead of dessert but the waiter said no he couldnt after asking the manager , however he did ask the girls would they like a cocktail at half price instead which was sound. ( obv the greedy fucker I am, I had a long island iced tea)

Over all it was a fantastic night and I will deffo go back . The hotel is not what I expected at all. Lovely rooms, lovely staff/

SPOILER

**Micknail** · 01-12-13, 19:13

2,6,4,5,3,1

**shrapnel** · 01-12-13, 19:16

Originally posted by Micknail View Post

2,6,4,5,3,1

was wondering who was going to

**Lord Sir Banter** · 01-12-13, 19:17

Who is your juan beside you?

**Theresa** · 01-12-13, 19:22

Originally posted by Micknail View Post

2,6,4,5,3,1

+1

**SatNav** · 01-12-13, 19:22

Originally posted by shrapnel View Post

was wondering who was going to

So was I lol

Originally posted by The-Rigger View Post

Who is your juan beside you?

Thats a lovely wee lass from Finglas, she has fab boobs!

**Teddie** · 01-12-13, 21:24

Originally posted by Michelle SatNav View Post

So was I lol

Thats a lovely wee lass from Finglas, she has fab boobs!

Good one. Agreed on the tits though.

**newbie2** · 03-12-13, 00:27

Restaurant Name: Bo London

Location: 4 Mill Street, London, W1S 2AX

Website: http://bolondonrestaurant.com/

Price Range: €€€€

Review:
Not really great at writing reviews but this place is worth a mention....

Went here with a few friends a couple of weeks ago. We had spent the day boozing, but I thought we had sobered up enough to enjoy ourselves. I have to admit, it was one of the best dining experiences I've had. We went for the 14 course chefs menu. There were a couple of things I wasnt mad about but as a whole - it was deadly.

menu

WHITE GARDEN
Spring onion, avocado and lime mousse, morel mushroom crumbs, dehydrated Enoki, ginger powder - Fucking excellent
BED AND BREAKFAST
Jasmine smoked quail egg, crispy taro crust, Osetra caviar - not mad about egg sop this was so so for me
CLOUD
Cured mackerel, compressed cucumber, black sesame, “Shao Xing” vinegar, mist of rose - deadly, the mist of rose was dry ice wiht rose essence, smelled great
FOIE GRAS
Pan seared foie gras, crispy vermicelli, lettuce wrap with sauce “Abby” - words fail me for this one. Only fantastc
SCALLOP
Sashimi, sugar snap peas, crispy rice, Shanghainese yellow wine - this was a bit mad. the crispy rice was pretty much rice crispies
THREE TOMATOES
Tomato braised in Chinese glutinous rice vinegar, cherry tomato baked in Chinese filo with Chinese olive tapenade, tomato marshmallow with green onion oil - surprisingly simple but very good
DIM SUM
Spicy lamb soup dumpling, chili crab fun gor - this was a bit too hot (temperature wise) to taste, kinda spoiled it as you kinda had to put the whole thing in at once
HAWTHORN
Hawthorn tea with chili, mandarin orange sorbet, lemon grass meringue - really good
COD
Marinated in glutinous rice wine, saffron, miso, samphire, crispy seaweed, dried shrimp and bonito crust - the highlight for me
SWEETBREAD
Veal sweetbread braised in oyster sauce, Sweet & sour pearl onion, oyster, artichoke purée -again very good
ANGUS BEEF
28 days dry aged Angus, 10 aromatic veal bouillon, spicy potato, chive Jiaozi - meh, not great. was a bit flavourless
BAI JIU
Chinese wheat liquor and Fever Tree tonic foam, lime parfait, liquorice caramel - a couple of the lads didn't like this - i thought it was very nice. The wheat liquor is an aquired taste
COCONUT
Palm sugar crème brûlée, sour Morello cherry compote, coconut milk - not enough coconut
PETIT DIM SUM - stuff at this stage but lashed them into us

The whole bill came to £810 (€978) for 4 of us. This included 3 bottles of quite resonably priced white and 4 very expensive cocktails served by a bartender with the personality of a brick. Our waiter, however was very good and really made us feel welcome. I'm not sure the people sitting beside us enjoyed their experience as much as we did, our liberal use of the words 'fucking cunt' probably spoiled their evening somewhat. having said that, I must note that the tables weren't crammed together as you see sometimes see in these types of eatery. It wasn't too formal either. Which was nice.

