I always make a point to go here when I come to Dublin. Excellent food. Very authentic Szechuan Chinese food. Service is excellent. Decor is nice. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - 1/4 crispy aromatic duck with pancakes - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

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Service was poor, slow and disjointed. Food was bland, I had the crispy beef in ginger green onion and it had no flavor. The other 3 at our table also had the same issue with their food. I'm sure there are better Chinese restaurants in Dublin. read more

Before embarking on a 10 day trip around Ireland we wanted to eat something we wouldn't find during our tour. I found M&L on Yelp and was pleased to find that they served authentic Chinese food! We ordered the hot and sour soup, a steamed fish, stir fried bok choy with garlic and Singapore rice noodles. The soup was okay. I prefer the heat come from white pepper and not chilies but it was a decent cup of soup. The steamed fish was fresh and perfectly cooked with ginger, scallions and a sauce of soy sauce and oil. The bok choy was slightly crisp and very fresh. The noodles were okay and my least favorite of all the dishes. While the flavors were just okay and ingredients fresh, the portion was pretty small. I've had much better and would skip this dish. While the restaurant was empty when we arrived it quickly filled up and was full when we left. Service was a bit slow and it took us multiple attempts when we were trying to pay our bill. Otherwise the staff seemed friendly and were helpful when we had questions. I would recommend this spot for some good authentic Chinese food in Dublin. read more

A big surprise! The food is really as good as we had in Los Angeles, California! Thanks to Yelp's recommendation from far away . We had green beans with ground pork - crispy and fresh also beef and fish plates are all good! read more

After spending 2 weeks in Iceland and Norway eating Scandinavian food, my mom and I wanted some good ol Chinese comfort food. We stayed at the Holiday Inn nearby and a quick search on Yelp and Google Maps led us to M&L. We ordered: - Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Green beans - Chow fun - Honey Rib App The ribs were terrible, avoid them. The meat was dry and it seemed like all they did was dump honey on it for sauce. The green beans and lettuce wraps were good though! Nothing special, but we liked these 2 dishes out of everything we ordered. The chow fun wasn't bad, bu it needed more flavor. There was some flavorless bites we had. Overall, we were happy we stopped by and got some Chinese food here. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

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we were so excited to eat some ethnic food after eating fish & chips all week. what a major letdown. we ordered Yang Chow fried rice. the taste was good but we noticed that there were cubes of tinned ham, which we suspect is Ma Ling, which has preservatives. we also ordered Kung Pao Chicken. it was swimming in brown sauce and lacked any taste whatsoever. lastly, we ordered fried tofu with seafood, which only tasted of salt. we left most of the food uneaten and needless to say, we were thoroughly disappointed. service was okay. they pro knew we were tourists and would never see us again, so they were overall indifferent, although not unkind. read more

Awesome food and vibes. Traditional authentic Chinese which was a treat for this yank coming from across the pond and used to boring Americanized fried stuff- spicy, flavorful, authentic and expansive menu. Big fan. read more

Best around! They take reservations and were really busy. Food was delicious.

I think M&L is the first Chinese restaurant I've eaten at where the food hasn't made me feel sick afterwards. Really handy location just off O'Connell St, they have an extensive menu with plenty of vegetarian options (try the sweet and sour aubergine. Oh. My. God), and the portion sizes are HUGE! We came here for Chinese New Year, and it's was absolutely lovely. We ordered several dishes and had them all to share, which I would recommend if you're with a group and you want to try a bit of everything! I can't wait to come back here, really great service and the food was so delicious. read more

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​Went to M&L last night with some Elite Yelpers and I am so glad we went there! There was seven of us so we thought we'd order a starter and main each and share.. great idea since we got to try different dishes. My personal favourites were without a doubt the fried chilli green beans ( I could have eaten a bucket of them, so so good), the deep fried aubergines and the pork ribs.. so so good! The steamed pork dumplings were delicious too, very meaty! The portions were pretty big too which is always good. The decor is probably not the most modern and quite simple but if you are looking for some pretty amazing Chinese food at a really good price this is definitely a must go. Staff was very nice and friendly, although it did take a while to get our order, but in fairness they were pretty busy for a Wednesday night. One minor thing to be aware of is they don't accept cards so bring cash :) Really liked that place, will be going back soon. read more

