Fantabulous Fitzers! (Fitzers Temple Bar (Dublin))

Member Name: kellylouj

Product:	Fitzers Temple Bar (Dublin)
Date:	16/06/07 (277 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great choice of food, great atmosphere, fantastic location

Disadvantages: Costly, but this is Ireland.

On my last day in Dublin I decided to return to Temple Bar and look for somewhere to grab a bite to eat before returning to the airport to fly home. Having done a complete tour of Dublin in 24 hours we ended up in Temple Bar we had both been here before but this was the first time we had walked along the narrow cobbled street on this particular visit.

Fitzers is located in Temple Sqaure which is a short walk on from the Hard Rock Cafe and can be easily identified by its rather elegant looking building complete with green flags and blinds with Fitzers printed across.
From the outside the building looked modern and impressive and although there were barely any customers in there we put this down to the fact that we were eating at 3pm and the majority of people had already eaten.
The main entrance which you can see from the picture provided by Dooyoo has stairs that you lead onto the double entrance, one thing that struck me was that there only appeared to one entrance and this was not one that could be used by a wheelchair user whether there was a way that this could be adapted I am unsure.

Once we entered the restaurant we waited to be approached and then we were taken over to a table this was located next to the window and offered the view of Temple Bar which was great for my other half as he really enjoys people watching!

The toilets were located on the ground floor and were accessed via a winding staircase that to me was quite steep but in heels everything appears to be steep to me. The stairs were oak and led to a lovely oak wooden floor with more seating area which could be hired out for private functions, that room could take 200 people so the room above which was of a similar size must offer only slightly less with the bar being located to the rear left of the building and the cashier located to the front middle of the building, the whole restaurant was simple and elegant and was similar to my favourite restaurant in Chester with its high leather backed seats and booths and chunky oak tables.

Once we were seated we were provided with two menus the lunch menu and also the main menu, we had just missed the brunch menu which is served between 11am and 3pm.
Whilst we browsed the menu's the waiter took our order for drinks, I opted for a Diet Coke and my other half decided on a pint of Guiness his reasoning being that we were in Dublin after all and he hadn't had a pint yet!!
The drinks were €2.60 for a diet coke and €4.75 for a pint of Guiness which roughly converted to £1.76 and £3.21

*~*Lunch Menu*~*
The lunch menu is served between 12pm and 5pm and even this relatively small menu posed a problem for me deciding what to order.

Fitzers bangers and mash, €12.50/£8.46
apple & cider sauce

OR

Butternut squash & Parmesan risotto €12.95 / £8.78

OR

Traditional beef & Guinness stew, €13.95 /£9.45
creamed potato, pastry lid



I opted to have the Traditional beef and Guinness stew and this really was a great decision, the beef was so tender and the taste was out of this world and I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys a traditional bit of stew. The stew was served in a large shallow bowl complete with pastry lid which was not too large and a generous serving of creamy mash and at the end my plate was clear but I certainly felt that my appetite had been met from this dish and as it was quite a dull, cold day I definitely felt that I made the correct choice for my meal.
My other half decided he wanted something different and decided to order off the main menu, I had decided to avoid looking at this as I would only have more options to choose from and wonder if I made the right decision.

My partner opted to have the fish and chips and as always I pinched a bit of his meal and I have to say that this was delicious also the batter on the fish was so light and crispy and the fish was ever so tasty it was a real delight to eat, however I was disappointed when his plate arrived and rather than there be chips there were fries on his plate not like traditional chips that we are used to but all the same it was very nice and the portion of fish was huge!

We should have stopped there but no, we were tempted by the desert menu which were all priced at €7.50 approximately £5.10 and they came with a coffee, this is pretty high so it is obvious that the cost of the coffee is built into the pricing of the desert.
There were several deserts to choose from including a lemon tart served with raspberry sauce, baileys crème brulee which my partner opted for and was not letting me have a taste of this so it was either really bad or really good he says it was really nice and that was why I did not get to sample any!
Also on offering was the Sticky Toffee pudding complete with butterscotch sauce and a taste of ice cream and this was what I opted for and it was delicious, the pudding was moist and not too rich and the sauce complemented it well so the desert was not at all sickly as some can be and it was very moorish I simply had to finish it.
Cheese and biscuits were also an option but as I am very fussy on the type of cheese I eat I decided it best to avoid this option.

*~*Staff and service *~*
During our visit we encountered the service of 4 different staff members and each and every one was efficient and ensured that our needs were catered for, they were extremely observant in checking that we were okay for drinks and ensuring that we were happy with our food which we certainly were.
As previously mentioned we entered the restaurant when it was quiet and there were in fact only 3 other tables occupied but even still there was still a pleasant atmosphere within the restaurant, I could imagine that this restaurant could get very noisy as there are so many tables crammed into this building it is not easy to get around, the tables appear to be right next to one another and as previously mentioned it does not appear to cater for wheelchair users.
The food was served within 20 minutes and I do have to say it tasted fresh and delicious however I would be unable to comment if this was prepared fresh or was ready made and just reheated, the food was served on warmed plates which is always a good start in my opinion as I can be a really slow eater and I hate it when the food gets cold really quickly.
As with most restaurants the staff were slow to bring the bill but when they did it appeared to be a reasonable price of €54.25.

If you are ever in the Temple Bar area I would definately recommend looking this place up and popping in for a meal it is superb and definately one of the better offerings available at Temple Bar.

Summary: A great place to eat day and night.