Sunday 6 November 2011

Elephant & Castle, Dublin


If you type "Elephant and Castle Dublin" into Google, it will automatically prompt you to add "chicken wings" to your search, such is the popularity of the house dish.

Elephant & Castle, in the centre of Dublin's bustling Temple Bar tourist hub, has been open since 1989. It differs from most other eateries in the area in that the majority of the clients are local, it is always busy and it is extremely rare to walk in and get a table immediately.

We arrived at about 3pm on a Friday afternoon and were lucky to be seated within 5 minutes. The waiting staff were busy to the verge of being overworked but took our drinks orders immediately.

I ordered an Elderflower Cordial, whilst Leo plumped for the "Home Made Ginger Beer" while we perused the extensive and unusual menu. It was immediately noticable that most of the customers just ordered "the wings", some not even needing a menu to make their decision! I ordered the Pear and Stilton Salad, with toasted walnuts (€12.75), while Leo went for the Smoked Haddock and Gruyere Omelette (€10.75) and we agreed to the likeable waitess' suggestion that we "share a side of fries".

The omelette was cooked to perfection and the two ingredients complimented each other perfectly, whilst the salad was fresh and crisp. Suffice it to say, all plates were cleared with many shared nods of approval and an unusual (for us), lack of conversation!

The bill came to €33.00 and as as we left, our table was reset and had two new occupants about to be seated. I only hope they ventured beyond the ubiquitous chicken wings and enjoyed some of the almost hidden gems on the Elephant & Castle's menu...

Elephant & Castle
18 Temple Bar,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
(+353) 1 679 3121
www.elephantandcastle.ie

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