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Had really wanted to check out M&L for a while as had heard really good things about it being one of the best authentic Chinese eateries in the city, so was delighted when it turned out to be the venue for Yap on Yelp. I really enjoyed the intimate set-up of this Yelp event as it offered a great opportunity to get to know fellow Yelpers and to taste lots of different dishes. We were given the English menu upon being seated, which was very extensive but not very descriptive! For starters I had the king prawns with spice and chili and while it was good, it paled in comparison to the delicious pork dumplings I got to sample, they were very tasty and definitely what I'd recommend having also tried the squid and prawn in egg yolk and failing to find myself a major fan of either. Lots of previous reviews mentioned the sea-bass and seeing as the restaurant specialises in food from the Szechuan region - I plumped for Szechuan sea-bass for my main. The menu stated it was served off the bone but it arrived to the table very much still on it!! The fish was cooked really well, it fell right off the bone and melted in the mouth, but the sauce was quite lacklustre, I expected it to be punchy and spicy but it was a little thin and lacking heat and flavour. Again I was struck with food envy but this time it was the caused by a dish on the next table over - their sweet and sour sea-bass looked and smelled amazing if I came back it would definitely be for this. The highlights back on our table were definitely the stir-fried French beans with chili (super-good) and the deep-fried aubergine in a fruity sauce (naughty but oh-so-nice!!) Another highlight was the price of the beer: €3 a bottle for a Chinese Tsing Tao, sure you couldn't be going very wrong there!! M & L didn't live fully up to my expectations; but now - being better armed with what to order (dumplings, green beans and sweet and sour sea-bass) - I would like to venture back to give it another go! read more

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I have been to M&L so many times since it has opened years back and I used to live practically next door to it. It had been quite a while however since I had been here so was really looking forward to coming back and was hoping it to be as amazing as ever. I was not left disappointed!! There were 7 Yelp Elites in our group and we ordered a variety of dishes and generally shared most of these. My highlights from what we had were the pork dumplings [best I have had in Dublin], fried green beans [French beans] with chili, deep fried aubergine and the braised sea bass in a hot & spicy broth. My only negative on the dishes I liked was the spiciness is considerably toned down for an Irish pallet especially when staff inform you that a particular dish is very very hot and it's not what I expected heat wise as someone who is a chili junkie. So I would advise telling staff of the reality of your chili tolerance when ordering! The dishes which left me disappointed slightly were the salt and chili squid [it was not very spicy, actually quite bland] and the whole sea bass in chili garlic sauce again was also quite bland. We each ordered either rice or noodles and only half the amount of rice and noodles we ordered were brought out. We ordered the crispy chicken with satay and got regular chicken. We were under some time constraints due to one of our party having the absolute cheek to double book herself with a Massive Attack gig that night [how dare she] so I think if if we were less stuck for time we would probably have addressed this with the staff. Staff were very friendly. I do find in Chinese restaurants staff can be a little abrupt but that is not the case here. It's not of course American standard of service, but it is a good Irish standard of service. Just how I like it! I hate American service. Makes me vomit in my mouth. Beer available is Tsing Tao. Which I love and at €3 a bottle it's great value. They have no credit card machine and I think for such a well established large Chinese restaurant in Dublin city centre they really need to sort this out. I very very rarely pay cash at a restaurant. Previous visits to this restaurant I have been with Chinese friends and they have ordered off the Chinese menu. This, is a very different and even better experience. The first time I ever had frogs legs was in M&L. So I do wish they had the Chinese menu translated into English because I like many other people want to try REAL Chinese food or at least be given the option. Apart from the couple of small negatives and suggestions for the owners here this is a great great restaurant and I am really looking forward to coming back very soon. There's more to Chinese food than curry chips, spicebags and chicken balls and M&L are a fantastic example of this in Dublin city centre at reasonable prices in nice surroundings with friendly staff. read more

