I’ve visited Dublin many times, in fact all my tours to Ireland begin and end in Dublin City. When I’m leading a tour, I usually arrive a day or two before the group tour, and have a few days to do some exploring on my own to discover new places to eat, see, and experience. I’ve spent years poking around Europe’s nooks and crannies in search of excellent food, good wine, better beer, and sparkling water. I guarantee you’ll experience some outstanding restaurants that serve up amazingly fresh and local dishes on all my tours in Europe. But for this post, I’ll give you some of my best dining picks for Dublin City.
THE OLD STOREHOUSE -3 Crown Alley- Temple Bar https://theoldstorehouse.ie/ I’ve been visiting this popular pub for 10 years now. Manager Robbie and his capable waitresses, waiters, bartenders, and cooks, will make you feel right at home, The food is remarkable and varied. There is a fine selection of starters, mains, and desserts, all of which are sure to please. There is nothing of the notion of bland pub-grub here, everything is fresh and hot right out of their small kitchen. I tasted most of their main courses and must say they are all excellent. My favorites are: Beer Battered Fish and Chips, West of Ireland Seafood Chowder, Steamed-Fresh Connemara Mussels in a cream sauce, Traditional Guinness and Irish Beef Casserole, and Irish Cottage Pie. I hear the desserts are good, but by the time I finish a pint and a meal, I’ve never had room for the sweets.
TOMAHAWK STEAKHOUSE – 2-5 Essex Street East – Temple Bar https://tomahawksteakhouse.ie/ It is pricy, but their dry-aged Delmonico steaks are wonderful. An added bonus is its oyster bar serving fresh oysters from Ireland and Europe.
THE CHOPHOUSE– 2 Shelbourne Road – Ballsbridge – Dublin 4 http://thechophouse.ie/ A bit out from Dublin’s city center, but worth the 30-minute walk or €10 taxi fare. The 10 oz. Dry-aged Irish prime Ribeye is the best cut of Irish-raised beef I’d had on the island. Additionally, they have a varied menu including chicken, duck, pork, and a selection of tasty starters as well.
Baan Thai Leopardstowne – P, Central Park, Carmanhall and Leopardstown, Dublin, D18 N2W6, Ireland http://www.baanthai.ie/ We often stay with our groups in the Leopardstowne suburbs of Dublin. When I think of the best Thai food, my mind wanders to Baan Thai. They have all the traditional selections served in a decorative dinner room.
THE IRISH HOUSE PARTY DINNER & TRAD SHOW – The Irish House Party The Lansdowne Hotel 27 Pembroke Road Dublin 4. https://www.theirishhouseparty.com/ For an evening of traditional music, dancing, stories, and good food to boot, try The Irish House Party at the Lansdowne Hotel. Show up at 18:30 and order your food off a three-course menu selection. Enjoy dinner and a fine music and dance show featuring excellent musicians.
AN EVENING OF FOOD, FOLKLORE, AND FAIRIES AT O’SHEA’S PUB 19 Talbot St, North City, Dublin 1, D01 FA49, Ireland https://irishfolktours.com/ Similar to the House Party mentioned above but here you’ll enjoy stories told by engaging and entertaining Irish folks with a passion for the old art of storytelling. Good food selected from a 3-course set menu with lots of choices.
More suggestions to come…
To truly understand a David McGuffin tour, you have to see it to believe it. This film documents the journey of four travelers on David’s “Taste of Ireland” tour. Filmed on location in Ireland, we hope it will give you a sample of just what to expect on a David McGuffin tour to Europe.
Recently, I blogged about “pizza done right” and realized I did not have many photos of a pie. Thanks to a few recent tour members, I’ll share some here.
Phil Waltrip
Marsha Cook
Phil Waltrip
Mercato Centrale Roma
Phil and Genny Waltrip traveled on our Best of Italy tour in September 2019. They win the all-time prize for the most food pictures ever!
The Coronavirus lockdown has disrupted the “normal” routine all over the world. Here at home, in Middleburg, Florida, Charlotte and I are spending much of our time keeping to ourselves, working on previously ignored projects around the house, and occasionally running to the store to pick up food or hardware items. Needless to say, I am getting stir-crazy and itching to get back to travel (#BackToTravel)! But, until we can do that safely, cooking is a good substitute for me.