By the end we were fairly lashed, and slipped off to a resonably priced gentlemens club for the rest of the evening

I'd advise anybody who can, to visit and eat at Bo.

**iSnow** · 03-12-13, 21:12

Wrote a stinker of a review of a local eatery on TA. General Manager was in contact to ask would I meet with him to chat further. Move?

**6starpool** · 03-12-13, 22:54

Added about 11 more reviews to the OP.

**Jibzzzz** · 03-12-13, 23:37

Originally posted by 5starpool View Post

Added about 11 more reviews to the OP.

Not sure if its just me Dom but when I click on the latest reviews it brings me to DP's Bison review.

**6starpool** · 03-12-13, 23:47

So much for cutting corners. Fixed now, thanks John.

**iSnow** · 04-12-13, 16:43

Originally posted by iSnow View Post

Wrote a stinker of a review of a local eatery on TA. General Manager was in contact to ask would I meet with him to chat further. Move?

Met with GM today for coffee and went through my tribulation with his operation. He's offered to comp me dinner for two if I write a mystery guest report for him for his restaurant. Huge kudos to the guy. That's damn fine Management.

**RasTa** · 04-12-13, 17:08

Originally posted by iSnow View Post

Met with GM today for coffee and went through my tribulation with his operation. He's offered to comp me dinner for two if I write a mystery guest report for him for his restaurant. Huge kudos to the guy. That's damn fine Management.

What's the name?

**iSnow** · 04-12-13, 17:31

Bloomfield House Hotel

**rounders123** · 10-12-13, 21:05

Originally posted by iSnow View Post

Met with GM today for coffee and went through my tribulation with his operation. He's offered to comp me dinner for two if I write a mystery guest report for him for his restaurant. Huge kudos to the guy. That's damn fine Management.

Were you wearing a layer of rubber under that pullover in case he drew the oul knife?. I thought that meet up was a come on, i commend your ~~stupidity~~ bravery

.

**Raoul Duke III** · 10-12-13, 21:09

rounders, you owe us a review of Chameleon btw

**iSnow** · 10-12-13, 21:59

Originally posted by rounders123 View Post

Were you wearing a layer of rubber under that pullover in case he drew the oul knife?. I thought that meet up was a come on, i commend your ~~stupidity~~ bravery

.

The way I saw it was as follows:
If he was to be an asshole I'd just update my review to reflect his attitude.
If he wanted to be civil and listen to constructive criticism I was glad to offer it.
In an interesting aside that can't end well, I've invited another IPBer along for balance.

**eagle eye** · 15-12-13, 12:31

I'm not good at reviews but I went to a nice quaint little place in Athlone called La Cucina Di Angelo's yesterday evening right near the Bridge on the Leinster side of the Shannon.

I went with garlic mushrooms for the starter and they were really nice, my gf had Prawns in a lime and chilli sauce with some type of garlic bread. I had a chicken pasta(choice of Penne or Tagliatelli) for the main course with a delicious light but creamy tomatoe sauce, she had chicken on a skewer with basil, a moroccan spicy dip with a strong cinnamon flavour and white cream sauce with square fritas and salad. For desert I had their special which was Black Forest Gateaux(my favourite desert) and it was awesome, she had a knickerbocker glory and she loved it.

We didn't drink any wine, she had a margarita with a sugar rim which she says was very strong and she loved it, we both had coffee and I had a diet coke.

The bill came to €43.75 making it a bargain evening out. We went there at around 6pm so it was probably an early bird menu.

Staff were delightful, not over to you too often but often enough to make sure you were having a good experience. I'll definitely be back there again quite often, really want to try a lot of the stuff on their menu. They do Italian, Mexican and Irish dishes.

I've also been hearing great things about a Thai restaurant in the same town which I intend to visit in the near future.

**Guest** · 15-12-13, 12:52

Dinner by Heston confirmed for Jan 24th

€100 Aer Lingus voucher I got is going to end up costing me a fortune!

**Lazare** · 02-01-14, 15:43

The Porthouse Ibericos, Dundrum.

Not sure if this has been reviewed yet.

Went here yesterday, it's a little tapas place in Dundrum shopping centre, in a lovely little cottage building.

Real nice ambience and atmosphere in the place, we were having a late lunch, about 5pm. Cool Spanish music playing, decent few people in the place, tables close together but not stuffy, cushions under your arse was all that was missing at this point, chairs were a little uncomfortable.