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This is without a doubt the best Asian food in Dublin, probably my favourite restaurant! It compare to places I ate in London and NY which is saying something for Dublin. The menu is huge and can be overwhelming. They have the only dumplings worth eating in the city, but the best dish is the green beans. Ask for them with chilli and pork-totally amazing. The aubergine and double cooked pork are also awesome! The portions for everything are big-the kind of food perfect to share with a group. The staff are super friendly and attentive-they are happy to recommend dishes and service is always prompt. Only downside is no CC but there is an ATM just around the corner. This kind of made me want to take off a star, but this is so good I can't! I also recommend booking for Friday's/weekends. read more

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I go home to Dublin every year and always make a point of visiting this little gem. I always get the same dish so can only speak to that and those meals friends had. The Singapore noodles are delicious. Cousin said the Pho with king prawns were amazing and hubby enjoyed the beef and broccoli. The staff is friendly and the place is clean. If you're looking for high end you're in the wrong place. If you want great food and wine at a good price then look no further. read more

Deadly place if you like to have your spice on! My other half loves spicy food so what's better than introducing him to the infamous Szechuan cuisine? We ordered dumplings, french beans with dry chilli and fried chicken with dry chilli - typical dishes of this cuisine. DEE-LEE-SERSH - although they did tone the heat down a bit to suit the tamer palate of the Irish diner. Service was efficient and friendly but a little abrupt as you would expect of a Chinese restaurant. Ask for dish recommendations, they are more than happy to help :) read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Delish! - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

So Emily C, took some of the new elite girls out for dinner @ M&L to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I am not crazy about Chinese but seriously, this was really good food! The beef and pork dumplings were delicious! We shared plates so I can't remember all of the dishes. My favourites were dumplings, sea bass and the spicy chicken. M&L is Chinese food with no fuss! read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Seabass with vegetables - the seabass was very tasty - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

It's really a lucky chance to travel 6000 miles and found a restaurant carry so many dishes of old hometown flavor! Most amazing surprise is how little they charged for; as we were able to pay our group of four with our remaining Euros! 20170526 read more

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What better way to spend Chinese New Year than feasting in M&L? And feast we did. Between 5 we shared a bit of everything (well not quite - the menu is insanely long!). The dumplings. Oh the dumplings - pretty much echoing every review here, they are delish! Tried both the pork and the beef and I'd happily go back for those alone. Other highlights include the fried aubergine (there are two similar dishes-the sweet version!), green beans, fried chicken with chilli (A LOT of chilli - non spice eaters beware!) and the sea bass. Yum, yum yum. M&L, I'll be back! read more

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Delicious food! Would go back if I am in the area again. There were 4 of us and we ordered the 1/2 crispy duck with pancakes, pork dumplings, chicken fried rice, beef fried noodles, lemon chicken, and beef with hot spicy sauce. Everything was so tasty and I would order all of it again. read more

So after all the good reviews i decided to check this place out with a friend last night. We went for the set menu which I have to say was terrific value. For about 20 euro per person we got chicken sweet corn soup, barbecue ribs, stir fried vegtables, kung pow fried rice, chicken in black bean sauce and some crispy duck. It was all extra yummy though I wasnt a huge fan of the sweet corn soup but it was still perfectly ok. For the food alone I'd give five stars but a couple of little things bugged me. We were sitting in a corner by a door and it was a little drafty and cold. My friend and I stopped to talk a few times before eating the food and in that short time it was enough for some of the food to get cold which was a little disappointing. Also one of the waiters took my friends cutlery after appetizers and didn't bring her a replacement set so I had to get up and get some. Minor complaints really, great food and I cant wait to go back. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - kung pow fried rice was gorgeous - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