Pizza Done Wrong
Recently, we had worked outside in our yard, all day long. When supper-time rolled around, neither of us felt like cooking, there were no left-overs in the fridge, and restaurants are closed during the pandemic. So, I decided to run up to Papa Murphy’s and get a “bring-home-and-cook-it-yourself” pizza. (I’ve eaten pizza all around the world and have decided Papa Murphy’s Pizza produces the best takeaway alternative to a homemade pie. I like cooking it myself and eating it hot! By the way, I keep it simple too, thin-crust, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions, and bell peppers). It was only 6:30 in the evening, but unfortunately, the store was already closed due to shortened hours! So, I went to the local Pizza Hut, walked in, ordered a pizza, and waited for it in my car. It was semi-warm when I got it home, but we were starving by this time, so we opened the box and dug in.
It was not very good. The crust was overcooked and hard, the red sauce was tart and astringent, and the veggies were not fresh. The pepperoni was the best ingredient. But we ate it!
Next Time, I Made My Own
A few days later, I decided to stock up on the ingredients to make fresh homemade pizza. But, when I got to the grocery store, they had no flour on the shelves. It seems, like toilet paper, flour is a hot-selling item during this pandemic! So, I walked over to the deli counter and purchased a hunk of made-fresh daily pizza dough. I’m not sure if Publix Super Market mixes this up every morning in their deli, or if it arrives frozen and they thaw it out, but regardless, it is pretty good. I also stocked up on my fav four ingredients of pepperoni, bell peppers, sweet onions, and mushrooms. Here’s how it turned out… almost like Italy!
Italian Pizza Done Right
When in Rome, we often begin our Exploring Europe tours with a Day 1 get-together at Mercato Centrale Roma for a pizza lunch before heading out for sightseeing. This is the perfect way to get acquainted with one another and with authentic Italian food. Not only does it house a great pizzeria, but there are also 17 other food stalls selling almost anything to eat or drink that comes to mind when thinking of authentic Italian cuisine. Check out this artisanal pizza from pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci. Photo thanks to Italy Magazine and their article on Mercato Centrale Roma.
We have searched thousands of photos in our archives for a picture of our groups eating pizza at Mercato Centrale in Rome or Florence. I guess the pizza is too good to document, but we did not find a single photo in our files. So, if you have any photos of pizza at Mercato Centrale or in Italy or your favorite pizzeria at home, send them in and we’ll post ’em!
There are hundreds of pizzerie (that’s plural for pizzeria) all over Rome. Some are better than others, but none of them are bad. If they were, they would be out of business real quick! I like to visit those that are small places with a real wood-fired pizza oven, a pizzaiolo (the man who wears white clothes and makes a pizza), and is located outside of the tourist areas.
Rome- Quattro Fontane
Rome- Testaccio neighborhood
Claudia’s Homemade Pizza
My friends the Del Duca’s live just outside the ancient Etruscan town of Volterra, in Tuscany. I visit with them six or eight times a year, either at their home and agriturismo known as Podere Marcampo or their Ristorante Enoteca Del Duca. Twice a year, we rent out their agriturismo rooms and host 12-15 people on our “Villa Vacation” tour. This is a delight because we get to unpack our stuff for seven consecutive nights and experience what life might be like for a local in Volterra. Each day we go on short excursions to Lucca, Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano, and the Chianti region for sightseeing, wine tasting, and fun. When we return to Podere Marcampo, there is time for relaxing, swimming, sunbathing, hiking, and of course, eating and drinking!
PODERE MARCAMPO
One evening, a few years back, Claudia offered to make pizza for our group and to share her recipe. Here it is.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE
1.3 lbs all purpose flour
1/2 oz. beer yeast
14 oz. warm water
Half a glass of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. spoon of sugar
1 tsp. of salt
tomato puree
oregano
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. In a bowl, mix the flour with salt, sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Add the water and knead until you get a soft uniform dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Thereafter, extend the dough with a rolling pin and adjust it in one or more flat oven pans lined with parchment paper. Cover again, and let sit for an hour.
In the meantime make the tomato sauce. Puree fresh tomatoes or purchase quality canned tomato puree. (David’s note – I always use the CENTO brand for whole canned tomatoes and puree. They have no citric acid which is often added as a preservative). Mix in salt, pepper, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil. Let it rest for at least one hour in the fridge.
Pre-heat the oven to 500°F.
Uncover the dough, place a thin layer of tomato sauce on the dough. Add other ingredients from the list below. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Mozzarella, sliced potatoes, bacon, rosemary
Mozzarella, spinach (pre-cooked with garlic), and sausage
Tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, olives
Tomato, mozzarella, sliced veggies, marjoram
Slice and enjoy your homemade pizza!
Claudia is at the far end of the table. There is a bit of her pizza remaining in the photo on the right. These photos were taken at our Villa Vacation Tour in July 2015.
Feel free to leave comments below. Share your favorite photos of pizza and tell us all about your dining experience on one of my social media platforms noted below.
