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Cafe Mao (Dublin)
by orlaith
Cafe Mao's eclectic mix of Thai, Indonesian and other oriental cuisines is exciting and considering Asian is the cuisine du jour - surprisingly affordable. It is possible for two people to have a three-course meal in the evening with a bottle of wine (or a couple of oriental beers) and still have change from £50. For those of ... us without expense accounts or limitless disposable incomes this is the restaurant to go to. Judging by the queues on weekend nights (Mao does not accept reservations), many people know this already.
The decor is trendily minimalist and the staff are efficient and friendly. I would recommend the Chilli Squid (£5.75) as a starter. The squid was pleasantly chewy in a light, non-greasy batter accompanied by a chilli oil dip. My favourite main course at Cafe Mao is Nasi Goreng (£7.95) - an Indonesian fried rice dish with chicken satay, shrimps, fried egg and cabbage. You might expect this dish to be bland but the chilli paste (which is conveniently left on the side so you can make the dish as hot as you dare) add zest. All dishes have a chilli guide so you can only blame yourself if whatever you ordered is too spicy for your taste. The Thai Chicken Curry (£8.95) is a subtly flavoured dish, ideal for awkward partners with unadventurous taste buds. This will cause even the most stubborn steak-and-chips man to revise his opinion of 'foreign grub'.
With our meal we had a few Kirin beers, which really complemented the food. Strangely enough, considering his obstinate resistance to any food he did not like as a child, Ronan never objects to sampling foreign beers!
After the palate-warming starter and entree Mao's selection of ice cream (£3.25) as he succinctly observed, 'really hit the spot'.
Dublin needs more restaurants like Cafe Mao - reasonably priced with a lively ambience and unpretentious food.
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Fitzers Restaurant (Temple Bar)
by chris105
So you all know by now that my holiday in Dublin was not an unqualified success. Let me clarify - it was a great success, fun and relaxing and loads of that, but it was marred by a couple of B-A-D encounters: I suffered a bout of food poisoning from a supposedly reputable restaurant, and a taxi driver nearly swindled us out of a decent ... amount of cash (sorry Ken, no offence to the category - I'd have done better to look out for your cab, but you were on your hols).
Otherwise, it was a great stay - the city is lovely, and the surrounding countryside is simply awesome. And the rain was a welcome break from the 35-40 degrees back home! Ever one for looking on the bright side of life (or not, depending on my mood...) the food poisoning incident, after grounding me for two full days, meant that when I re-ventured into Dublin cuisine I wasn't ready to risk any further. So I opted, thanks to the guidance of my infallible Time Out guide (never travel without one - so much more than a guide!), for the Fitzers restaurant, a few steps off from our hotel (so poor sickly me didn't have to trudge at length) in the Temple Bar area.
Now the location is good and bad. Fitzers is right on a square where youngsters gather to sit on the floor, sit and consume obscene amounts of Guinness. That's ok if you're 14, I guess, but it can get a bit chaotic at times (ie. read: in the evenings) - and Fitzers' large windows overlook this square. There was a queue to get in, although it was a weeknight, and since a good number of patrons were not tourists but Dubliners, that augured well for the quality of the food.
The maitre d' - an enchanting if slightly blustered lady - found us a table by one of the windows, and we settled down to our surroundings. Now Fitzers is a Dublin "independent" having four eateries in the city. What sets it off from other restaurants is that each outlet is completely customised to the surroundings: thus th
e eatery in the National Gallery is sombre, the one on Dawson Street is chic and French, while the Temple Bar one is more funky and "vibe"-ful. This is reflected in the decor (thus we had the de rigeur blue and cream tones and suffused lighting strategically placed on asymmetrical soffits), but more importantly it is reflected in the food.
We also visited the Dawson Street restaurant, so I could personally verify that the menus and food style and content are indeed different. The Temple Bar restaurant had a selection of interesting starters, though my still-recovering stomach commanded me to steer clear. So I watched my dinner companions order and devour their dishes. Very interesting concoctions: none of the pasta dishes usually present in Mediterranean cuisine (I confess I had to get used to that!), but this was more than made up for by the fish and veg concoctions in original though light sauces.
Then came my culinary highlight for the evening (also my only dish...): the main course. I opted for a fillet steak on Guinness jus (what else?!), while my companions opted for a salmon dish. The fillet was not only cooked exactly as I'd requested it (medium-to-rare, in case you're interested... no you're not, ok), but also of very good quality - not the rough and dry excuse for meat served in certain places (not only in Dublin, I hasten to add!). The Guinness jus was... well, divine! The usual veg and potatoes thingie on the side was presented with some originality, inasmuch as originality may be claimed with a veg and potato melange.
The salmon dish, though I didn't actually try it myself, I was assured was equally scrumptious. It certainly looked tender, not over-cooked, and with appetising herbs on top. There is nothing worse than drowning the taste of fish with overly-elaborate sauces - this was kept very simple, just a dash really.
Meanwhile the place remained just as busy as when we'd entered. A con
stant buzz kept the restaurant lively and "with-it" - it definitely felt cool and fun to be there. Notwithstanding the crowds, though, the waiters lived up to the deserved reputation of the Irish as ultra-friendly people. I've never been to another country where every single citizen was friendly, courteous and bending-over-backward to help. The waiters joked, asked questions about our holiday so far, and small-talked in general to make us feel more at ease.
Of course this also served the double purpose of enticing us to sample their dessert menu. And sample we did - even my then-delicate digestive system clamoured for sweets. And Jill, you should've tasted the chocolate do. Wow! That kind of chocolate fudge that leaves you breathless, and your taste buds konked out in ecstasy. Washed down with fresh cream (the thick whipped kind), I should add. Oh oh oh!
Coffees were at par with the rest of the evening - "real" espresso, not the instant variety. You'd be surprised at the number of places that thought they could get away with a cup of heated instant black coffee masquerading as an espresso shot. Tut tut!
Then of course, I have to conclude this op by mentioning the assessment of damages made by the meal to our holiday funds. Obviously such a restaurant doesn't fall into the McD price range. Some of the dishes are quite expensive, and it's easy to top the 20 IRP per person estimate. Yet if you're in Dublin and you want to splash out on that special meal, you could do far worse than trying out Fitzers in Temple Bar.
Mmmm, that Guinness thing... ah!
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