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As Yelp says- As good as it gets! This place is awesome- I went as part of a larger group of 12 people. We feasted for about 3 hours before being rolled out the door. We couldn't even look at a desert menu. The food was really great- we tried everything from dumplings to vegetables rolls to the duck. Everything was spot on. They also serve Chinese beers which compliment the food really well. The decor wouldn't be the most up to date or cool but it's fine you go here for the food. Also for all the food you get, its really cheap. GO! GO NOW! read more

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Came here for Chinese new year with 8 of my friends. As my friend is Chinese he ordered tonnes of what he thought wed like. So he ordered bits of everything and we shared. Im not a big fan of Chinese but wow it was good. The dumplings - wow Squid - wow Spicy beef - very very spicy but unbelievable! Also try the peach tea its lovely and the bottle is super cute. Price was great it worked out like 20e a head including a nice tip and we had like 10+ dishes. read more

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For sure one of the best Chinese I have had in Dublin. The location is perfect, very close to O'Connell street. The decoration is lovely and the menu.. wow, huge! At least 12 pages of all asian food you will ever dream about. It was my first time there and I was lost in so many options. Im glad a Chinese friend was around so he helped me with my order. He also told me that menu in Chinese had even more options - not fair haha Green tea is free - good - but the wine list wasn't interesting. I ended up drinking one of the Chinese beers and plenty of green tea - obviously! The prices were OK. Try the Pork Dumplings - they are perfect! Just a quick reminder: they dont accept card so bring cash with you. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Sweet chicken - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

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Excellent and authentic! If in the mood for some non-Irish food, then head here. Had the chicken and sweet corn soup, green beans, and dry chili chicken and it was wonderful. Definitely recommend. We had service, but I did see others waiting. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Stir Fried French Beans and Dried Chili Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

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I'll keep this short. Top Three Dishes: 1. THE DUMPLINGS. OMG. The best dumplings I may have ever had. Really. I would eat them forever. 2. The fried chili green beans. Incredible 3. The deep fried aubergine - so flavoursome Go, get them, be stuffed, roll home happy. *Top Tip - no card sales there at the moment, so bring cash! read more

M & L is part of the burgeoning collection of restaurants which might be deemed 'Little Italy' in the Parnell/ O'Connell Street area. In a previous review I pointed out my dad's wisdom on if you see the police/ taximen eating in a restaurant you know it's gonna be good, well the same maxim applies to if you see people of the same ethnic group eating in the restaurant must be good, i.e. an Italian restaurant filled with Italians (ok besides in Italy!) is usually a good sign. M&L seems to be a favourite amongst Dublin's Chinese population and with good reason! It's good authentic chinese food prepared the way the Chinese would eat it and not a hybrid version for our Western palates. This was a god send for me because frankly I was getting tired of having overly sweet Chinese food that gave me a tummy ache! Most definitely worth a look the next time you're looking for a good Chinese! read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

I was very happy when Emily organized this night out to celebrate one more year as Elite. I met some people I knew and as usual met new nice folks. I had never been to this restaurant as Chinese food generally isn't my thing and was gladly surprised by the quality of the food, the lovely and attentive service and the SIZE of their portions! The place is located on a corner close to the Revenue office off O'Connell Street so that is why I never had seen it. I liked the real Chinese paintings, the details in the tables and the nice touch of flowers around. The place is simple and informal and was extremely busy for a Wednesday night. There is plenty of water and they always refill your glass. From what I saw on the menu there are several types of drinks such as tea, aloe juice and a known Chinese beer for only 3€ a bottle (such good value for a restaurant). The waitresses were smiley and there was a fair balance of people in the clientele, not only a Chinese crowd. Someone said there were 2 versions of the menu, one in English and one in Chinese and that might be a bit weird as you do not see it and you can't know if there will be any price difference, in my opinion. I only eat fish and I am a big fan of veggie options so I did not know what to get as the menu was quite extensive and catered for both (plenty of meaty and vegetarian dishes available). Each one of us (there were 7 of us ) decided to go for a starter and a main and at the end we were all satisfied with the size of everyone's portions and we could share everything between all of us while yalping away. I went for king prawns fried in egg yolk and it was bland so I preferred much more the chili version that had tons of flavour and was not very spicy. I had lots of fried rice, green beans and noodles and even though I tried to use the chopsticks I had to get normal cutlery otherwise my meal would have lasted forever. I was extremely glad to have chosen the aubergine in sweet and sour sauce as it was delightful, much better than I thought it would be and ended up being an absolute success for everyone. Meat eaters really praised the dumplings as being the best they ever had and the portion of sea bass was insanely big, but beware; it's very spicy! I did not see any desserts on the menu but then everyone was full and we did not even think about it. A solid recommendation, I have to say :D read more

