Our First Visitors

My sister and her boyfriend came in to town this weekend to visit and we wanted to show them a mix of Dublin life- some traditional Irish places and activities, and some newer trends that are more a part of our daily life. We started with something popular in Ireland that is definitely new to them- a pub with a carvery lunch. A carvery lunch is a set price meal that includes some type of meat or hot dish, and a side of vegetables. And by a side of vegetables, they often mean some root vegetable mash, mushy peas, mashed potato, roast potato, and fries. Then once everything is on your plate, they ask if you would like gravy. For those saying yes, they pour gravy all over your meal. This is not something for every day- or every week even. It is, however, an experience. A delicious experience. Marcus and I met them at Dicey’s Garden bar for a popular carvery lunch with particularly large portions. This was my first time in a carvery as well, so it was a fun thing to try out. They had meatballs and stuffing as their dish for the day.  It was a good lunch but clearly impossible to finish.

After work we met them to head over to V.C.C. – the Vintage Cocktail Club. It is a speak-easy style bar known for their amazing cocktails. We knocked on the back-set black door, simply labeled with its initials and were welcomed in after gving our booking name. This was my second time here. The first I came for a friend’s birthday outing. That time I was on the lower level. This time we were in their upstairs section. Both had a very old feel with great decoration. This upper seating did have more lighting, which was actually quite nice. We each tried different cocktails and were very pleased with how they turned out. The drinks are not very strong at all, but they are very well made. I’ve been happy with all the drinks I’ve tried, and the waitresses are helpful with recommendations. It is pricey though (10-13 Euro per drink), so I really reserve this place as an occasion spot, and is a place to go either before or after another stop. They can be a bit elitist about reservations- maybe they really are always that full but I imagine part of it is for appearances and keeping up an image. Don’t be scared off though- the service has been really good and friendly for me once arriving.

From here we moved on to dinner. With a few options in mind, we walked around the Temple Bar area to check out some menus. My sister and her boyfriend were not used to Dublin weather, which may be why they were happy with the first menu after only a few seconds glancing. So we tried The Port House Pintxos, a wine and tapas spot we’ve passed many times but never gone to. Even if it was inspired by the cold, it was a great restaurant choice actually. The menu had a great selection- a good amount of vegetables as well. The plates we ordered ranged from average to amazing. We tried a variety of things- grilled asparagus, leeks, scallops, cod, roasted peppers, paella, and fried cheese with honey. The vegetables were all delicious, and I really loved the cod. The wine was good and well-priced also. We ordered in rounds and chatted away, catching up on our lives.

From there we headed home, planning a stop at the No Name Bar, which was about a half-way point. It was very crowded and blaring music though so we decided we did not stay past the initial tour through it. We had some tea and got ready for bed, making a few plans for the next day before heading off to sleep.