Cheap Eats in Dublin

Although all of us are trying to stay on track with our budgets especially now at the end of the semester, sometimes it’s nice to treat yourself by going out to eat. I have tested a lot of restaurants in Dublin and wanted to give a little bit of an insight on them. One that I would suggest for someone trying to stay on a budget is Mongolian Barbecue. It is right on Temple Bar, only a 10 minute walk from our St. Augustine Apartments. It’s a great place to go for lunch because the food is only 5 euro a bowl. Instead of ordering, you first grab a bowl and fill it with as many vegetables, meat, sauce, and spices as you want. Next, the chef pours your food on a huge round grill and starts chopping it up. Slowly, your food moves down the grill and once it meets the end, he scoops all of it up and puts it into a bigger bowl. It’s very exciting to watch this whole process, but the best part is when you sit down and try it.

Because you can completely customize your meal, you can have something different every time, barbecue chicken, lemon seafood, teriyaki beef, or you can mix and match with a lot of other flavors.  The ability to have virtually whatever you want plus the very low price has convinced me to come back more than once. 
Another restaurant that everyone needs to try is The Porterhouse Brewing Company. It’s a really great pub, also in Temple Bar, that serves a large selection of local brews as well as great pub food.  The menu includes a lot of classic Irish meals like Irish stew, fish and chips, and bangers and mash.  My favorite so far is the beef and porter stout pie.  Along with the delicious food, live music is also played every night.  So, while you’re sipping on a new local brew and chewing you’re your bangers and mash, you’ll get to hear some great local music. 
 

One other restaurant I would highly suggest is Yo! Sushi which is a really cool sushi restaurant just off Grafton Street (about a 10 minute walk from the academic center). The really interesting thing about this place is the way you get your food. You sit down at a table or counter and then right in front of you is a conveyor belt filled with plates of sushi, edamame, custard-filled pancakes, or fruit. Each plate is a different color and you pay based on the color you choose. They have a really great deal of three plates and a bowl of miso soup for 10 euro.  The best part is that you have so many options and can really have just about anything. And if you’re not sure if you like sushi, you can try one small plate or get something completely different; there are a lot of options. 

While there are a lot of other restaurants I would love to tell you about, I won’t overwhelm you with all of them. So if you’re in the Dublin area and need to find a great place for lunch or dinner, try the Porterhouse, Yo! Sushi, or Mongolian Barbecue. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Until next time, cheers!

-Allyson

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