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You know the food is going to be good when the restaurant is jam packed with Chinese customers. The portions are very generous. Would definitely recommend sharing dishes. We got 3 dishes and 1 portion of rice between 4 of us and still didn't finish everything. And if you decide that that's not enough, food arrives fairly quick after you order (even when the restaurant is really busy) so you could just order more food later on if you aren't full. The peking duck with pancakes was damn tasty. Also good to note that there are some things on the Chinese menu that aren't on the English menu. For eg. we were going to order some the 6 steamed pork dumplings from the English starter menu to share and the waiter informed us that 20 boiled dumplings wouldn't cost much more, but that it wasn't on the english menu. The staff are very helpful and attentive and the service is surprisingly quick. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food in Ireland, I would recommend trying here! read more

The food here was very good, but I'm not sure I would go again without my Chinese friend. It doesn't seem that welcoming to outsiders, and we learned of a significant price difference between what my friend called the "price for foreigners" and the regular prices for dumplings (we're talking 4 times as many dumplings for a cheaper price). My dish, a dry deep fried chicken with chiles was great, and loaded with chiles (which made it look like a lot more food than it was). Everyone was very happy with the quality of food. The service was adequate and they were helpful after talking with our friend some, which makes me wonder what it would have been like without him with us. The restaurant was clean and tasty, but I'm just a little turned off by what I consider bad business practice. I would have never known this was occurring without being there with a friend that called them out on the price/portion size and maybe it's not really an inside trader type of thing, and just because he complained about it so they made something up...I can't honestly say and so I won't fault them too much for it. read more

The place was packed on Sat night and service was average to sub par. Someone snatched the menu away from my table before I was done. Then they gave me a variation of the fried tofu dish I ordered. That dish, the duck my husband ordered and the sweet corn soup were all pretty bland. I wouldn't recommend. read more

M&L Chinese Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Dublin, D

M&L is the best Chinese restaurant I've been to in Dublin! I went here with my Chinese friends and let them do the ordering - everything was amazing. There was a delicious Sauvigon Blanc wine from Romania which was really surprising as I had never had a Romanian wine before but it was very good @ 20EUR a bottle. We had a full Sea bass in chilli and onions, an Aubergine dish, Dumplings, beef and mushroom dish, OMG the fried green beans in chilli and garlic (so good), Prawns with a bread crumb batter done in onions and some veg and also duck pancakes. There were 7 of us so we just shared all the dishes, I think this is a really good idea as you get to taste lots of different things. No MSG is used and everything is thickened with corn flour. If you like coconut then for dessert you'll have to try to coconut ice cream - we shared this between two which was just enough after the meal! Staff are wonderful and the owner Angela is such a nice woman! Cash only. read more

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Honestly this should be a 5 star review, but as this restaurant does not accept cards (seriously?) and it is pretty over priced. Besides that, absolutely the best Chinese outside China that I have ever tried. Great dumplings filled with pork and beef (handmade!) and gorgeous Peking Duck. Be ready to pay with cash only, but give a try to the best Chinese in town! read more

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There are three things that distinguish a good Chinese restaurant: the noise level, the amount of tea spilled on the tablecloths, and that the number of dishes on the table exceeds the number of people sitting down. I came here looking for authentic dishes that I have had in China and NYC and was impressed. Staff and chefs seem to be extremely accommodating with their menu as both times I have been there we have ended up ordering dishes that weren't on the English menu. To top it off our waiter took the cue to refill the teapot when I lifted the top off, a wonderfully unforgotten trick for getting refills without having to hassle staff with awkward glances or wild hand gestures, excellent! read more

