Stephanie "Steph" F.'s Profile

All office monkies hit a wall of "I just can't face another sandwich for lunch" every so often.

Yum Thai is a little gem of a place offering respite from this woe. A defined menu of around 8 mains and 2/3 appetisers, offering Chilli Beef (not for the faint of heart), Phad Thai, Red & Green curries and so on.

It's €5 for a box of any of the mains and the service is from a bain marie so it's super quick, often what's needed on that precious lunch break.

There's a few high stools in this tiny place and some outdoor seating and it does get pretty busy on lunch hour.  

Overall it's just great to have a quick and pocket-friendly alternative to the humble sammich :)

Stumbled into Alfie's last Saturday morning in search of a coffee and breakfast to satisfy a little hangover.

It wasn't our first choice as it happens, the preferred spot being full to the brim that morning.

As places go it's a bit unusual in terms of decor and what's on offer. There's little or no daylight with most tables in the back of the building towards the kitchen and seems to operate as a kind of cocktail bar by night.

I had a hankering for a greasy start so I went for the full Irish and was assured it was really good. And so it was! It was huge but also made with quality stuff which is good going for €11 in Dublin 2. Coffee was bang on and the service was great.

They're offering an unusual Brunch Box menu between 12pm and 3pm where you get to choose 1 item from each of 3 categories for €14. Options range from garlic mushrooms to buffalo mozerrella salad to strawberries in cream. Brilliant if you're feeling like picking at a bunch of things or just can't make up your mind.

Will quite possibly be back to give it a whirl.

I've had 2 Jo' Burger experiences, one in and one take-out.

My first was a take-out experience. Jo' Burger very kindly sponsored an event called 24theweb in November where 3 teams of web designers, developers and writers came together to create websites for charities in 24 hours.

In total there was about 30 people involved and they fed us whatever we wanted from the huge menu. It was delicious, promptly delivered, great packaging and the orders were bang on - no mean feat for so many!

My recent eat-in experience is more fresh in the mind which is a bit more useful for review writing :)

I'm not a huge fan of burgers in general and think that the explosion of burger "restaurants" around town is sadly often a convenient way to make a quick buck on simple food.

Thankfully I was proven that Jo' Burger is an exception to that rule. It was a late dinner so I opted for a lighter veggie option, one of 2 - chick pea, red pepper and coriander and topped it with fresh salsa and avocado. The other half went for the special burger and special fries or the day. His burger I can't recall but the fries were homemade with a wasabi spiked coleslaw, spring onion and sesame seeds.

The burger was delicious and the fries were a revelation. I was completely over the moon with my pitcher of homemade lemonade which hit my very big thirsty spot while himself had a fancy craft beer.

Pros:
Fantastic creative, original menu with some great surprises like homemade lemonade (which can be spiked with something stronger should you choose), superb presentation and wonderfully fresh ingredients.

Cons
The music is loud (sorry to sound like a granny) and I was straining to hear my other half from across the table. It's a long table/bench type seating akin to Wagamamas so not the most comfy in the world especially if you're a bit wrecked.

I feel like I can't comment on service as my other half is an acquaintance of the maître d' but things seemed to be fairly on the ball in there.

Nice work guys n gals, keep it up!

Lemon is one of the closest coffee shops to my office - both a good and a bad thing!

Aside from the delicious sweet and savoury crepes (there's one with bacon, cheese & guacamole that's yum yum yum) Lemon has great coffee and fantastic service.

I have a severe weak spot for their Toast Starter - that's toast (bread of your choosing) buttered and cooked on the crepe griddle served with strawberry jam. It's quite simply the most delicious toast you will ever have although your waistline may not thank you after you get addicted.

You can get the tasty toast (2 slices) and a coffee for €3.75 to go - pretty good going for Dublin city centre for something kinda healthy but definitely warm and tasty.

Unfortunately THEY DON'T TAKE LASER OR OTHER CARDS. I discovered this to my detriment one morning when rushing to work & stopping for breakfast cashless. The manager simply said "sure you'll pop back in with it again some time, don't worry about it." Stunned at this kindness I was and since have become quite the loyal customer.

Go Lemon!

I'm not a big fan of pizza overall and it's possibly not my fault.

I've never been to Italy to experience the real deal and I rarely order pizza in Italian restaurants in Ireland as they're often just huge big things I can never finish and never really enjoy.

Hell has changed how I feel about pizza and my waistline isn't thankful for it!

The Pizza...

First off the selection of toppings is incredible and well put together. Not your usual boring predictable set. The veggies are super-fresh and you can actually taste the individual toppings. Gluttony is a firm favourite at the moment, Mischief not far behind. If you're not able for a full on 12" go for a 7" instead, it's more than likely gonna be enough.

The Sides...
There's a lovely selection of chips n dips including lemon and pepper wedges and sweet potato chips with dips like blue cheese, chilli and garlic mayo. They're delish and hard to resist.

The Desert Pizza...