Decent wine list, good selection of by the glass which is a big plus for me, especially for lunch. Smokin hot Spanish waitress takes the order, we ordered seven dishes, deep fried Aubergine with hummus, Calamari, seafood paella, Patatas Bravas, a grilled pork on toasted bread dish, Jamon croquettes and a Manchego burger.

This is where both disappointment and awesomeness merged. The food for the most part was meh, or mediocre, paella was a little better than ok. But, that fucking Manchego burger hombre, that was mind blowing. It's a crispy edged miniature pork burger with Manchego cheese on a bun and I'm salivating still now.

The whole lot cost a little over €40 for the seven dishes and one glass of wine.

My advice, go in, ask for the hot waitress that talks like Gloria out of Modern Family, don't allow them to offer anybody else. Order seven Manchego burgers.

**newbie2** · 12-01-14, 02:09

Lazare's review of a restaurant in dundrum made me think of a couple of others that need a mention.

Jamies Italian.

Dundrum

Myself and the wife eat here a lot. We love it. It's also very accommodating for children. We've never had a bad meal here (actually one time I was very hungover and had a dish of black angel hair pasta with seafood - there was soooo much of it - I nearly hurled). They really look after the kids too. Lots of really good kids meals that arent the usual fish fingers etc.
The menu is very extensive with really well cooked pasta dishes. Plenty of fresh fish on too.

Ananda
Indian restaurant

Dundrum

Not going to say too much about this except that it is then best indian restaurant Ive ever eaten in. No saucey ass food like you'll get in your local takeaway - just really good food. If you ever get a chance to eat here -do.

**HiCloy** · 12-01-14, 12:43

I really liked Ananda got some fantastic food there, thought Jamies was fine nothing special, in no rush to go back

**HiCloy** · 12-01-14, 12:47

Want to book a private dining room somewhere in Dublin for ~16 people, any suggestions?

**newbie2** · 12-01-14, 14:13

Originally posted by HiCloy View Post

Want to book a private dining room somewhere in Dublin for ~16 people, any suggestions?

lecrivain.com

http://www.lecrivain.com/private-dining.html

This domain may be for sale!

**Strewelpeter** · 12-01-14, 15:26

Looking for restaurant recommendations for London (central or out towards Islington direction) for next weekend.
Preference for fresh fish and paleo friendly, not too expensive, relaxed atmosphere and not too posh.

**newbie2** · 12-01-14, 17:20

Can only recommend Nobu. Its great sushi etc. Dunno if it's very paeleo though. reviewed here:

The Restaurant Review Thread - Irish Poker Boards

http://www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showpost.php?p=614065&postcount=323

. Reviews to date 1.Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Dublin, €€€€€, Gimmeabreak (http://www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showpost.php?p=497840&postcount=2) 2.Pearl Brasserie ,Dublin,€€€,mocata (http://www.irishpokerboards.com/forum/showpost.php?p=498020&postcount=6") 3.Peploes, Dublin, €€€,

**Raoul Duke III** · 11-02-14, 20:03

Originally posted by rounders123 View Post

[B]Restaurant Name: Damascus Gate

Damascus Gate doesn’t have a bar licence but they happily have a bring your own policy with no corkage charge.

Outstanding. Ate here on Sunday and surmised that they had forgotten the corkage on the bill..
That's spectacularly good value right there.

Food is decent, mezze very nice, mains are so-so. Owner is a decent guy, lots of depressing tales about the civil war though.

**rounders123** · 11-02-14, 22:42

Originally posted by Raoul Duke III View Post

Outstanding. Ate here on Sunday and surmised that they had forgotten the corkage on the bill..
That's spectacularly good value right there.

Food is decent, mezze very nice, mains are so-so. Owner is a decent guy, lots of depressing tales about the civil war though.

Really glad you liked it, i told you!. Looked like the owner guy got a toe hold on you with the stories. I only got the shep proudfoot guy with the ponytail. Its not complete without a visit to the relaxation shisha section but not a thing the womenz generally want to get into so i can understand.

**TheImprover** · 27-02-14, 00:37

Can someone recommend a restaurant near the Conrad hotel for tomorrow night, heading up for the UKIPT and bringing herself so going to do some wining and dining. We don't drink wine so price range I suppose around a €100 for both nnot including drinks, I like a good steak myself and herself is easy enough.

**iSnow** · 27-02-14, 01:07