Make no mistake, M&L is probably the best chinese you'll get in Dublin. The staff were friendly, there was a nice buzz in the restaurant for a Wednesday evening and the food didn't make me feel completely sick after eating it like most chinese food. I tried the squid in egg yolk which was a nice alternative to your usual batter but only just about. The green beans were very nice but a little insubstantial considering they cost the price of a main. Overall, if you're hankering for a chinese, I can recommend no better place in Dublin (yet). But as a person who doesn't find any joy in eating your average chinese, this claim to fame only garners 3 stars. read more

Holy cow, what a place. I use the cow terminology because I think I literally ate the equivalent of a full grown cow in the form of dumplings. We headed down here as the midway point of our Saturday day out, so we we're a couple of drinks in by the time we got to M and L and I think this added to our anticipation. I had heard great things about this joint and I was not disappointed. I started with some Spicy salted chicken wings and beef dumplings, and in all honest I should have stopped with the appetizers... but I didn't. For main's a friend and I shared; the pork dumplings and some double cooked chicken accompanied by a large side of egg fried rice. Every. Single. Dish - was amazing! I also tried my friends duck pancakes which were just as tasty. The only downside after all this food & fun is that I was craving a quiet night on my sofa, not a night painting the town green (we we're in Dublin), however that isn't M and L's fault is it, damn them for being so bloody tasty! A friend and I split our food though in reality it would've fed 4 - anyway all the above and 4 Chinese Lagers cost us €50 combined, now that is value for money. read more

Lovely Chinese restaurant just off o'connell street! I'd recommend it to anyone! The food was so good here! Portions were quite big and the food is quite tasty! They don't serve what you would normally get in a Chinese, I loved it here! Staff were lovely, and I'll be defiantly popping back soon! read more

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What this place lacks in ambiance (and credit card machines), it more than makes up for with its yummy food. We ordered the aubergine (eggplant) in sweet and sour sauce after reading a couple reviews that mentioned it. We also ordered the fried tofu in housemade spicy sauce. Holy cow, the aubergine was SO good!!! Not very sweet, not too spicy, but it's the texture that blew us away. It was peeled eggplant, sliced into rectangular logs, and seemed to have been deep fried. The edges were crunchy, but the middle was creamy. Just amazing. The tofu was also very good and flavorful. I loved both. Pricing was average, not cheap and not too much. Wish they took credit cards, but otherwise, we were happy. Def recommend this place! read more

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Just came back from dinner at M&L and it was as delicious as always. With friends, we had from our usuals the stir fried aubergine and the deep fried chicken with dry chili and peanuts, but also the stir fried duck in medium spicy sauce. The stir-fried duck was delicious! I regret that i never had ordered in the previous times. Their dumplings are not to be missed. Sometimes I think I should go there and order dumplings only. read more

This is probably my favourite traditional westernised Chinese spot in Dublin. The atmosphere is great here, especially if you get to sit in the rightmost room when arriving, with steam coming from the kitchen and the smell of great food in the air. The menu is different than most other Chinese restaurants around town so it helps to be adventurous. I've never had a bad meal here. If you're looking for a reasonably priced Chinese around the North side of the city then this is the spot to be. read more

After eating the wonderful, usual, traditional Irish fare for over a week, we were definitely in need of something else. Living in San Francisco has trained our taste buds well when it comes to good Chinese food and M & L delivered one of the best meals we've had here in Dublin. I knew we were in for a good meal when I realized we were the only 2 white guys in the place. Yeah! The servers were excellent and very quick. The restaurant was completely full on a Monday night. There were lots of families and everyone was eating quite a bit of food. Here are a couple of things to think about that may help you if you decide to go: 1. They do not accept credit cards, so have some cash on hand. 2. They are located at 1 Cathedral Street which is directly across the street from the Millennium Spire. 3. Run. Don't walk to this place. Hope you enjoy too. read more