Yes, you heard me. Desert pizza. Looks just like a pizza but it's 100% sweet homepage goodness. I adore the berry one which is akin to a homemade fruit crumble. Served with custard it's to die for.

The Beer...

A nice wee selection of NZ beer. May absolute favourite beer of the year so far is Mac's Gold. Some nights they do 3 for €10 - well worth it.

The everything else...

Staff are great, it's a casual atmosphere, awesomely styled with broken mirrors, black walls with red flames and velvet curtains. The music is excellent with a healthy dose of rock on offer most of the time.

Convinced yet?

So to the 2010 festival. Still recovering after a hectic few days which this year involved some volunteering.

Great few days, highly recommend anyone with a bit of a thing for choral music to check out the Closing Gala concert or the 'fringe' concerts in particular. Season tickets are the best value for money if you're going to more than 3 of the big gigs.

Check out some of the videos we shot for them on http://www.youtube.com... - more to come!

Myself and my partner booked into Isaacs for 5 nights over the May bank holiday weekend, partly due to the fact that there was little to choose from by the time we did so.

The hotel gets a fairly decent review on TripAdvisor and presents itself quite well on the website but we were very disappointed with our stay. Here's an outline of my main problems with the place:

1. Cleanliness
The room initially appeared relatively clean but the bed sheets were badly stained and it was obvious that staff had made some effort to conceal this. Lamps and lockers were covered in dust and the shower could have done with a scrub and some new grouting.

2. Noise
Our room was on the side that faces the rather busy MacCurtain Street. Night-time noise wasn't really an issue provided the windows were closed but we were woken by very noisy delivery trucks at around 6am on two of the mornings. On one other morning we were awoken by a group of people talking in the rooms next door - the walls obviously being quite thin!

3. Internet
Unfortunately there is no complimentary internet in the rooms, wired or wireless. Bitbuzz is the only provider in the hotel and the signal isn't great.

4. Air
There's no air conditioning, no ventilation in the corridors and if you're on the same level as someone who smokes you can probably expect to have a smokey room.

5. Value
When I booked the hotel via http://Hotels.com I thankfully was able to avail of an offer 'stay 5 nights and get the final one free' which reduced the price of the stay to €300. This however considering the basic facilities, other problems outlined above and the fact that breakfast was extra I think wasn't great value for money. I'd prefer to have stayed in a guesthouse or B&B for the same price.

Location is good and it seems pretty secure but that's about all the positive things I can say. My bad experience of the room made me avoid eating in the restaurant which looks like a lovely setting.

Overall a very disappointing experience.

Myself and my partner rambled into this place purely because we wanted a quick bite to eat as close to City Hall as possible one evening.

The main restaurant (upstairs) wasn't open so we went for the 'pub grub' and got a very pleasant surprise. The pub is really comfortable, bright, cosy and full of character. The menu is one of the most bizarre and delightful selection of tapas and mains I have ever seen with everything from drisheen to peppered shark.

To this day I still have no idea what it was we ate (maybe some kind of tabbouleh selection and crusty bread?) - we ordered whatever we saw someone else having because it looked so good!

Washed down with a fantastic pint of Beamish we left the place happy as could be and looking forward to another visit - can't wait to go back and try the shark!

I've visited Restaurant 14A on two separate visits to Cork and really enjoyed both occasions.  

The most recent visit was at the weekend for a quick early evening dinner. I went for the seafood penne with cherry tomato and spring onion sauce which was delicious. All the ingredients were tasty, fresh and cooked perfectly and the fish was simply gorgeous including fresh prawns, scallops and mussels. Some crusty garlic bread was served on the side and was perfect for dipping! The house red was a lovely 'middle-of-the-road' wine that sat perfectly with the main course.

My first experience there was for brunch where I had eggs florentine and toast which was simply delicious.

The place serves a decent coffee too!

The service on both occasions was fast, friendly and professional and the value for money was excellent for either dinner or a snack. I'll definitely be back.

I have a huge soft spot for French food and had been looking forward to trying it out for months and wasn't disappointed!

I was there with a large group booking (approx. 30) and there was a set three course menu. I was in the mood for fish so I had the crab meat and pickled cucumber starter which was light and tasty, if a little bit on the 'just out of the fridge' cold side. My main course was baked cod with a selection of shellfish and chorizo which was beautiful. Very tasty, well cooked and balanced well with fresh green beans and new baby potatoes. The highlight of the meal was the dessert, which is a lot coming from some who doesn't have a sweet tooth. I chose the baked cheesecake with raspberries and it was absolutely divine - the best dessert I've had in a long time.

The service was excellent and the surroundings very comfortable. Our group was catered for in the smaller right wing of the restaurant which was no doubt to the delight of the rest of the regular diners in the main section to the left of the entrance. The chairs (which if the TV3 documentary about the place is anything to go by) were certainly worth the toil it took to get them into the restaurant - extremely comfortable.

Everyone leaving remarked how impressed they were with both the food and the service. A very good experience had, will definitely be back for more.