This was the first place we came to in Dublin. It was within walking distance of the hotel and we were hungry and needed somewhere close to eat. We didn't have time to head into the city center.
We walked to this place and we saw they were doing construction to the front door, so we went through the bar door. And man, we looked liked idiots. Since we were in the bar side, we didn't realize if we were supposed to just sit down somewhere, or wait to be seated. So we sat at a table, awkwardly, and we're like, "so should we order at the bar?" Finally, one of the bar patrons pointed towards another door, which was the entrance to the restaurant side. And we were both like, "wow we're stupid Americans."
We were seated near the real front door. There was a young couple sitting near us. They were like 2-3 drinks by the time we got there, and then they proceeded to order about 4 more drinks during the duration we were there. And then their friends came and they ordered more drinks. So I guess it's true that Irish people drink a lot.
Our waitress was really, I guess, straight-forward. And her Irish accent made it difficult to understand some things. She also spoke really fast. My fiancee ordered the home-baked lasagna. And I ordered the homemade pie of the day, which was mince meat & vegetable pie. It's essentially a Shepard's pie. My fiancee loved his dish. He said it did taste homemade and authentic. And my dish was also amazing. I wish my stomach was bigger so I could have finished it.
While we were there, a bunch of old white men walked in and they all ordered beer, and also hit on the young waitress. Two middle-aged ladies walked in and sat down next to us. And immediately began bossing another waitress around (not ours). One lady was pretty loud and ordered a pint.
Our impression of Ireland is: the food is really good and the people are a bit aggressive. read more